ABSTRACT
Even though a small middle class appeared as early as the Revolutionary Era as a social class that had noticeable impact in particular situations, it remained a relatively small presence in American society. It is not until well into the nineteenth century that we can take some note of the middle class as being particularly and meaningfully involved in political movements and policy. Middle class and average Americans, as Wolfe notes, believe that one deserves what one earns, and one earns what one deserves. This element of self-reliance is deeply entrenched in middle-class culture as well as in progressive republicanism. Modern scholars often explain the incorporation of the Bill of Rights with a descriptive recounting that strongly suggests that particular individuals and Courts acted from character, principle, and immediate circumstances to lead the country to a better realization of Constitutional ideals.
