The Founders saw the dangers of concentrated wealth

AS THE U.S. APPROACHES ITS 250th year, the richest 10% hold over 67% of household wealth and increasingly seem entitled to power and privilege.

- BY DANIEL MANDELL

This would horrify the Founders, who believed great wealth would corrupt their republic. Their beliefs were shaped by sources including Roman historians who blamed the empire's decline on such inequality; English "radical Whigs" who decried the corruption of British politics; and Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke who argued that individuals should not hoard wealth.

These ideals held particular power because they reflected the experiences of most British Americans. Lands taken from Indians provided a remarkable level of economic and social equality among settlers, resulting in a far higher percentage of white adult men voting than in England. Even the wealthiest Southern planters needed the support of poorer yet property-holding neighbors.