The quote below was written by a prominent figure in 1889: "while the law [of competition] may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department. we accept and welcome, therefore, as conditions to which we must accommodate ourselves, great inequality of environment, the concentration of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of a few, and the law of competition between these, as being not only beneficial, but essential for the future progress of the race." proponents of the philosophy represented by this quote believed in limited government intervention in the economy government assistance for those in poverty governmental control of utilities and transportation equal opportunities for foreign and native-born workers

the common people were given the right to vote. jacksonian popular government was a nineteenth century political reasoning in the united states that upheld more noteworthy vote based system for the basic man as that term was then characterized. starting with president andrew jackson and his supporters, it turned into the country's overwhelming political perspective for an age.

in february 1787, congress decided that a convention should be convened to revise the articles of confederation, the nation’s first constitution. in may, 55 delegates came to philadelphia, and the constitutional convention began. debates erupted over representation in congress, over slavery, and over the new executive branch. the debates continued through four hot and muggy months. but eventually the delegates reached compromises, and on september 17, they produced the u.s. constitution, replacing the articles with the governing document that has functioned effectively for more than 200 years.