Amanda’s Reviews > Beyond the Founders: New Approaches to the Political History of the Early American Republic > Status Update

"But how were voters to judge among members of the propertied elite? How were they to determine which candidates had the moral and personal qualities... necessary to represent the community's interests? ... Candidates ... made literate and decorous speeches designed to impress the lower orders with their knowledge. Such speeches were intended to soothe the voters, while steering away from any discussion of policy."

"In the view of elites, ordinary voters did not have the intellectual capacity -- and thus should not attempt -- to exercise prospective power over policy; however, they could exercise the moral judgement inherent in all men to rule retrospectively on a candidate's character... voters should ask: 'Is he honest? Is he free from addiction to drunkenness and gaming, and vice and immorality? If not, reject him...'"