[Sproogle]

I. The town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, was a town in the new America, which was supposed to be a pinnacle of freedom and equality in the world. And this is true as far as social sturcture and politics are concerned, but the town sill oppressed those who professed another religion, and the land stayed in the hands of the upper echelon of the town's richest men. But this is still a great leap from how equality was defined before the colonies became free. More men started participating in elections, and it became harder to separate the rich from poor just by seeing them.

II. Socially, the town of Wethersfield was becoming more democratic and equal.
A. In document E, the houses of the richest and the poorest are still 3-story homes, and are both very nice. The line between the rich and poor was becoming very blurred. It did not matter the size of the house, but the land that surrounded it. But just by looking at one man's house and compairing it to another's it would be very hard to distinguish from what part of the social spectrum he is from.
B. Document N seems to disprove this, saying that the poor are overworked, and that society in Connecticut was in shambles. But the souce for this document is not a reliable one. It was written by a visitor from England in 1782, after America had won the war. This clergyman was obviously loyal to the crown, and certainly did not want to give America a good report. He tried to make Connecticut look bad in his book, History of Connecticut merely out of spite.

III. Men started becoming more and more interested in politics, and were more politically active in Wethersfield as time went on.
A. Document G clearly shows a leap in the number of men signing up for voting registration, holding town offices, actually voting, and that a growing number of men were able to meet the voting requirements. The number of voters jumped from a mere 30% in 1751 to 1756 to a whopping 53% in 1771 to 1776. This shows a huge amount of political growth and intrest.
B. Document H is a great example of a move from the richest holding power to the poorer end of society starting to take action and become involved in their world. It shows from 1751-1756 to 1771-1776 that while toe richest men still held power, 5% of the public offices were from the eighth lowest rung on the ladder of wealth. And an amazing 8% From the seventh, where both of these statistics grew from zero in 1751-1756!
C. Document J is a rather amusing example of how those in power sometimes vainly tried to cling to it in the face of growing democracy. It is a sermon given by a Reverand James Lockwood, and in it he is basically yelling at the lower rung of society to stop trying to become free, because, as he puts it, "In a civil community there is a necessary subordination of persons."

IV. But not all was well in Wethersfild as far as democracy went, and those who worshiped any differently were usually jailed.
A. Docuument I is a letter sent from Reverand Ebenzer Frothingham to Reverend James Lockwod. Lockwood had thrown Frothingham in jail for preaching without his consent. It is a blatant example of wha heppened to those who went against the very powerful Reverends of the time.
B. Document J also shows religion tying in to power. Here is a powerful Reverend preaching about how there has to be a subserviant class in order to have a civil society. If this is how such religious leaders feel, then how can there be any democracy?

V. As far as land distribution went in Wethersfield, the upper rung of society had a clear advantage, which is not something desired for the growth of democracy.
A. Document B shows a movement of land concentration upwards. In other words, it means that from 1756 to 1773, the rich grew ricer, while the poor lost land and power.
B. Document C learly supports this argument, as it shows from 1756 to 1773 a growing gap of land, and subsiquently money, between the rich and the poor. The percent of individuals with no land skyrockets from 17 to 33 in this short time, while those with 1,000 acres or more grows from 0 to 2 percent.
C. Again, a concentration of wealth, which comes from land, is showed in document D. It shows the name sof 5 men from 1756, and their assessment in pounds. The next half of the document shows the ancestors of the same men, save one, and how they have even more money at that point, proving that the rich simply did not lose any money, but quite the opposite, and hoarded it from the poor.