The men and women of the American Revolution were not the ruling class or the political elites. Those who were, were loyal to the crown. It wasn’t the nobility leaving England for the new world. The Founding Fathers were in the minority when they took their stand against the ruling elite of the times, i.e. Prince George and his minions in the colonies.
I do not equate wealth as the only requirement to being a part of that ruling class of elites. President Trump has enormous wealth but he is not a part of that crowd. That is why they hate him and regular people love him.
William Wallace, same thing. Though of noble birth, he rebelled against the ruling class. He also was in the minority when he began his fight for freedom for his people.
That is what all these men/women have in common. They were in the minority, but their message of freedom grew because people want freedom to choose their destiny. It seems now that we are in the minority, but the message of freedom is growing. We must reinvigorate that desire for freedom among our brothers and sisters who are asleep and truly think the cabal has our best interests at heart.
I agree they were in the minority and that wealth alone is insufficient.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on the rest.
The majority of the founders were part of the colonial legislatures as such part of the “ruling bodies” of the colonies.
The Continental Congress attempted to appease King George with the Olive Branch Petition and only when he refused was Independence declared.
Not including them as “ruling elite” cherry picks those who were “in charge” and would be like stating conservative Reps/Senators today are not part of the category.