[justshutupandtakeit]

The majority of people outside the cities in our early day could neither read nor write. The New England states were an exception perhaps. As far as the illiterate being able to understand the constitution goes- well, it is a nice sweet myth. You can believe if you like but it is totally false. Only after the spread of public education was literacy widespread.

[max61]

Whether the masses were literate or not was irrelavent as to the understanding of the law at that time in history. Whether a "reasonable man" could understand the meaning of the law as written is what mattered, intent had no standing as intent is what was codified when written. The Constitution's meaning is extremely clear in all respects. It takes "experts" to obfuscate new interpretations into it, and that is why we are where we are.

---max