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Kyle Keeler (May 24, 2024). "Wikipedia's Indian problem: settler colonial erasure of native American knowledge and history on the world's largest encyclopedia". Settler Colonial Studies. Retrieved May 26, 2024. Each of these tactics have been on display at the talk page for the 'Constitution of the United States,' which is missing a major piece of scholarly criticism: '"We the People" privileged white male landowners, excluded white women from the vote, and excluded slaves and American Indians from citizenship.' Western Shoshone historian Ned Blackhawk further explains that 'the Constitution excluded [Native people] and aided in their dispossession. … its framers worked to ensure Anglo-American supremacy over interior lands, Native peoples, and African American slaves. It became, in short, a constitution for colonialism.' Ostler has also shown that land ownership amongst the framers stemming from such dispossession strengthened their elite positions, as it 'would … ameliorate social class divisions and reinforce a common identity among free whites of racial superiority in relation both to African Americans … and Native Americans.' These points are repeated in reputable scholarship; however, they are absent from Wikipedia.
September 17 is correct, but I understand the confusion. September 13 was the date of the resolution, as stated in the header, whereas the text indicates "on the 17th of Sept....Congress assembled a constitution for the people of the United States", meaning that's when the resolution was passed and the Constitution was ratified. The language is archaic, and as the footnote indicates, the text is from the "rough" journal of the Congress, so these are more like notes than a formal document. That's one problem. Another is we shouldn't be using primary documents as sources. I'll fix everything by citing a book or some other secondary source that's much clearer. Thanks for pointing this out. Allreet (talk) 07:35, 30 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The criticism centers on what was meant by the phrase "We the people". The issue is important—profound, really—but what appears here is so simplistic and worded so poorly as to be totally worthless. The criticism warrants thorough research of scholarly sources on par with those that provided the basis for the rest of the article. As soon as the Internet Archive is back in full service, I'll tend to this, but in the meantime, if anyone would like to improve the section, please do. Allreet (talk) 03:40, 3 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]