Of course, it may be shown (and per

Of course, it may be shown (and perhaps can be shown) that the farmers and debtors who opposed the Constitution were, in fact, benefited by the general improvement which resulted from its adoption. It may likewise be shown, to take an extreme case, that the English nation derived immense advantages from the Norman Conquest and the orderly administrative processes which were introduced, as it undoubtedly did: nevertheless, it dose not follow that the vague thing known as “the advancement of general welfare” or some abstraction know as “justice” was the immediate, guiding purpose of the leaders in either of these great historic changes. The point is , that the direct, impelling motive in both case was the economic advantages which the beneficiaries expected would accrue to themselves first, from their action. Further than this, economic interpretation cannot go. It may be that some larger world-process is working through each series of historical events; but ultimate causes lie beyond our horizon.