115. US Constitutional Convention

Public choice scholars have studied the US Constitutional Convention to understand how economic and political interests influenced the final product. Early interpretations, such as Charles Beard's thesis, posited a conflict between personalty (capital owners) and realty (landowners). Later studies, including those by Dougherty and Heckelman, critiqued this view, suggesting that individual and constituent interests, rather than economic factions, influenced voting behavior on the margin. More recent studies utilize spatial voting models to highlight shifting coalitions and the influence of issues such as federalism, proportional representation, and slavery. Other studies have examined the power of individual delegates on the final product.