The young United States, while it remained an agrarian nation, rapidly developed into a diverse, dynamic, and increasingly modern society in the decades after the War of 1812, a nation that would have been difficult for the founding fathers to imagine. During the American Revolution, the Patriots envisioned creating a new republic based on classical concepts. While government’s purpose was to represent and support the will and desires of its citizenry, there was an accepted premise that social hierarchies served a productive purpose and that only certain citizens—the wealthy and the educated—were qualified for leadership. These individuals were seen to be capable of rule because their wealth and education permitted them leisure time for public service and because they were considered to have the virtuous characteristics that enabled them to rule for everyone’s best interest, not just their own. But within decades of the writing of the Constitution, it had become clear that this view of republicanism was not applicable to or viable in the rapidly changing nation.