You see, most of the founding fathers were very rational, independent, free thinkers, and many of them were Deists. Moreover, many of the founding fathers were also interested in and influenced by the principles of Rosicrucian and Spiritualistic thought, and especially by Freemasonry, which is non-sectarian, pluralistic, respectful of all religions, and based on brotherly love, good will, and mutual assistance for the common good.
In fact, eight signers of the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons, including Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, and sixteen following presidents were also Freemasons. That is why the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States (seen on the dollar bill) is Masonic in character and declares (in Latin) "A New Order of the Age begins."
This is important, because the original Freemasons were among the first significant organizations to foster what are called "esoteric" spiritual teachings in the 1700s, first in Europe and then in America. They helped make Deism and esoteric spiritual teachings accepted and popular. Mainstream Western philosophers of the 1700s followed that trend, and they also became fascinated with Eastern culture, religion, literature and philosophy. That fascination began to reach its peak toward the end of the 1700s. In fact, the second American president, John Adams, had great interest in Eastern thought, and he read many English translations of Eastern religious works.
During that time, Tibetan Buddhist texts, the Koran (or Qur'an), Semitic, Sanskrit, Vedic (Hindu) and Chinese literature, and other Mid-Eastern and Eastern religious and spiritual philosophy became generally accessible and popular. This had a profound impact on the Western (European and American) cultural leaders by the middle of the 1800s, and it influenced such philosophers and writers as Schopenhauer, Emerson, Nietzsche, Baudelaire, James and Shelley, among others. A great respect for the esoteric teachings and Eastern religions grew, and their inclusive, universal spiritual approach was regarded as a refreshing and interesting alternative to the rigid, exclusive theocratic dogmatism of the American "Christian Right" of that time.
Such interests continued to become more widespread, so much so that in 1893 a Parliament of Religions was held in Chicago. It was a groundbreaking event and the first of its kind, and leaders from each of the great religions presented their views on life. This created even greater appreciation for Eastern religions, which were represented by notables such as Swami Vivekenanda, who spoke about Hinduism, and Soyen Shaku, a Zen-Buddhist abbot. Shortly after that, the first Buddhist society in the West was founded.
Of course, financial wealth still ruled in America, because the spiritual movement was based on humility and was non-materialistic, non-aggressive and pacifistic. They didn't try to push their beliefs on anyone, and they "rendered unto Caesar what is Caesar's," as Jesus advised. They didn't impose, and they didn't fight power, because their beliefs were based on the spiritual knowledge that the meek shall ultimately inherit the earth and share and share alike, which is a universal belief held by all truly faithful, spiritual people, regardless of their religion.
For example, the original Christians wrote: "No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." (Acts 4:32-35) And "all the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:44-45) They understood why Jesus said, "If you would follow me, sell what you have and give to the poor." They were the true Christians.
Of course, today no one would take that literally, including me, but the point is well taken. It's about caring about each other, caring for one another, and sharing so that no one is in need and no one goes without. That's what a true Christian, like a true Jew or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu, etc., is supposed to do. It's what we all are supposed to do.
Unfortunately, that part of Christianity had long since vanished from the political ideology of most wealthy and powerful European and American Christians. In fact, the opposite has been the case ever since the 4th Century when Christianity was "adopted" by a patriarchal materialistic military empire. That is why aggressive wealthy people, who claimed to be Christians, were able to rule completely in Europe, and then in America. After all, post-fourth century Christianity and even post-Reformation Protestant Christianity in Europe established the "divine right" of kings and rich aristocrats, and that tradition carried over in America in spite of the efforts of the founding fathers to establish more equality.
The rule of the wealthiest few was greatly expanded by the invention and use of trains in the late 1800s. It enhanced the capability of the wealthy few in America to increase their wealth, power and domain, utilizing the power of the gun and all that money could buy.
In the early 1900s the invention of motorized vehicles expanded that capability even more. It enabled the wealthy few to rule even more totally, and, in certain cases, ruthlessly. After all, there were no labor unions to protect workers, and there was therefore practically no Middle Class. In fact, workers who tried to organize were brutally suppressed. The wealthy few dominated completely, particularly in more populated areas and cities where the industrial revolution was in full swing, and in effect everyone else worked to serve the wealthiest few people who ruled.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, in 1925, Paramahansa Yogananda, the great spiritual teacher from India who wrote Autobiography of a Yogi, came to America and founded the Self- Realization Fellowship, a non-sectarian all-faith teaching organization. It gained considerable popularity in America (and it later flourished in the 1960s and is still going strong today.) Additionally, the western esoteric spiritual tradition also found a following with new spiritual teaching schools, orders and movements in America, unobtrusively. And that was, as it still is, because true spiritual teachers do not recruit students or try to push their beliefs on anyone. They merely accept students who seek and have a keen desire the learn the real truth.
But, that was behind the scenes, and meanwhile the wealthy ruled completely. They lived "high on the hog" in opulent, extravagant luxury, and their increasing excesses lead to "The Roaring Twenties." Granted, it was a time of general widespread optimism, and most average people who went along with the traditional ways generally did not suffer too much. In fact, it could be said that some average people had it pretty good. However, it was a time when the wealthiest few lived like royalty, and some of them became very corrupt. In fact, it was when the term "filthy rich" was coined.
Much of that corruption was because the very wealthy were enabled by Republican Presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, who were in office from 1921 to 1932. They mistakenly believed that banks, stock brokerage houses, big businesses, corporations and the stock market should not be regulated by government, but should be left to their own devices. And it should be noted that back then, the Republicans were, especially in that respect, much like the later Republican Reaganites and Bushites who deceptively claim that we must "get government off our backs." They say such misleading things because their goals were, and still are, to operate without any restrictions or regulations, without any employee rights or protections, and without any environmental protections. And in the 1920s they were very successful in achieving those goals.
Consequently, the wealthy few had great license and free rein, so greed was unchecked, and that led to some terrible unfairness and abuse of power. For example, a very wealthy few were able to totally control and manipulate the stock market, and they got a whole lot of other people to invest their hard earned money too. It was sold as an easy way to make money for nothing. Consequently, many people bought shares of stocks, hoping to make a profit. However, while many people did reap some rewards along with some losses, the very wealthy few made huge profits. They would buy stocks that were low and then spark interest in the stocks, start a buying spree, and then sell as soon as the stock price rose sufficiently. Thus they made huge windfall profits, but left all the other investors with losses. So, the very wealthy few just got richer and richer and lived more and more palatially, in fantastic luxury. Many of them even had many live-in servants, gardeners, grounds-keepers and chauffeurs. They were the American aristocracy, and "class" distinctions were very sharp and pretty much like they were in Europe.
Then, inevitably and consequently, all the greed, corruption, materialistic excesses, and the growing widespread desire to make a "quick buck" and a financial "killing," led to some inevitable bad consequences. For one thing, it led to a very volatile stock market by October 1929. The "authorities" quickly assured the American public that there was nothing at all to worry about, so the market came back somewhat, but then plunged dangerously. On October 24, 1929, panic selling of stocks occurred. In three days, the New York Stock Exchange erased over 5 billion dollars worth of share values, and before long 16 billion dollars of stock capitalization were erased. And in those days, those numbers represented far greater monetary value than they do today.
