<P> Because the upper classes of a society may no longer rule the society in which they are living, they are often referred to as the old upper classes and they are often culturally distinct from the newly rich middle classes that tend to dominate public life in modern social democracies . According to the latter view held by the traditional upper classes, no amount of individual wealth or fame would make a person from an undistinguished background into a member of the upper class as one must be born into a family of that class and raised in a particular manner so as to understand and share upper class values, traditions, and cultural norms . The term is often used in conjunction with terms like "upper - middle class", "middle class", and "working class" as part of a model of social stratification . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it . (March 2012) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it . (March 2012) </Td> </Tr> <P> Historically in some cultures, members of an upper class often did not have to work for a living, as they were supported by earned or inherited investments (often real estate), although members of the upper class may have had less actual money than merchants . Upper - class status commonly derived from the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth . Much of the population that composed the upper class consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and religious hierarchs . These people were usually born into their status and historically there was not much movement across class boundaries . </P>

Who made up the highest social class in the colonies