- Nov 26, 2011
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I have often found those who claim to love the Constitution have an amazing lack of knowledge about it. Some have clearly never even read it.
I also hear adoration of the "Founding Fathers" and are spoken of as if they had a monolithic belief system, which they most assuredly did not.
For instance, Hamilton disagreed strongly with Jefferson and Madison on the amount of power the central government should have. Jefferson and Madison believed in a decentralized agrarian economy while Hamilton believed in a strong central government with a central bank and the assumption of all the states' debts from the Revolutionary War.
So I am wondering if the Right still worships Thomas Jefferson, for example. He used to be often cited by the Right, but I hardly ever hear his name mentioned any more.
My personal favorite Founding Father was James Madison. His clarity of thinking in the letters he wrote for the Federalist Papers demonstrates a clarity of thinking which reminds me of Paul in the New Testament.
So what are your thoughts on Thomas Jefferson (author of the Declaration of Independence), Thomas Paine (author of Common Sense), James Madison (father of the Constitution), et. al.?
Please try to avoid speaking of them as a group and discuss your thoughts on specific men.
Thank you.
I also hear adoration of the "Founding Fathers" and are spoken of as if they had a monolithic belief system, which they most assuredly did not.
For instance, Hamilton disagreed strongly with Jefferson and Madison on the amount of power the central government should have. Jefferson and Madison believed in a decentralized agrarian economy while Hamilton believed in a strong central government with a central bank and the assumption of all the states' debts from the Revolutionary War.
So I am wondering if the Right still worships Thomas Jefferson, for example. He used to be often cited by the Right, but I hardly ever hear his name mentioned any more.
My personal favorite Founding Father was James Madison. His clarity of thinking in the letters he wrote for the Federalist Papers demonstrates a clarity of thinking which reminds me of Paul in the New Testament.
So what are your thoughts on Thomas Jefferson (author of the Declaration of Independence), Thomas Paine (author of Common Sense), James Madison (father of the Constitution), et. al.?
Please try to avoid speaking of them as a group and discuss your thoughts on specific men.
Thank you.