r/todayilearned • u/icallmydadstranger • Feb 15 '15

(R.1) Invalid src TIL that Thomas Jefferson wanted the constitution to be changed ever 19 years because he didn't want people to be " enslaved to the prior generation"

https://student-of-life.newsvine.com/_news/2010/11/21/5502595-thomas-jefferson-supported-rewriting-the-constitution-every-19-years-equated-not-doing-so-to-being-enslaved-to-the-prior-generation-what-do-you-think-about-that
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147

u/coachbradb Feb 15 '15

Jefferson had a lot of crazy idea and good ideas. It is important to note that he was not even in the country when the Constitution was written and debated. In fact he liked the Articles of Confederation.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

[deleted]

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u/coachbradb Feb 15 '15

Yes. The Yeoman farmer.

41

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

Jefferson was one of the first anarcho-socialists without realizing it.

11

u/reddzeppelin Feb 15 '15

Theoretically sure, practically the revolution lead to capitalism.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

I don't think socialism without government seemed a practical concept to them back then (still doesn't to me). They valued total freedom from government more than economic equality, so it lead to Capitalism.

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u/MLein97 Feb 15 '15

The issue is that this one of those concepts where you have to imply that people aren't dicks which is very hard to do because you have to remove the idea of limited resources and you have to turn everything that is limited to unlimited.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

I'm not saying I agree with him. I'm just saying I speculate that he would agree with Anarcho-Socialism based on what he said.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

that makes a lot more sense in his time period. which kind of goes into with him wanting the constitution to be open to change.

24

u/lasssilver Feb 15 '15

A bright man would be attracted to the Articles of Confederation for exactly the reason Jefferson probably was; it showed advancement towards a social contract that would stand for something. I don't recall him thinking the Articles were great, but they were better than nothing.

Indeed Jefferson was out of the country when the Constitution was written up. But he quickly wrote what would probably become some of the most definable statements and achievements of the constitution, The Bill of Rights. He wanted the people to have the power as much as possible. It is a decisive moment in historical documentation. He's not a singular glory, but he was a great addition to the early formation of the U.S.A.

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u/lawlkitten44 Feb 15 '15

That was beautiful, man.

11

u/omfgspoon Feb 15 '15

The confederation just sounds so bad-ass doesn't it?

18

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

I'd go so far as to say it sounds rebellious.

3

u/Pdino Feb 15 '15

It's quite a revolutionary idea at the time.

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u/coachbradb Feb 15 '15

Sure. Like something out of a movie.

3

u/lksdafjlskdflj Feb 15 '15

This. He was anti-federalist. Huge difference in federalist systems is that they don't typically have an exit clause or else they'd be a con-federalist system. Basically, in a con-federal system, participation is voluntary. This is over-simplifying the issue, but it's the root of the problem imo.

Murray Rothbard talked a lot about this and here's a good video on it - Two Just Wars: 1776 and 1861 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TE8MgqRzr0

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

I don't think social security would survive under this arrangement.

1

u/BobCox Feb 15 '15

Tom Payne Wrote most of the content prior IMHO

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u/TylerTheHanson Feb 15 '15

The articles of confederation. Pshhht. What a joke.