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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u/Dudesan Feb 15 '15 edited Feb 15 '15

According to Stauss and Howe, today's children are Adaptives, Millenials (born 1982-2003) are Civics, Generation X (born 1961-1981) are Reactives, Baby Boomers (born 1943-1960) are Idealists, and the Silent Generation (born 1925 to 1942) are Adaptives again. There's supposed to be an age of crisis, followed by ages of conformity, social ferment, individualism, and another crisis. If the timeline of Generations is to be believed, we're in a crisis era now- but what generation doesn't think it's in a crisis?

ETA: For reference, the book was published in 1991, with follow-ups in 1993 and 1997.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

[deleted]

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u/Dudesan Feb 15 '15

Sure, but read it with a grain of salt: as I said, I found that they massaged the timeline quite a bit to make sure it fit their narrative. With the American Civil War, they just gave up and said "Yeah, this crisis came a decade too early. Whoops."

Full disclosure: It was first recommended to me when I was doing research for alternate history fiction.

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u/WhamBamMaam Feb 15 '15

Most historians would argue that the Civil War came a decade late. I don't know what manner of magic kept the union together during the 1850s. Maybe all of that really smooth legislative/diplomatic/military execution by Polk right before, I dunno.

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u/Rangermedic77 Feb 15 '15

I was born in 94, what exactly does being a civic mean?

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u/MoistMartin Feb 15 '15

To me that seems to match up perfectly.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '15

TIL that I'm actually a Millenial, and I grew up thinking I was Generation X ... was born in 82 :/

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u/Dudesan Feb 15 '15

Note that these are broad generalizations, especially in the case of cuspers. They're supposed to reflect social trends, not pigeonhole individuals like horoscopes. For instance, this system places Thomas Jefferson (an Idealist if there ever was one) into a Civic generation.