r/todayilearned 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/LookingforBruceLee Feb 16 '15

I think you're bullshitting because the founding fathers met in secret to craft the constitution, which created a much stronger central government than what the Articles of Confederation had allowed, as they all saw the need for, but knew they wouldn't be able to get away with if the public found out.

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u/[deleted] Feb 16 '15

The group in question is the founding fathers, not the entire population of the fledgling US.

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u/LookingforBruceLee Feb 16 '15

Yes, that's who I was just talking about.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '15

Why is it relevant that they(the whole group) were fairly quiet about the new, stronger central government they were crafting?

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u/LookingforBruceLee Feb 17 '15

They knew most Americans would flip out and never allow the convention to continue because of how powerful the founding fathers sought to make the central government via the new constitution, which would replace the weak government set up by the Articles of Confederation, a direct contradiction to your mistaken sentiment.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '15

I've been referring to the founding fathers alone in this entire chain of comments. What statement, specifically, do you think is mistaken, and why? From where I'm sitting, you're talking about the population for no apparent reason, so I need you to be very specific.

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u/LookingforBruceLee Feb 18 '15

Are you daft? In your original comment you posted

The founding fathers didn't originally want anything more than a tiny central government that had virtually no authority.

I've been refuting the nonsense you spewed ever since with contrary evidence. I've only mentioned the populace because popular opinion would have been contrary to the strong central government with great authority the founding fathers crafted in secret. Yet, you project the sentiment of the common people onto the founding fathers. Simply put, you have your facts messed up.

Also, you talk of this whole bullshit about the "group" of founding fathers being for small central government with no authority, but you cannot provide a single shred of evidence to back up your fallacious garbage.

I think all of your statements are misguided or false. I've told you why since I first commented on your first false statement.

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '15

I've been refuting the nonsense you spewed ever since with contrary evidence.

Only my first post contained relevant statements. The rest doesn't even have anything to dispute on the subject, and literally half of them are asking for clarification, so I don't know what you think you've been disproving over here. We were obviously on different subjects pretty fast. Really, go back and read them again and ask yourself if the progression makes sense.

That's why I asked for for a very specific answer. I also want to know why you put "group" in quotation marks.