the american founding fathers: would they be in prison today?

[regent]

no they wouldn't ! as brilliant modern men they would be leading this country in the direction it needs to go ! away from big government leftist ways of doing things .

The founders were of different political persuasions, most were wealthy but the nation was founded not only on their ideas but on the new ideas on the purpose of governments, from the Age of Enlightenment. Those new ideas were quite liberal for that day, but America has not been content to stay in one age it has moved ahead. Slavery is gone, women more accepted as equals, medical care, government has a responsibility not only to its upper class of citizens but to all classes. The only question is has government progressed too rapidly for some, and not rapidly enough for others? One thing seems certain, however, we will continue progressing and still in the mode of Jefferson.
"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government."
T. Jefferson 1809

 

[yidnar]

no they wouldn't ! as brilliant modern men they would be leading this country in the direction it needs to go ! away from big government leftist ways of doing things .

The founders were of different political persuasions, most were wealthy but the nation was founded not only on their ideas but on the new ideas on the purpose of governments, from the Age of Enlightenment. Those new ideas were quite liberal for that day, but America has not been content to stay in one age it has moved ahead. Slavery is gone, women more accepted as equals, medical care, government has a responsibility not only to its upper class of citizens but to all classes. The only question is has government progressed too rapidly for some, and not rapidly enough for others? One thing seems certain, however, we will continue progressing and still in the mode of Jefferson.
"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government."
T. Jefferson 1809

standing up against a totalitarian over taxing government [Great Britain ] sounds pretty conservative to me .

 

[JakeStarkey]

Great Britain is not totalitarian, but you sound as if you are, yidnar.

 

[regent]

no they wouldn't ! as brilliant modern men they would be leading this country in the direction it needs to go ! away from big government leftist ways of doing things .

The founders were of different political persuasions, most were wealthy but the nation was founded not only on their ideas but on the new ideas on the purpose of governments, from the Age of Enlightenment. Those new ideas were quite liberal for that day, but America has not been content to stay in one age it has moved ahead. Slavery is gone, women more accepted as equals, medical care, government has a responsibility not only to its upper class of citizens but to all classes. The only question is has government progressed too rapidly for some, and not rapidly enough for others? One thing seems certain, however, we will continue progressing and still in the mode of Jefferson.
"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government."
T. Jefferson 1809

standing up against a totalitarian over taxing government [Great Britain ] sounds pretty conservative to me .

The writers of the Constitution were not standing up to a totalitarian over-taxing government. They were standing up to 13 state governments that had no power to tax any state but their own. The founders then created a new government with tremendous powers including the power to tax for the general welfare, make war, regulate trade, grow in size and strength, and on and on. The founders gave America a new stronger much larger government, and we still have it.

 

[ricechickie]

Hardly any of them. They were part of the colonial aristocracy, and could afford legal representation that would keep them out of prison.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The FFs were no sort of neo-libertarians, which theory is nothing more than a screwy revisionist present-ism not based on any factual evidence.