As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we do it from a very different society with much advanced technology. As I look at the founders, I realize that their trust in government – even a government of their own making – was a whole lot lower than ours.
The story has it that a woman asked Ben Franklin “What kind of government have you made for us?” Franklin’s reply was “A republic, if you can keep it.” Our nation’s founders had little – very little – faith in government. Jefferson may have been the most cynical – and the most correct:
John Adams often differed with Jefferson, and he strongly opposed political parties – and definitely the two party system:
Madison had his fears of government moving into tyranny:
And let me end with James Madison’s view of the Constitution:
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