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July 4, 2006 Many think that the founding fathers of this nation are spinning in their graves because things aren't exactly as they were in 1776. Thank goodness they aren't. I can only guess what the founders would think of America today, because well I wasn't alive back then, and more importantly they disagreed among themselves about what America should be. The first Presidential election, in 1788, saw only a few white males with the ability to vote. The 2004 saw millions of whites, blacks, hispanics, asians, men and women all casting ballots in democratic elections. In 1776 chattel slavery was common in the south and legal, though rare, in the north. Thankfully slavery came to an end in 1865(sadly it took another century to guarantee full civil rights) The was something that our founding fathers would be very happy to know is gone. Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were fierce opponents of slavery. Washington freed his slaves, and even Jefferson understood slavery to be a moral evil though he did nothing about it. When America gained its independence there were only four million people, slaves included, and America was essentially a third world nation. In 2006 America will have a population of three hundred million with the worlds largest economy and we are the only superpower there is. I can't think if a single founding father who wanted America to be small and poor and weak. Many pessimists point out that we pay more in taxes to Washington D.C. than we would have ever paid to London. True enough. Many of our taxes are too high and some are pointless. Some founders would be outraged by this. Jefferson might call for a revolution( he said Americans should write a new constitution every twenty years or so). While Hamilton might say taxes are necessary to help a powerful nation to keep going. What would they think about the bitter partisanship? That is something they would recognize instantly. For example, in the 1790's Democrats and Federalists wouldn't even walk on the same side of the street. And to be honest partisanship isn't a bad thing. Politics, especially in a democracy, is an adversiarial process. Fighting produces results, so long as the weapons are ballots and not bullets. Partianship ensures different ideas. After all if everyone is thinking alike then no one is thinking. Yes, America has its problems. Just as slavery was a problem of the 19th century, abortion is for today, just to name one. But I think our founding fathers would be pleased with what we've accomplished. Happy birthday America! ------------ About the author: Craig Chamberlain has written more than 100 articles for Useless-Knowledge.com. Email: craig_chamberlain@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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