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Read the letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Smith about Shay's rebellion, where we get the prosaic notion of watering the Tree of Liberty with the blood o

by krapp 2y ago

Read the letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Smith about Shay's rebellion, where we get the prosaic notion of watering the Tree of Liberty with the blood of tyrants and patriots. He thought the rebellion was an act of ignorance and failure of society to properly educate and inform the populace, but also felt that regular rebellion itself was necessary for any democracy, and shouldn't even be a crime. Essentially, he wanted to normalize the French Revolution as a regular facet of civil society. Obviously that point of view didn't make it into the framework of the state (apart from, arguably, the Second Amendment) and the same government that created the Second Amendment put Shay's rebellion down, but the ideal has become a foundational part of American culture and beliefs about the nature of liberty and government as inherently hostile to liberty.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> the letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Smith about Shay's rebellion Nothing in Jefferson’s letter suggests a revolution every other decade, he simply states a preference for insurrection more frequently than “every century and a half” [1]. He also refers to insurrection in general, not French Revolutions; Jefferson supported executing Robespierre for his brutality [2]. In short, one founder believed in insurrection more frequently than every 15 decades. He decried brutal violence in even revolutions he supported. And he joined a government that rejected the notion of violent insurrection. America was not “founded by people who thought the government should be risen up against and torn down with violence every other decade.” [1] https://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/person.do?shortName=thomas_jefferson https://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/person.do?shortName... [2] https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0132 https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0...
deleted 2y ago
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by krapp 2y ago

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> the letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Smith about Shay's rebellion Nothing in Jefferson’s letter suggests a revolution every other decade, he simply states a preference for insurrection more frequently than “every century and a half” [1]. He also refers to insurrection in general, not French Revolutions; Jefferson supported executing Robespierre for his brutality [2]. In short, one founder believed in insurrection more frequently than every 15 decades. He decried brutal violence in even revolutions he supported. And he joined a government that rejected the notion of violent insurrection. America was not “founded by people who thought the government should be risen up against and torn down with violence every other decade.” [1] https://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/person.do?shortName=thomas_jefferson https://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/person.do?shortName... [2] https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0132 https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0...

deleted 2y ago

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