A Constitution by Jefferson (or with input from him)

[Anarchist420]

I know this is kind of a stupid thread, but I don't think the subject is stupid enough to not have a discussion on it. And of course, this assumes that Jefferson's hypothetical Constitution would still be in effect today which it probably wouldn't. Anyways...

I think he would've dealt with the slavery issue better; I think he would've made it so tariffs couldn't exceed 10% (or simply the north and south would've been split in two if there weren't enough northerners to ratify it).
He would've codified/set more things in stone than have Congress deal with them (e.g., patent and bankruptcy laws, punishments for treason and piracy, specifically enumerated how Congress could regulate interstate commerce, probably wouldn't have had vague clauses like the welfare clause, etc.)
I also think he probably would've just had a legislative branch, as he opposed a strong executive. That's really all that's necessary, anyway.

I also think he would not have allowed Amendments, since that prevents you starting all over again.

 

[ProfJohn]

You should have stopped at the 'stupid thread' part...

Tariffs are irrelevant because they would have gone away anyways. Countries that restrict the flow of commerce into them tend to be worse off finically than those that allow for free trade.

The constitution was vague on purpose because because they wanted it to be flexible to changing times. They knew that the challenged facing the country 100 years in the future would be different than the ones at founding.

 

[MotF Bane]

You should have stopped at the 'stupid thread' part...

This.

 

[Anarchist420]

You should have stopped at the 'stupid thread' part...

Tariffs are irrelevant because they would have gone away anyways. Countries that restrict the flow of commerce into them tend to be worse off finically than those that allow for free trade.

The constitution was vague on purpose because because they wanted it to be flexible to changing times. They knew that the challenged facing the country 100 years in the future would be different than the ones at founding.

They still shouldn't have made it vague. All they had to do was give the states more rights, take out the executive and supreme court, and give more power to Congress.

 

[Kirby]

This.
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This.

 

[BigDH01]

I know this is kind of a stupid thread, but I don't think the subject is stupid enough to not have a discussion on it. And of course, this assumes that Jefferson's hypothetical Constitution would still be in effect today which it probably wouldn't. Anyways...

I think he would've dealt with the slavery issue better; I think he would've made it so tariffs couldn't exceed 10% (or simply the north and south would've been split in two if there weren't enough northerners to ratify it).
He would've codified/set more things in stone than have Congress deal with them (e.g., patent and bankruptcy laws, punishments for treason and piracy, specifically enumerated how Congress could regulate interstate commerce, probably wouldn't have had vague clauses like the welfare clause, etc.)
I also think he probably would've just had a legislative branch, as he opposed a strong executive. That's really all that's necessary, anyway.

I also think he would not have allowed Amendments, since that prevents you starting all over again.

No need to guess, he wrote one for the state of Virginia.

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/jeffcons.asp

 

[ProfJohn]

They still shouldn't have made it vague. All they had to do was give the states more rights, take out the executive and supreme court, and give more power to Congress.

The constitution enumerated the powers of the federal government and left ALL other powers to the states.

The problem is that our government ignores this fact and keeps expanding federal powers.

 

[Moonbeam]

The constitution enumerated the powers of the federal government and left ALL other powers to the states.

The problem is that our government ignores this fact and keeps expanding federal powers.

The problem is that you and me and the rest of the folk keep voting for politicians who do that. We have representative government and the pathetic quality of the people we vote for equates to the pathetic quality of us voters. Just saying, before anybody takes your finger pointing elsewhere too seriously.

 

[LegendKiller]

First off, Jefferson went far to justify the existence of slaves, including outlining in many memoirs that black people were an inferior race that needed whites to sustain them, since they didn't have the intelligence to sustain themselves.

Second, Jefferson was not against the executive, he was for 3-co-equal branches. He, in fact, was the first President to expand the power of the executive during the Louisiana Purchase and when dealing with the Barbary pirates.

Like nearly every post you make, you have little appreciation for history or fact.

 

[Kappo]

The problem is that you and me and the rest of the folk keep voting for politicians who do that. We have representative government and the pathetic quality of the people we vote for equates to the pathetic quality of us voters. Just saying, before anybody takes your finger pointing elsewhere too seriously.

At this juncture, the only way to stop it is to stop voting. Which doesn't really help.