Myth of the Month 16: The Founding Fathers
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong
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The Framers
The notion of the framers was formulated and used as a way of trying to respond to the lack of clarity about what the constitution actually meant. It has a very narrow focus on just what is the constitution supposed to mean, how is it supposed to be applied? It doesn't tell you anything broader about society. And it excludes very influential visionaries who were cruce in the revolution but who were not at the constitutional convention and never signed it. Particularly thomas jefferson and john adams are left out of that picture. They become very interesting and are pulled into political debate.
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