Were America's Founding Fathers geniuses?

[awoo]

The more I read about them and the Constitution and Bill of Rights the more I'm convinced these men were straight up political geniuses with an incredible vision and understanding of government/law. The Bill of Rights in particular strikes me as almost uncanny how relevant it still is today.

 

[Chilson]

It wasn't called the age of enlightenment for nothing. Really though, these articles were created more by necessity as every colony wanted to remain its own separate entity AND receive the benefits of mutual cooperation and protection from a central power.

The compromise was a strict separation of state and federal powers (which we have ruinously eroded in the modern day) while creating a set of unalienable rights enforced by the federal powers to ensure that local powers couldn't take advantage of the separation.

 

[Lone MacReady]

"Those who trade Liberty for the Illusion of Security - Deserve neither." - Some lightning taming dude named Franklin. Pretty smart dude.

 

[totallyrandomusername]

I think it would be hard to argue that they weren't some of the greater political minds of that century.

 

[Beautiful Border]

They were traitors to the British Empire and to their rightful sovereign King George III, founding the "country" almost single-handedly responsible for everything wrong with the modern world. If the universe were a just place then they would all be burning in a vat of boiling excrement for all eternity, or being chewed in the jaws of Satan alongside Brutus and Judas.

 

[ProtonMailManTheSequel]

Well I can think of at least four "geniuses" (IQs 145+) right off the top of my head: Franklin (duh), Jefferson (duh), Madison (yes), and Adams ("There's no doubt about that. I can't even believe we're having a trial.")

Beautiful Border said:
They were traitors to the British Empire and to their rightful sovereign King George III, founding the "country" almost single-handedly responsible for everything wrong with the modern world. If the universe were a just place then they would all be burning in a vat of boiling excrement for all eternity, or being chewed in the jaws of Satan alongside Brutus and Judas.

You forgot to mention that they were a vicious gang of TERFS as well.

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

They were pretty based. Ben Franklin was literally too rad to be president.

 

[Niggernerd]

They were traitors to the British Empire and to their rightful sovereign King George III, founding the "country" almost single-handedly responsible for everything wrong with the modern world. If the universe were a just place then they would all be burning in a vat of boiling excrement for all eternity, or being chewed in the jaws of Satan alongside Brutus and Judas.

So basically they're retards because british blood. I can't argue with that

 

[Cyclonus]

Well they went on and on about all men being equal but were too stupid to realise that meant they probably shouldn't own slaves.

 

[MG-34]

They were traitors to the British Empire and to their rightful sovereign King George III, founding the "country" almost single-handedly responsible for everything wrong with the modern world. If the universe were a just place then they would all be burning in a vat of boiling excrement for all eternity, or being chewed in the jaws of Satan alongside Brutus and Judas.

Nah. The brits ruined the world by sperging about Germany and bankrupting themselves to own the krauts while handing off half of Europe to Stalin. At least the Pakis living in Bingbongistan aren't speaking German though amirite?

 

[MG-34]

Well they went on and on about all men being equal but were too stupid to realise that meant they probably shouldn't own slaves.

Niggers didn't count as people and unfortunately the founders didn't realize the future generations would be too stupid to understand that.

 

[FFinfo]

They really should have included an additional document explaining in painstaking detail just what their at-the-time justifications for the conclusions reached in the documents were. It would've saved a lot of hassle with the implosion of democracy and the still-constant screeching over gun control some 200+ years later.
But hey even geniuses aren't perfect.

 

[celebrityskin]

Yeah, they were extremely admirable. It's unbelievable how many of them were in their 20s and 30s too.

 

[Chocolate Wombat]

I say kind of only because they didn't learn from Rome that keeping slaves around only creates problems for future generations to deal with. Imagine how great the US would be without thin skinned savages chimping out over stupid shit.

 

[ProtonMailManTheSequel]

Well they went on and on about all men being equal but were too stupid to realise that meant they probably shouldn't own slaves.

They said "men" - not "North American pavement apes."

 

[awoo]

They really should have included an additional document explaining in painstaking detail just what their at-the-time justifications for the conclusions reached in the documents were. It would've saved a lot of hassle with the implosion of democracy and the still-constant screeching over gun control some 200+ years later.
But hey even geniuses aren't perfect.

Do the Federalist Papers count

 

[Kabuki Actor]

all be burning in a vat of boiling excrement for all eternity

Nice try Synagogue of Satan.

 

[Niggernerd]

Well they went on and on about all men being equal but were too stupid to realise that meant they probably shouldn't own slaves.

Please don't bully them. They had bri'ish intelligence. It's a disorder they couldn't control!

 

[Heather Mason]

They were traitors to the British Empire and to their rightful sovereign King George III, founding the "country" almost single-handedly responsible for everything wrong with the modern world. If the universe were a just place then they would all be burning in a vat of boiling excrement for all eternity, or being chewed in the jaws of Satan alongside Brutus and Judas.

The mighty British Empire couldn't overpower a bunch of redneck farmers. King George's sovereignty ends exactly where his power and influence do, cry about it

Also, Federalists get fucked. You're the reason we're in this horrible mess right now

 

[MarvinTheParanoidAndroid]

Well they went on and on about all men being equal but were too stupid to realise that meant they probably shouldn't own slaves.

Wrong, Jefferson wrote of King George the 3rd "waged cruel War against Nature itself, violating its most sacred Rights of Life and Liberty in the Persons of a distant People who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into Slavery in another Hemisphere, or to incur miserable Death, in their Transportation thither" into the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. They removed the passages barring slavery because delegates from South Carolina & Georgia wanted to keep it and other relevant people were afraid of totally destroying relations with the U.K. The topic of slavery put the Declaration of Independence at serious risk so they just gutted it.

As to whether or not they were geniuses, despite setting up a bunch of checks & balances to prevent the government from going full totalitarian, they didn't set forth any provisions for preventing, investigating or punishing voter fraud when they founded the country. You can say what you will about the 2020 election, but there's no doubt that leaving voting parameters undefined is a mistake regardless of what follows.

They were brilliant, but only to a point.