The
question: “Whether one generation of men has a right to bind another seems never
to have been started either on this or our side of the water. Yet it is a question of such consequences as
not only to merit decision, but place also, among the fundamental principles of
every government.” – Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, Paris, 6 September
1789.
According to Merrian-Webster.com, “to bind …
restrict, put under oath or obligation, constrain with legal authority. These
two sentences by themselves are powerful, but what is the driving force of the topic? In order to understand the question, one
must read the entire document to understand the content of the letter.
This document was written 6-months after the
effective date of the US Constitution (4 March, 1789).
The Bills Of Rights were distributed to the existing
states for ratification on 25 September, 1789 and this letter was not in the
hands of James Madison before this time. He returned to the US about 1-month after
receiving this letter.
This whole content is set on the precept of the
government having the right to bind future generations for the costs incurred
by said government. The answer is no.
In the long drawn out process of Jefferson’s lengthy
letters does clearly show genius in his thinking. There is no doubt after reading this letter
in its entirety, that you “get it” and can wonder why it took so much to
explain what is written in the above question.
In today’s society, the founding fathers would be
shaking in their graves at knowing what past and the current administrations have
done to “bind” future generations with financial hardships.
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