Thomas Jefferson is famous for having written memorable
words for commonplace ideas. One of
these ideas is: “the earth belongs to
the living, the dead have neither powers nor rights over it.” This quotation comes from a letter he wrote to his friend James Madison on 6 September 1789. The context for
his remarks is the new U.S. Constitution.
Jefferson was registering his concern that a piece of paper composed by
one generation might bind the next generation.
Put our quasi-sacred Constitution out of your mind for a
moment and consider how you feel about this idea: that the laws of one
generation should not bind the next generation, that each generation should
make up its own rules for living. I’ll
wait while you consider your own position on this question.
Some historians believe that Jefferson had personal
motivations for this idea: his father in law’s death left him with a legacy of
land and slaves – and debt. And he resented the debt being left for him
to pay off. Consider now how you would
feel if your father left behind debts for you – his only son – to pay off. Should a single son be responsible for his
own father’s debts on his father’s death?
This time I will quit the essay and wait while you consider this
question. Please do not read the next part of this essay until you have thought this
out.