I see people arguing all the time over when, exactly, "the American experiment" ended. It seems to be on many people's minds, especially with the recent 250th commemoration of the Declaration of Independence ("Independence Day").
I think most of them believe it lasted much longer than it did.
The American experiment lasted only from the signing of the Declaration of Independence until the ratification of the Constitution. That was the end of that.Shays' Rebellion was a clear sign that the founders had made a critical mistake by creating a government, but once they established an actual State with the Constitution, it was done. The experiment had failed, and everything since then hasn't been "American", but something less; a cheaper version designated by the letters "USA".
Yep -- the Constitution was the counter-revolution, intended to put the planter/merchant aristocracy back in charge and let the serfs know it. As Washington demonstrated before the ink was dry on it when he led an army into Pennsylvania to quell, among other things, "the erection of seditious poles" (the "liberty poles" that symbolized the revolution).
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time holding my tongue when people start praising George Washington.
Delete(Slightly off-topic, but a modern liberty pole is one that used to support a Flock camera before it got cut down. Modern liberty poles are thus much shorter, but more meaningful.)
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