Is it Time to Stop Idolizing the Founders?
Streaming on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify on Friday, July 31st.
Topic: U.S Politics
As the United States marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Americans are reconsidering not only what the Founders created, but how they should be remembered. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and their contemporaries articulated revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, representative government, and individual rights. Yet the execution of those ideals initially excluded women and minorities from political power and designed institutions whose compromises continue to shape modern conflicts.
Should they continue to be revered as visionary architects of the American experiment, or has reverence for them prevented a more honest understanding of the country they established? Supporters argue that the Founders created an extraordinary system that allowed the nation to expand freedom over time and should be judged by the standards of their era. Critics contend that idolizing them sanitizes the past and discourages Americans from questioning institutions designed for the 18th century and whether we can have a “better” democracy.
During America’s semiquincentennial, we debate: Is It Time to Stop Idolizing the Founders?
ARGUNG YES:
Osita Nwanevu: Contributing Editor at The New Republic; Columnist at The Guardian
ARGUING NO:
Helena Rosenblatt: Distinguished Professor of History, French, and Political Science, and the MA Program in Liberal Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center
MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:
John Donvan: Emmy Award-winning journalist
 | A guest post by
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I hope, for the future, that Open to Debate will work harder at finding debate titles that are not so front-loaded with conclusions.
In this case, “idolizing” was a quite poor choice of words. An alternative debate title: “Should we regard the Founders More Highly than Today’s Citizens?”
Nevertheless, this was a good and informative discussion.
I think an appropriate question is "can we laud individuals from the past as heroes if they did things that are now viewed as abbhorent in modernity?"
I believe the answer to that question is a resounding "yes." Even many of the founding fathers, including Jefferson and Washington, knew that slavery was wrong and understood that their actions were very likely to result in abolition down the road. History requires context, and the idea that all men are created equal was a massive, radical step towards its literal translation in the West. It's fair to acknowledge their shortcomings while still revering them as foundational, world-changing figures who risked their lives for a radical, imperfect, crucial push for liberty.