The Founding Fathers Thought America Was Doomed

“The fact that it hasn’t ended in the past 230 years suggests that maybe [it will] last a good deal longer,” says historian Dennis C. Rasmussen, author of "Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America's Founders."

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For those who predict that the American experiment can't last, and who worry the social fabric is disintegrating at a time of rising political division, it's worth remembering that back when the ink had barely dried on the Constitution, the founding fathers' were deeply pessimistic about the future of the country they had created.

Hamilton called the Constitution a "frail and worthless fabric." Washington lamented the growth of political factions. Adams thought a lack of civic virtue doomed the republic. Jefferson watched sectional divisions between North and South with horror, calling the "sacrifice" made "by the generation of '76" "useless," because it would be "thrown away by the unwise and unworthy passions of their sons." "My only consolation," he wrote, "is to be that I live not to weep over it."

"Their pronouncements may seem overly dramatic to the modern ear," says Syracuse University professor Dennis C. Rasmussen. In his latest book, Fears of a Setting Sun, Rassmussen wrestles with the founders near universal pessimism in the future of the country they created.

"I think that's because they thought that so much was at stake. They really thought that the future of Republican government and the future of human liberty was riding on this American experiment. And so the potential failure of that experiment, they thought would be a world historical calamity."

Should Americans see the founders' dissolution as a sign that America is flawed beyond hope? After all, we're still beset by many of the fears the founders identified.

"We hear people pronounce the end of American democracy at every turn," says Rasmussen. "The fact that it hasn't ended in the past 230 years suggests that maybe [it will] last a good deal longer."

"But the fact that these problems have been with us since the very outset, since the founders themselves, suggest that they might be more systemic, more baked in than we sometimes dare to hope."

Produced and edited by Meredith Bragg.

[frenchmarty]

They knew that revolutions like their own are not permanent but a reoccuring fact of life. It wasn't a question of if tyranny would come back, but if future Americans would make the same sacrifices.

[BobWidlefish]

The government of the founders is long dead, they were right about their fears. The fact that a government still operates under the same name is irrelevant.

[Phantom]

The problem with liberty is it requires Now days people are ready and willing to sell out all responsibility for the "perceived notion" of security.

[_P_M_]

People love liberty. They just don't like other people having it.

[jeremyscungio]

When you realize the founding fathers were just as much as a doomer as you are

[jmhamilton]

In a way they were right, the America that they founded did die. If they set eyes on this highly state/over taxed/over militarized nation, they would be right to weep.

America the country has survived, the idea of America is on life support… and has been for over a century.

[societyofrobots]

An optimist would let their guard down and stop fighting. Don't be that guy.

[asldfjkalsdfjasdf]

"the constitution is still with us"
with all the laws that violate it this is debatable

[Novelera]

There’s nothing wrong with the constitution, but I can’t say the same for our politicians. A lot of them want to get rid of the constitution to further their political ambitions, others ignore it, but we have to acknowledge that the experiment has worked for 245 years, people are the ones that have resisted it. Happy Independence Day everyone 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[bsmithhammer]

A good reminder that far too many people live in (or are at the mercy of) the drama of the moment, and would benefit greatly from a better understanding of history, and some context and perspective on current events. It's far easier to convince oneself that you are living in a time of unprecedented challenges when you know nothing of what has come before.

[allenatkins]

I laugh when someone talks as if we still follow the Constitution.

[dddz]

They were right, we had a civil war. Six hundred thousand people died, ReasonTV.

[kariahl]

There's a huge difference between then, and now. That is, the federal government. Then, it was a small, almost powerless entity. Now, it runs every aspect of our lives.

[NotDanValentine]

The US Constitution quickly failed and allowed a tyrannical regime to rise up and expand more and more into the leviathan we face today.
The pessimism of the founders was warranted.

[fearthehoneybadger]

Looks like the founding fathers were right in their pessimism.

[wtb]

I worry about the expanding--and largely meaningless--use of the word "systemic."

[erolegario]

America is a fragile experiment of Western philosophy, religion, and governance. Many comments, in their never ending pessimism and political tribalism forget America is a fragile experiment in self governance, when it's gone, odds are it will never appear again. As a veteran, my first duty is to the survival of this great nation, with all its failings and imperfections. I hope this nation continues to exist, the alternatives are all around us and they're not this Union of free peoples under the law.

[CountArtha]

They weren’t wrong.

The political regime that they created collapsed in 1861. We inhabit its hollowed-out husk.

[hattorihanzo]

Our country is too large to maintain forever. A split will come at some point. Our key hope should be that it occurs peacefully.

[kenthawley]

It had never been done before. Part of the endurance of the vision is that the Founders provided responsible systems for change while maintaining the focus on individual liberties. At this point in our history, we are moving away from the individual as a focus toward a focus on groups. Hopefully, we will see the error of such a change.