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| jefferson is a character |
It’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly one thing that
Thomas Jefferson would freak out over if he were to pop into a time machine and
appear in the modern day. The Jefferson known to history could never have been
born in the context of modernity, so the only figure we get to look at is some
clueless Virginian plantation owner hopelessly displaced in time.
He’d freak out over the expanded Presidency.
You mean to tell me that 58,000 Americans died in some Southeast Asian country
and Congress never even declared war? He’d freak out over the economy. The
President used federal money to bail out failing banks? And God, the farmers.
Year
|
Percent
of Workforce as Farmers
|
1790
|
90%
|
1840
|
69%
|
1850
|
64%
|
1860
|
58%
|
1880
|
49%
|
1890
|
43%
|
1900
|
38%
|
1910
|
31%
|
1920
|
27%
|
1930
|
21%
|
1940
|
18%
|
1950
|
12.2%
|
1960
|
8.3%
|
1970
|
4.6%
|
1980
|
3.4%
|
1990
|
2.6%
|
Oh, the agrarian humanity. Read more about the
decline here.
But all of those things are realities of political
life now. Yeah, Jefferson, the federal government can do that. And the Industrial Revolution happened; the nation of farmers thing
isn’t really a viable option anymore. I think Jefferson would come to accept
the reality of an America two hundred years in the future.
So what would he really, really freak out about?
Well, actually, I think it’s about farming. Not the
decline, because Jefferson would be smart enough to realize that the decline
was just a historical inevitability. But instead, it would be about how we
treat our farmers. Jefferson famously said, “Those who labor in the Earth are the
chosen people of God.” I don’t think Jefferson would be down with the way we
treat illegal immigrant farmers. As Stephen Colbert testified before Congress,
the life of a migrant worker is not a very enviable one, considering that
America restricts the issuance of visas, and makes it difficult for illegal
immigrants and the children of illegal immigrants to naturalize. And beyond the
symbolism of being an American, you definitely have less protection as a
migrant farmer if you're undocumented. Jefferson would support giving those
who work American soil American citizenship.
Now, it’s not like all illegal immigrants are migrant
workers. Would Jefferson share a broader pro-immigrant stance? Maybe, maybe
not. He was...kinda racist, like everyone else. And this wasn’t an issue for America at the time. Who knows if he would
support ongoing efforts to reform immigration legislation? But he definitely,
definitely would support the farmers. He’d be the first one to say—they’re the
ones doing the toughest jobs, at least give them some respect.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Beaton, Kate. "Hark, a Vagrant: 23." Hark, a Vagrant: 23. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
"Historical Timeline — Farmers & the Land." Agriculture in the Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
Meyerson, Harold. "Protecting Undocumented Workers." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
"2010: Mr. Colbert Goes to Capitol Hill." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteReferring back to the point on immigration, I think that Jefferson would be for allowing limited immigration. In his autobiography, Jefferson states "expatriation [is] a natural right, and acted on as such by all nations in all ages," so he would support facilitating getting visas. However, at the same time, Jefferson believed that a huge influx of immigrants would corrupt American principles. He later said that "if they come of themselves, they are entitled to all the rights of citizenship: but I doubt the expediency of inviting them by extraordinary encouragements." ("they" referring to the immigrants).
ReplyDeleteI think that you're right in questioning whether Jefferson would support immigration because some of his views appear to be contradictory.
Great points. I think that if Jefferson traveled through time to modern times, the presidency, the economy, and the extreme decline in the percentage of workforce as farmers (Awesome chart, by the way!) would definitely drive him crazy. I particularly liked your point about the way society currently treats farmers, of which many are illegal farm workers (roughly 53% are actually undocumented, according to this article: http://www.splcenter.org/sexual-violence-against-farmworkers-a-guidebook-for-criminal-justice-professionals/who-are-farmworke) Other points to possibly consider that may also irritate Jefferson are the current foreign policy and an excess spending on the military.
ReplyDeleteOverall, awesome post with insightful information!
I agree with you that Jefferson would be very concerned with the declining position of farmers in American society. I think it's interesting that you brought up illegal immigration. In my opinion, it's really difficult to predict what Jefferson's position on immigration policy would be today. Of course, there's the issue of racism, but in addition to that, I think the circumstances have changed significantly. During Jefferson's time, our country still had a lot of room to expand economically and physically. Now, on the other hand, as America has industrialized and expanded from coast to coast, the position of farmers in society and the issue of immigration faces very different circumstances than it did it Jefferson's time.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I'm thinking that Jefferson would indeed be surprised with how presidential and Federal powers of government have expanded over time. I'm not too sure that Jefferson would be totally against the mistreatment of illegal immigrant farmers though and don't agree with this statement: "Jefferson would support giving those who work American soil American citizenship." The fact that he was a slave owner and believed that slaves were inferior makes me think that he wouldn't care too much about non-white farmers. If they were white? That'd be a different story.
ReplyDelete