Focusing on the Founders
Why are you so fascinated by the founders?
I am interested in why this generation was so creative and talented. They were all first-generation gentlemen. ... They are obsessed by gentility because they are surrounded by savagery, meaning the Indians. They had an acute sense of values of civilization but also the fragility of civilization. This helps to explain Jefferson, who is almost obsessed with acquiring the best that's thought and said in the world.
What about popular support?
It was a much less democratic society then. Relative to the rest of the world, we had the largest electorate in the world, but the founders never ran for election--they stood for election. They would have been appalled at the idea of running for elections the way we do now.
No PACs?
In a sense, in the 18th century you had to first establish yourself socially and morally. You were called to leadership in politics as a consequence of your previous position in the community. So that the tavern keeper or the town drunk couldn't possibly be a candidate for office. But by the early 19th century you began to have people who lacked any experience who ran for office. That anti-intellectual feeling continues in American politics.
But there's something special about them.
Of course, they knew they were superior to other individuals. They were unabashed elitists, and they weren't embarrassed about it.
Would they seek public office today?
None of them would probably want to go through the campaigning. There is a ferocity to campaigns, and you have to want it very badly.
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