Historian Savagely Schools GOP Rep Who Wonders 'What the Founders Would Say' About Stay at Home Orders

60 million Americans are subject to a stay at home order or curfew.

11 million are right here in Ohio.

What would the Founders say?
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) December 29, 2020

There was a massive smallpox epidemic during the American Revolution.

George Washington quarantined the infected, refused to let people from hot spots travel to his army, and even sent a thousand soldiers to Boston to prevent the spread there. https://t.co/WueBNEnnj6
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) December 29, 2020

This idea that the founders would have laughed at our Covid quarantining measures has been circulating in right wing circles since March.

They need to read up on the Philadelphia 1793 yellow fever outbreak.
— Len (@LenPldaniel) December 29, 2020

I often wonder how many of these people would have survived WWII era restrictions...

"What do you mean I have to ration gasoline? I am an American and I can drive anywhere I want."
— Greg Woods (@diygreg) December 29, 2020

1/ What would the Founders say about millions of people under curfew?

First & most important:

There was no single block of "Founders." There were different people w/different opinions, so they would say a range of things.

There's no simple answer to that question

That said... pic.twitter.com/VPdV3RWuCA
— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@jbf1755) December 29, 2020

2/ Second:

"The Founders" WOULD agree on the existence of something called the "common good."

This, too, had no simple meaning.
The "common good" of who?

Even so, they recognized that--one way or another--gov't should protect it in some way

In a way, government is a big "we"
— Dr. Joanne Freeman (@jbf1755) December 29, 2020

And to think I was mildly patronizing about the measures taken by Parliament and the privy council against the plague in Tudor and Stuart England. At least they mastered "quarantines, burning infected bedding, and isolating victims in pesthouses." https://t.co/JXyXSgo6PI
— Claire Berlinski. (@ClaireBerlinski) December 29, 2020

In July of 1776 the entire of city of Boston was closed so they could safely inoculate for smallpox. It lasted months and no one could leave once it began. They did it again in 1778. The Founders would be proud that the government was protecting its citizens from disease. https://t.co/xfiKiWhoga
— Andrew Wehrman (@ProfWehrman) December 29, 2020

The Founders enforced quarantine orders with armed militias to preclude intercity travel during an epidemic, and John Adams used a ten-minute-long State of the Union address to call for expanding federal authority to coordinate epidemic response. https://t.co/DP3CfXLqGd
— tedfrank 😷 (@tedfrank) December 29, 2020

History Twitter coming though again. https://t.co/8NwvnSsAq5
— Salix Sericea (@Ripple13216) December 29, 2020

Gotta' love a good historian!! https://t.co/CcqBF59tmZ
— I'll breathe deeply 1/20/21 (@Danigirl65) December 29, 2020

I love when the historians show up to teach twunts like Gym. https://t.co/0AK7wYlsgj
— Adi (pronounced 80) (@PrincessAdi12) December 29, 2020

You enthusiastically support a President who regularly abuses the powers of his office, believes he's above the law, lies every time he opens his mouth, and is a dangerous authoritarian who is trying to overthrow the will of the people.

What would the Founders say? https://t.co/7H4zlIWQUK
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 29, 2020

Our founding fathers would say “I can't believe Ohio elected a complete idiot to Congress." https://t.co/Mo4AxFRYF9
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) December 29, 2020

What would the founders say?

“You're embarrassing us, son." https://t.co/vON0MICVor
— Connie Schultz (@ConnieSchultz) December 29, 2020