Originally Posted by
JsJs24
Horsepwr, you may be correct here, but only in part. Jefferson is my favorite president, and one whom I study immensely. He was a Libertarian in today's definition of the term, but a classical liberal in his own time. He did author the Declaration of Independence but did not author the Constitution. Unfortunately, James Madison was the main author of the Constitution, and Jefferson was away in France while it was being written. Jefferson was a staunch supporter of state's rights, and feared federal tyranny. Jefferson's biggest complaints with the Constitution were the lack of a bill of rights, and the lack of term limits. He believed that without term limits, politicians would stay in office for life, which would be a fatal flaw. However, Jefferson did abide by the Constitution regardless of his strong resentments. He considered amendments to be a just way of fixing some of the imperfections.
I don't believe Jefferson would have permitted the government to prevent someone from building a religious building on their private owned land because the Constitution permits it. Thus, I disagree with you respectfully here. However, we may not have the rapid influx of foreigners who hate our culture and laws had Jefferson had any say in the matter today. Jefferson was concerned with foreigners from old European cities coming to America in masses, bringing with them their distinct understanding of government. This was a difficult problem and one that required attention. Jefferson feared that our liberty could be jeopardized by the rapid influx of foreigners who did not share our beliefs in liberty, and would raise families and instill their beliefs in them. But at any rate, for an American citizen to build a mosque on his own land, Jefferson most likely would have accepted it as perfectly legal by the Constitution. Keep in mind, Jefferson was a classical liberal, an anti-federalist, and not at all a neoconservative like most of the Republicans today. Jefferson was a man of principles, and thus followed the Constitution strictly, but with one exception. When Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase, he had a very difficult time making the decision to do so without the required amendment to permit the federal government to make such a purchase. However, he went ahead with the purchase because he believed it was good for the country, which obviously it was. Yet, he should have done so with an amendment. Jefferson was the greatest president in our country's history in my humble opinion, regardless of the route he chose for the Louisiana Purchase.