Jefferson then proposed seven amendments to the Constitution, which he believed would “secure self-government by the republicanism of our constitution, as well as by the spirit of the people.” “I am not among those who fear the people,” Jefferson wrote, using words that, as in the Declaration, seemed to carry more than a hint of James Wilson’s vision. Jefferson’s first proposed amendment would guarantee “general suffrage”—that is, broad access to voting. His second would require “equal representation in the legislature,” the current lack of which he referred to as “republican heresy.” Both
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December 24, 2020. Page 56.
