Challenge me.

Hey yarnedia, Thanks for the topic. This should be very interesting. I will begin by outlining the Framework for this debate as I see it. -"Thomas Jefferson is the most significant of the founding fathers." 1. It will be my duty as Pro in this debate to prove that Thomas Jefferson is the most significant of the founding fathers. First, let's define founding fathers: "Founding Fathers are persons instrumental in the establishment of an institution, usually a political institution, especially those connected to the origination of its ideals. In a national context, it is the establishment of a state." (http://en.wikipedia.org...)Yes, I am aware this is Wikipedia. If my opponent has any discrepancies with the definition, it is up for a counter-interpretation. I also think that it was my opponent's intention to make this debate open to only the founding fathers of the United States. If not, I would appreciate the opponent's cooperation in describing his intentions. For the United States, "The signatories of the Declaration of Independence are often called 'Founders'..." (http://en.wikipedia.org...) Therefore, the Con's ground is limited to arguments for only signatories of the Declaration of Independence. Next, let's define "significant": "having or likely to have influence or effect" (http://www.merriam-webster.com...) 2. It will be the Con's duty to prove that Thomas Jefferson is NOT the most significant of the founding fathers. He may do this in any way he pleases without hurting the education or merit of the debate. 3. May the best debater win. Now to begin my case. A. This debate is limited to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson WROTE the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was appointed by the Continental Congress to a five-man committee to draft the Declaration where he served as the Chairman. His influence on the Declaration was unlike any of other founding fathers. In fact, Jefferson's leadership had already been proven with his help given to Virginia's delegates for the Continental Congress. (INSTRUCTIONS FROM JEFFERSON: http://www.loc.gov...) The Declaration of Independence was the birth of the United States of America. The significance of this document is incredible. The words used by Jefferson still live today. B. However, these were not just words. Jefferson put his words into action shortly after the submission of the Declaration by taking part in the formation of the Constitution of Virginia where he established RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. A case can be made for many of the Founding Fathers that they all believed in religious freedom. However, Jefferson put his ideals into law. This is what makes him significant. Thomas Jefferson was all about putting his philosophy into action. "Throughout his life, Jefferson's abiding philosophy was that religious and civic duties should be separated - for the good of both. In fact, the letter to the Danbury Baptists was an answer to why he refused to follow the lead of the first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, and call for national days of "fasts and thanksgivings." According to Issac Kramnick, professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on the founding fathers, Jefferson declined to do so because that would mean a civic officer was deciding matters of religious faith. "He saw it as blurring the line between church and state. Fast days were too clearly religious in overtone," said Kramnick." (St. Petersburg Times (Florida), September 20, 1998, Sunday, PERSPECTIVE; Pg. 6D, 902 words, ROBYN BLUMNER) C. My third and final point for now is that Thomas Jefferson's ideals are still significant today. It is obvious that many of his ideals have found their way into U.S. law. However, Thomas Jefferson's ideals are still the basis for the same thing they were used for 200 years ago. Take the fight for Scottish independence. "Alex Salmond yesterday invoked the words of Thomas Jefferson when he told a US audience that Scotland had the right to self-governance. In a Scotland Week speech at the University of Virginia, the First Minister used the founding father's work to promote a referendum on independence for Scotland. In his second keynote speech of the week he said: 'Scotland, sooner rather than later, is entitled to have the right to choose our constitutional future.'" "He added: "When the people of Scotland consider their place in the world and debate our constitutional future, the proper means to exercise this sovereignty is through a referendum. "Thomas Jefferson wrote that 'every nation has a right to govern itself internally under what forms it pleases, and to change these forms at its own will'." A delegation of Scottish ministers are in the US to mark Tartan Day and Scotland Week, which was known as Tartan Week prior to a rebranding exercise aimed at making the event more meaningful to Americans." (The Scotsman, April 2, 2008, Wednesday, Pg. 16, 504 words, Lindsay McIntosh) "'And it is the words of Thomas Jefferson that will inspire us - "We are a people capable of self-government and worthy of it" - not just clarion calls for liberty and independence but the recognition of the sovereignty of the people first suggested in European history in the Arbroath Declaration and taken to its logical conclusion by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.' " "Washington had established the United States as a political entity but it is because of Thomas Jefferson that they have survived, not just as a republic but as an ideal." (Daily Mail (London), April 3, 2008 Thursday, SC1; Pg. 17, 1142 words, John MacLeod) -The excerpts from the articles the I have just provided are proof that Thomas Jefferson is the most significant founding father. They show how his words live today as a means of inspiration for those who find themselves in the same position as America did over 200 years ago. The evidence also makes the argument that unlike other founding fathers, "it is because of Thomas Jefferson that they have survived, not just as a republic but as an ideal." These arguments are the basis of my case for Thomas Jefferson as the most significant Founding Father. Now, I will yield to the CON.