Over the years, I’ve elected to ignore the many errors Norris Rose makes in his various letters to the Herald; however, his Feb. 2 letter has so many errors, I have decided to point to one that is egregious by any standard. He begins by writing:

“In the beginning, our country was founded by people who had escaped dictatorial control by the king of England. Our founders sought to create a country where no government leader could have dictatorial powers. They founded a nation based on laws as opposed to a one-person rule. Thus they created three legs of government with separation of powers whereby each leg could check the powers of the other two.”

And what does John D. Wicks, an American history scholar, say about Rose’s assertion?

“Contrary to a common concept, not many of the colonists came to the New World with unique political ideas and a burning desire to set up new forms of government. They came, for the most part ... familiar with the British type of government; and in their various attempts to solve the problems that soon confronted them they sought merely to adapt to New World conditions the institutions which they already knew.”

Norris should also consider that from the founding of Jamestown to the writing of the U.S. Constitution covers a period of about 170 years. If Rose is right, it took the founding fathers an inordinate amount of time to actualize their intentions. Also, most came for economic opportunities, (mercantilism) not political reform.

Frank D. Tikalsky

Bayfield