I say definitely keep the content of the footnotes, although whether they should be integrated into the text is more a stylistic question. They do tend to support the overall thesis, as I understand it, that we don't know enough about our system of government (democracy, republic, oligarchy?) so the more perspectives we get, the better off we are. However, the curse of TMI (too much information) is ever-paralyzing. George Goverman
Wow, that last paragraph in the last footnote is important information! It would seem to indicate why the founders favored a president, which, if the king was the main problem, they wouldn’t support. I think the footnotes should be in the main text. I agree with the other commenters that there is too much good information to leave these out, and the footnotes are too lengthy to be placed in small print at the bottom of the page. Again, as I mentioned before, you could have an extensive notes section where all this could go, but that would be my second choice.
I'm with George on this one, I think the footnote content is just tangential enough that it's not clear it would improve the article by including it in the main text.
I think you could reach a happy medium by adding a sentence onto the following:
"But most of the framers of the Constitution disapproved of democracy, considering it an inferior form of government that could endanger the “property rights” of the wealthy landowners and slaveholders"(4)
which hints at how the footnote will offer interesting information about alternative reasons for the signing of the Declaration.
I endorse the comments of GG and RdV. I would keep the notes because they make clearer the complexities of definition and policy that the Founders grappled with. On the whole, I favor endnotes for these rather than footnotes.
A Republic or a Democracy
I say definitely keep the content of the footnotes, although whether they should be integrated into the text is more a stylistic question. They do tend to support the overall thesis, as I understand it, that we don't know enough about our system of government (democracy, republic, oligarchy?) so the more perspectives we get, the better off we are. However, the curse of TMI (too much information) is ever-paralyzing. George Goverman
Perhaps its a good idea to publish the notes in special frames between the text on a different background-collor?
Ronald de Vries,
ronvries@kpnmail.nl
Wow, that last paragraph in the last footnote is important information! It would seem to indicate why the founders favored a president, which, if the king was the main problem, they wouldn’t support. I think the footnotes should be in the main text. I agree with the other commenters that there is too much good information to leave these out, and the footnotes are too lengthy to be placed in small print at the bottom of the page. Again, as I mentioned before, you could have an extensive notes section where all this could go, but that would be my second choice.
I'm with George on this one, I think the footnote content is just tangential enough that it's not clear it would improve the article by including it in the main text.
I think you could reach a happy medium by adding a sentence onto the following:
"But most of the framers of the Constitution disapproved of democracy, considering it an inferior form of government that could endanger the “property rights” of the wealthy landowners and slaveholders"(4)
which hints at how the footnote will offer interesting information about alternative reasons for the signing of the Declaration.
I endorse the comments of GG and RdV. I would keep the notes because they make clearer the complexities of definition and policy that the Founders grappled with. On the whole, I favor endnotes for these rather than footnotes.