SMBC Theater - Thomas Jefferson

[Hermanhusband]

One of the funniest, yet. Pacing is superb. Love the way the tide slowly turns on "George Washington"!

[YawehG]

Tax-exempt religious institutions are an EXAMPLE of the separation of church and state.

[AdAyToReMeMbErReR]

@YawehG wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­ooooow lol

[knissel]

trash video

[thatdecade]

JP is taking a break from smbc, he's a writer for warehouse 13 now!

[CaucasianAsianX]

is JP gone from smbc?

[BoringManagerFree]

Probably the funniest ending line in SMBC

[KudoKaitou]

I bet that how Thmas will react if he really did travel into the future.

[mysterioso2006]

"What the fuck?"

Aww man, great ending. I did NOT see it coming.

[Erlir]

Shortly before I died...? 

[migkillertwo]

Jefferson did not like War? What about the Barbary wars?

[Maphisto86]

@migkillertwo

Oh well conflict with marauding, filthy black Syrians doesn't count. ; )

[tehmonkey100]

Gaaaaah, Zach repeating 'we've become an empire' is irking the crap out of me

[gatsby2367]

the ending was fucking hilarious.

[pSychOAtDawn]

I think Jefferson was the one who said that slavery would end in bloodshed because at America's conception, the non-slave states had to compromise with the slave states. 3/5th's anyone?

[joetheplumber22]

i like to think that he started off pretending to know nothing just to piss off Jefferson

[Crusader1089]

This is actually really well written and funny compared to everything else ever written by SMBC theatre.

[GarmaZabi]

@Crusader1089 lol you know how to give the most back-handed compliments =P

[noboxxydolatry]

To be fair, if Thomas Jefferson hadn't owned slaves, he wouldn't have had the wealth and leisure time necessary to build a time machine in the first place.

[EpicFishFingers]

@noboxxydolatry maybe the slaves built it?

[TheTorturedxX]

THUMB UP IF YOU AGRRE WITH THE LADT LINE

[Thetepkai]

@TheTorturedxX I thumbed this down thumbs up if you id aswel :D:D! derp

[OkkioXavier]

Last line is the best!

[jjawesome82799]

peep

[jjawesome82799]

Jamilton forever! I am such a history

[spaceacestarchild13]

I like how he goes from not knowing shit, to knowing all of American History

[Javer80]

@spaceacestarchild13 Perhaps he was checking Wikipedia offscreen.

[spaceacestarchild13]

@Javer80 Touche

[TubeofDestiny]

@spaceacestarchild13 James only activates his intelligence when it's for blowing people's mind and pissing them off, rest of the day he's just a couch potatoe playing guitar hero (almost) naked while making his wee talk to the audience :P

[wolflinkmidnaperson]

What does "E Pluribus Unum" mean, anyway?

[floydtron]

@wolflinkmidnaperson "Out of many, one" ...and this is from a Canadian :/

[starwarsnerd94]

@wolflinkmidnaperson Continuing on what Floydtron said, if you're interested. It refers to the idea of many different states coming together, and forming a single nation and government.

[Imperiused]

@wolflinkmidnaperson Its Latin for "Out of many, one."

[zawmbees]

I love how he didn't know who Jefferson was, but he knew all his indecencies because of the Internet.

[therandomperson00]

my name is Thomas Jefferson

Geeeoooorge Washington?

[bloodhawkone]

I'm sad that I'm actually going to let my "obscure video game nerd" flag fly, but that time machine looks suspiciously like a manalith from "Sacrifice".

Other than that, another example of comedy gold!

[Terrakinetic]

1:26 How did he suddenly get so smart and politically aware?

[thegreatcheesedemon]

Derrick Comedy's Thomas Jefferson was the reason I clicked this. Different, but still funny.

[celestialsalamander]

how come at first he does not have aclue who he is and then sudenly he not only knows who he is but also knows the name of the slave he slept with.

[keltzar1]

@celestialsalamander Clearly he looked up some stuff on wikipedia when the camera was on Jefferson.

[alexw1522]

someone has to take that What the fuck? at 2:34 and make it a meme

[basser]

James sure knows a lot about history for not knowing who Thomas Jefferson is. Also loving how he somehow knows the name of Jefferson's adulterous slave and that he's one of the figures on Mt Rushmore... without knowing his name. It's like idiot history savant.

[TehCthulhu]

WHERE CAN I GET THAT FUCKING COAT?

[Gloraxi]

FFS yeah both top comments about the "What the fuck" actually made me laugh. Usually SMBC is always funny but I can no LOL all the time so mostly I smile and chuckle, but that punchline was soo perfect I just started laughing and currently rewatching it agian.

[moontanned1]

Thomas Jefferson had red hair. >.<

[Syupweque2]

@moontanned1 Yea, that's why he's wearing a red wig, despite being naturally red-haired.

[pinnpro]

but Thomas Jefferson was a redhead!

[goingalt]

It's like a Michael Bay film.

[ehayes3791]

@goingalt not enough explosions.

[jmarrvin]

12 people are ham.

[Polystyrene11]

Hamilton was dead long before Jefferson. Second....The constitution was designed to enforce slavery and simply was passing the buck along dealing with the reality of slavery as an issue on to the next generation. That being said, your Jefferson is still humorous...but yeah...You need to work on your historical perceptions.

[Faboba]

@Polystyrene11 1. Nothing in the sketch suggests Hamilton didn't predecease Jefferson. The real Jefferson was concerned that Hamilton's ideas and certain of the institutions he encouraged Washington and Adams to establish would move America in a non-Jeffersonian direction. 2 Your use of 'enforce' is incomprehensible. 3 Jefferson did believe (or hope) that slavery would fade out over time, the Constitution's position being a compromised forced upon him. 4 It's comedy, get a grip.

[Acristofff]

The what the fuck is referring to the end where it says the george lucas sketch was a week before.

[scoutsadie]

On behalf of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, I thank you. :)

~Rebecca Davis-Nord

AU Asst. Director of Development

au.org

[michalchik]

Ok, very funny. I enjoyed it, just for the record some mistakes.

[Osamabindansker]

>WTF

Best bit.

[marshalt]

Funny, because I was listening to the Thomas Jefferson hour today, and they were basically saying the same thing!

[Truthiness231]

*wipes tears of laughter from eyes*

[MyName42]

I'd like this video more if it didn't actually perpetuate several misconceptions about history: Jefferson only mentioned "separation of church and state" in a letter and totally went along with chaplains for Congress and tax exempt churches, the Hemingses were definitely descended from "a" Jefferson but many historians/genealogists think it was his brother Randolph, Jefferson coined the term "Empire of Liberty," and E Pluribus Unum was never legally the national motto.

[Exarian]

@MyName42 the name "separation of church and state" does not need to appear verbatim in the constitution for it to be a valid policy. much like the word "rapture" never appears in the bible yet many christians believe in it.

just saying.

[jumpmonkey03]

@Exarian "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."

Oddly enough, it is right there. Congress can't force you to worship or not worship, Congress can't force or enforce how, when, or where people have their religions, so long as it doesn't interfere with nonparticipants. The pesky bylaws define this even further.

[Exarian]

@jumpmonkey03 I'm just saying a lot of people make the argument against that because the commonly used term "separation of church and state" is not used verbatim.

at the same time, it's also been ruled with decent precedent that unless a given display is part of a larger piece or for historical context, (say, the ten commandments appearing in a mural depicting the history and development of western law.) it is best left off public property, though private property is fine.

[flamingspinach]

How did Jefferson know that it was "shortly before he died"?

[asdfrozen]

@flamingspinach He used his time machine to find out, duh.

[Ponerology]

I've heard Jefferson wanted us to be an empire anyway, and to extend our control to Cuba. That didn't quite work out but we did make all the way to the Pacific.

[finka123456]

@Ponerology jefferson was an anti empire anti fed reserve anti tax deist...so i doubt it

[trubratt]

so he starts out having no clue who thomas jefferson is, but then he goes off on sally hemmings and the rest of jefferson's history...

[windsorgirl1]

@trubratt I think it was supposed to show that he didn't know what good, constructive stuff Jefferson did, but he definitely knew about the dirty scandal gossip trash about him.

[patboy19]

Also they don't teach intelligent design in schools... Besides that though I love SMBC and I love this video!

[LJC874]

@patboy19 It's a complicated situation, but they do teach Intelligent Design in some schools. Under the TEA Act in Texas, teachers are actually prohibited by stating that Intelligent Design is a religious philosophy rather than a scientific theory (see 2007 resignation of Christine Comer). Under the Louisiana Science Education Act, teachers may teach Intelligent Design as if it were a scientific theory.

I'm not trying to troll or flame you here, but it's important to have the facts right.

[patboy19]

@LJC874 Not at all! I did not know this and I'm glad you bring it up. But is it wrong that kids get both sides of the argument? I am religious and I have no problem of teaching of evolution as long as it is not stated as fact when so much is theoretical. If they are teaching both I have no problem. I would also disagree if they were teaching only creationism. They should teach both as theories because neither are proven.

[LJC874]

@patboy19 I do think it's important to note that evolution is a theory, but also important to note that is the only existing theory to have met all criteria for a viable scientific theory. ID, while it is a valid religious viewpoint, does not meet the criteria: it is not parsemonious, as it proposes elements not neccessary to explain observations, it is neither testable nor falsifiable, it cannot consistently predict future observations in a controlled environment, and it is not dynamic as

[LJC874]

Continued... it presupposes a conclusion that cannot be changed.

Again, this doesn't mean that it isn't a valid philosophy. Unlike the video, I support tax breaks for churches and the availability of optional religious schooling, where these and other philosophies can be explored. However, when it is taught as if it meets those criteria, when it does not, it becomes dishonest. It is like teaching about earthquakes and then saying, "All this is the will of God." It's not appropriate.

[patboy19]

@LJC874 I can see where you're going. And I realize if we teach the 7 day creation we'd have to include all religions... So why not create a high school class called origin of humanity that would delve deeper into the subject? And I'm not arguing with you that this should happen because I know you have no power over this lol. Idk there really is no easy clean solution to this and discussion is futile I guess. But I do want to thank you for clearing certain things up for me.

[LJC874]

@patboy19 Yeah, I'm glad I don't have to make these decisions! Anyways, nice talking to you.

[patboy19]

I don't think Thomas Jefferson would care that In God We Trust is in the constitution... When they said separation of church and state they didn't to take out all references of God... They just didn't want a national religion that oppress peoples of other religions. Pretty much any religion there is has a God and to get upset about that is the same about me getting upset about you guys oppressing people of religion by teaching evolution in schools.

[LJC874]

@patboy19 In God We Trust isn't in the Constitution, nor is the word God, Creator, or any variant. Never has been.

In God We Trust is the national motto, changed from E Pluribus Unum ("From Many, One") in 1956. The joke is that Jefferson was one of the organizers for the committee that decided it would be E Pluribus Unum, so if he wanted it to be In God We Trust, he would have made it In God We Trust. He didn't. It's not a dig at religion, it's just a straightforward fact.

[Boredman567]

The funny thing is that Zach didn't need the wig to imitate Jefferson's red hair.

[donwantstobesedated]

@Boredman567 I know right?

[NoisePollutionX]

My favourite SMBC sketch so far!

[sazk4000]

Love it

[Xbalanque84]

Wait, he doesn't know who Jefferson is, but he knows Jefferson had an illegitimate child with one of his slaves... Was that plot hole deliberate? And if so, why didn't Jeffy Boy catch on to it?

[TubeofDestiny]

@Xbalanque84 I guess he's living his life with his intelligence and memory in "idle-mode", so he only needs to make a minimal amount of mental effort.. but when he has the occassion to blow someone's mind and destroy their hope, wishes and believes with just a few lines, he jumps on it !

maximum lazyness is not maximum dumbness

[10mintwo]

James Ashby has the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen.

[tuberez]

MAN IM SICK OF YOUTUBE ADSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[xenos60]

@tuberez Get adblock plus, block google ads, problem solved.

[GaEv4]

If I were in that room I would be struggling to hold back the urge to hold him down and come that one loose piece of his hair back, it bothers me for some reason.

[HeReNiTy1986]

James: "We have a black president" Zack: "WHAT THE FUCK?" love it even though I am not american lol.

[Elephantintheroom01]

I do wonder... if without religion, we would have won the cold war... think about it...

[francogualtieri1974]

- "That's righ. me."

- "Christopher Walken! Loved you in Sleepy Hollow!" [cut his head off and touch him on the penis]

[LTl3tt3rs]

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure." - Thomas Jefferson

[nathantankus]

@LTl3tt3rs he said that in response to a rebellion by radical egalitarians who believed crazy things like banker-controlled plutocracies are wrong and society should be under direct democratic control of the people.

[Mccampbellthomas]

So yea, my Appalachian Studies teacher, who often goes on about how many Appalachian communities, especially Cades Cove, where the perfect representation for Jefferson's ideal, and how it could have easily been applied to the United States. So I sent him this video once I saw it, today I got an A on my essay, connection? Thank you James and Zach for helping me get a good grade!

[GaEv4]

Question, how does he know that the time machine was constructed shortly before his death?

[Comradealex7311]

@GaEv4 He might construct the time machine and see his death during one of his time travels, or find out about it in the future by any other way.

[seiya1337]

I nominate this for most effective comedic use of "What the fuck?" ever.

[TubeofDestiny]

this is my favorite "What the fuck?" of ALL time ! :D

[apocalypse105]

we have a black president lol

[LivInAwe]

Who's George Washington?

[AirBorneStudios300]

I blame hamilton for all of my issues.

[Chazbc]

He says "we've become an empire" twice.

[thedeadcatinthebox]

I think it's funny that a dude with naturally long red hair put on a wig to play adude with naturally long red hair...

[mshades]

If any of the founders could build a time machine, it would be Jefferson.

[xs1wp2dpr]

Dude, that was awesome!  Nicely done. :)

[7373walker]

Looks like James put as much effort into his costume as Zach.

[icarus313]

The ending fucking rules.

[Dasclsad]

2:29-2:34 epic emotional scene xD

[Hedgehogs4Me]

Biggest paradox is best paradox!

[johncar11]

James Ashby in this skit is what we call a TROLL ladies and gentlemen.

[FreekyMage]

first he doesn't know the man, then from 1:50 on he knows everything about him :s

[ebrooklynw]

Aside from Thomas Jefferson not being Ginger, this is pretty much the best thing ever.

[InfiniteAnvil]

I literally laughed out loud at the last line. Then I re-watched it and even though I knew it was coming I laughed out loud again.

Well-played.

[DraykonVokelda]

@InfiniteAnvil I find that to be exactly how most of my SMBC Theater experience is. Somehow they always manage to pull off a freaking hilarious last line.

[viridismonasteriense]

It was on sale! hahahaaha

[rwwanon]

This was actually quite good.

[avielMenter]

I was scared that this would be another "The country isn't what the founding fathers envisioned!" message but it was actually a nice satire on that. Yay smbc!

[xis10ce]

i don't understand how at first he didn't know who jefferson was, then he knew everything about him

[Brainstrain]

@xis10ce Erotic, buttercup infused haze

[CapnDinner]

Best delivery of "What the fuck?" I've heard in a long time.

[feligirl01]

@CapnDinner Yeah I replayed that like 50 times XD

[unicornpearlz]

OMG. That was AWESOME. Especially the 'I Blame Hamilton' statement. Such a Jefferson thing.

[Emiteal]

BEST ONE YET. Guys, this was AMAZING. Doesn't hurt that I'm a massive TJ fangirl. Well done!

[JhericFury]

Awesome, also is it bad that i know more about the founding of America than about the founding of the UK? (I'm british btw)

[tinyartist18]

My mom's biggest complaint was that TJ wasn't a redhead.

[JTIngram]

@tinyartist18 Which is odd, because Zach is a redhead. So I suppose technically yes, TJ was a redhead in this sketch...he was just wearing a wig of a different color.

[tinyartist18]

@JTIngram Irony is a fun, fun thing.

[LaLuneEstJolie]

@tinyartist18 Funny, because Zach is actually a redhead, lol

[21Walls]

- Oh, and we have a black president

- Touch him on the penis yet?

[ManuABG]

- Oh, we have a black president.

- WHAT THE FUCK ?

xD

[b0lkan]

Awesome!

[nlp3000]

What the fuck?!

[Satish13]

Well Shit...

[leeleec27]

people need to relax. this was hilarious. hero-worship of the founding fathers is endemic. as for sally hemings, it is beyond plausible and totally inoffensive to me. thomas jefferson bought everything on sale, except his stellar reputation, which he paid well for. lol. the 'real' jefferson is not found in his writings, that's the surface. his theories were fine, but he never lived up to them. 

[aliengibson1]

The creators of this video need to do little more reading of their history. Start with the constitution, deceleration of independence, the federalist papers the ant federalist papers followed by the congressional recorded. You can find this on the library of congress web site or go there yore self than also read the real Thomas Jefferson by the national center for constitutional studies, for starters.

[DJolland]

@aliengibson1 Whoah - the "deceleration of independence"?  To think all this time I thought it was accelerating! As for the "ant federalist papers" I really don't see what bearing the politics of insects has on this matter.

[Cerberus889]

It was going to be a regular sketch for me but the last line made it epic. Whoever suggested it, (s)he's not being paid enough. 

[Hikash]

 Hahaha, Awesome.

[vectoor91]

The ending did it! :D

[Zach5217]

I love smbc and had a good laugh, but did anyone else get distracted by James magically switching from a moron to history buff at around 107?

[ElMassi666]

@Zach5217 Naw that made it magical

[DJolland]

@Zach5217 that only made it funnier.

[HerrBismarck]

@Zach5217 Yeah, I didn't get that. He was a complete moron and all of a sudden, BOOM! I KNOW SHIT!

[HandNF]

@Zach5217 I noticed that too. He probably just looked at Wikipedia.

[Kerrandrius]

@Zach5217 He was trolling Jefferson up to that point.

[Hedgehogs4Me]

@Zach5217 Google brain implants, obviously.

[SPAZ111]

@Zach5217 don't forget his brief trip back to full retard at 1:16

[TomatoBreadOrgasm]

@Zach5217

Thought the same thing. What, was he just fucking with him at first?

Okay if Jefferson came to visit me I'd mess with his head, too.

[gizmofly870]

@Zach5217 OH NO! AN INCONSTANCY! CAN'T HAVE THAT IN MY HUMOR!

[caseygrimm]

@Zach5217 Maybe he's a time machine connoisseur, rather than a history buff.

[hughtub]

*A* Jefferson male was the father. It isn't proven by any means that Thomas was the particular Jefferson. There were 20 other male Jeffersons, some of whom used to party with the slaves when Thomas was home. Sally Hemmings was also only 1/4 black (3/4 white).

[ElMassi666]

@hughtub Aight so that makes it okay then huh?

[coolnessonaplate]

I wasn't gonna like this, but then I heard the last line and almost died.

[Kiensai]

IT WAS ON SALE! lolz

[thegirlnextdork]

Perfect.

[obidya7]

you made me spit coffee on my keyboard... you owe me a new keyboard...

[CatchyCC]

Just goes to show that nothing works out as planned. :/ I loved the last bit about Obama though, that was great.

[calypto1]

Keep the manual updates, Youtube's notification system is unreliable.

[Lolcatsdeamon13]

HAHAHAHA YES.

I just posted this in my AP Gov facebook group XD thought you should know.

[Lolcatsdeamon13]

HAHAHAHA YES!

[TheMinuteVlog]

Yeah, this has been up for a while.

[kiopta]

Thomas Jefferson had red hair. You didn't need to buy a wig. ;-P

[Yirktos]

how does he not know who thomas jefforson is, but then go on to know so many things about him?

[Valgaav19]

@Yirktos

For the lulz? :-D

[kofimazu]

1:30 - 1:40 also describes my country

[reluctable]

Haha, that's probably the best SMBC Theater so far imo.

[stilldistrakted]

Bravo sirs, bravo.