Founders understood:
“A people ignorant and free, never was and never will be”
Thomas Jefferson.
(yes, may be a paraphrase of his statement)
A related excerpt …
“Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, judges and governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature.” - Thomas Jefferson (Letter to Edward Carrington January 16, 1787)