Tag Archive for ‘Independence’
Defending “terrorists”: What would the Founders do?
In the midst of all the “Tea Party” chatter these days, it is a tad surprising that the anniversary of another significant Boston event went largely unnoticed last week. It was, after all, 240 years ago on March 5, 1770, that the Boston Massacre took place.
And what was the “Boston Massacre,” class?
A mob [...]
“Tea Bagging” through History
A news report that a “Tea Party” convention planned for February shows signs of unraveling reminds me of another group of “tea baggers” from American History. They had also unraveled in late January. But the year was 1778. It began as a populist uprising against –surprise, surprise—the bankers and lawyers who were making the rules back then.
Don’t Know Much About Ben Franklin
Today is the birthday of America’s first international celebrity and most consistently interesting Founding Father. Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706.
With little formal education, he became a writer, printer, philanthropist, philosopher, political leader and scientist. Franklin, alongside Thomas Jefferson, was probably the best example of the American Enlightenment Man. And, like [...]
Don’t Know Much About Benedict Arnold
Why is there a statue of Benedict Arnold’s boot?
Years ago, I was asked that question on a radio call-in show and honestly did not know the answer. Nor was I even aware at the time there was such a statue. But there it is — part of the Saratoga National Park in Saratoga, New York. [...]
Jefferson, Slavery and Nazis in Paris
Last evening, I had a thrilling experience. In a small, darkened room with the feel of a chapel inside the magnificent New York Public Library, I saw Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of his original draft of the Declaration of Independence. For me this was a “Grail Moment.” Setting aside all of Jefferson’s contradictions and human [...]
Independence Week: The Most Important Signer You Never Heard of
In the third installment of my Independence Week Refresher Course, I focus on a man who most of us never heard of. But the United States of America exists, in part, because of his efforts.
Of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, a few names are familiar. Most Americans, if pressed, can probably [...]
A Revolting Reading List
Revere and his horse. Jefferson and his quill, Franklin and his kite. Washington and those false teeth. Okay. Most of us now know there was more to the American Revolution than these stock images. And the bestseller lists have been well-stocked over the past few years with books that plumb the “great men” of the [...]
