It Didn’t Sound Like Franklin

It often happens to me that I read a statement attributed to Franklin and get a vague sense that “it doesn’t sound like Franklin.” In one recent case, it became clear why a particular statement didn’t sound like Franklin, and I’d like to share it. This morning, The Hill published this statement: “A system where …

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National Archives Rotunda Exhibit

I visited the National Archives on December 12, 2018, and made some notes about the Charters of Freedom display in the Rotunda. The Rotunda contains 17 display cases. Aside from the three major documents in cases 8-10, each case contains facsimile documents and supporting information on modern placards. Franklin is featured in the display case …

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Religion of Ignorance Again

In my posting of August 23, 2015, I mentioned this quote: “This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins. ” …

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Constitutional Convention: Elizabeth Powell?

Franklin’s quote about “a republic, if you can keep it” is cited daily somewhere on the Internet, it seems. This posting is the first I’ve noticed that identified the woman who asked Franklin the question: At the close of America’s Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was reportedly asked by George Washington’s friend, Mrs. Elizabeth …

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