What Did the Founders Say About Democracy?
The story goes that Benjamin Franklin was approached by a woman as he left the Constitutional Convention [1. Recorded by Constitution signer James McHenry in his diary which was reprinted…
A Republic If You Can Keep It
The story goes that Benjamin Franklin was approached by a woman as he left the Constitutional Convention (1, 2). She asked, “What have you given us?” Franklin is said to have replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” This exchange was common knowledge 50 years or so ago, as commonly taught to schoolchildren as [...]
GiN Series Refuting the Flawed July 4th Article on the Founders
We’ve recently posted a series inspired by a Lincoln Journal Star on July 4 entitled “Whose side are the Founding Fathers on?” Part One: “The Founding? Move Along Folks, Nothing to See There. Onward Progress!” Part one points out that the author of the LJS article attempts to appear [...]
Slave to Revisionism
Editor’s note: This article is the final installment (for now) in a series “inspired” by a July 4 piece in the Lincoln Journal Star (title noted below). Click here for a full list of titles in the series. Whatever the Founders’ reasons, slavery’s omission from the political agenda remains a shameful spot on our nation’s founding, [...]
Whose Side ARE the Founders On? Easy.
By Shelli Dawdy This is the third and final in a series examining an article in the Lincoln Journal Star on July 4 entitled “Whose side are the Founding Fathers on?” Just click one of the titles to read the first part: “The Founding? Move Along Folks, Nothing to See There. Onward Progress!” or second part: [...]
Efforts to Muddle History of the Founding Don’t Change Its Facts
By Shelli Dawdy This is the second of a three part piece examining an article in the Lincoln Journal Star on July 4 entitled “Whose side are the Founding Fathers on?” Just click the title to read the first part: “The Founding? Move Along Folks, Nothing to See There. Onward Progress!“ There is a related piece in [...]
The Founding? Move Along Folks NOTHING To See There. Onward Progress!
By Shelli Dawdy This is part one of a two part piece. The Lincoln Journal Star featured a piece in their Independence Day edition entitled “Whose Side Are the Founding Fathers On?” The piece was written with a bottom-line message: there’s no clear answer. It’ll be a topic of perpetual debate. According to the article, the Founders [...]