The World Economic Forum is calling for more direct action to end the pending food crisis. Amazing how that is timed with Oregon and Idaho water restrictions and Michigan Avian Flu crisis. Want fries with the grasshopper burger?
A Month of Capricorns and January History
Opening up with the King. Elvis was born January 8th 1935.
Benjamin Franklin, born January 17 1706
Benjamin Franklin’s most successful business endeavor was his Poor Richard’s Almanac. The first edition appear in 1733, published under the name Ricard Saunders.
http://www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/poor-richards-almanac/
The almanac was a best seller in the American colonies printing up to 10,000 copies a year. Its success brought wealth to Benjamin Franklin. Poor Richard’s Almanack was so popular that Napoleon ordered it translated into Italian and later it was also translated into French.
Franklin, while inventive, drew inspiration from the past. Richard Saunders was a British doctor and astrologer who wrote under the anagram of “Cardanus Rider”. Saunders, too, published an almanac called “Rider’s British Merlin”, a publication that circulated from 1626 to 1830s.
Significant Deaths
This is not to be morbid, but to show that many times lives were brief and death was widespread. Many times the Founding Fathers were orphaned at a very young age, and became truly self made men such as Nathaniel Green, who was self educated. Washington lost his father at age 11, Jefferson lost his father at age 14.
These events certainly affected Franklin:
Francis Folger Franklin (Son): Date of Death: November 21, 1736
Impact: Francis, often called “Franky,” died at the age of four from smallpox. His death devastated Franklin and his wife, Deborah. This tragedy deeply influenced Franklin’s views on smallpox inoculation, leading him to become a strong advocate for vaccination.
Deborah Read Franklin (Wife): Date of Death: December 19, 1774
Impact: Deborah’s death was a profound loss for Franklin, who was abroad during her final years. Their long marriage was marked by mutual support and affection, and her absence left him emotionally vulnerable.
Franklin Abroad – England
Franklin, because of his inventions as well as his publishing, was an international celebrity.
- Royal Society Membership:
- Franklin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on April 29, 1756, recognizing his contributions to science, particularly in electricity. He was formally admitted on November 24, 1757, and became an active participant in the Society’s affairs, attending meetings regularly and recommending candidates for fellowship.
- Political Representation:
- In 1757, Franklin arrived in London as the agent for the Pennsylvania Assembly, aiming to negotiate with the Penn family regarding colonial governance and taxation. His role expanded as he became involved in broader discussions about colonial rights and British policies affecting the American colonies.
- Influence on British Politics:
- Franklin developed relationships with key political figures, including Prime Ministers William Pitt the Elder and the Marquess of Rockingham. He advocated for colonial interests and sought to maintain a cooperative relationship between Britain and its American colonies until tensions escalated.
- Reluctant Revolutionary:
- By the late 1760s, Franklin’s views shifted as he became increasingly frustrated with British treatment of the colonies. His experiences culminated in his departure from Britain in 1775 to avoid arrest due to his revolutionary activities.
Franklin Abroad – France
- Diplomatic Mission:
- In 1776, Franklin was sent to France as a commissioner to secure French support for the American Revolution. His charm and reputation as a scientist and statesman helped him gain favor among French intellectuals and officials,
- Alliance with France:
- Franklin’s diplomatic efforts were instrumental in establishing a formal alliance between the United States and France, culminating in the Treaty of Alliance signed on February 6, 1778. This alliance provided crucial military support to the American cause during the Revolutionary War,
- Cultural Ambassador:
- In addition to political negotiations, Franklin served as a cultural ambassador, promoting American values and fostering goodwill between the two nations. His presence in Paris helped solidify support for American independence among French leaders and intellectuals,
- Negotiation of Peace:
- After the war, Franklin was one of the chief negotiators of the Treaty of Paris (1783), which formally ended hostilities between Britain and the United States and recognized American independence,
Franklin Sponsored Thomas Paine To Come to Philadelphia
Franklin played a crucial role in Paine’s move to America, effectively acting as a mentor. Franklin helped Paine get started in Philadelphia and considered him an “adopted political son”. He also provided Paine with a letter of introduction to his son-in-law in Philadelphia and seems to have convinced Paine he could have a better life in America.
https://fee.org/articles/thomas-paine-passionate-pamphleteer-for-liberty/
Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737, in Thetford, England. His mother Francis Cocke came from a local Anglican family of some distinction. His father Joseph Paine was a Quaker farmer and shoemaker. Although Thomas Paine wasn’t a practicing Quaker, he endured some of the intolerance directed against Quakers.
Except for a couple of brief interludes, Paine was a loner. Believing that marriage should be based on love, not social status or fortune, he wed Mary Lambert, a household servant, in September 1759, but within a year she died during childbirth. In March 1771, he married again—Elizabeth Ollive, a 20-year-old teacher. While trying to earn a living as a grocer and tobacconist, he went bankrupt in early 1774. Most of his possessions were auctioned April 14th. Two months later, Paine and his wife went their separate ways.
Paine arrived November 30, 1774. He rented a room at Market and Front streets, the southeast corner—from which he could see the Philadelphia Slave Market. He spent spare time in a bookstore operated by Robert Aiken. Paine must have impressed the bookseller as a lively and literate man, because he was offered the job of editing Aiken’s new publication, The Pennsylvania Magazine.
For Paine, this experience was a proving ground. He produced at least 17 articles, perhaps as many as 26, all signed with such pseudonyms as “Vox Populi,” “Justice, and Humanity.” He edged closer to the controversy of America’s future relationship with England. He vehemently attacked slavery and called for prompt emancipation.
Paine was influential among:
- George Washington: Paine served as an aide to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Washington also recognized the importance of Paine’s work, declaring that Common Sense offered “sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning” [4]. Washington also read Paine’s American Crisis to his soldiers to boost morale.
- Samuel Adams: Paine was a compatriot of Samuel Adams, who was also a brewer and who provided comments on Common Sense before it was published.
- James Madison: James Madison was a “booster” of Paine, though the sources do not give details of their relationship.
- James Monroe: James Monroe helped spring Paine from prison in France and was an advocate for Paine’s contributions to American independence.
- Thomas Jefferson: Paine’s most steadfast friend was Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson also defended Paine’s right to hospitality even when his daughters did not want to associate with Paine. Jefferson also courageously invited Paine to the White House.
- Dr. Benjamin Rush: Paine discussed the evolving draft of Common Sense with Dr. Rush, who he had met at a bookstore. Rush also suggested the name Common Sense for Paine’s pamphlet and arranged for its publication.
Common sense was published on January 10th 1776
“Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not YET sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favour; a long habit of not thinking a thing WRONG, gives it a superficial appearance of being RIGHT, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
Shift in Public Opinion: The pamphlet significantly shifted American sentiment towards independence. It put into print what had previously been “unspeakable” and “unthinkable”, and called for a type of declaration of dependence.
- Published anonymously in January 1776, it sold an estimated 500,000 copies and is credited with significantly shifting public opinion in favor of independence.
- Attack on Tyranny: The pamphlet launched a “furious attack on tyranny,” denouncing kings and the monarchy as inevitably corrupted by political power
- Distinction between Government and Society: Paine distinguished between government compulsion and civil society where individuals pursue private productive lives, suggesting that society is a result of people’s needs while government is a result of their wickedness
- Advocacy for Independence: Common Sense directly addressed and refuted arguments against breaking away from England, and urged the colonists to take action
Taking A Shot At Monarchy
In the early ages of the world, according to the scripture chronology there were no kings; the consequence of which was, there were no wars; it is the pride of kings which throws mankind into confusion. Holland, without a king hath enjoyed more peace for this last century than any of the monarchical governments in Europe. Antiquity favours the same remark; for the quiet and rural lives of the first Patriarchs have a happy something in them, which vanishes when we come to the history of Jewish royalty.
Government by kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honours to their deceased kings, and the Christian World hath improved on the plan by doing the same to their living ones. How impious is the title of sacred Majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust!
All anti-monarchical parts of scripture, have been very smoothly glossed over in monarchical governments, but they undoubtedly merit the attention of countries which have their governments yet to form. Render unto Cesar the things which are Cesar’s, is the scripture doctrine of courts, yet it is no support of monarchical government, for the Jews at that time were without a king, and in a state of vassalage to the Romans.