User:Robbie/Franklin here: Difference between revisions
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"Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"<br> | "Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"<br> | ||
— "A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."<ref>Based on an anecdote contributed by James McHenry, delegate from Maryland, to <i>The records of the federal convention of 1787,</i> Max Ferrand, ed. III:85.</ref></blockquote> | — "A republic," replied the Doctor, "if you can keep it."<ref>Based on an anecdote contributed by James McHenry, delegate from Maryland, to <i>The records of the federal convention of 1787,</i> Max Ferrand, ed. III:85.</ref></blockquote> | ||
<p>The anecdote has been quoted often, especially so in recent months. On this substack, we it as a hint and | <p>The anecdote has been quoted often, especially so in recent months. On this substack, we take it as a hint and wonder what may have worried Benjamin Franklin that day. Why did he think someday the people might loose their republic? With Franklin, we ask, Does it apply to us, the American people in 2025? What must we the people do to keep the republic?</p> | ||
<p>How did Franklin view the prospects for the government to be instituted by the new Constitution? Fortunately, we have good sources for addressing that question. Next to George Washington, a delegate from Virginia who presided over the Convention deliberations, Franklin, a delegate from Pennsylvania, had the most gravitas in public opinion. He was 81, suffering from the gout, and participated in the deliberations with attentive reserve, an elder stateman who spoke up as needed to keep unity among the delegates, promoting compromises when serious deadlocks were arising. At the start the concluding session, Franklin gave a short speech to initiate the signing of the Constitution by the assembled delegates.<.p> | <p>How did Franklin view the prospects for the government to be instituted by the new Constitution? Fortunately, we have good sources for addressing that question. Next to George Washington, a delegate from Virginia who presided over the Convention deliberations, Franklin, a delegate from Pennsylvania, had the most gravitas in public opinion. He was 81, suffering from the gout, and participated in the deliberations with attentive reserve, an elder stateman who spoke up as needed to keep unity among the delegates, promoting compromises when serious deadlocks were arising. At the start the concluding session, Franklin gave a short speech to initiate the signing of the Constitution by the assembled delegates.<.p> | ||
<p>Of course, given Franklin's prominence as a Founding Father, the function of the speech on the culminating session of the Convention, and the mystique of the Constitution American history, interpreters have paid much attention to his words. have b | <p>Of course, given Franklin's prominence as a Founding Father, the function of the speech on the culminating session of the Convention, and the mystique of the Constitution American history, interpreters have paid much attention to his words. have b | ||