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> | <p>This anecdote gets quoted often, especially in recent months. Here on this substack, we take it as a hint and wonder why Franklin might have added "if you can keep it" to the statement of fact that the new Constitution would establish a republic, not a monarchy. What was on his mind? Why did he think the people might someday loose their republic that they had just founded? We ask such questions, not expecting knowledge about Franklin's thinking, which we cannot know. We ask such questions expecting to construct in our own actual thinking what Franklin might have had in mind, our wanting thereby to experience some insight or comprehension that will help us hone and expand what we actually think about our own present situations. Can we, informed and imaginative, a part of the American people circa 2025, better understand how to keep our republic, by speculating about why Benjamin Franklin said just after he and his colleagues signed the draft Constitution establishing a republic if you the people could keep it?</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 | <p class="cent">* * *</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. | <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 statesman 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. | |||
</p> | </p> | ||
<p>In late February, 1787, the Continental Congress had voted to set up a convention to amend the Articles of Confederation, strengthening their central governing powers. 12 of the 13 states elected slates of delegates by various procedures. By late May, the delegates, slowly assembling in Philadelphia, reached a quorum and began to deliberate officially. Through the summer, 55 delegates took some part in deliberations, of whom a number left for various reasons, personal and substantive, with 39 signing their completed draft Constitution on September 17th.</p> | <p>In late February, 1787, the Continental Congress had voted to set up a convention to amend the Articles of Confederation, strengthening their central governing powers. 12 of the 13 states elected slates of delegates by various procedures. By late May, the delegates, slowly assembling in Philadelphia, reached a quorum and began to deliberate officially. Through the summer, 55 delegates took some part in deliberations, of whom a number left for various reasons, personal and substantive, with 39 signing their completed draft Constitution on September 17th.</p> | ||
<p>Among the delegates, George Washington, then 55, and Franklin, then 81, both immensely experienced and world famous, imparted a sense of gravitas to the Convention in public opinion. The delegates unanimously elected Washington to serve as president of the Convention, which he did with exemplary impartiality. Franklin, a delegate from Pennsylvania, served quietly, speaking up as needed to preserve the inclusive sense of unity among the delegates by promoting compromises when serious deadlocks were potentially arising. Younger delegates, then less prominent such as James Madison, shaped the substantive course of deliberations. </p> | <p>Among the delegates, George Washington, then 55, and Franklin, then 81, both immensely experienced and world famous, imparted a sense of gravitas to the Convention in public opinion. The delegates unanimously elected Washington to serve as president of the Convention, which he did with exemplary impartiality. Franklin, a delegate from Pennsylvania, served quietly, speaking up as needed to preserve the inclusive sense of unity among the delegates by promoting compromises when serious deadlocks were potentially arising. Younger delegates, then less prominent such as James Madison, shaped the substantive course of deliberations. </p> | ||