Posts Tagged ‘Benjamin Franklin’
Thomas Paine, a Renowned Pamphleteer
“The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.” – Thomas Paine Before what we refer to as “social media,” more than 250 years ago pamphleteers were the ones spreading information throughout the colonies. Mercy Otis Warren was writing satirical plays and poems attacking England in the 1770’s. The colonies were afire with discontent…
Read MoreThomas Jefferson’s Birthday
Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday April 13, 1743 Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia to Jane and Peter Jefferson. His father was a Virginia planter, surveyor, and slave owner. At age fourteen, Jefferson’s father died, and Thomas inherited some thirty enslaved individuals. Jefferson fully embraced the lifestyle of an affluent member…
Read MoreBenjamin Franklin: A Renaissance Man
Benjamin Franklin was what many might consider to be a renaissance man. Among his many inventions were the lightning rod, bifocals, odometer, the glass harmonica and the Franklin stove. But he also invented swim fins and proved with his kite experiment that lightning is electricity. Franklin did not secure patents for any of his inventions…
Read MoreMerry Christmas, Grandfather
In 1809, a clever lad wrote to his grandfather wishing him a “Merry Christmas”. Thomas Jefferson was pleased to receive the letter and most taken with the new phrase popular in the new country, “Merry Christmas”. Christmas observances in colonial and revolutionary America (1630s-1830s) were very different from our current practices. How one observed Christmas…
Read MoreWould You Be Brave Enough to Sign Your Name to the Declaration of Independence?
Portrait of John Bernard Hancock Courtesy of History on the Net When was the last time you signed a petition or a letter of support or clicked a thumbs up on an online message? Did you want a street light at the end of your block, or want the City Council to approve a greenbelt?…
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