Ben Franklin's COMMON Sense
Jan. 10th, 2012 04:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
barking_iguanaCredo Mobile posted today about it being the anniversary of the publication of Thomas Paine's Common Sense in 1776, but their post didn't tell much of the story or why it was important.
It was six months before the Declaration of Independence. The colonies had been in a state of rebellion since 1774. Armed conflict had started in April 1775, as England sought to reassert its authority. But at the start of the rebellion, few were looking to sever all ties with England and even fewer saw that as the optimal outcome. They wanted a return to what they considered the just sovereignty England had exerted until about a decade before. That sovereignty included a royal house that reigned by the consent of Parliament.
As time went on, more folks came to see that quick reconciliation on terms they could abide was unlikely. But popular support for a prolonged rebellion was uncertain. Enter Ben Franklin.
Franklin was not only the most famous man in America, he was one of the most famous men in Europe, as well. He had the fame, respect, and achievements of Thomas Edison and Oprah Winfrey combined. And he believed in democracy. The extent to which he wanted decisions to be made by the people would be radical even today and was much more so then. The conventional belief of the time was that established, stable families should have some say through representative institutions but that for the most part, governance, policy, and the selection of officials should be left to a small elite.
Politics was not Franklin's chief concern for most of his life, but he had dabbled in political theory and had lent his prestige to various assemblies that attempted to represent colonial positions to England, starting even before conflict became systemic in the 1760s. He was also a leader in what should be considered a democracy movement in Pennsylvania, taking power away from the old Quaker families and giving it to the more recently arrived general populace. As conflict between the colonies and England deepened, Franklin became a convert to the cause of independence, seeing America as a place that could demonstrate the viability of sovereignty derived from and executed by the common people.
When Thomas Paine arrived from England, he was a tradesman with opinions. It was Franklin who saw in him a passionate advocate for positions Franklin himself believed in; an advocate and who could reason well and write accessibly. It was Franklin who sponsored Paine's entry into society. Common Sense and its rapid distribution (largest circulation of any book in the colonies) was the fruit of that sponsorship.
Common Sense put the case for independence not in terms of specific grievances against England, but as a throwing off of the inherently unjust rule of kings and aristocrats. It was Common Sense that told the people what they would be fighting for in a way that made enough of them willing to fight. And by doing so, set the American people irrevocably against any form of monarchy, much to the later regret of folks like Hamilton and Adams.
Many factors had to come together to make our revolutionary form of government and much time has been needed to improve it. But Common Sense was among the most important factors that set us on our track.
It was six months before the Declaration of Independence. The colonies had been in a state of rebellion since 1774. Armed conflict had started in April 1775, as England sought to reassert its authority. But at the start of the rebellion, few were looking to sever all ties with England and even fewer saw that as the optimal outcome. They wanted a return to what they considered the just sovereignty England had exerted until about a decade before. That sovereignty included a royal house that reigned by the consent of Parliament.
As time went on, more folks came to see that quick reconciliation on terms they could abide was unlikely. But popular support for a prolonged rebellion was uncertain. Enter Ben Franklin.
Franklin was not only the most famous man in America, he was one of the most famous men in Europe, as well. He had the fame, respect, and achievements of Thomas Edison and Oprah Winfrey combined. And he believed in democracy. The extent to which he wanted decisions to be made by the people would be radical even today and was much more so then. The conventional belief of the time was that established, stable families should have some say through representative institutions but that for the most part, governance, policy, and the selection of officials should be left to a small elite.
Politics was not Franklin's chief concern for most of his life, but he had dabbled in political theory and had lent his prestige to various assemblies that attempted to represent colonial positions to England, starting even before conflict became systemic in the 1760s. He was also a leader in what should be considered a democracy movement in Pennsylvania, taking power away from the old Quaker families and giving it to the more recently arrived general populace. As conflict between the colonies and England deepened, Franklin became a convert to the cause of independence, seeing America as a place that could demonstrate the viability of sovereignty derived from and executed by the common people.
When Thomas Paine arrived from England, he was a tradesman with opinions. It was Franklin who saw in him a passionate advocate for positions Franklin himself believed in; an advocate and who could reason well and write accessibly. It was Franklin who sponsored Paine's entry into society. Common Sense and its rapid distribution (largest circulation of any book in the colonies) was the fruit of that sponsorship.
Common Sense put the case for independence not in terms of specific grievances against England, but as a throwing off of the inherently unjust rule of kings and aristocrats. It was Common Sense that told the people what they would be fighting for in a way that made enough of them willing to fight. And by doing so, set the American people irrevocably against any form of monarchy, much to the later regret of folks like Hamilton and Adams.
Many factors had to come together to make our revolutionary form of government and much time has been needed to improve it. But Common Sense was among the most important factors that set us on our track.
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-10 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-10 10:11 pm (UTC)roseanan@aol.com
Date: 2012-01-11 10:57 pm (UTC)Ceding power to corporate royalty because you distrust government is like, Daddy is abusing Mommy and the kids so let's blame Mommy for not protecting the kids. And take them away from her. And give them to Daddy.
Re: roseanan@aol.com
Date: 2012-01-11 11:20 pm (UTC)