"In colonial America, everyone with the regiments of schooling knew one book thoroughly: the Bible. And the Old Testament mattered as much as the New, for the American colonies were founded in a time of renewed Hebrew scholarship, and the Calvinistic character of Christian faith in early America emphasized the legacy of Israel."
—Russell Kirk, The Roots of American Order.
Public history is not an issue of covering up facts but of which to emphasize. I wrote for @theammind on how historians place the one-sided emphasis on facts that delegitimize the American founding. https://t.co/ZBFTAKjNHD
Ben Franklin the classical education promoter? He’s known as an Enlightenment scientist and pragmatist, but Franklin’s plan for the University of Pennsylvania rings familiar to the classical tradition. Thanks to @circeins for posting my thoughts.
https://t.co/e8IlRDeXas
While he was capable of beautiful expressions of aspects of Christianity, he remained unsure of core aspects of the faith, even betraying a lack of understanding of the doctrine of grace.
“The body of B. Franklin, Printer; (Like the cover of an old book, its contents worn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding) lies here, food for worms.
https://t.co/vXEQOAW1tK
But the book shall not be lost: for it will (as he believed) appear once more, in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.” - Franklin’s proposed epitaph
The Romans saw mutual duty between citizen and society while the soldiers of their rival Carthage had little vested interest in the welfare of Carthage. The different attitudes profoundly shaped the national character of each culture.
https://t.co/XjctpVhAQY
Americans love banging on about the War of Independence. They’re quieter on the War of 1812. Here’s why.
In 1812, America declared war on Britain. The plan was to march into Canada and annex it. Thomas Jefferson said it would be “a mere matter of marching.”
It wasn’t. The Canadians sent them packing. Two years later, the British sailed up the Potomac.
American forces collapsed at Bladensburg in what’s still called “the Bladensburg Races” because of how fast they ran. President Madison had already fled to Maryland.
The British walked into Washington unopposed. They sat down in the White House, ate the dinner Dolley Madison had laid out for forty guests, used the President’s silver, then set fire to the building. Then they burned the Capitol, the Treasury and the Navy Yard.
A freak thunderstorm put the fires out the next day. The British left when they were ready. It’s still the only time a foreign army has captured the US capital.
You can see why it doesn’t come up much.
April 18, 1775. 251 years ago today. It was a Tuesday, and Americans throughout the 13 Colonies prepared to go about their day. Little did they know that the day would end with British troops marching to Concord, while Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott and countless others raised the Alarm. It would be the last day of British rule in Massachusetts, and the beginning of a journey that culminated in the Declaration of Independence and the birth of a new nation.
#America250