http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1752
Here are some one liners...
The First Chill Wind of Revolution -- A French minister writes in his memoirs that the nobility should be destroyed. I quote from Alexis de Tocqueville.
The Liberty Bell Is Cast Again and Again -- It was not called the Liberty Bell until the 1830s, and myths abound.
Too Important not to Mention -- Franklin, electricity and Betsy Ross.
The First Chill Wind of Revolution
The French nobility admit it. In this age of science and reason, an aristocracy set above the people by an agency of the Divine seems ridiculous even to themselves. There are far too many incompetents who have inherited or bought their positions rather than earned it through merit. (The exception being the military rank of major and lieutenant colonel which are merit ranks.) While King Louis the 15th was fighting the War of Austrian Succession, he left the governance of France in the hands of two brothers, one of which wrote these chilling words this year... [1]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Now you know why the French aristocrat, Alexis de Tocqueville (TOH-keh-vill). was traveling through the United States of America in the early 1830s and taking notes. He wanted to find out how France could make a safe transition from an aristocracy to a democracy. In 1835, he published, Democracy in America, a book that many people quote from, but few have read. So let's quote from it. (No tears, please.) [4]
Now you know why the French aristocrat, Alexis de Tocqueville (TOH-keh-vill). was traveling through the United States of America in the early 1830s and taking notes. He wanted to find out how France could make a safe transition from an aristocracy to a democracy. In 1835, he published, Democracy in America, a book that many people quote from, but few have read. So let's quote from it. (No tears, please.) [4]
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- On Taxes: "A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it." [5]
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- On the Evils of the Press: "In order to enjoy the inestimable benefits that the liberty of the press ensures, it is necessary to submit to the inevitable evils it creates." [5]
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- On the Sheeple: "In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own." [5]
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- On Despotism: "The foremost, or indeed the sole condition which is required in order to succeed in centralizing the supreme power in a democratic community, is to love equality, or to get men to believe you love it. Thus the science of despotism, which was once so complex, is simplified, and reduced as it were to a single principle." [5]
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- On Our Greatness: The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults. [5]
The Liberty Bell Is Cast Again and Again
The Pennsylvania legislature needs a bell for the State House to summon legislators to session and to alert the public. Casting bells is beyond the expertise of the colonials so they order one from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in England. It weighs 12 tons and bears the inscription "Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof.-Levit. XXV. 10." Pennsylvania is not prepared to install the bell yet so workers mount it on a frame and hit it. CRACK! Everyone is dismayed, but a couple of foundry workers recast the bell, adding copper and pewter to make the metal less brittle. They try it again, but now the tone seems unpleasant. They order another bell from England. It also sounds terrible so they give up. The newest bell is installed under the roof of the State House and the recast bell is installed in the steeple. The State House will eventually be renamed Independence Hall but the bell in the steeple will remain unnamed. It will also remain uncracked until some time between 1817 and 1846. No one will be able to recall when or how it will happen but stories will abound. And while we are talking about stories... no one in particular rang the steeple bell on the 4th of July, 1776 but most historians agree that it was probably rung along with every other bell in the city. The actual label "Liberty Bell" won't be used until the 1830s when abolitionists (who oppose slavery) will use the bell as their symbol and call it the Liberty Bell. The name will stick. [6] [7] [8]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
There is a 4th bell. In case you've lost track, we have the original BELL 1, which was recast using additional metals into BELL 2. BELL2 is what we normally call "The Liberty Bell." There is also BELL 3 which was installed under the roof of the State House. So... where did BELL 4 come from? On the Bicentennial celebration of US independence from Great Britain, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry decided to make good on the Liberty Bell and cast a fourth bell with the inscription reading:
There is a 4th bell. In case you've lost track, we have the original BELL 1, which was recast using additional metals into BELL 2. BELL2 is what we normally call "The Liberty Bell." There is also BELL 3 which was installed under the roof of the State House. So... where did BELL 4 come from? On the Bicentennial celebration of US independence from Great Britain, the Whitechapel Bell Foundry decided to make good on the Liberty Bell and cast a fourth bell with the inscription reading:
- FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- FROM THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN
- 4 JULY 1976
- LET FREEDOM RING
Too Important not to Mention
- * Benjamin Franklin proves that lightening is a form of electricity. (It is doubtful he used a kite and key.) [9] [10]
- * Betsy Ross is born. Did she really make that flag? No documented proof. Just a family tradition. [11]
- * Eye-gouging is now a felony in Virginia. Ouch! [12]
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