http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1766
Here are some one liners...
Mad King Christian and Deciding who Makes the Decisions -- Denmark is in big trouble now. Their King is 16 years old and insane!
The Stamp Act is Repealed for the Price of Liberty -- In order to get enough votes to repeal the Stamp Act, Parliament agrees to the Declaratory Act which declares that Parliament can pass any kind of law whatsoever in the colonies.
Also Mentioned -- Sidewalks, Bees and the Mason-Dixon Line.
Mad King Christian and Deciding who Makes the Decisions
King Fredrick the 5th of Denmark is dead at the age of 42, having fathered many children. (Yes, he was a real horn-dog and he drank quite a lot which contributed to his early death.) His last words are, "It is a great consolation to me in my last hour that I have never willfully offended anyone, and that there is not a drop of blood on my hands." His reign has been a been a nice break for everyone. Now his son, Christian the 6th takes the throne at the age of 16 and he is insane. Shortly after his coronation, he marries the sister of King George the 3rd of England, Princess Caroline Matilda. She is 15-years-old and has no idea of his mental condition. Fortunately, King Christian doesn't like her. He says that it is "unfashionable to love one's wife," so he leaps into a life of sexual promiscuity. By next year he will fall into episodes of deep depression, paranoia, and self-mutilation. Then he will bring in a doctor who will become his salvation, the Queen's lover and the dictator of Denmark. [1] [2] [3] [4]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
This is an unresolved controversy, but for a while, Denmark was being led by Dr. Struensee (STREW-en-see) who was having sex with the Queen. That doesn't mean the doctor had bad intentions. (God knows someone had to do SOMETHING about the crazy king) but a number of reforms were pushed through that disrupted the expected path of Danish events. Was that all due to the doctor? Well... King Christian the 6th was insane but that doesn't mean "stupid". There are reports from ministers who worked directly with the King that he still had the mental capacity to make good decisions... at times. Unfortunately, the effort to hide the King's insanity make it impossible to know who decided what. In a similar situation, President Woodrow Wilson was incapacitated by a stroke which may or may not have done a lot of damage to his mental capacity, but the cover up caused fear that the country was being run by the First Lady, a woman without a high school education. Thus, the 25th Amendment was passed to handle this exact situation. President Ronald Reagan lost some of his mental capacity after he took a bullet during an assassination attempt, but doctors and staff concluded that he was forgetful, but well within bounds to continue. It all worked out, but deciding who makes the decisions when the decider is broken remains a problem. [5] [6] [7]
This is an unresolved controversy, but for a while, Denmark was being led by Dr. Struensee (STREW-en-see) who was having sex with the Queen. That doesn't mean the doctor had bad intentions. (God knows someone had to do SOMETHING about the crazy king) but a number of reforms were pushed through that disrupted the expected path of Danish events. Was that all due to the doctor? Well... King Christian the 6th was insane but that doesn't mean "stupid". There are reports from ministers who worked directly with the King that he still had the mental capacity to make good decisions... at times. Unfortunately, the effort to hide the King's insanity make it impossible to know who decided what. In a similar situation, President Woodrow Wilson was incapacitated by a stroke which may or may not have done a lot of damage to his mental capacity, but the cover up caused fear that the country was being run by the First Lady, a woman without a high school education. Thus, the 25th Amendment was passed to handle this exact situation. President Ronald Reagan lost some of his mental capacity after he took a bullet during an assassination attempt, but doctors and staff concluded that he was forgetful, but well within bounds to continue. It all worked out, but deciding who makes the decisions when the decider is broken remains a problem. [5] [6] [7]
The Stamp Act is Repealed for the Price of Liberty
The British Navy has interdicted shipping from the colonies looking for violations of the Stamp and Sugar Acts... and find definite violations. Other ships make a run for it (like modern drivers speeding up while the police ticket another driver for speeding.) Benjamin Franklin is invited to speak before the British Parliament on behalf of the colonies. He makes the case that the colonies have no objection to Parliament collecting taxes for external transactions (tariffs) but he protests in the strongest way the taxes levied for internal transactions. The Parliament agrees to repeal the Stamp Act and to lessen the charges under the Sugar Act, but only on condition that a new law be passed that says that Parliament has a right to tax the colonies for any reason whatsoever, internal or external and always did have the right. This is called the Declaratory Act because it declares (rather than passes into law) taxation without representation. They are saying that they don't need a new law to do this. American colonists are mocked by the British press. The victory over the Stamp Act has flung the Americans into the abyss. "No taxation without representation" becomes the motto of the Sons of Liberty. [8]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
If Parliament already had the right to taxation without representation then what need was there for the Declaratory Act? The early royal charters for the larger colonies were worded so that one could argue that the colonies had the right to pass laws for themselves. Parliament had to render that aspect of the charters null and void as it did to Ireland in order to bring it under the yoke of Great Britain. American colonists cheered when they heard the news of the repeal... believing they had won everything, but they had given up their liberty. Parliament had granted themselves permission to do whatever they wanted. "In all cases whatsoever", means in absolutely everything.
FYI: Read everything about the American Revolution with caution. The American leadership knew that history was in the making and that future generations would be looking over their shoulders. In 1774, John Adams directied his wife, Abigail, to preserve his letters to her and by 1776 he was copying his letters to Abigail in a book. Thomas Jefferson did something similar and George Washington preserved his official correspondence even though Martha burned his personal letters after his death. They knew you would be watching so they were not entirely candid. This was coupled with the hero worship they received from the next generation. John Adams reminded them that his generation did no better than the new generation could have done, but his protests went unheeded. That is why history from those days is a little too shiny, if you know what I mean. [9] [10] [11] [12]
If Parliament already had the right to taxation without representation then what need was there for the Declaratory Act? The early royal charters for the larger colonies were worded so that one could argue that the colonies had the right to pass laws for themselves. Parliament had to render that aspect of the charters null and void as it did to Ireland in order to bring it under the yoke of Great Britain. American colonists cheered when they heard the news of the repeal... believing they had won everything, but they had given up their liberty. Parliament had granted themselves permission to do whatever they wanted. "In all cases whatsoever", means in absolutely everything.
FYI: Read everything about the American Revolution with caution. The American leadership knew that history was in the making and that future generations would be looking over their shoulders. In 1774, John Adams directied his wife, Abigail, to preserve his letters to her and by 1776 he was copying his letters to Abigail in a book. Thomas Jefferson did something similar and George Washington preserved his official correspondence even though Martha burned his personal letters after his death. They knew you would be watching so they were not entirely candid. This was coupled with the hero worship they received from the next generation. John Adams reminded them that his generation did no better than the new generation could have done, but his protests went unheeded. That is why history from those days is a little too shiny, if you know what I mean. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Also Mentioned
- John Mills publishes "An Essay on the Management of Bees". Benjamin Franklin will also sponsor him for the Royal Society this year. [13]
- The Mason-Dixon Survey is completed. They will stay to make other measurements for the Royal Society. [1]
- The 1st paved sidewalks appear in Westminster, London. [1]
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