Paul Revere

Just finished reading Esther Forbe's Paul Revere and the World He Lived In, originally published in 1942. What a fantastic read ! Prior to reading this book, I had the view of Paul Revere most Americans have- the "midnight ride", Son of Liberty, silversmith... All those associations just barely scrape the surface of what a noble and enterprising man he was.

Where there was a need, Paul was the man. When our patriot army needed gunpowder, he figured out how to make it and then produced it. When his friends needed dentures, he creatively figured out how to wire some up ! That is how they were able to identify the patriot John Warren's body at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was in the thick of it, organizing and motivating his fellow mechanics and craftsmen into action from the famous Tea Party (which he swore an oath never to reveal, nor did he) to his famous midnight ride. He manned Castle Hill to protect Boston from attack during the Revolution. After independence, the country needed its own bell maker. He figured out how to do that and he and his son produced almost 400 bells, one weighing over 1,000 pounds. Some are still in existence today (one in Boston) and are rung.  Our navy was not created until 1795. One of the biggest issues in manufacturing ships was the copper sheets that lined the boats. He figured out how to do this and is responsible for not only many of the bolts and hardware on our early ships but the all important copper sheathing.

Paul was also a generous and open hearted soul. He loaned money to many, including the famous Deborah Sampson who fought in the Revolution disguised as a man (over a hundred different loans). In the very puritanial town of Boston, he gave shelter to needy lady who had come into town pregnant with another man's baby. In a time where care for the mentally ill was very scant, he financially paid for his son in law's upkeep with a private physician, when his own family would not contribute, until Paul passed away.

His passion never died. He was 80 when his signature was the first on a list of local townsmen stepping up to the plate to provide for Boston's needs and protections in the War of 1812.

A huge family man, Paul had 16 children. He cared for his mother, offering her a place in his home, until she died. When he passed, he had amassed a respectable fortune and passed it to his family as well as his silversmith business which went on to later employ 10, 000 workers. To this day, Reverware still exists. Many of his fine pieces are displayed as art in museums across the country, a testament to his craftsmanship.

What Paul Revere teaches us is that it does not take money or a well bred lineage to succeed but rather hard work, an entereprising spirit, a kind heart towards others and passion. He is truly the epitome of a "good citizen".  Hats off to Paul Revere. It wasn't the ride that made the man, it was the man who made the ride and then some. Thank you Paul for being the classic hero American schoolchildren will also look up to and idolize.  

Ben Franklin life lesson: How Humiliation turned a Diplomat into an Incendiary

"When you really listen to another person from their point of view, and reflect back to them that understanding, it's like giving them emotional oxygen." Stephen Covey Had King George of Great Britain followed this mantra, we might possibly have never formed the United States of America. Dr. Sheila Skemp does an excellent job in her book, The Making of a Patriot: Benjamin Franklin at the Cockpit, of explaining the missteps of the British government that brought us to revolution. Equally as fascinating is the "behind the curtain" look at Benjamin Franklin's otherwise less known attributes. Contrary to popular belief, the American Revolution cannot be boiled down to a simple "no taxation without representation." We Americans wanted all the benefits of being a part of the vast British empire without the sacrifices of paying for it. After the Seven Years War, where England sent over troops to help us with the Indian skirmishes and the French-Indian War, parliament had to devise ways to replenish the coffers as the native British were drowning in debt and taxes protecting and servicing their great empire. King George and Lord North found it necessary and fair to raise revenue from America. Every time they attempted to raise such revenue: the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act, the tax on teas, the Americans protested. Almost every regulation was then struck down to accommodate the colonies, while Ben Franklin in London and parliament quibbled over the meanings of "external" versus "internal" taxes and regulation tariffs. Call it what you will, one thing is certain. The Americans wanted no part of contributing to the British government (they did not mind certain regulatory tariffs versus "taxes"). Ben Franklin meanwhile was lobbying to make Pennsylvania a royal colony (taking it away from the propietary colony of the Penns) while enjoying his British high paying job of Postmaster of the Colonies, awarded to him by King George. While the British parliament threw up their arms at their repeated attempts to both placate the Americans and raise funds, Ben Franklin as the American representative and lobbyist for several colonies, continued

to speak out of both sides of his mouth: advocate for a royal colony while lobbying that the colonies be allowed more self rule. When it comes right down to it, it's not that Americans longed for "taxation with representation", they wanted independence and self rule but a connection to the British empire (similar to Australia). As Ben Franklin tried to walk the tight rope, the British permanently knocked him off when Lord Alexander Wedderburn humiliated him "in the cockpit" berating him publicly for fomenting rebellion by releasing private royal correspondence from Massachusetts royal governor Thomas Hutchison. Ben thought he was explaining to the British the American frustration of having a royal governor who was not in tune with American complaints, while the British saw that releasing this documentation only exposed their royal government in an unflattering light, angering Americans even more. The truth is, there simply could be no winners. By making a fool of Ben Franklin to release their frustrations, they lost an ally whose only wish was to keep the peace and formulate a working and healthy relationship between Great Britain and the U.S. The loss was theirs. The two great lessons in this are: had the British listened early on to the colonists, they would have realized that independence (self governance) and a healthy connection to the Empire was the only option. When Admiral Richard Howe met with Ben Franklin days after July 4, 1776 making this offer, it was too late. Ben Franklin, once a firm believer had been forever severed from British good will the day they made a mockery of him in front of parliament. The great lesson being, think long and hard before attacking someone's loyalty. By making Ben Franklin a public spectacle in the cockpit, it ultimately proved to be the biggest British policy blunder yet. It turned a true diplomat into a diehard incendiary. Listening, whether it be one on one or on a large scale such as with foreign relations, is vital to progress and resolution. Lack of listening and true understanding forever impedes. Humiliation in any form can prove to be the distastrous lynch pin.

From Dirty Politics Rises the Pillars of Rights to the Accused in Criminal Trials: A History Lesson in Aaron Burr

From Dirty Politics Rises the Pillars of Rights to the Accused in Criminal Trials:

A History Lesson in Aaron Burr

When it comes to Aaron Burr, history has it wrong. I asked my son Spencer to show me his American History book this year so I could inspect its reportings on Aaron Burr. As suspected, there was a short blurb void of facts and a speculative conclusory statement referencing Burr's dubious ambition in separating the American west from the east, even though this is not true.  The Texas School Board, is not alone, despite its notorious criticisms. One can go back to real time obituaries of Aaron Burr and read such innuendos.  History is for those who write it. History does not always add up to facts.  That is why I decided to get down into the complex minutiae of the actual Aaron Burr trials so that I could grasp the issues clearly.  I had no idea that his case was the definitive case that gave our citizens in practical reality the right to counsel, the right to bail, the right to confront one's accusers, the right to inspect evidence. My concern that a great Founding Father be properly remembered and honored in truth morphed into an inspiring illumination of how so many essential rights of an accused came into being. In fact, U.S. v. Burr has been cited in courts  383  times since 1807 solidifying the basic doctrines of citizens accused ever since the original Not Guilty verdict.

As background, before reading this book (The Treason Trials of Aaron Burr by Peter Hoffer), I was well aware of the political animosity Jefferson had towards Burr from the contested election of 1800 in which it took the casting of ballots 36 times before the tie was finally broken. I was also aware that Jefferson had paid muckrakers throughout his political career to anonymously smear his political opponents. I was not prepared however for the lengths Jefferson would be willing to go to prove his  political points and rid the country of his political enemies.  Chief Justice John Marshall said that Jefferson did not have the proper moral character to be President.  To put Jefferson's role in the Burr trials in a nutshell, here is a cursory summation.  He directed that Burr be arrested and prosecuted on the basis of a letter Burr wrote to General James Wilkinson of the New Orleans territory. Wilkinson claimed Burr wanted to "levy" a war with Spain, which was a neutral country, and that constituted treason.  Furthermore that the act of levying war was the men and arms Burr had gathered in preparation of war on Blennerhasset Island.  Here is why two juries rendered quick Not Guilty verdicts: the alleged Burr letter was not written by Burr at all but by Wilkinson and Burr was not even on Blennerhasset Island when the alleged "levying for war" took place. What we now know after Wilkinson's death is that Wilkinson was a paid spy for Spain. He obviously had to get rid of the threat Burr posed to Spain in colonizing America, at the time in possession of the Floridas.  Truth is Burr had arranged for men, ammunition and boats to gather at Blennerhasset Island to help settle the west against Indians. Burr had specifically purchased financial interest in a large tract of land out west known as his Bastrop purchase. He was also helping other men speculate out west  for financial gain (paper currency at the time was highly inflated and of little value). It was necessary to have boats and ammunition to settle the land.  In Burr's own words, before treason was a sparkle in Jefferson's creative mind, he wrote on Nov. 27, 1806 to William Henry Harrison "I have no wish or design to attempt a separation of the Union... it is true that I am engaged in an extensive speculation and that with me are associated some of your intimate and dearest friends." Wilkerson's concern was that Burr would indeed settle the American west and this would threaten Spain's interest of retaking New Orleans and more of the western territories.  Wilkerson's double dealing and necessity of getting rid of Burr fit perfectly into Jefferson's plan of having Burr hung for treason and thereby ridding himself of his most formidable political contender. 

To ensure a conviction, Jefferson had Burr arrested without bail (he suspended writs of habeas corpus declaring a threat to national security), sought to deny him access to a lawyer, sought to deny him the right to examine the evidence (the letter Wilkinson forged), and sought to have him convicted (on the basis of the forged letter) without the right to confront his accuser (Marshall ruled Wilkinson had to testify).  Jefferson directed George Hay, his prosecutor, to pay witnesses out of his funds (letter dated May 26) and gave him six pardons (three were blank) in an attempt to sway witnesses (the others Jefferson had arrested as coconspirators for treason, none of which were found guilty). He instructed Hay that if Bollman (a Burr friend also attempting to settle lands out west) "rejects his pardon... move to commit him immediately for treason..."  Chief Justice John Marshall in both the Bollman and Burr trials, set bond, allowed them lawyers and access to the evidence and the right to cross examination (with Jefferson sighting executive privilege fighting all the way). After the Not Guilty verdicts (Jefferson had Burr tried twice on two different treason counts), Jefferson unsuccessfully attempted to have Chief Justice Marshall impeached. Not learning a lesson, Jefferson attempted again to use a  treason charge to prove a political point when he had a smuggler caught shipping goods to Canada during the Embargo Act unsuccessfully prosecuted for treason.

What historians fail to recognize is that Burr had every legal right to fight Spain once war was levied (as it later was as Mexico fought to retain Texas), Burr was just waiting for Spain's first move as he settled the American West. The Burr treason trials are very important to American history and criminal jurisprudence in that it proves the executive branch cannot usurp the judicial branch for political purposes.  In the early days of establishing the relations between the three branches of government, it is sad that Aaron Burr was the scapegoat and test case for Jefferson politics gone awry. To survive those ghastly trials, he had to be strong and in doing so he made sure that our American justice system could  not be used as a tool against against anyone for political reasons. That is why his case keeps coming up whether it is Nixon fighting to hand over evidence that would impeach him or a Vietnam War protestor (Watts v. U.S) being safe and free to speak his mind without threat of treason.

Was Burr an ambitious man ? Yes, no different than most of the Founding Fathers. How he did differ was that his character did not allow him to viciously attack his political foes or abuse his power. His parting speech as Vice President and President of the Senate (where he established rules still in use today) brought tears of admiration from his fellow Senators. He was championed  for fairly and adeptly handling the Justice Samuel Chase impeachment trial as President of the Senate, making sure politics did not trump the rules of law (Not Guilty as it was a political attack), little did he suspect that the example he set would later benefit him.  True to his generosity of heart and spirit, when Luther Martin  (one of his defense lawyers in the treason trials) approached him in old age needing shelter, Aaron Burr took care of him inhis New York City home  till Martin passed.  Burr from youth on, spent his entire life advocating against slavery and promoting women's equality (his education and training of his only child Theodosia exemplifies this).  I think it is about time the history books get it right.  Aaron Burr is a true American hero with the kind of fortitude this country desperately needed at at time where our experimental democracy could easily have gone the road of despotism.