Alan N. Kay's Blog
July 14, 2021
Its been awhile...
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On line Tuesday July 20 6:30 pm
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Discuss writing, history and more at this Q&A storytime with award winning teacher and Author Alan N. Kay
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On line Tuesday July 20 6:30 pm
Sponsored by East Lake Library Virtual Program
Discuss writing, history and more at this Q&A storytime with award winning teacher and Author Alan N. Kay
Sign up virtually at
https://eastlakelibrary.evanced.info/...
July 21, 2020
July 8, 2020
Star Trek 1776
Beam Me Up Hamilton!
Star Trek 1776
(This story is from Alan N. Kay’s History Cart. More info at https://alannkay.com/)
“Captain’s Log, Star date 1776: I have recently been viewing the Hamilton tapes of Lin Manuel Miranda and have noticed eerie similarities between Washington’s Hamilton and Jefferson and my Spock and McCoy. I cannot help but wonder if their emotional/logical battles have some deeper meaning.”
Before we go any further let me say that this article is not written just because of the Hamilton musical or Lin-Manuel Miranda. As any true fan of the musical knows, Miranda based his story on the real story of Hamilton as recorded by Ron Chernow’s biography. The Hamilton Washington and Jefferson you see in the musical are based on the deeply researched accounts of these real life men. So what you are about to read is not so much a nod to the musical as a nod to the truth. And, I have to admit, is something I realized a long time ago when I first started teaching Hamilton Washington and Jefferson to my students.
Okay, so what does this have to do with Star Trek? Well any fan of the original series or even the newest movie trilogy knows the basics: Kirk is the Captain, Spock is the logical science officer and McCoy the totally emotional, passionate Doctor. They form the perfect triumvirate: Kirk the leader sitting back while logic and emotion have it out with each other until he has heard enough and makes his decision that will save the planet (and probably violate the Prime Directive).
And, as any fan of Hamilton knows, (especially those of you who love the “Cabinet Battle” numbers), Washington would often sit back as the leader, listen to Hamilton and Jefferson go at each other, and then make his decisions. But that is just the tip of the iceberg! Check it out:
Spock of course is the logical one, using rational arguments to base all his decisions. His most famous phrase (Other than live long and prosper!) is “the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.” Hamilton is the thinker, the rational one who developed an entire financial plan to secure the blessings of liberty for the many, even though (As Jefferson argued passionately…) it may have hurt individuals unfairly. Hamilton’s argument was based on what would logically be the best course of action for the new United States even though it seemed passionately hypocritical for a nation that revolted against a strong government to become a strong government.
McCoy is the man of passion. (Also a Southerner!) “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor not an actor!” Jefferson’s greatest passion? Helping the French in their revolution. It makes no logical sense. It is not a militarily sound idea. We just finished our own war, we can’t fight another! The French who helped us win the war are the ones getting their heads chopped off! Hamilton makes every logical argument against helping the French. None of that matters to Jefferson. It is the right thing to do. Our birth of freedom here in America can spread freedom all over the globe! What of Lafayette? Jefferson appeals to Hamilton and Washington’s emotions.
Kirk is the leader, the man of action, the man who does the fighting. Washington, well you get the idea. And what does Washington do during the argument? Sit backs in his chair, watches Hamilton and Jefferson fight it out, then sides with Hamilton. How many times did Kirk side with Spock and how many times did he side with McCoy? As any fan of the series knows, 90% of the time, he sided with Spock, just as Washington did with Hamilton.
This of course infuriated Jefferson. He threatened to resign time and time again. (And eventually he did.) Washington begged Jefferson to stay on, telling him that he needed Jefferson to create balance in his cabinet. (What would the bridge look like without McCoy? Could Kirk really live without him?)
This is not a one-time comparison, and as we keep going, it almost sounds like a conspiracy. Did Gene Roddenberry read up on the founders before he wrote Star Trek, we begin to wonder. Spock and McCoy, Hamilton and Jefferson, had such vile arguments, that to many of us, it seemed like they hated each other. Indeed Jefferson and Hamilton attacked each other constantly in the newspapers under pseudonyms so incessantly that Washington had to scold the two of them and demand it stop.
Yet as we all know, Hamilton and Jefferson, Spock and McCoy, respected each other in the end. “Jefferson has beliefs, Burr has none!” No matter what, both men realized that they shared the same goal: a prosperous nation (galaxy) living in peace and prosperity for all.
Yes Jefferson is a Southerner and so is McCoy (although a Georgian, not a Virginian), but what about Spock and Hamilton? Well as you fans know, Spock doesn’t really belong in any world. He is like an immigrant to the Federation, neither fully human nor fully Vulcan. And while he is not a bastard he is constantly made fun of for who he is and where he comes from. He just never seems to fit in. Hamilton is a bastard. He spends his entire life fighting against that upbringing, always being on the defensive and trying to prove he belongs.
How do their backgrounds affect these men? Well Spock has that unique view. It’s not just logic that guides his decisions. As a child of both worlds, he is able to easier remain aloof and make conclusions based on what is good for either or both worlds in the long run. As an immigrant, Hamilton is also unique. Unlike most Americans, his loyalty to his state is not his primary goal. Jefferson, Adams, Madison and almost all of the revolutionaries see themselves as citizens of a state before a nation. To a Virginian like Madison, the northerners, especially Massachusetts men like Adams, are as different from him as day is to night. These 13 states don’t trust each other and few of them are able to put Nation above state. Hamilton is not like that. While he is from New York, he is not a New Yorker like the rest of them. His unique background allows him to introduce plans that help the nation, not choose one states’ welfare over another. Indeed, one could argue that only a man like Hamilton could have introduced the strong national government and financial plan that ended up solidifying the United States.
And finally there is Washington. Now Washington is not from Iowa (like Kirk for those of you who don’t know), but he is a farmer. Washington is from Virginia. But he doesn’t act like a Virginian. Remember during the musical when Washington has to remind Hamilton that he too is a Virginian? Remember Kirk’s line in Star Trek IV? He informs his date “I am from Iowa, I only work in outer space!”). Both men do not let where they are from bias their opinions on what is the right thing to do.
Now you could keep going with this. But I am not going to. I am not going to get silly with you. After all is there anything more silly than that original episode (The Omega Glory) where Kirk discovers a planet with an American flag and ends up reading the U.S. Constitution at the end? Or is that a nod to Washington who also led the Constitutional Convention?
Instead let’s get a little philosophical. Is this why we are so entertained by both stories? Is the clash between emotion and logic the ultimate clash of humanity? Certainly the theme in Star Trek is that the human struggle is defined by that clash. (Remember how Spock eventually comes to the realization that the correct path is a balance between the two? It takes about 6 movies, but he does: “Logic is the beginning of wisdom not the end!”). And certainly one of the main captivating stories in Hamilton is the clash between Alex’s dispassionate logic and Thomas’ emotional appeals.
More importantly, is this why both triumvirates succeed? Is Spock eventually correct about the balance between passion and logic? And is it that balance that he, Kirk and McCoy struggle with which allowed their five year mission to save countless worlds? Is the balance that Washington maintained in his cabinet what allowed the United States to survive those tumultuous years? In the room where it happened was there a compromise between logic and passion? After all, many historians would argue without that compromise, the United States would not have been born. And with no United States, there is no Jim Kirk. Or is there? Could Spock have used the Guardian to go back in time and save us all? I will leave that question to you.
Live Long and Prosper,
Alan N. Kay
Alannkay.com
Alan N. Kay is an award-winning teacher and author with more than 25 years of experience bringing stories to life. Known for creative teaching as well as creative writing, Kay has won multiple awards. (See below)
Alan N. Kay is also the author of Neither King Nor Country a historical mystery/thriller novel set taking place in both the present as well as the American Revolution. His writing career began with his Young Heroes of History set of novels: a historical fiction series for children. In addition he has also written a non-fiction book titled “I Love History but I Hated it in School” as well as numerous articles for various publications over the years. A transplanted Yankee, Kay completed his Master’s in Education at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and received his Bachelor’s in history Cum Laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. He currently teaches History at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Image credits:
https://miro.medium.com/max/862/1*VHD...
https://treknews.net/wp-content/uploa...
Star Trek 1776
(This story is from Alan N. Kay’s History Cart. More info at https://alannkay.com/)
“Captain’s Log, Star date 1776: I have recently been viewing the Hamilton tapes of Lin Manuel Miranda and have noticed eerie similarities between Washington’s Hamilton and Jefferson and my Spock and McCoy. I cannot help but wonder if their emotional/logical battles have some deeper meaning.”
Before we go any further let me say that this article is not written just because of the Hamilton musical or Lin-Manuel Miranda. As any true fan of the musical knows, Miranda based his story on the real story of Hamilton as recorded by Ron Chernow’s biography. The Hamilton Washington and Jefferson you see in the musical are based on the deeply researched accounts of these real life men. So what you are about to read is not so much a nod to the musical as a nod to the truth. And, I have to admit, is something I realized a long time ago when I first started teaching Hamilton Washington and Jefferson to my students.
Okay, so what does this have to do with Star Trek? Well any fan of the original series or even the newest movie trilogy knows the basics: Kirk is the Captain, Spock is the logical science officer and McCoy the totally emotional, passionate Doctor. They form the perfect triumvirate: Kirk the leader sitting back while logic and emotion have it out with each other until he has heard enough and makes his decision that will save the planet (and probably violate the Prime Directive).
And, as any fan of Hamilton knows, (especially those of you who love the “Cabinet Battle” numbers), Washington would often sit back as the leader, listen to Hamilton and Jefferson go at each other, and then make his decisions. But that is just the tip of the iceberg! Check it out:
Spock of course is the logical one, using rational arguments to base all his decisions. His most famous phrase (Other than live long and prosper!) is “the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.” Hamilton is the thinker, the rational one who developed an entire financial plan to secure the blessings of liberty for the many, even though (As Jefferson argued passionately…) it may have hurt individuals unfairly. Hamilton’s argument was based on what would logically be the best course of action for the new United States even though it seemed passionately hypocritical for a nation that revolted against a strong government to become a strong government.
McCoy is the man of passion. (Also a Southerner!) “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor not an actor!” Jefferson’s greatest passion? Helping the French in their revolution. It makes no logical sense. It is not a militarily sound idea. We just finished our own war, we can’t fight another! The French who helped us win the war are the ones getting their heads chopped off! Hamilton makes every logical argument against helping the French. None of that matters to Jefferson. It is the right thing to do. Our birth of freedom here in America can spread freedom all over the globe! What of Lafayette? Jefferson appeals to Hamilton and Washington’s emotions.
Kirk is the leader, the man of action, the man who does the fighting. Washington, well you get the idea. And what does Washington do during the argument? Sit backs in his chair, watches Hamilton and Jefferson fight it out, then sides with Hamilton. How many times did Kirk side with Spock and how many times did he side with McCoy? As any fan of the series knows, 90% of the time, he sided with Spock, just as Washington did with Hamilton.
This of course infuriated Jefferson. He threatened to resign time and time again. (And eventually he did.) Washington begged Jefferson to stay on, telling him that he needed Jefferson to create balance in his cabinet. (What would the bridge look like without McCoy? Could Kirk really live without him?)
This is not a one-time comparison, and as we keep going, it almost sounds like a conspiracy. Did Gene Roddenberry read up on the founders before he wrote Star Trek, we begin to wonder. Spock and McCoy, Hamilton and Jefferson, had such vile arguments, that to many of us, it seemed like they hated each other. Indeed Jefferson and Hamilton attacked each other constantly in the newspapers under pseudonyms so incessantly that Washington had to scold the two of them and demand it stop.
Yet as we all know, Hamilton and Jefferson, Spock and McCoy, respected each other in the end. “Jefferson has beliefs, Burr has none!” No matter what, both men realized that they shared the same goal: a prosperous nation (galaxy) living in peace and prosperity for all.
Yes Jefferson is a Southerner and so is McCoy (although a Georgian, not a Virginian), but what about Spock and Hamilton? Well as you fans know, Spock doesn’t really belong in any world. He is like an immigrant to the Federation, neither fully human nor fully Vulcan. And while he is not a bastard he is constantly made fun of for who he is and where he comes from. He just never seems to fit in. Hamilton is a bastard. He spends his entire life fighting against that upbringing, always being on the defensive and trying to prove he belongs.
How do their backgrounds affect these men? Well Spock has that unique view. It’s not just logic that guides his decisions. As a child of both worlds, he is able to easier remain aloof and make conclusions based on what is good for either or both worlds in the long run. As an immigrant, Hamilton is also unique. Unlike most Americans, his loyalty to his state is not his primary goal. Jefferson, Adams, Madison and almost all of the revolutionaries see themselves as citizens of a state before a nation. To a Virginian like Madison, the northerners, especially Massachusetts men like Adams, are as different from him as day is to night. These 13 states don’t trust each other and few of them are able to put Nation above state. Hamilton is not like that. While he is from New York, he is not a New Yorker like the rest of them. His unique background allows him to introduce plans that help the nation, not choose one states’ welfare over another. Indeed, one could argue that only a man like Hamilton could have introduced the strong national government and financial plan that ended up solidifying the United States.
And finally there is Washington. Now Washington is not from Iowa (like Kirk for those of you who don’t know), but he is a farmer. Washington is from Virginia. But he doesn’t act like a Virginian. Remember during the musical when Washington has to remind Hamilton that he too is a Virginian? Remember Kirk’s line in Star Trek IV? He informs his date “I am from Iowa, I only work in outer space!”). Both men do not let where they are from bias their opinions on what is the right thing to do.
Now you could keep going with this. But I am not going to. I am not going to get silly with you. After all is there anything more silly than that original episode (The Omega Glory) where Kirk discovers a planet with an American flag and ends up reading the U.S. Constitution at the end? Or is that a nod to Washington who also led the Constitutional Convention?
Instead let’s get a little philosophical. Is this why we are so entertained by both stories? Is the clash between emotion and logic the ultimate clash of humanity? Certainly the theme in Star Trek is that the human struggle is defined by that clash. (Remember how Spock eventually comes to the realization that the correct path is a balance between the two? It takes about 6 movies, but he does: “Logic is the beginning of wisdom not the end!”). And certainly one of the main captivating stories in Hamilton is the clash between Alex’s dispassionate logic and Thomas’ emotional appeals.
More importantly, is this why both triumvirates succeed? Is Spock eventually correct about the balance between passion and logic? And is it that balance that he, Kirk and McCoy struggle with which allowed their five year mission to save countless worlds? Is the balance that Washington maintained in his cabinet what allowed the United States to survive those tumultuous years? In the room where it happened was there a compromise between logic and passion? After all, many historians would argue without that compromise, the United States would not have been born. And with no United States, there is no Jim Kirk. Or is there? Could Spock have used the Guardian to go back in time and save us all? I will leave that question to you.
Live Long and Prosper,
Alan N. Kay
Alannkay.com
Alan N. Kay is an award-winning teacher and author with more than 25 years of experience bringing stories to life. Known for creative teaching as well as creative writing, Kay has won multiple awards. (See below)
Alan N. Kay is also the author of Neither King Nor Country a historical mystery/thriller novel set taking place in both the present as well as the American Revolution. His writing career began with his Young Heroes of History set of novels: a historical fiction series for children. In addition he has also written a non-fiction book titled “I Love History but I Hated it in School” as well as numerous articles for various publications over the years. A transplanted Yankee, Kay completed his Master’s in Education at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and received his Bachelor’s in history Cum Laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. He currently teaches History at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Image credits:
https://miro.medium.com/max/862/1*VHD...
https://treknews.net/wp-content/uploa...
June 29, 2020
July 4th, coronavirus, Black Lives Matter and Trump: What hidden secret of July 4th can save us?
(This story is from Alan N. Kay’s History Cart. More info at https://alannkay.com/)
Freedom is not free. How many times have you heard that before? And of course that’s true, but that’s only a start and a vast oversimplification. What is Freedom? What is its cost? How do we protect it? Are we losing it even now?
Freedom is complicated, messy, and even contradictory. From one crisis in America today to another our freedoms are under attack from the left and the right. We see liberals upset at President Trump for attacking free speech when he instructs the NFL to discipline Colin Kaepernick or when Trump threatens the “Black lives matters” protesters with military intervention. We see conservatives upset at what they call Government overreach of their freedoms when dealing with the coronavirus. We see the posts on Facebook, we hear the shouts in the media and we wonder if Americans will ever agree again. Yet debating these issues is the essence of being an American and essential to a healthy free society. We grow as a people and as a society when we learn from each other’s opinion. Unfortunately, as so many of us know, listening to each other’s opinion is a rare commodity in 2020!
How then can the origin of that freedom, July 4th help us understand these issues and listen to each other? Is there anything we can learn from our founders? Is there anything they can teach us to help us with these difficult issues today? Most people of course say no. To the average American while July 4th commemorates our very first struggle to be free, it is not any more complicated than that. July 4th is about fireworks, barbecues and pool parties.
This could not be further from the truth. Indeed it is the opposite of the truth. If we can truly learn July 4th, if we can get past the fireworks and hot dogs to find the hidden secret within this story, America could grow perhaps like never before.
The freedom that we declared on July 4, 1776 was hardly simple or obsolete. It was a freedom that took more than five years to finally arrive, was in doubt until the very end and embroiled the nation in its first Civil War destroying livelihoods, families and friendships.
It was a freedom that came at the expense of freedom. It was complicated, paradoxical and could only have been achieved by denying that very same freedom to others. It was the core issue of the revolution. It was the issue that all of the founding fathers: Hamilton, Madison, Washington, Jefferson and especially Benjamin Franklin understood and mostly agreed on. It was an issue that meant their very survival. It was the issue of freedom of conscience.
Do we have the freedom of conscience? Do we have the right to believe what we want to believe, to live our life the way we want to live it? Of course we do! Every American would answer the question the same way. But what if your beliefs threatened the very freedom others wanted? What if you believed that George Washington was wrong? What if you were not sure? What if you were too busy taking care of your family that you did not want to pick a side? Could you disagree? Could you state your mind? Could you decide to think about it or sit this one out?
The answer of course was no! You could not sit this one out. You had to proclaim your loyalty to the United States government. State legislatures throughout the country passed what they called “Test Acts” that demanded people sign a loyalty oath. Failure to do so could result in a fine, loss of property and even jail time. Self-appointed committees and chairmen gathered friends and neighbors together and enforced their will on other neighbors. Brother literally turned on brother and many times arguments ended in violence or even death. In addition, merchants, shopkeepers and smiths were forced to sell only to the rebels, paid in worthless paper money that spawned the phrase “not worth a continental”.
One can certainly understand the motivations and beliefs of some of these people who did not want to fight. Many of them had families they wanted to protect or support, many had been disgusted by the mob rule and tarring and feathering that they saw in the colonies and many others simply believed that the King of England was the legitimate ruler of their lands. It did not take long for them to earn the nickname, “Loyalists”.
And of course one can certainly understand the motivations of the state legislatures. Alexander Hamilton himself believed that more than 20% of the American population was active Loyalists and that another 50% were undecided while he and his friends were in the significant minority. Indeed there were so many Loyalists in New York that they had taken over the city and its mayor was implicated in an assassination attempt of George Washington!
Do The ENDS justify the MEANS? After all this was war. They had to win and everything else was secondary. Or do you destroy the very principles you are fighting for when you take away those basic rights from your fellow American? These were the issues that Washington, Hamilton, Franklin and all the others had to wrestle with. They knew it was hypocritical. They heard the cries of neutrals and Loyalists saying that the rebels were merely replacing the tyranny of the king with the tyranny of the mob. How could you fight to defend freedom by taking it away from others?
So is it that simple? Did the END of establishing a free country justify the MEANS of taking freedom and property away from those who disagreed? Or is our nation built on hypocrisy? That is the awesome and powerful issue that defines American civilization. In understanding and debating the very essence of our original freedom, we get closer to understanding all the other Freedoms that come from it. When must freedom be compromised for the greater good? (Covid 19????)
So what did the founders think when it was all over? Were we right? Were we hypocrites? Did they even debate the issue like we debate so many of our issues today?
The short answer is yes. On one side of the debate was Alexander Hamilton who believed that once the war was over the Loyalists should be left to their own devices and that America should move on. He felt that “the world has its eye upon America… It remains for us to justify the revolution by its fruits.” In other words Hamilton believed that the best way to prove that he and his fellow revolutionaries were morally right in their revolution was to tolerate the freedom of conscience of the Loyalists and allow them to live in this new free society they had created. Quite a noble and lofty goal and even if we disagree with Hamilton, he certainly has a point. What better way to prove the value of freedom then to give it to those who were against it in the first place?
Unfortunately for the Loyalists there was another powerful founder on the other side of this debate and he had the means to do something about it. That man was none other than Benjamin Franklin. While never having been President or even fought in the Revolution, there is perhaps no man more respected during his lifetime and no man more admired today than Franklin. Scientist, inventor, “favorite son of Philadelphia”, delegate to Congress and at the conclusion of the American Revolution chief negotiator with the British for the Treaty of Paris which would end the war and give us our freedom.
Franklin had a difficult task in front of him. The British government demanded compensation for these Loyalists. How would the rest of this mighty empire see its leadership if these people who had remained loyal to the King, who lost everything in that war to the rebels and were now exiles received nothing? If the British government could not protect these Loyalists then the empire itself could come crumbling down. So suffice it to say that the British need to help the Loyalists was a great one.
Franklin of course realized this and chose to ignore it. Why? Negotiations that should have ended much sooner dragged on for two years after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781. Indeed Franklin was taking so much time that the Congress came very close to dismissing him.
What then was Franklin’s position? How much did he disagree with Alexander Hamilton? To put it simply Franklin vehemently refused to give any compensation whatsoever to any person who had remained loyal to the King during the war. He was so adamant that he insisted these people should be called “royalists” instead of Loyalists. The real Loyalists according to Franklin were the rebels who had remained loyal to the ideas of English freedom!
Can you hear the bitterness in Franklin‘s voice? What was the cause of it? Why does he almost sound wounded by these Loyalists? Was there something else there? Was there something personal in all of this? Oh my friends hold onto your hats! For we are finally getting close to the hidden secret; the story that has kept July 4th buried in fireworks and simplicity is on its way!
We all know of Franklin the scientist, the inventor, the author, the statesman and the politician. But what do you know of Benjamin Franklin the man? Did you know he had children? Did you know that one of them was a bastard son named William? Did you know that Ben spent countless hours with William during his childhood? Indeed William was right there holding the kite with Benjamin during the most famous science experiment in American history.
Why is the picture on the left the one everyone knows and not the picture on the right?
And did you know that Ben got William his first job in the post office, that he traveled with William to London and helped him pass the bar exam there? Did you know he helped William become the governor of New Jersey?
Why does any of this matter? What’s the big secret? Well it gets worse, especially for Benjamin. William not only did a superb job in his new career, he was determined to make his father proud and be an accomplished, respected royal Governor. Picking up on it yet? Yes, that is right, Royal governor. While father Ben was working with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on declaring independence, his son William was adamant in publicly announcing his loyalty to the King. And as the war grew more desperate, William went on to actively work with British troops to defeat the rebellion! He organized other Loyalists; he started conspiracies and plots and even attempted to organize his own Loyalist army that would be used against Washington. And when that plot failed and the rebels went on to win, what did William do? He represented the cause of the Loyalists and traveled to London to petition the King for aid! Ironically while William was in London meeting with the King to represent one side of the war (the losers), father Ben was in Paris representing the winners!
Again, why does any of this matter? Why should it have any impact on a debate regarding Loyalism and freedom of conscience? How can it help us today? It matters because Benjamin Franklin was also a human being. He was a father who had given everything to his son. He was a father who had dedicated his life to making sure that his son William would succeed in his own right. And how did William repay his father’s dedication: By turning traitor to everything Benjamin had ever believed in and worked for! Indeed the way Benjamin himself said it in a letter to his son in 1785, his last one by the way, was that if William had achieved his ends the first one to be hung would be Benjamin himself!
Can any of us understand the total sense of betrayal Benjamin Franklin was feeling at the end of the revolution? He had been betrayed by his only remaining son. He was hurt, he was angry, he was sick, and he was getting old. And if there was one last thing he would do in Paris it was to make absolutely sure that the Loyalists of America received nothing! Was this Benjamin Franklin’s revenge for his son’s betrayal or the practical workings of an American diplomat? You decide.
Eventually Ben succeeded. The Loyalists left the new United States with nothing. They had lost their farms, their homes, their friends, and their way of life. Indeed, most of them could only afford to go just a little ways north, to what the rebels had hoped would be the 14th state: Canada where hundreds of thousands of their descendants still live today.
The debate over the Loyalists was ended. Benjamin Franklin made sure of that. The world did not look at America with admiration as Alexander Hamilton recommended and desired. Instead Great Britain spent the next three decades waiting for its revenge (1812 anyone?). And the French, inspired by our own revolution, ended up turning to the dictator Napoleon instead. At home the Loyalists were forgotten. The story was forgotten. William Franklin was forgotten. (Who here knew before today that Ben was not alone with the lightning and the key?)
Worse still, the complex issues of freedom and morality that our Founding Fathers struggled with was also forgotten. In its place grew a new story that took on mythic, godlike stature as impressive as the faces carved into Mount Rushmore. Eventually Americans saw the Founders not as men like ourselves who struggled every day with issues of freedom and made mistakes but as heroes who could do no wrong. That is one of the greatest losses of our wonderful birth from that July 4, 1776. We had the opportunity to learn how complex freedom can be; we had a chance to teach ourselves and our children that freedom is messy and sometimes paradoxical. We had the chance to teach our children in our schools how to balance these freedoms, to learn how to debate these freedoms with each other and in that learning also learn how to get along with each other. By making July 4th a simple story, by making life and freedom itself seem simple we lose the tools of debate and discussion and just end up yelling at each other from opposite ends of the extreme. Kind of sounds like today doesn’t it? So the best way to honor July 4th is to honor the complexity of freedom, to discuss when it should be expanded and when it should be curtailed, to agree to disagree and to tell the full story with its highs and its lows, where there are no pure heroes and no pure villains, just pure people. And in that telling we will better understand ourselves and each other. Have a happy July 4th!
Thanks for listening
Alan N. Kay
https://alannkay.com/
Freedom is not free. How many times have you heard that before? And of course that’s true, but that’s only a start and a vast oversimplification. What is Freedom? What is its cost? How do we protect it? Are we losing it even now?
Freedom is complicated, messy, and even contradictory. From one crisis in America today to another our freedoms are under attack from the left and the right. We see liberals upset at President Trump for attacking free speech when he instructs the NFL to discipline Colin Kaepernick or when Trump threatens the “Black lives matters” protesters with military intervention. We see conservatives upset at what they call Government overreach of their freedoms when dealing with the coronavirus. We see the posts on Facebook, we hear the shouts in the media and we wonder if Americans will ever agree again. Yet debating these issues is the essence of being an American and essential to a healthy free society. We grow as a people and as a society when we learn from each other’s opinion. Unfortunately, as so many of us know, listening to each other’s opinion is a rare commodity in 2020!
How then can the origin of that freedom, July 4th help us understand these issues and listen to each other? Is there anything we can learn from our founders? Is there anything they can teach us to help us with these difficult issues today? Most people of course say no. To the average American while July 4th commemorates our very first struggle to be free, it is not any more complicated than that. July 4th is about fireworks, barbecues and pool parties.
This could not be further from the truth. Indeed it is the opposite of the truth. If we can truly learn July 4th, if we can get past the fireworks and hot dogs to find the hidden secret within this story, America could grow perhaps like never before.
The freedom that we declared on July 4, 1776 was hardly simple or obsolete. It was a freedom that took more than five years to finally arrive, was in doubt until the very end and embroiled the nation in its first Civil War destroying livelihoods, families and friendships.
It was a freedom that came at the expense of freedom. It was complicated, paradoxical and could only have been achieved by denying that very same freedom to others. It was the core issue of the revolution. It was the issue that all of the founding fathers: Hamilton, Madison, Washington, Jefferson and especially Benjamin Franklin understood and mostly agreed on. It was an issue that meant their very survival. It was the issue of freedom of conscience.
Do we have the freedom of conscience? Do we have the right to believe what we want to believe, to live our life the way we want to live it? Of course we do! Every American would answer the question the same way. But what if your beliefs threatened the very freedom others wanted? What if you believed that George Washington was wrong? What if you were not sure? What if you were too busy taking care of your family that you did not want to pick a side? Could you disagree? Could you state your mind? Could you decide to think about it or sit this one out?
The answer of course was no! You could not sit this one out. You had to proclaim your loyalty to the United States government. State legislatures throughout the country passed what they called “Test Acts” that demanded people sign a loyalty oath. Failure to do so could result in a fine, loss of property and even jail time. Self-appointed committees and chairmen gathered friends and neighbors together and enforced their will on other neighbors. Brother literally turned on brother and many times arguments ended in violence or even death. In addition, merchants, shopkeepers and smiths were forced to sell only to the rebels, paid in worthless paper money that spawned the phrase “not worth a continental”.
One can certainly understand the motivations and beliefs of some of these people who did not want to fight. Many of them had families they wanted to protect or support, many had been disgusted by the mob rule and tarring and feathering that they saw in the colonies and many others simply believed that the King of England was the legitimate ruler of their lands. It did not take long for them to earn the nickname, “Loyalists”.
And of course one can certainly understand the motivations of the state legislatures. Alexander Hamilton himself believed that more than 20% of the American population was active Loyalists and that another 50% were undecided while he and his friends were in the significant minority. Indeed there were so many Loyalists in New York that they had taken over the city and its mayor was implicated in an assassination attempt of George Washington!
Do The ENDS justify the MEANS? After all this was war. They had to win and everything else was secondary. Or do you destroy the very principles you are fighting for when you take away those basic rights from your fellow American? These were the issues that Washington, Hamilton, Franklin and all the others had to wrestle with. They knew it was hypocritical. They heard the cries of neutrals and Loyalists saying that the rebels were merely replacing the tyranny of the king with the tyranny of the mob. How could you fight to defend freedom by taking it away from others?
So is it that simple? Did the END of establishing a free country justify the MEANS of taking freedom and property away from those who disagreed? Or is our nation built on hypocrisy? That is the awesome and powerful issue that defines American civilization. In understanding and debating the very essence of our original freedom, we get closer to understanding all the other Freedoms that come from it. When must freedom be compromised for the greater good? (Covid 19????)
So what did the founders think when it was all over? Were we right? Were we hypocrites? Did they even debate the issue like we debate so many of our issues today?
The short answer is yes. On one side of the debate was Alexander Hamilton who believed that once the war was over the Loyalists should be left to their own devices and that America should move on. He felt that “the world has its eye upon America… It remains for us to justify the revolution by its fruits.” In other words Hamilton believed that the best way to prove that he and his fellow revolutionaries were morally right in their revolution was to tolerate the freedom of conscience of the Loyalists and allow them to live in this new free society they had created. Quite a noble and lofty goal and even if we disagree with Hamilton, he certainly has a point. What better way to prove the value of freedom then to give it to those who were against it in the first place?
Unfortunately for the Loyalists there was another powerful founder on the other side of this debate and he had the means to do something about it. That man was none other than Benjamin Franklin. While never having been President or even fought in the Revolution, there is perhaps no man more respected during his lifetime and no man more admired today than Franklin. Scientist, inventor, “favorite son of Philadelphia”, delegate to Congress and at the conclusion of the American Revolution chief negotiator with the British for the Treaty of Paris which would end the war and give us our freedom.
Franklin had a difficult task in front of him. The British government demanded compensation for these Loyalists. How would the rest of this mighty empire see its leadership if these people who had remained loyal to the King, who lost everything in that war to the rebels and were now exiles received nothing? If the British government could not protect these Loyalists then the empire itself could come crumbling down. So suffice it to say that the British need to help the Loyalists was a great one.
Franklin of course realized this and chose to ignore it. Why? Negotiations that should have ended much sooner dragged on for two years after the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781. Indeed Franklin was taking so much time that the Congress came very close to dismissing him.
What then was Franklin’s position? How much did he disagree with Alexander Hamilton? To put it simply Franklin vehemently refused to give any compensation whatsoever to any person who had remained loyal to the King during the war. He was so adamant that he insisted these people should be called “royalists” instead of Loyalists. The real Loyalists according to Franklin were the rebels who had remained loyal to the ideas of English freedom!
Can you hear the bitterness in Franklin‘s voice? What was the cause of it? Why does he almost sound wounded by these Loyalists? Was there something else there? Was there something personal in all of this? Oh my friends hold onto your hats! For we are finally getting close to the hidden secret; the story that has kept July 4th buried in fireworks and simplicity is on its way!
We all know of Franklin the scientist, the inventor, the author, the statesman and the politician. But what do you know of Benjamin Franklin the man? Did you know he had children? Did you know that one of them was a bastard son named William? Did you know that Ben spent countless hours with William during his childhood? Indeed William was right there holding the kite with Benjamin during the most famous science experiment in American history.
Why is the picture on the left the one everyone knows and not the picture on the right?
And did you know that Ben got William his first job in the post office, that he traveled with William to London and helped him pass the bar exam there? Did you know he helped William become the governor of New Jersey?
Why does any of this matter? What’s the big secret? Well it gets worse, especially for Benjamin. William not only did a superb job in his new career, he was determined to make his father proud and be an accomplished, respected royal Governor. Picking up on it yet? Yes, that is right, Royal governor. While father Ben was working with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on declaring independence, his son William was adamant in publicly announcing his loyalty to the King. And as the war grew more desperate, William went on to actively work with British troops to defeat the rebellion! He organized other Loyalists; he started conspiracies and plots and even attempted to organize his own Loyalist army that would be used against Washington. And when that plot failed and the rebels went on to win, what did William do? He represented the cause of the Loyalists and traveled to London to petition the King for aid! Ironically while William was in London meeting with the King to represent one side of the war (the losers), father Ben was in Paris representing the winners!
Again, why does any of this matter? Why should it have any impact on a debate regarding Loyalism and freedom of conscience? How can it help us today? It matters because Benjamin Franklin was also a human being. He was a father who had given everything to his son. He was a father who had dedicated his life to making sure that his son William would succeed in his own right. And how did William repay his father’s dedication: By turning traitor to everything Benjamin had ever believed in and worked for! Indeed the way Benjamin himself said it in a letter to his son in 1785, his last one by the way, was that if William had achieved his ends the first one to be hung would be Benjamin himself!
Can any of us understand the total sense of betrayal Benjamin Franklin was feeling at the end of the revolution? He had been betrayed by his only remaining son. He was hurt, he was angry, he was sick, and he was getting old. And if there was one last thing he would do in Paris it was to make absolutely sure that the Loyalists of America received nothing! Was this Benjamin Franklin’s revenge for his son’s betrayal or the practical workings of an American diplomat? You decide.
Eventually Ben succeeded. The Loyalists left the new United States with nothing. They had lost their farms, their homes, their friends, and their way of life. Indeed, most of them could only afford to go just a little ways north, to what the rebels had hoped would be the 14th state: Canada where hundreds of thousands of their descendants still live today.
The debate over the Loyalists was ended. Benjamin Franklin made sure of that. The world did not look at America with admiration as Alexander Hamilton recommended and desired. Instead Great Britain spent the next three decades waiting for its revenge (1812 anyone?). And the French, inspired by our own revolution, ended up turning to the dictator Napoleon instead. At home the Loyalists were forgotten. The story was forgotten. William Franklin was forgotten. (Who here knew before today that Ben was not alone with the lightning and the key?)
Worse still, the complex issues of freedom and morality that our Founding Fathers struggled with was also forgotten. In its place grew a new story that took on mythic, godlike stature as impressive as the faces carved into Mount Rushmore. Eventually Americans saw the Founders not as men like ourselves who struggled every day with issues of freedom and made mistakes but as heroes who could do no wrong. That is one of the greatest losses of our wonderful birth from that July 4, 1776. We had the opportunity to learn how complex freedom can be; we had a chance to teach ourselves and our children that freedom is messy and sometimes paradoxical. We had the chance to teach our children in our schools how to balance these freedoms, to learn how to debate these freedoms with each other and in that learning also learn how to get along with each other. By making July 4th a simple story, by making life and freedom itself seem simple we lose the tools of debate and discussion and just end up yelling at each other from opposite ends of the extreme. Kind of sounds like today doesn’t it? So the best way to honor July 4th is to honor the complexity of freedom, to discuss when it should be expanded and when it should be curtailed, to agree to disagree and to tell the full story with its highs and its lows, where there are no pure heroes and no pure villains, just pure people. And in that telling we will better understand ourselves and each other. Have a happy July 4th!
Thanks for listening
Alan N. Kay
https://alannkay.com/
June 17, 2020
A Founding Father’s Fathers Day Story
A Founding Father’s Fathers Day Story
Hey Dad! Do you have a story like this?
You love your son. His birth was one of the greatest and profound moments of your life. When he was little you spent all your time with him. During summer vacations you went everywhere together. You coached his hockey (baseball, football, basketball?) team, you helped him in school and as he got older you tried to protect him from the dangers of the adult world. You and your wife helped him go off to college and you were (or will be…) intensely proud of him as he began his career as an adult. Maybe thinking of it brings you close to tears.
Like me, are you looking forward to spending Father’s Day with your children? Opening the presents, or grilling a hearty steak or even on the golf course, Father’s Day is a day to celebrate everything you sacrificed and all you accomplished as a dad and maybe even as friend. But imagine for just one minute that you would not be celebrating because your story had a horrific twist. Imagine if after everything you did for your son he turned on you. He embarrassed you, humiliated you. How would you deal with that?
Unbelievably you don’t have to look very far for a story to give you pause on this Father’s Day. None other than founding father Benjamin Franklin himself lived that story and the agony of his personal tragedy changed America and the world forever!
There was perhaps no man more respected during his lifetime and no man more admired today than Franklin. He was the scientist who reached for the lightning and dared challenge the heavens, he was the inventor of bifocals and swim fins and countless other inventions. He was the “favorite son of Philadelphia” who established a fire department, ran the post office, a printing press and even developed her street lights. It was he and his associate John Adams who were the ones who asked Thomas Jefferson to write that Declaration of Independence we celebrate every July 4th. And at the conclusion of the American Revolution it was Benjamin Franklin who was the chief, and for most of the time, only negotiator with the British for the Treaty of Paris to end the war.
But what do you know of Benjamin Franklin the father? Did you know he had three children? Did you know that one of them was a son named William? Did you know that like you, Ben spent countless hours with William during his childhood? Indeed William was right there holding the kite with Benjamin during the most famous scientific experiment in American history.
And did you know that Ben got William his first job, that he traveled with William to London and helped him pass the bar exam there? Did you know he helped launch William’s career with his most prestigious job ever, the governorship of New Jersey? And did you know that his son William was the last governor in the country to resign his position after the revolt had already started?
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Benjamin Franklin sounds a lot like you and the relationship you have with your own son. Well wait a minute because here comes the horrible twist. William not only did a superb job in his new career, he was determined to make his father proud and be a successful royal Governor. Picking up on it yet? Yes, that is right, Royal governor. While father Ben was working with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on declaring independence, his son William was adamant in publicly announcing his loyalty to the King. And as the war grew more desperate, William went on to not only profess his loyalty to the king but to actively work with British troops to defeat the rebellion! He organized other Loyalists; he started conspiracies and plots and even attempted to organize his own loyalist army that would be used against George Washington. And when that plot failed and the rebels went on to win, what did William do? He represented the cause of the Loyalists and traveled to London to petition the King for aid! Ironically while William was in London meeting with the King to represent one side of the war (the losers), father Ben was in Paris representing the winners!
Can you even begin to imagine the pain of Benjamin Franklin? He was a father who had given everything to his son. He was a father who had dedicated his life to making sure that his son William would succeed in his own right. And how did William repay his father’s dedication: By turning traitor to everything Benjamin had ever believed in and worked for. Indeed the way Benjamin himself said it in a letter to his son after the war, his last one by the way, was “… nothing has ever hurt me so much and affected me with such keen sensibilities as to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son!”
Can any of us understand the total sense of betrayal Benjamin Franklin was feeling at the end of the revolution? He had been betrayed by his only remaining son. He was hurt, he was angry, he was sick, and he was getting old. And if there was one last thing he would do in Paris it was to make absolutely sure that his son and the loyalists he led would receive nothing!
It was not easy. England was determined to help the Loyalists. After all, how would the rest of this mighty empire see the King if these people who had remained loyal to him, who lost everything in that war to the rebels and who were now exiles in other parts of the empire received nothing? If the British government could not protect these Loyalists then the empire itself could come crumbling down!
Despite these major obstacles, Ben Franklin succeeded as he always did. The Loyalists left the new United States. The superpower known as the British Empire was forced to scatter them throughout their remaining colonies with a huge majority of them going to Canada (where their descendants still live to this day.) Was this Benjamin Franklin’s revenge for his son’s betrayal or the practical workings of an American diplomat? You decide.
Now we could go on to discuss the massive implications the Treaty of Paris would have on the Loyalists and on the world. We could discuss the politics, the history, the bitter relations between Canada and the new United States that would continue to the present day. (The U.S. and Canada would fight two more wars in 1812 and 1838.) But on this Father’s day, we are much more interested in what happened to Ben and his son. Did Ben ever forgive his son or even see him again?
As a father myself, Ben’s story has captivated me. I spent 10 years working on a historical novel based on their relationship titled Neither King Nor Country which provides much of the resources for our story today. I was thunderstruck by the tragedy of this story. Here was one of the most brilliant men ever in American and even world history. We owe so much to this great man, and to see such personal suffering in him is staggering. Did they ever make amends? Did they ever forgive each other? There is no evidence beyond what must have been in their own hearts, but every father and son can imagine the pain they both were feeling.
After the war, after the betrayal, Ben and William met one last time in 1785. Ben was returning home from Paris and had stopped in England to see his son.
The meeting did not go well. How could it? Ben was already in intense physical pain. Gout, kidney stones, nearly paralyzed on his left side; was there any malady left that Franklin did not have? If it wasn’t for his grandson William Temple Franklin firmly placing his hand on his Grandfather’s back, the old man would have fallen over in a heartbeat.
Standing on that ship, waiting to see his son he still must have realized how lucky he was to be nearing his 80th birthday, to still be alive and to have seen so much in his life. The Revolution, the Indian wars before that, the friendships he had made with such great men like Washington and Jefferson. He had literally seen empires tremble and countries be born. But how could any of that matter now?
Was he actually nervous to see his son? Benjamin Franklin, the man who stood up to Kings, who met with the greatest Lords and Ladies of Europe, who had schooled Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and even, at times, George Washington himself. I wonder if he was weak in the knees.
He still had not come to terms with William’s betrayal that was clear. He had disowned him, repudiated him both publicly and privately and was even planning on making the boy pay for every debt his father ever encumbered for him, all the way back to his school days. Not a single loyalist, starting with his son, would get anything from this war. Franklin had made sure of that.
Was it pure revenge? Did his heart want to forgive William but his politics could not. After all he had argued in Paris that no Loyalist should get any compensation from the Americans. It was logical. It was scientific. And Benjamin Franklin was the most logical, scientific man in America if not the world. Everything he had ever done, every decision he had ever made, was based on rational thought and behavior. He had not been one of the mob. He had never tarred and feathered anyone. He abhorred that! His decisions to leave the Empire had been made slowly, rationally, weighing all the odds and considering all the ramifications. No one could ever accuse Benjamin Franklin of being rash and emotional; although that certainly never stopped John Adams.
And then there was his son William. How could Ben be rational here? We fathers all know the intense feelings of love, devotion and loyalty that come with being a father. William had betrayed his father in the deepest, darkest recesses of his heart. He had not only chosen a different side, he had actively fought to defeat the Americans and resorted to terror and vengeance to win his cause. If William had won the day, the first man hanged, the first man to lose all his earthly possessions would have been his father Benjamin Franklin. How could Benjamin forgive that? But I will always wonder, did he?
The rational mind of Benjamin Franklin could understand his son’s reasons if not his actions. William had been brought up to respect the Empire. He had served in its army, he had held various positions in its government, including of course the Governor of New Jersey. Benjamin knew that throughout his son’s life, he had taught him to respect authority, to look for compromise, to ignore the baser instincts and use the rational mind to make decisions that were best for all.
But there can also be no doubt that he had loved his son. The two of them spent almost every moment together in Williams’s youth. As a bastard, William had no real mother figure to look up to so Benjamin filled that role in as many ways as he could. They traveled together, they worked together, and Benjamin taught him science, mathematics, law and most importantly morality. Someday, Benjamin must have felt, his son would take over his legacy and the Franklin name would live forever.
Well the Franklin name would live forever, but not because of his son; despite him. Ben still had his beloved daughter Sarah. She was the light of his life, his ardent defender, ally and confidant. Unlike her elder brother, she had never wavered. She had remained loyal to him and to America. Doing relief work, hosting the Ladies Association of Philadelphia to aid the soldiers and even hosting his political meetings after the war; Sarah had been every bit the loyal daughter and hero of the Revolution. That of course, must have made the betrayal of William all the more painful.
In that last meeting, as Benjamin Franklin reflected on his legacy he must have known that his own name would live on. For as long as the new United States was in existence, he knew his role in shaping her would not be forgotten. But as a father how did he feel? We all have the desire to see our children happy. We all have at least some ego that wants to see our children follow in our footsteps, to honor our memory if not in practice at least in character. How then did Benjamin feel? Was he his hit with the deepest despair only a father could feel for a child? He must have. He did. Their meeting did not go well. They did not exchange pleasantries or let bygones be bygones. There is no evidence whatsoever in any letters, papers or diaries that Benjamin and his son ever made amends or that Benjamin ever forgave him. Indeed, the story was so tragic, that in our admiration for Benjamin, we have erased William from the history as Benjamin tried to do in his heart. In school books, in paintings of key, kites and lightning, in every aspect of the everyday culture, William’s name is almost impossible to find. Yes indeed, Benjamin’s name would live on but no one, no one in the entire world, American or Englishman would ever remember his son, the most infamous Loyalist of them all; William Franklin.
…Would any father today trade the world wide fame and fortune for the personal pain of Benjamin Franklin? On this Father’s Day, I think not. Enjoy your day dads, count your blessings and give your kids an extra hug today.
Thanks for listening,
Alan N. Kay
https://alannkay.com/
Alan N. Kay is the Daughters of the American Revolution, 2002 National Outstanding teacher of the year and an award-winning author with more than 25 years of experience bringing stories to life. Known for creative teaching as well as creative writing, Kay has won multiple awards. His most recent work, Neither King Nor Country is a historical mystery/thriller novel set in both the present as well as the American Revolution.
For more on Alan and his work teaching and writing go to https://alannkay.com/
Hey Dad! Do you have a story like this?
You love your son. His birth was one of the greatest and profound moments of your life. When he was little you spent all your time with him. During summer vacations you went everywhere together. You coached his hockey (baseball, football, basketball?) team, you helped him in school and as he got older you tried to protect him from the dangers of the adult world. You and your wife helped him go off to college and you were (or will be…) intensely proud of him as he began his career as an adult. Maybe thinking of it brings you close to tears.
Like me, are you looking forward to spending Father’s Day with your children? Opening the presents, or grilling a hearty steak or even on the golf course, Father’s Day is a day to celebrate everything you sacrificed and all you accomplished as a dad and maybe even as friend. But imagine for just one minute that you would not be celebrating because your story had a horrific twist. Imagine if after everything you did for your son he turned on you. He embarrassed you, humiliated you. How would you deal with that?
Unbelievably you don’t have to look very far for a story to give you pause on this Father’s Day. None other than founding father Benjamin Franklin himself lived that story and the agony of his personal tragedy changed America and the world forever!
There was perhaps no man more respected during his lifetime and no man more admired today than Franklin. He was the scientist who reached for the lightning and dared challenge the heavens, he was the inventor of bifocals and swim fins and countless other inventions. He was the “favorite son of Philadelphia” who established a fire department, ran the post office, a printing press and even developed her street lights. It was he and his associate John Adams who were the ones who asked Thomas Jefferson to write that Declaration of Independence we celebrate every July 4th. And at the conclusion of the American Revolution it was Benjamin Franklin who was the chief, and for most of the time, only negotiator with the British for the Treaty of Paris to end the war.
But what do you know of Benjamin Franklin the father? Did you know he had three children? Did you know that one of them was a son named William? Did you know that like you, Ben spent countless hours with William during his childhood? Indeed William was right there holding the kite with Benjamin during the most famous scientific experiment in American history.
And did you know that Ben got William his first job, that he traveled with William to London and helped him pass the bar exam there? Did you know he helped launch William’s career with his most prestigious job ever, the governorship of New Jersey? And did you know that his son William was the last governor in the country to resign his position after the revolt had already started?
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Benjamin Franklin sounds a lot like you and the relationship you have with your own son. Well wait a minute because here comes the horrible twist. William not only did a superb job in his new career, he was determined to make his father proud and be a successful royal Governor. Picking up on it yet? Yes, that is right, Royal governor. While father Ben was working with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams on declaring independence, his son William was adamant in publicly announcing his loyalty to the King. And as the war grew more desperate, William went on to not only profess his loyalty to the king but to actively work with British troops to defeat the rebellion! He organized other Loyalists; he started conspiracies and plots and even attempted to organize his own loyalist army that would be used against George Washington. And when that plot failed and the rebels went on to win, what did William do? He represented the cause of the Loyalists and traveled to London to petition the King for aid! Ironically while William was in London meeting with the King to represent one side of the war (the losers), father Ben was in Paris representing the winners!
Can you even begin to imagine the pain of Benjamin Franklin? He was a father who had given everything to his son. He was a father who had dedicated his life to making sure that his son William would succeed in his own right. And how did William repay his father’s dedication: By turning traitor to everything Benjamin had ever believed in and worked for. Indeed the way Benjamin himself said it in a letter to his son after the war, his last one by the way, was “… nothing has ever hurt me so much and affected me with such keen sensibilities as to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son!”
Can any of us understand the total sense of betrayal Benjamin Franklin was feeling at the end of the revolution? He had been betrayed by his only remaining son. He was hurt, he was angry, he was sick, and he was getting old. And if there was one last thing he would do in Paris it was to make absolutely sure that his son and the loyalists he led would receive nothing!
It was not easy. England was determined to help the Loyalists. After all, how would the rest of this mighty empire see the King if these people who had remained loyal to him, who lost everything in that war to the rebels and who were now exiles in other parts of the empire received nothing? If the British government could not protect these Loyalists then the empire itself could come crumbling down!
Despite these major obstacles, Ben Franklin succeeded as he always did. The Loyalists left the new United States. The superpower known as the British Empire was forced to scatter them throughout their remaining colonies with a huge majority of them going to Canada (where their descendants still live to this day.) Was this Benjamin Franklin’s revenge for his son’s betrayal or the practical workings of an American diplomat? You decide.
Now we could go on to discuss the massive implications the Treaty of Paris would have on the Loyalists and on the world. We could discuss the politics, the history, the bitter relations between Canada and the new United States that would continue to the present day. (The U.S. and Canada would fight two more wars in 1812 and 1838.) But on this Father’s day, we are much more interested in what happened to Ben and his son. Did Ben ever forgive his son or even see him again?
As a father myself, Ben’s story has captivated me. I spent 10 years working on a historical novel based on their relationship titled Neither King Nor Country which provides much of the resources for our story today. I was thunderstruck by the tragedy of this story. Here was one of the most brilliant men ever in American and even world history. We owe so much to this great man, and to see such personal suffering in him is staggering. Did they ever make amends? Did they ever forgive each other? There is no evidence beyond what must have been in their own hearts, but every father and son can imagine the pain they both were feeling.
After the war, after the betrayal, Ben and William met one last time in 1785. Ben was returning home from Paris and had stopped in England to see his son.
The meeting did not go well. How could it? Ben was already in intense physical pain. Gout, kidney stones, nearly paralyzed on his left side; was there any malady left that Franklin did not have? If it wasn’t for his grandson William Temple Franklin firmly placing his hand on his Grandfather’s back, the old man would have fallen over in a heartbeat.
Standing on that ship, waiting to see his son he still must have realized how lucky he was to be nearing his 80th birthday, to still be alive and to have seen so much in his life. The Revolution, the Indian wars before that, the friendships he had made with such great men like Washington and Jefferson. He had literally seen empires tremble and countries be born. But how could any of that matter now?
Was he actually nervous to see his son? Benjamin Franklin, the man who stood up to Kings, who met with the greatest Lords and Ladies of Europe, who had schooled Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and even, at times, George Washington himself. I wonder if he was weak in the knees.
He still had not come to terms with William’s betrayal that was clear. He had disowned him, repudiated him both publicly and privately and was even planning on making the boy pay for every debt his father ever encumbered for him, all the way back to his school days. Not a single loyalist, starting with his son, would get anything from this war. Franklin had made sure of that.
Was it pure revenge? Did his heart want to forgive William but his politics could not. After all he had argued in Paris that no Loyalist should get any compensation from the Americans. It was logical. It was scientific. And Benjamin Franklin was the most logical, scientific man in America if not the world. Everything he had ever done, every decision he had ever made, was based on rational thought and behavior. He had not been one of the mob. He had never tarred and feathered anyone. He abhorred that! His decisions to leave the Empire had been made slowly, rationally, weighing all the odds and considering all the ramifications. No one could ever accuse Benjamin Franklin of being rash and emotional; although that certainly never stopped John Adams.
And then there was his son William. How could Ben be rational here? We fathers all know the intense feelings of love, devotion and loyalty that come with being a father. William had betrayed his father in the deepest, darkest recesses of his heart. He had not only chosen a different side, he had actively fought to defeat the Americans and resorted to terror and vengeance to win his cause. If William had won the day, the first man hanged, the first man to lose all his earthly possessions would have been his father Benjamin Franklin. How could Benjamin forgive that? But I will always wonder, did he?
The rational mind of Benjamin Franklin could understand his son’s reasons if not his actions. William had been brought up to respect the Empire. He had served in its army, he had held various positions in its government, including of course the Governor of New Jersey. Benjamin knew that throughout his son’s life, he had taught him to respect authority, to look for compromise, to ignore the baser instincts and use the rational mind to make decisions that were best for all.
But there can also be no doubt that he had loved his son. The two of them spent almost every moment together in Williams’s youth. As a bastard, William had no real mother figure to look up to so Benjamin filled that role in as many ways as he could. They traveled together, they worked together, and Benjamin taught him science, mathematics, law and most importantly morality. Someday, Benjamin must have felt, his son would take over his legacy and the Franklin name would live forever.
Well the Franklin name would live forever, but not because of his son; despite him. Ben still had his beloved daughter Sarah. She was the light of his life, his ardent defender, ally and confidant. Unlike her elder brother, she had never wavered. She had remained loyal to him and to America. Doing relief work, hosting the Ladies Association of Philadelphia to aid the soldiers and even hosting his political meetings after the war; Sarah had been every bit the loyal daughter and hero of the Revolution. That of course, must have made the betrayal of William all the more painful.
In that last meeting, as Benjamin Franklin reflected on his legacy he must have known that his own name would live on. For as long as the new United States was in existence, he knew his role in shaping her would not be forgotten. But as a father how did he feel? We all have the desire to see our children happy. We all have at least some ego that wants to see our children follow in our footsteps, to honor our memory if not in practice at least in character. How then did Benjamin feel? Was he his hit with the deepest despair only a father could feel for a child? He must have. He did. Their meeting did not go well. They did not exchange pleasantries or let bygones be bygones. There is no evidence whatsoever in any letters, papers or diaries that Benjamin and his son ever made amends or that Benjamin ever forgave him. Indeed, the story was so tragic, that in our admiration for Benjamin, we have erased William from the history as Benjamin tried to do in his heart. In school books, in paintings of key, kites and lightning, in every aspect of the everyday culture, William’s name is almost impossible to find. Yes indeed, Benjamin’s name would live on but no one, no one in the entire world, American or Englishman would ever remember his son, the most infamous Loyalist of them all; William Franklin.
…Would any father today trade the world wide fame and fortune for the personal pain of Benjamin Franklin? On this Father’s Day, I think not. Enjoy your day dads, count your blessings and give your kids an extra hug today.
Thanks for listening,
Alan N. Kay
https://alannkay.com/
Alan N. Kay is the Daughters of the American Revolution, 2002 National Outstanding teacher of the year and an award-winning author with more than 25 years of experience bringing stories to life. Known for creative teaching as well as creative writing, Kay has won multiple awards. His most recent work, Neither King Nor Country is a historical mystery/thriller novel set in both the present as well as the American Revolution.
For more on Alan and his work teaching and writing go to https://alannkay.com/
June 16, 2020
Columbus: Hero or Villain
The sweet old lady who didn’t know she was a racist.
Let me tell you a story. It was about 25 years ago right around the time of the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary (500 year anniversary). I was teaching in an inner city school, it was my first year and I was trying to get along with my new colleagues. One of my favorite new people was the librarian or media specialist as they are called now. She helped me find resources for my students, had great access to movies and research projects and I was probably the number one teacher to bring my students to the media center that year. One day as I was walking past the display windows she was putting a gigantic “Welcome Columbus” sign in the window.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/us/chr...
I realized right away that she probably had a similar education to mine. She had been taught to celebrate Columbus, that Columbus was a wonderful hero who brought the two halves of the world together and proved the world was round. (Which he didn’t by the way. Everyone, especially sailors already knew that. Ask me why sometime…) She also probably got Columbus Day off when she was little like they did in my hometown. But I also was acutely aware as a history teacher that not all students had her perspective especially in an inner-city school.
Did you know of the decades long movement to rename Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s” day? More than 25% of states in the United States no longer celebrate Columbus Day!
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/....
But 25 years ago, this was not the case and I knew I had to be careful. So I casually walked up to her and in the friendliest voice I could muster I said to her “you know not everybody might feel comfortable welcoming Columbus especially in this school.”
Her reaction was icy. How dare I say that! She had taken so much time and effort to make these beautiful banners and colorful pictures of Columbus being welcomed by the “Indians”. She was not about to let some young upstart history teacher tell her how to create holiday displays. She was shocked and hurt and angry!
I knew I was on thin ice as a new teacher and I did not want to make enemies my very first year so I found an awkward way to excuse myself and moved on. However the historian in me and more importantly the human in me could not let this sit. So I went on and produced some of the research on Columbus and how the international slave trade grew from his exploits. There was a recent article from Newsweek about the diseases the Europeans were unwittingly carrying which wiped out 90% of the native population. (Sidenote: Think about that for a minute in the middle of this corona pandemic. 90% of the population of the Americas, 10-15 million people, were wiped out in the 16th century!)
Now of course Columbus himself did not start the international slave trade and of course he was ignorant of the disease he himself was carrying but also of course no African or Native American would celebrate the beginning of these two genocidal events. In my class we have often debated Columbus and whether he himself deserves the label of hero or villain in order to try to put these incredible events into some kind of perspective. By the way the results of the debate go back and forth, sometimes he’s a hero, sometimes he’s a villain, and most of the time he’s somewhere in the middle.
Fortunately the story has a happy ending. To her credit the media specialist looked at the information I had gathered and realized that perhaps she had misjudged how her banner would be received. That’s all it took. One brief moment of looking at history through someone else’s eyes made her stop and realize that there is more than one way to tell the story. And that is why I tell you this story. Not because the media specialist was wrong, not because there is only one way to tell the story of history but because we all need to take a step back and look at the story that has been told and why it has been told only one way for hundreds of years. Then, we should discuss it.
Thanks for listening,
Alan N. Kay
Let me tell you a story. It was about 25 years ago right around the time of the Christopher Columbus Quincentenary (500 year anniversary). I was teaching in an inner city school, it was my first year and I was trying to get along with my new colleagues. One of my favorite new people was the librarian or media specialist as they are called now. She helped me find resources for my students, had great access to movies and research projects and I was probably the number one teacher to bring my students to the media center that year. One day as I was walking past the display windows she was putting a gigantic “Welcome Columbus” sign in the window.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/us/chr...
I realized right away that she probably had a similar education to mine. She had been taught to celebrate Columbus, that Columbus was a wonderful hero who brought the two halves of the world together and proved the world was round. (Which he didn’t by the way. Everyone, especially sailors already knew that. Ask me why sometime…) She also probably got Columbus Day off when she was little like they did in my hometown. But I also was acutely aware as a history teacher that not all students had her perspective especially in an inner-city school.
Did you know of the decades long movement to rename Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s” day? More than 25% of states in the United States no longer celebrate Columbus Day!
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/....
But 25 years ago, this was not the case and I knew I had to be careful. So I casually walked up to her and in the friendliest voice I could muster I said to her “you know not everybody might feel comfortable welcoming Columbus especially in this school.”
Her reaction was icy. How dare I say that! She had taken so much time and effort to make these beautiful banners and colorful pictures of Columbus being welcomed by the “Indians”. She was not about to let some young upstart history teacher tell her how to create holiday displays. She was shocked and hurt and angry!
I knew I was on thin ice as a new teacher and I did not want to make enemies my very first year so I found an awkward way to excuse myself and moved on. However the historian in me and more importantly the human in me could not let this sit. So I went on and produced some of the research on Columbus and how the international slave trade grew from his exploits. There was a recent article from Newsweek about the diseases the Europeans were unwittingly carrying which wiped out 90% of the native population. (Sidenote: Think about that for a minute in the middle of this corona pandemic. 90% of the population of the Americas, 10-15 million people, were wiped out in the 16th century!)
Now of course Columbus himself did not start the international slave trade and of course he was ignorant of the disease he himself was carrying but also of course no African or Native American would celebrate the beginning of these two genocidal events. In my class we have often debated Columbus and whether he himself deserves the label of hero or villain in order to try to put these incredible events into some kind of perspective. By the way the results of the debate go back and forth, sometimes he’s a hero, sometimes he’s a villain, and most of the time he’s somewhere in the middle.
Fortunately the story has a happy ending. To her credit the media specialist looked at the information I had gathered and realized that perhaps she had misjudged how her banner would be received. That’s all it took. One brief moment of looking at history through someone else’s eyes made her stop and realize that there is more than one way to tell the story. And that is why I tell you this story. Not because the media specialist was wrong, not because there is only one way to tell the story of history but because we all need to take a step back and look at the story that has been told and why it has been told only one way for hundreds of years. Then, we should discuss it.
Thanks for listening,
Alan N. Kay
April 11, 2020
New Stories on-line!
So I am expanding into the on-line world yet again! With all of us Looking for something to watch, I decided to create my newest YOUTUBE page complete with lectures, movies and clips both short and long. Throughout this crisis and beyond I will post more and more on this YOUTUBE page so please subscribe and enjoy! Stay safe and carry on!
Alan N. Kay
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHC2...
Alan N. Kay
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHC2...
March 19, 2020
While stuck at home...
WE ARE ALL STUCK AT HOME!
I want to do my part in helping you pass the time without watching the news every minute.
So, I have dropped all income from my book and am releasing it at cost. (Or at least as low as Amazon will let. LOL) I am receiving no money or royalties for this and it is the least I can do. The price below is Amazon’s cost to print.
The only thing I ask is that you SHARE this info with your friends. When you finish reading it (or have read the book) please also click on the link below and review it.
… So if you are looking for a great read ( ) to pass the time, take advantage of this and clink on the link below. (in Kindle for $2.99 or in paperback for $12.99).
Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/057...
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
I want to do my part in helping you pass the time without watching the news every minute.
So, I have dropped all income from my book and am releasing it at cost. (Or at least as low as Amazon will let. LOL) I am receiving no money or royalties for this and it is the least I can do. The price below is Amazon’s cost to print.
The only thing I ask is that you SHARE this info with your friends. When you finish reading it (or have read the book) please also click on the link below and review it.
… So if you are looking for a great read ( ) to pass the time, take advantage of this and clink on the link below. (in Kindle for $2.99 or in paperback for $12.99).
Paperback
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/057...
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...
December 30, 2019
The End of an era?
STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!
IT IS NOT THE END OF THE DECADE!
Sorry. This is a pet peeve of mine and I hate to ruin your end of the decade, new decade parties but it’s just not right!
This article courtesy of Alan N. Kay, The History Cart. Follow it on Facebook.
https://m.facebook.com/NeitherKingNor...
If you want, you can read this link below. You can also realize that just because the whole world has made a mistake does not make that mistake a truth. Or you can just start counting.
Ready? Everybody. Let’s start.....
1, 2,3...
Did anybody start with zero? Of course not we all start counting with the number one. So let’s count the years. Year one, year two, year three,… And year 10. First decade!
Next decade... Year 11, year 12..13,14,15,16,17,18,19.... and 20. Next decade.
2020 is the last year of the 2nd decade of the 21st century. The third decade starts with 2021. If you still dont get it, start with the actual days and count forward. ( Hint: 365 days in a year. Dont forget the leap year. Silly earth, why take 365.25 days to round the sun. Cant it just do it evenly?).
Let me know when you get to today... 😀
Sorry again... I really don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade but since my job is literally to count the days and tell the young ones what happened in those days before today it just is a pet peeve of mine. Now of course if you want to understand this, still have a party and know it’s a fake party and then have another real party at the end of 2020 because you like to party, then I am all for that!
Oh... Happy New Year everyone. Enjoy!
Alan N. Kay
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/21/us/whe...
IT IS NOT THE END OF THE DECADE!
Sorry. This is a pet peeve of mine and I hate to ruin your end of the decade, new decade parties but it’s just not right!
This article courtesy of Alan N. Kay, The History Cart. Follow it on Facebook.
https://m.facebook.com/NeitherKingNor...
If you want, you can read this link below. You can also realize that just because the whole world has made a mistake does not make that mistake a truth. Or you can just start counting.
Ready? Everybody. Let’s start.....
1, 2,3...
Did anybody start with zero? Of course not we all start counting with the number one. So let’s count the years. Year one, year two, year three,… And year 10. First decade!
Next decade... Year 11, year 12..13,14,15,16,17,18,19.... and 20. Next decade.
2020 is the last year of the 2nd decade of the 21st century. The third decade starts with 2021. If you still dont get it, start with the actual days and count forward. ( Hint: 365 days in a year. Dont forget the leap year. Silly earth, why take 365.25 days to round the sun. Cant it just do it evenly?).
Let me know when you get to today... 😀
Sorry again... I really don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade but since my job is literally to count the days and tell the young ones what happened in those days before today it just is a pet peeve of mine. Now of course if you want to understand this, still have a party and know it’s a fake party and then have another real party at the end of 2020 because you like to party, then I am all for that!
Oh... Happy New Year everyone. Enjoy!
Alan N. Kay
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/21/us/whe...
December 23, 2019
Holiday Special
Sorry to post this here but cant find another place on Goodreads to announce this:
Hey everyone just a heads up, that my new adult book Neither King Nor Country will be part of the special end of the year sale. At 50% off for the digital copy its a steal at $3.00. Sale starts Christmas day at the Smashwords web site. Please share with your friends!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Hey everyone just a heads up, that my new adult book Neither King Nor Country will be part of the special end of the year sale. At 50% off for the digital copy its a steal at $3.00. Sale starts Christmas day at the Smashwords web site. Please share with your friends!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
