Messages 2008
The Founding Fathers as a Class.
June 14th, 2008
Santa Cruz, California
Received by FAB
I am here, Benjamin Franklin.
Let me discuss the idea that a few people organized and administered the American Revolution. Well, this is a great truth. The times were dangerous and disorganized, and we founding fathers, once the momentum of war started, didn’t just get caught up in the moment - we fought for a principle. We had come to expect certain freedoms, and they were withdrawn. So it was not just the severe pressure caused by the English government. This pressure was a catalyst for the development in our minds of a higher purpose of government.
Our critics have noticed the central role we played. They have also noticed that we protected not just our rights but our property rights as well. So was the American Revolution simply one class replacing another? Or was it indeed a great unprecedented experiment in freedom?
The answer to these questions resides in the opinion of everyone who desires to know the answer; history is, in one sense, a point of view, and historical facts are colored by the views of each historian.
Yes, we most definitely considered ourselves a class. We felt we were uniquely positioned by destiny to guide our country.