Which Patriot, Forefather most influenced your life?

Ben Franklin is one of my favorite early Americans. He was a statesman, and an inventor. He also dabbled in occult religion from time to time, and was known to frequent flop-houses, something he never tried to hide anyway.

I like the founding fathers as much as the next guy, but we all have to realise that they were humans, not angels. George Washington smoked marijuana. Jefferson cheated on his wife with a slave girl. Andrew Jackson threw wild parties and could have been considered an alcoholic. Abraham Lincoln spent alot of time on suicide watch, as he was a very depressed person.

They're werent perfect. They were people, just like us.
 
Never had to pick a favorite before ...

I've always been a big fan of Thomas Jefferson, but then in the John Adams HBO series Jefferson looked like somewhat of a jerk. Of course, it was from John Adams POV. It's an amazing coincedince that both men died on 7/4/26, exactly 50 years after the declaration of independence.

Franklin is a big hero of mine (atheist, adulterer ... he was ashamed of none of those things and a powerhouse of an intellectual).

I don't think it is out of line to talk about Jefferson and his slaves, but I have no insights there except to say that many people had slaves and in the times it was considered legal. If he fathered children with one such woman I hope it was consentual -- did slaves have any rights to claim crimes against their masters? Thankfully we have gotten beyond slavery.

So I guess to sum it up my hero of the revolution is Jefferson, though I think Frankly is arguably the greatest American of his time (not only because of participation in the revolution, but because of other accomplishments).
 
I would have to list top 3 John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.
I find reading about the discourses between all the Founding Fathers very enlightening, the out standing differences and comeing together over the course of almost 20 years work to give us and the world our Consistution and Bill of Rights. They were truely amazing men. They were not angels, saints or anything but men that had a dream of forming a Goverment that the people controled. The pledge they signed today has lost it's meaning to society but it still has meaning to me. 'We pledge our lives, our fortunes, and scared Honor"; they were willing to risk everything and many paid full price for thier dream that most people today take for granted. I wish that the elected officals of today were just half as smart and honorable as our founding fathers. To those who wish to drag out the dirty laundry from the closets let us start with your dirty laundry first then compare to thiers.
 
The calumnies heaped upon the founders in this thread are unwarranted. The evidence of Jefferson and the slave girl is thin, at best. Franklin, at worst, was an agnostic, though he admitted to not being the most faithful Christian, he attended church services regularly. They all shouldered a burden that had little hope of success and a great danger to them of death if it failed. Show some small measure of appreciation. This is the most ungrateful generation.
 
This is the most ungrateful generation.
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I for one am very grateful. I'm scared though too.

Here's a quote I really like from Samuel Adams:

If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us
in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down
and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon
you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
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I have to say Thomas Jefferson. A brilliant mind, he was an author, scientist, botanist, as well as President of the United States and Ambassador to France.
Also wrote, what is to my own mind, the finest document ever written, that being our own Declaration of Independence.

When I am asked what political party I belong to, my answer is"Neither one. I am a Jeffersonian Liberal."
 
My favorites....

Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. Too bad more Americans can't live like them. Free of any religion and social construct, as long as you harm none, do what you will! That's the America I believe in!!


Epyon
 
As did Franklin, he wrote of it in his autobiography. He did prefer talk of God's love and forgiveness, and eschewed fire and brimestone preachers.
 
I admire the whole lot. Washington and Franklin or in my top three list, but Jefferson is THE MAN as far as I'm concerned. My favorite Jefferson quote:
"I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man". Gotta love that!
 
What an excellent thread! I work night shift at a local public high school as a custodian and boiler operator and am often saddened by the near total lack of knowledge, or interest, on the part of most of the students with regard to our history or anything not seen on TV. Recently I was told by a Social Studies teacher, a good friend, that he'd asked his AP (Advanced Placement) Freshmen U.S. History I kids to name their favorite U.S. President on the bottom of a quiz.

These are the smarter of the Frosh, folks. School ends June 20th, the year is near done. The overwhelming choice for these young minds? Franklin. That's right; Statesman, Inventor, Patriot, Avid Swimmer, Philosopher, Fond of his Victuals and his Wine and, how the heck did I miss that!?, President. Apparently, these children, in a very wealthy district, mind you, know it's "All About the Benjamins". *sigh*

I'm a fan of Mr. Franklin, Ethan Allen, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Hamilton, Nathan Hale.....it's a long list. Franklin tops my list, though. Randy old gent, indeed.
 
The interesting thing, to me, is that most, if not all, of the men mentioned were the recipients of Liberal Arts educations. Liberal in the sense that they were mostly/all multi-lingual, were well-read in the classics, learned in rhetoric (not in the sense of the ever-present rhetorical question, but rather in the sense of "the art of speaking or writing effectively" [Merriam-Webster on line]. Somewhere along the line, "liberal" became a dirty word.

Without exception they all had inquiring minds, many were the leading scientists of their day, and as far as I can tell, none of them were closed off to finding new truths from whatever source presented itself. For example, Jefferson lifted the idea of representative government directly from the native people's form of government where representatives from different tribes met in a central location to discuss the issues of the day; this at a time when there was still discussion among the masses as to whether the native peoples were even human.

What I'm most concerned about today is the way that language is evolving at a fairly rapid pace into "newspeak". The Liberal left wants to legislatively control what I can do as far as owning guns, speaking politically incorrectly, adding on to my house or landscaping (I won't ever move someplace with a "homeowner's association"), and myriad other ways that are inherently covered by "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". The Conservative right wants to exercise the same control over whether or not I (were the condition biologically possible) can terminate an unwanted pregnancy, marry another person of the same sex, enjoy the same herbal inhalants enjoyed by our forefathers, freely discuss my complete lack of theo-centric beliefs and myriad other restraints upon the basic three rights (which remember, the founders claim come from a higher authority - I believe they pre-exist authority, and thus, simply are).

And regardless of which patriot or founding father is our greatest influence, the relevant question facing us today is which if the current crop is most likely to put us on a course BACK to the basics of a representative democracy with the minimal amount of undue interference in our lives, and the lives of the next and future generations.

I dispair for our country and fear for its future. I do engage my elected officials on those issues dearest to me (currently it's almost all illegal immigration (against) and gun rights (for)), and I can do little more else than to continue to vote my conscience, and stock up on ammo.

All the best,
Rob
 
"I may disagree with what you say but will defend to my death your right to say it" Thomas Jefferson
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I think Jefferson got that from Voltaire, but I may be wrong.

Yes, this is a great thread. Like Sgt.Fathead said, a lot of our kids are growing up without knowing about these great men. It is good to see Americans discussing them.
 
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