After reviewing some things I have in common with John Adams, I had to remember why I started studying the Founding Fathers anyway. As a young lawyer I was appointed by the mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, to be a member of his “Citizens Crime Commission,” a group of volunteers who met monthly and discussed methods the Mayor could use to alleviate crime in the City.
In those days, every major city in America had such a commission. There was a National Citizens Crime Commission. It was 1976, the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. The National Commission was holding its national convention in Philadelphia that year. I was elected to represent the Arizona Crime Commission at the national convention. What an honor.
It seems that my own life has had some parallels with John. We are about the same general size. Of course, I am much more handsome than he. If you’ll recall, John went to college at his family’s insistence. Well, his fathers. He went to Harvard College, which at the time trained students to become ministers, teachers, or lawyers.
Benjamin Franklin was greeted with a hero’s welcome when he arrived back in America in 1785. He had been in Paris, France, under the direction of Congress to finally achieve a Treaty, The Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War. In that achievement he was assisted by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and John Jay. They were successful, and the Treaty was heavily in favor of the United States.
But this much I can tell you, it’s clear to me who the favorite Founding Father is in the hearts of my listeners. It’s obviously Benjamin Franklin. My lectures about Ben are the most popular, bring the highest attendance, and produce the most questions and comments. And I do love Benjamin Franklin.
When things were getting rough in the Colonies, there were a few men who stood up for things they believed in. It started with Patrick Henry in his speech as he was first elected to the house of Burgesses. Thomas Jefferson, his friend, listened in at the door of the Capitol in Williamsburg, as Henry made his speech, from notes written in the flyleaf of Jefferson’s loaned book!
For years I have presented classes, speeches, and presentations about the Founding Fathers of our United States of America. I love to do it. I suppose during one of my speeches, I had become a little too enthusiastic and bombastic. One attendee came up to me afterwards to tell me as much!
Some say that whatever a man has decided to have placed on his tombstone says a lot about what that man considered to be of greatest importance in his life. Knowing that you would think that a man who accomplished as much in his life as did Thomas Jefferson would need a large grave marker. Or perhaps he’d need several tombstones to give the full story.