Betsy Ross was a recent widow, and she was a poor, struggling seamstress when the story goes, she was approach by a team, including General George Washington to create a new flag for the hope of a new nation. It was apparently a secret meeting. General Washington asked her for help in the preparation of a brand new flag, and a new concept for a struggling nation.
Some historians doubt the story at least a little. Why? Because a man named Francis Hopkinson asked to be credited and paid for the production of the new flag. Who was Hopkinson? He was an author and a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey. He asked to be paid for ‘his creation’. He actually wrote a letter to the Continental Board of Admiralty for a reward of two casks of wine for several patriotic designs he had created during the previous three years.
Thomas Jefferson should truly be remembered and honored today. What did he accomplish? I’ll just mention a few here. He graduated from William and Mary College and then studied law for 5 years under George Wythe, the first law professor in Virginia.
Benjamin Franklin will be the first to admit that he made mistakes. Plenty of them. However, there appear to be at least 3 mistakes he never made. He tells us about those.
The Constitution was undeniably the idea, design, and proposal of James Madison, but so also was the Bill of Rights. The first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. Once the Constitution was ratified and signed by the 55 Representatives of the States in Congress, it had to be approved by each of the States individually.
On one occasion I was speaking to about 300 people at a convention in Provo, Utah. My topic was “The Pursuit of Happiness—Thomas Jefferson.” I had 55 minutes to tell about Thomas Jefferson’s life and accomplishments. Needless to say, I only got to the highlights.
There has been much talk in the recent political arena about protecting the Constitution. There hasn’t been much talk about the Constitution itself and what it says or means. I sometimes wonder how much politicians, Senators, Representatives, Judges and even citizens really know about the Constitution. But it does make for a good sound bite.