Sun, 21 Feb 2016

Benjamin Franklin And Other People Behind The USA


When people hear about the founding fathers the person who first comes to mind is George Washington. Good old George is an interesting figure in history given that his military career was actually less than stellar before he got his position.

Benjamin Franklin and other people behind the USA have colorful histories as well. Some of their background is not even included in most history books. People like Thomas Jeferson, Samuel Adams and Benjamin Franklin all ring a bell, but the truth is people don't know much about them.

More often than not the only thing most people know about Benjamin Franklin and other people behind the USA are quotable quotes, a one liner or short stories like how Benjamin Franklin proved electricity exists by flying a kite during a storm, which by the way isn't even true.

A large majority of facts are often twisted and reshaped into what people believe to be the truth. History, as some say, is written according to a person's convenience.

Below are some interesting facts on Benjamin Franklin and other people behind the USA.


Benjamin Franklin Wasn't The Best Journalist


In journalism, one of the most important things is to get one's facts straight. For a man as intelligent as Benjamin Franklin he sure was good at coming up with facts of his own. Benjamin Franklin wrote an article on how the British Royal Court was supposedly receiving shaved scalps from Native Americans who they were employing during the war. This scared the British and angered the Americans. None of this was true.

This would've been less ridiculous if Ben had only done it as a smear campaign against Britain to gain the support of European nations, but since the last battle between the American colonies and the British was over a year ago by this point, Mr. Franklin was apparently just doing it for the kicks.


George Washington Didn't Cut Down A Cherry Tree, But He Did Grow Hemp


One of the most commonly told parables in every school in the United States is that of George Washington cutting down his father's prized cherry tree. Long story short, George Washington told his father the truth that it was he who cut down the prized cherry tree.

Today, the story is still popular as George Washington's unerring honesty resonates throughout America. This story was in fact made up by a man named Parson Weems.

Most people aren't sure why this author chose to wrote this story but many believe that he did it in order to captivate his readers into buying his product.

What is true is that George Washington grew hemp. Back then people didn't flirt with Mary Jane for recreational purposes; instead, people saw it as an excellent way of stabilizing the soil and used the stems as an industrial resource.

One honest to goodness good truth about George Washington is that he was the only one of the founding fathers to have freed his slaves.


Every Single One Of The Founding Fathers Were Rich, Except For Samuel Adams

The people who signed the declaration of independence were all very wealthy landowners. These people had a lot to loss to say the least had the revolution failed. The only person who wasn't rich among their group was Samuel Adams.

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Patrick Henry's signatures are all missing because they simply were not there during those days.


Thomas Jefferson Has A Cool Epitaph

An epitaph is something that is written, strictly speaking, on a tombstone in order to honor or commemorate the dead. One of the lines written in Thomas Jefferson's is "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence"



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