Ken Burns of course. Two parts this week on PBS. Hope it is not political.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Ken Burns of course. Two parts this week on PBS. Hope it is not political.

Agree, but, the man was "political"

Voice of Franklin will be:
Mandy Patinkin.

He is one of my favorite people from history and quite a fascinating person who was way ahead of his time. There is a Benjamin Franklin museum in Philadelphia that is pretty cool and it sits adjacent to Franklin Court with the "ghost" structures of his house there from the Colonial era. Was sadly torn down in the 1940's during an urban expansion when people didn't seem to care much about their history I guess.

Did you know it was Franklin who came up with the term "Battery" for a power unit of joined cells?

Franklin Court:

I thought it was pretty good. Looking forward to tonight's show. I have been a Franklin fan for years.

I liked it. There wasn't too much handwringing over Franklin owning slaves and not being a big supporter of black people in his early life.

I liked it as well and thought it was very well done. He was quite a guy, but I don't ever remember learning that his son was such a slimeball traitor to the cause (and to his family).

The division with his son was interesting....but I see the other side.... he was loyal to his country and his king to a fault.... how many here might be the same depending on who their current 'king' is?

My one problem with the show is they totally skipped over that the revolution was actually won because the British divided their forces and sent half in through Charleston with the idea of doing what Sherman did 80 years later.... but the lowly folks in S.C. took offense... look up Francis Marion, and such battles as Cowpins and especially Kings Mountain.

Seems our history of the revolution started to be modified a bit starting in about 1865....

Oh, and the really amazing thing is that Ben was able to convince France to give us anything let alone support us.... What the hell were they thinking! But it is the French you know... look at what their current 'king' leader just said.

Better than what Marie said....

Franklin took full advantage of the French hate for the British, that’s how he was successful.

I never realized that Benjamin Franklin had another son nicknamed “Franky” that died at age 4 of smallpox, wonder how he would have turned out had he lived? Sounds like the Franklin‘s doted on this child and they were completely devastated when he died. Franklin himself was reluctant about the whole smallpox inoculation movement, but after his son caught it and died suddenly, he became a big proponent of it.

I missed it but will try to catch a rerun.

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:

My one problem with the show is they totally skipped over that the revolution was actually won because the British divided their forces and sent half in through Charleston with the idea of doing what Sherman did 80 years later.... but the lowly folks in S.C. took offense... look up Francis Marion, and such battles as Cowpins and especially Kings Mountain.

More importantly, a few years earlier Clinton decided he needed to go south from New York to capture the colonists' capital, Philadelphia, rather than go up the Hudson to link up with Burgoyne. Had the battles of Bennington and Saratoga been lost, the French would not have increased their aid and begun overtly supporting the colonists.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Blackmore,

I always thought it was a hoot that Tom Wilkinson played Benjamin Franklin in HBO's John Adams where 8 years earlier he had played General Charles Cornwallis in The Patriot!

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:


Oh, and the really amazing thing is that Ben was able to convince France to give us anything let alone support us.... What the hell were they thinking! But it is the French you know... look at what their current 'king' leader just said.

The French were more than happy to have a way to put their thumb in England's eye. They were enemies then.

Thanks for all the positive reviews. I recorded it and will watch soon.

I don't know what's different about this show,
I've tried to watch it three times and I keep falling asleep .

I catch two or three magnificent things about Ben , and the next thing you know I am dead asleep.

that whole slavery business is a major bummer.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
Oh, and the really amazing thing is that Ben was able to convince France to give us anything let alone support us.... What the hell were they thinking! But it is the French you know... look at what their current 'king' leader just said.

The French were more than happy to have a way to put their thumb in England's eye. They were enemies then.

True, but as pointed out, they were treading a fine line between putting their thumb in England's eye and giving their own people ideas on individual liberty and revolution. It was a tough call and thankfully they made the right one. We wouldn't exist had they decided to "sit this one out".

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
that whole slavery business is a major bummer.

Bummer as in Franklin owned slaves and, attitudes towards or, simply how it was discussed?

Slavery as abhorrent as we view it today, was acceptable then. There was certainly those who didn't accept the practice and their position was usually of a religious or, economical one, rather than a humanistic one. Arguments were being articulated to disavow the practice and the mere notion of debating such a subject was gaining traction. Keep in mind, it wasn't too long earlier that the world was a even more severe and frieghtful place, where there was no benefit of doubt. If you were a 'nobody', and had no one of standing to vouch for you, imprisonment, abuse, indentured servitude, serfdom was perfectly acceptable as was enslavement. Gotta keep it in perspective.