"They have violated the fundamental rule of warfare, which is always to let the British win."

@granddukeofmecklenburg

4 жыл бұрын

Aka...Get the germans to win for you, like the 7 years war...then the napoleonic wars in Both the 6th coalition, and waterloo

@jbreezy101

4 жыл бұрын

That's when the the Massachusetts delegation knew what he was really doing.

@JensontheBasterd

2 жыл бұрын

@@granddukeofmecklenburg swarthy germs still seething about living in the anglos shadow

@robbie_

Жыл бұрын

@@granddukeofmecklenburg What on earth are you talking about.

@granddukeofmecklenburg

Жыл бұрын

@Rob Inson I don't remember, probably the need for Hanoverian troops in particular along with troops from Braunschweig, and Hesse-Kassel(and others to lesser extent) to fill its ranks...Then I guess the 6th coalition part is self-explanatory. As is waterloo.

I'm a huge fan of Benjamin Franklin. I even carry pictures of him in my wallet.

@09133217957

6 жыл бұрын

Mike Donahue me too i even carry hundreds of them all the time ... chicks can call me any time =)))

@andymullins84

6 жыл бұрын

did you match the joke to the video or did you match the video to the joke?.....either way hats off to you. good one.

@AbrahamLincoln4

5 жыл бұрын

Why not be a huge fan of me!?

@AnhTrieu90

5 жыл бұрын

I, on the other hand, am a huge fan of Lincoln. I wonder why am I so poor?

@DarkMatterX1

5 жыл бұрын

@@AbrahamLincoln4 Because you were an awful tyrant whose name we should use today as an insult.

RIP Tom Wilkinson. Such a memorable performance in an amazing series.

@davecrupel2817

3 ай бұрын

Can't believe he's gone. 😢 His roles have always been so memorable. :(

@EagleFangBasketball22

2 ай бұрын

Tom was a great actor. He played General Cornwallis in the Patriot movie and Benjamin Franklin in the John Adams series.

@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr

19 күн бұрын

I'm just now finding out that he is gone. One of the GREAT talents of our age.

Franklin is the reason we're all here. He convinced the Dutch to sell us arms, and the French to commit their troops and navy to the cause. He's electric!

@carlosa9298

2 жыл бұрын

This movie was such piece of crap….the Spanish did a lot more than the Dutch and were not even credited….

@The_OneManCrowd

2 жыл бұрын

@@carlosa9298 You are 100% correct my friend. Everyone hates the English, especially the Spanish lol.

@heofonfyr6000

2 жыл бұрын

what on earth makes you think you would not be there of things had gone differently? 😳

@heofonfyr6000

2 жыл бұрын

@@The_OneManCrowd you realise the men in this video are mostly English, right?

@The_OneManCrowd

2 жыл бұрын

@@heofonfyr6000 What?

I love that during the same decade, Tom Wilkinson played both Lord Cornwallis *and* Benjamin Franklin. The man's versatility spans history.

@exsoworld1449

Жыл бұрын

Amazing acting

@rhemium

11 ай бұрын

i think his best may be as Gen Fromm in Valkarye

@princebpolar8429

6 ай бұрын

RIP, he was a masterclass at his work. 🙏🏼

@arlonfoster9997

4 ай бұрын

Yep he was in the Patriot

@UNIT294

2 ай бұрын

He also played mob boss in Batman Begins.

Now that's how you make an entrance.

Godspeed to Tom Wilkinson. One of the finest actors of the last few decades. He had much more to give us. His casting as Dr. Franklin took me by a surprise that was superseded only by how much he embodied perfectly the character of Franklin to be gleaned from his own writings. In my family, Franklin has been a hero for centuries.

No one has played Benjamin Franklin with such perfection before or since. Rest in Peace, Mr. Wilkinson 🕊❤

@adatewithkate

2 ай бұрын

I'm watching the new Franklin show on Apple TV and your comment still rings true. No disrespect to the great Michael Douglas, but nobody can hold a candle to Tom Wilkinson's Ben Franklin.

@mcarp555

Ай бұрын

I would suggest Howard da Silva would be right up there as well.

This is why he's on the $100 bill.

@mikekinsella2822

2 жыл бұрын

best wing man you can have to pick up the ladies.

@oliverboisen7475

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikekinsella2822 Some of those Voltaire letters are absolutely hilarious 🤣

@yvonneplant9434

2 ай бұрын

Not the only reason.

RIP, Tom Wilkinson (1948-2023)

Tom Wilkinson disappears into any character or historical figure he portrays. I love this performance by him. He brings Franklin to life.

@JnEricsonx

Жыл бұрын

Meanwhile several years earlier in The Patriot....

@jrgholden

Жыл бұрын

@@JnEricsonx Ha yes! And also much later in "Michael Clayton"

@Koopalingfan

5 ай бұрын

Totally agree. Also his performance as Reverdy Johnson in The Conspirator and Joe Kennedy Sr in The Kennedys Miniseries.

No one, and I mean NO ONE, can touch Benjamin Franklin. Scholar, writer, activist, diplomat. Franklin was the OG.

@qborough21

7 жыл бұрын

Christian P Schneider agreed!

@TheSeanoops

7 жыл бұрын

Don't forget playboy celebrity.

@qborough21

7 жыл бұрын

Sean Oops, yes! LOL

@00chla50

7 жыл бұрын

Scientist too

@coolidgedollar2154

6 жыл бұрын

Well, he IS nicknamed "The First American."

Incredible performance, that just about knocks the life out ya. Truly exceptional, from a truly exceptional talent. RIP Tom Wilkinson

Ben's wit and familiarity with New England attitudes. Remember Ben was born and raised in Boston. Ben's unique wit to tell a story exposing both sides while subtlely disclosing his preference in how he concludes the story. Also, Ben was at this time legendary - worldwide, for his Newton-like work on electricity. Worldwide called Doctor, though possessing only a few years of formal education, Ben was worldwide assumed to be a genius.

@roberthaworth8991

4 жыл бұрын

If anybody deserved the honorific Doctor -- as, the lexicographer Doctor Johnson and the like -- it was Franklin. Highly respected for the scientific studies he conducted in middle age and a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, he also had extensive diplomatic experience in England and France and was a polymath of the first order (yet never a mere dilletante). He combined a deep knowledge of classical political theory with a flair for public relations and plain-speaking, plus a native shrewdness, that made him a highly effective proponent of the American cause. He is also consistently voted "the Founding Father I'd most like to have a beer with."

@Dibbz_TV

10 ай бұрын

He was like a global rockstar who did politics. Honestly the secret weapon of the revolution imo

@timengineman2nd714

9 ай бұрын

@@roberthaworth8991 He was also the ONLY Founding Father To Sign All THREE of the Founding Documents!!! Declaration of Independence Articles Of Confederation (which is why in the first paragraph the next document has the words: In Order To Form A More Perfect Union!!) And The Constitution of the United States Of America!

@johnschuh8616

9 ай бұрын

The atomic age began shall we say, with Ben and his kite.

@timengineman2nd714

9 ай бұрын

@@johnschuh8616 A truly shocking experiment!

In the show Franklin was the funniest guy. My favorite quote, "like fish, guests start to rot after 3 days"

@dp6297

4 жыл бұрын

Stink after 3 days...not rot

@ariochiv

4 жыл бұрын

@John Gilliam A lot of Franklin's aphorisms in this series are taken from the Almanac.

@ariochiv

4 жыл бұрын

@John Gilliam What a delightful human being you must be.

By far his best Role, RIP Mr Wilkinson

"I believe anyone not in favor of moderation and compromise should be castrated" Well Mr.Franklin, you have a lot of castration to do today.

@connormclernon26

7 жыл бұрын

His task is even harder today

@ThePete1081

7 жыл бұрын

MrKajithecat I love this quote. Does anyone know if its true or if he said anything like it?

@davetrachtenberg6855

6 жыл бұрын

Great question!

@elgato9445

5 жыл бұрын

There is nothing moderate about being a monk.

@PWNINSWAGMASTER

4 жыл бұрын

There are a group of tribal people somewhere in the eastern hemisphere that attack civilized people everytime they tread on their island merely for s bit of discovery. Those tribal people maintain their reaction as a form of hostility. They have remained tribal for hundreds if not thousands of years, and are now being protected from anyone entering their island. THAT is a prime example of anti-moderate people that should be castrated.

RIP Tom Wilkinson

RIP Tom Wilkinson. A great Benjamin Franklin.

One of the greatest of all time. R.I.P

It's called a Sedan Chair. Benjamin Franklin, nearing 70 when the Second Continental Congress began, was suffering from gout, meaning he cannot walk long distances, and therefore had to be carried in his sedan chair.

@jbreezy101

4 жыл бұрын

He actually arrived normally to continental Congress but arrived in that way to the Constitutional convention

@reallyhappenings5597

4 жыл бұрын

A lineage of many conveyances and vehicles have derived from the "sedan."

@the21herald

3 жыл бұрын

I've got a Sedan too

@pendragonshall

2 жыл бұрын

Oh thank you. I always wondered what they were called.

@pendragonshall

2 жыл бұрын

@@voodoolou3793 hehe yep

I love this series and what an amazing performance by the great Tom Wilkinson. I am saddened to hear of his passing. He will be missed. 😔😔😔

Kudos and high fives to Tom Wilkinson -- a Brit no less -- for playing my favorite founding father so brilliantly!

@RobertKaydoo

9 жыл бұрын

He also did General Cornwallis very well and he had a good performance in Valkyrie. Peace.

@RobertKaydoo

8 жыл бұрын

***** Indeed. Riders Dawes, Prescott and Revere never said "the British are coming" because the colonists considered themselves to be British. It would be the same as if someone rode into town saying "the Americans are coming, the Americans are coming!"

@Boskov01

7 жыл бұрын

DaftSwank I'm always of the opinion that if you can play the part well it doesn't matter where you hail from. I don't think a single American viewing this would have any problem with a British man playing one of our founding fathers especially if he plays him this well.

@Ycekhold

7 жыл бұрын

(@RobertKaydoo) Indeed. If Paul Revere's famous ride to Lexington did happen, he would more likely have announced "The redcoats are coming!"

@gasaholic47

6 жыл бұрын

the actual phrase was, "The Regulars are coming." Just got home from Boston, and learned this little tidbit along a Freedom Trail tour.

That entrance in itself deserves an applause 🤣

'Extreme moderate'... ! Amazing performance by Tom Wilkinson. Would love to see him again in a Ben Franklin biopic. One can dream...

@1776Historyfan

7 жыл бұрын

Martin Duplessis I agree 100 percent!

@joshchurch785

Жыл бұрын

Yes would love a bio pic of Benjamin Franklin or even a bio series . Atleast 10 episodes.

MR WILKINSON, YOU WERE A GREAT ACTOR AND WILL BE MISSED, RIP!

We just lost him... what a damn robbery. Rest in peace, Tom 😢

I was already laughing before Ben got out of his carriage. An excellent introduction to the man!

Perfectly said. "An extreme moderate."

Ben Franklin: "How shall I put it..... stones" 😂 😂

“They have VIOLATED the FUNDAMENTAL rule of warfare, which is to always let the British win!”

The way they have all the members of the Continental Congress bow to one another in respect, i.e. a clever way to show their cultural mannerisms still have direct ties to Britain, is a wonderful visual touch. And also wonderful visual storytelling that as the series continues and they gain their independence and form their own country, the bowing ceases to continue.

Wilkinson is simply mesmerizing as Ben Franklin.

Now he's with the real Benjamin Franklin. RIP Tom Wilkinson

The Founding Father who found time to be fascinated by a swivel chair. He's amazing 😂

I thought this movies was wonderfully cast. Paul Giamanti finally helped tell the story of John Adams so that he may one day get the credit he deserves as one of out elite founding fathers. Hurray!

@Dibbz_TV

10 ай бұрын

Oh 100%. John Adams had to be the sane one out of the bunch lowkey lol

Tavington, damn him. Damn that man!

@nocturnalrecluse1216

2 жыл бұрын

@Hagmire84 Well idk my lord...it's really, quite nice. 🤷‍♂️

*Love the gallant civility* of Franklin arriving in a sedan chair and the gentlemen gently tipping their tricorne hats to him after his wry bon mot. 🟥⬜🟦⭐ Thanks for posting!

I think Franklin's value among the founding fathers was that he seemed best equipped to take the long view of their actions. This could have been due to the fact that he was a fair bit older than many of the other founding fathers. He seemed to have this ability to be simultaneously in and above the fray, and therefore, with his brilliance and wit, to perceive clearly what posterity would make of the achievements of the men in the Continental Congress.

@Dibbz_TV

10 ай бұрын

Did my thesis on him and I’d say that and being the ultimate salesman too. He saw the long term US in tight situations & also broker a deal with the French. When I read the details of that French trip, HOLY SMOKES Franklin was a MONSTER talented diplomat. So glad I studied him looking back

Moderates are what the country sadly lacks these days.

These actors make me proud. A wonderful series.

I love that he rolled into town being carried in a box

@roberthaworth8991

4 жыл бұрын

In the movie "1776", when Franklin arrives at the PA State House in his sedan chair he pays off the two porters with a few coins and the remark, "There you go. Now, right back to gaol (jail) with you!"

@paulbrasier372

2 жыл бұрын

He had gout badly and had a hard time walking.

@artlover1477

Жыл бұрын

@@paulbrasier372 sure didnt stop from doing the "wild thang".

Those manners and bows. And the way they used their walking sticks to applaud. Would that OUR manners today should be as courtly.

Everyone is so formal. Love it!

@MrJ567

2 жыл бұрын

@Colin Killian What we need to do is scrap the modern culture that glorifies trash.

@bobsnow6242

Жыл бұрын

As formal as one can be while talking about castration, anyway.

After watching this series, I gotta say the casting is damn spot on, god..

The same actor who played Lord Cornwallis in "The Patriot"

@SamuraiJedi7

9 жыл бұрын

Makes it kind of cool doesn't it? He has played both sides of the war.

@AKABoondock19

8 жыл бұрын

Just like Benedict Arnold

@SamuraiJedi7

8 жыл бұрын

AKABoondock19 ZING!

@AKABoondock19

8 жыл бұрын

Terrell Allen Truly revolutionary humor

@SamuraiJedi7

8 жыл бұрын

AKABoondock19 HA!

Among the Founding Fathers, only Washington and Franklin commanded the respect and attention of all former colonists in the newly formed United States. Where Washington lacked wit or an entrepreneurial spirit, Franklin had a surfeit of both. Where Franklin had no military mind, Washington proved himself to be a national leader on the battlefield and in his conduct. An election between the two of them would have been an amazing spectacle for any nascent republic in an age of monarchy.

@BucketThinkTank14657Nerd

5 жыл бұрын

That would have been amazing.

@odysseusrex5908

5 жыл бұрын

Actually, Washington wasn't a bad businessman himself. Aside from his speculations in land, he recognized, as most of his contemporaries did not, that tobacco was not a profitable crop in the long run. It was very common for tobacco planters to maintain a good standard of living only because they slipped further in to debt each year. They could service the debts, and buy what they wanted, but never get out of debt. This often resulted in bankruptcy, or estates being sold off rather than passed to heirs. Washington understood this and, even before the revolution, began switching over from tobacco to wheat and other food crops. This made Mount Vernon profitable and allowed him to pass it on to Martha and her descendants.

@firemangan2731

3 жыл бұрын

Washington certainly did proved himself good at the battle feilds, even in his position as President, hes a rare type of leader in my book, a leader who is not power hungry, vauge with corruption as most leaders do, cocky etc. Every leader in the world should take Washington’s examples on what a ture leader is and how to act like one. Staying out of war against England, which kinda strained his alliance with France, is no doubt one of the good decisions he had made as the Nation back then is still young and its man power is severely limited.

@Dibbz_TV

10 ай бұрын

Yep. Both the GOATS of the revolution. The leader and the statesman.

@Dibbz_TV

10 ай бұрын

@@firemangan2731His leadership is unquestionable. His ability as a General - meh. He somehow convinced men to stay through some horrid Winters. But as a general he wasn’t incredible imo

This was inspiring . . . Ben Franklin is my favorite figure from U.S. history . . .

No one will ever top this performance of Franklin.

This group of actors has spoiled it for anyone else that might ever play the part of a founding father because they're performances are like the gold standard, the definitive version, at least for me. Now I can only see one Franklin, one Adams, one Mrs. Adams, one Washington, one Jefferson etc. it's as close as we ever might get to really seeing what it was like then. Watching this and Band Of Brothers always blows my mind, the two greatest "films" if you will of all time. BTW, somewhere floating around there is a great behind the scenes documentary on the John Adams series, it's crazy how they blended CGI and real life elements, you just won't believe how they did all of it. It's as good as the series itself. All that I just said could be wrong, but I haven't been incorrect since like 1974, so it's a pretty good bet you can take all of it to the bank, or the manure pile, readers choice. Just remember after reading this you automatically incur a nominal financial commitment to me and it is compulsory. In God we trust, all others pay cash.

It's a good thing that he didn't have to face off lord cornwallis...oh...wait.

@immortaljanus

3 жыл бұрын

That would've been confusing as hell, yep. "Sound the re... wtf?!"

Franklin is a man I would be honored and terrified to meet!

TOM WILKINSON IS AMAZING HIS ROLES IN THE FULL MONTEY RUSH HOUR SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE THE PATRIOT BATMAN BEGINS WHAT A TALENT AND HIS ROLE AS BEN FRANKLIN IN JOHN ADAMS SPOT ON

Thanks for putting this up. Wilkinson definitely pulled off Franklin's character very well, as is thoroughly demonstrated here.

Rutledge throwing shade as he walks off lool

WOW... He was like a KING, What a incredible man

@jimm6626

2 жыл бұрын

Great founding father, that's why he is on the 100 bill

I think because of social distancing,bowing like that might make a comeback 🤔

@sjurjans7137

3 жыл бұрын

😆😆❤️

@wayneparker9331

3 жыл бұрын

That would be soooo cool! Of course, we need good stylish hats to tip as well.

Jefferson was the most brilliant of the "founding fathers," Adams was the most tenacious and Washington was the most noble, but Franklin was the wittiest! :-)

@briansheehan5256

3 жыл бұрын

Hamilton was the most brilliant of the Founding Fathers.

@rooneytutoring

3 жыл бұрын

@@briansheehan5256 Hamilton was indeed an intelligent man and there is no doubt the foundations he laid for the American banking and other American financial systems played a massive part in shaping the future of the country. Though the man was also extremely elitist, was previously a slave trader, and married into a family that owned slaves and managed their estates. Smart guy, but not nearly as nice as the musical makes him out to be.

@briansheehan5256

3 жыл бұрын

@@rooneytutoring Hamilton was a master of international currencies by the time he was 14 years old, and during his employment at Beekman & Cruger he was exposed to the slave trade. I wouldn't call him an "elitist" for supporting a Government run by educated men.

@AudioArcturia

3 жыл бұрын

@@briansheehan5256 I mean he was extremely intelligent but profoundly stupid at the same time. Thankfully that's exactly how the show portrays him, because that's how his comrades viewed him, and how society rightly remembers him.

@afellowartist3713

3 жыл бұрын

but jefferson had 600 slaves...

Ol' Ben was a character, perhaps the great man of mystery this country has ever produced.

@Dibbz_TV

10 ай бұрын

He was no mystery. Just pure skill in what he did.

Ben Franklin is one of the most important people in Western Civilization

Most people dont know alot about Benjamin Franklin. He was dirt poor when he was growing up in America. He slept in stables, churches, whatever he can find. He had no money whatsoever. Yet when he died, he was one of the wealthiest men in America. Some say he was the wealthiest man in America. He was one of the leading voices for the abolition of slavery. He & Benjamin Rush founded America's first anti-slavery society. He was one of the smartest men of that time. He was also very religious.

Rip Tom Wilkinson. For his role as Benjamin Franklin in John Adams Miniseries, Joe Kennedy Sr in The Kennedys Miniseries, Reverdy Johnson in The Conspirator.

Tom Wilkerson's portrayal of Franklin in this series is amazing. I would highly recommend if you haven't seen it already the Ken Burns documentary on Ben Franklin. It's fantastic.

1:11 We should start doing this again as a society.

My favoritex, the most ecentric and wise of the founding fathers ❤

RIP Tom Wilkinson 😢

An epic could be made just on that guy. 1st storm chaser: when horse back riding with friends a funnel cloud touched down and Franklin charged after it to make closer observation, shouting over his shoulder for the others to take cover.

There is still no show or movie about Franklin as a young man. I love to see that.

It's unique that Tom Wilkinson is Gen. Corwallis at the start of the 2000s and Benjamin Franklin at the end of the 2000s.

@RocketPropelledGuy

Жыл бұрын

He leveled up

Franklin was the Yogi Berra of politicians.

@joshuasantana685

Жыл бұрын

I laughed way too hard at this true statement

There is something to be said for bowing to someone you respect.

@footslave4asian

Жыл бұрын

There is, but do not try to convince people of that today. We are all so caught up in ourselves that we, generally speaking, have little respect for anyone other than our own narrow priorities. Look around and you will see it clearly.

I love you Ben Franklin, I aspire to be like you one day :D

What a series. So, so good.

I was not too surprised when I read that Franklin was like a rockstar back then in other countries. People sold merchandise with his face on it

@mollesjohn "If Franklin was the very person who made the appeal for prayer, one could argue he was the MOST, not the LEAST religious person in the Continental Congress" Franklin did make the appeal for prayer. According to Madison's notes at the Constitutional Convention, he did. You're trying to create the impression that Franklin did not concern himself with religion and that he was a secular person. Franklin was not a christian, but was religious in his own way.

1:11 Those bows tho😂

@firemangan2731

3 жыл бұрын

Those bows indicates they realized they just got roasted 😂

This is a great series.

If you don't think Benjamin Franklin is like the best thing in human history you're wrong.

@revo1974

6 жыл бұрын

He's my favorite American for certain.

@PWNINSWAGMASTER

4 жыл бұрын

I think he's ONE OF the best things in human history. Jesus is the #1 best thing in human history. Without him, Ben probably wouldn't even have been born.

@brandonp4

4 жыл бұрын

@@PWNINSWAGMASTER well said!

@VargasJulio39

4 жыл бұрын

Caesar was the greatest human.

@brachiator1

4 жыл бұрын

@@VargasJulio39 I like Sid Caesar

Everyone is a gangsta til ol’ Ben Franklin coming riding in on his Sedan Chair

IN POINT OF HISTORICAL FACT BEN FRANKLIN DID NOT SHOW UP TO THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS IN A SEDAN CHAIR THAT METHOD OF TRANSPORTATION WAS USED AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION BUT IT WAS PERFECT TO GIVE THE MESSAGE OF HIS IMPORTANCE

HBO need to do a series on Franklin! Absolutely love his sense of humor

@njebei

2 жыл бұрын

A historian needs to write a new biography worthy of the man like McCullough did for Adams and Chernow did for Hamilton.

@mortalclown3812

2 жыл бұрын

@@njebei I'm reading the Alexis Coe bio of George Washington and it's terrific.

@1987AnimeBoy

Жыл бұрын

@@njebei What about Thomas S. Kidd's book about Benjamin Franklin?

Of a man that had so many affairs with women he's a ladies man. But when it comes to how this country should be run, he doesn't fuck around. Benjamin Franklin said to one of the women who asked what set of government that they put on this country he said the truest words that also described America today, Republic, "if" you can keep it. And he was right.

Rest in peace

Rip tom wilkinson 😢

A dear man, and a lovely actor - showing Michael Douglas how it SHOULD be done!

Can we speak in such a gentleman way today?

@EmilioReyes_97

5 жыл бұрын

I suppose we could, no reason this generation cant find a way to refine our already innate sense of wit and dry loathing

@joshuawells835

4 жыл бұрын

I think we could, but if we did, no one born after 2000 would be able to understand us.

@firemangan2731

3 жыл бұрын

Especially the amounts vocabulary they used in those days.

I like the fact that Franklin has this south irish accent makes sense people have this image that early amercians spoke in fully amercian accents but that's not always the case in the 1700s it was only starting so of course some would speak amercian others with strange English accents

@ICT17

6 ай бұрын

That's not an Irish accent, it's what would have been a standard accent in much of Southern England in the 18th century - before the advent of Received Pronunciation. Franklin had 100% English ancestry.

Franklin is my favorite founding father.

We need to bring back a few things like tipping hats, and sedan chairs.

@Robertz1986 Franklin was religious in his own way. He might have not been evangelical Christian like Benjamin Rush, Roger Sherman, Samuel Adams, or Patrick Henry. Franklin did pray when he felt there was a need for it. When he did, he quoted Bible verses mostly bc the culture in Colonial America at the time was very Biblical & Christian. He was not a Christian though. He did describe himself as a deist but one that believes "God governs in the affairs of men."

“I am 99.9% sure that is not the real Benjamin Franklin”

@ThomasAnime No. Did you see the series? Rutledge is portrayed as somebody a stubborn individual unwilling to compromise for the common good. It was Ben's form of expressing his dislike for people like Rutledge without directly mentioning him. Rutledge bowed down because it was the polite thing to do.

The irony is beautiful.

Maybe it's time to have a new TV miniseries about Ben Franklin, agree?...no?

P-I-M-P

I'm a extreme moderate !!...haha love it .....Oscar Wilde quote of " everything in moderation except moderation " seems apt !!

Our most underrated president.

@mollesjohn Yes. That was taken from the online exhibit at the Library of Congress "Religion and the Founding of the American Republic". Its a very educational exhibit and I recommend you read thru the entire thing if you haven't. If you read the entire speech by Franklin, he even references the Bible multiple times.

Rip.

Heck of an introduction...