Happy Independence Day to you as well my friend and to all others. Today I was outside and saw licence plates from 14 different states. Apparently a lot of folks came to New York Metro area. Geez what a day!
Ages of the founding fathers on July 4th 1776 Monroe 18 Burr 20 Hamilton 21 Madison 25 Jefferson 33 Adams 40 Washington 44 now we choose between 2 80 year olds
Aaron Burr would have fit quite well into today's political landscape. Always found it strange that his and Hamilton's political careers were basically launched by signing that document. They were kids.
Well, that's not really a fair list - Monroe, Burr, Hamilton, and Madison had nothing to do with the Declaration of Independence, as they were all serving in the Continental Army at the time. They're Founding Fathers because of their connection to the Confederation and the Constitution, which was years later. And, of course, Benjamin Franklin was 70 years old on July 4, 1776. Jefferson and Hamilton were true prodigies. They were on opposite sides of a very wide political divide (Democrat-Republican versus Federalist), although in a remarkable twist, Hamilton was actually a notable factor in Jefferson becoming President in 1800. Jefferson and Burr ended up with the same number of electoral votes (ahead of Adams), so the choice between them was made by the Federalist-dominated House of Representatives; Hamilton eventually lobbied the Federalist Congressmen to vote for Jefferson, since he despised Burr (he also helped prevent Burr from being elected Governor of New York, which helped lead to their duel and his death).
Interesting to note that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe all died on July 4th. I love this story. When James Madison fell ill, he was getting testy because people were hanging around outside his bedroom window "hoping" he would kick on July 4th as well. He managed to drag himself out of bed to the window and shake his fist at the gawkers and yell go on, you all get outta here, this not a parlour game, I'll die when I damn well want to. He died on June 28th. That is hilarious to me. It was told to me by a very well-versed historian. It's anecdotal, but there's truth to it for sure. We will always be a wildly imperfect nation full of conflictiions. It really is difficult to reconcile that whole slavery thing with the converse genius of the Founding Fathers. All we can do is embrace the good, admit the bad, admire their wild smarts, and try to do better. I highly recommend Poplar Forest wayyyyy over Monticello, btw. Not crowded when I went years ago, the grounds were eerie in some odd way, brilliant architecture, it had been been in such awful previous disrepair that it was in danger of falling into the ground. Jefferson was a fastidious record keeper. Blueprints, garden plans, etc. Historians know exactly where the pear and other fruit trees were planted, the shithouses, the Slave Quarters, all of which they probably will never have the money to replicate. Anyway, I would like to re-visit some time to see how far it has come all these years later. EDIT: Edited John Quincy Adams to John Adams. Damn phone I love history and would love to engage.
As to age of Presidents @BrowningNagle , there should be an age limit to run. 65 works for me. That is not age discrimination by any stretch, especially if you get elected 2X. I hope I can say this without the thread getting locked (thanks in advance), and it isn't political at all IMO, but President Biden is cognitively struggling. It's not a matter of where anyone's political leanings fall. Dementia is not to be made fun of under any circumstances ever, it's a practical matter. He clearly has a form of Sundown Syndrome and it's turning into a cruelty. Also lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court is for the birds. 20 years max. OK, that was mildly political, lol.
I think it was John Adams not Quincy that died on the 4th. He and Jefferson were the exact same day actually which is wild
