A look out the window into the back yard shows me leaves covering the grass. There are brown ones, yellow ones, red ones, purplish ones, some completely without color, showing that fall has arrived. As you can guess, I am not looking out the window on Shores Acres in St. Petersburg, since we have no sycamore or oak trees shedding their leaves. I am looking out the window in my son Paul’s duplex in Philadelphia. Once again we are here to support and help Mary Lou through major surgery. She had a large portion of her pancreas removed on Monday September 27th in a ten hour operation. She left ICU after two days and as we enter October we hope that by the 8th or 9th she’ll be well enough to go home and begin her recovery period. As I put together our thoughts for these October jottings we’ll add any information we can about her recovery, and our heading back to that eternal green of Florida and Shore Acres.
In the 90’s from my readings of history, especially American History, I wrote some essays on how history might have been altered had a certain incident not occurred. For example, if certain person was l present when this or that happened but because he or she wasn’t there, things went the way we recorded it. The subjects included Thomas Jefferson, and his writing of the Declaration of Independence; Andrew Hamilton, whose conduct gave rise to the expression, “Get Philadelphia Lawyer!”; and the midnight ride of Paul Revere. The essays were published in a civic association’s newsletter. All of which is by way of telling you that I thought this was an original idea until recently, when I found a review on a book of essays entitled, “What Ifs? Of American History” using in the same idea. Then I found this was the third volume of such essays—so much for my “original” idea!
In addition the novelist Philip Roth has just published a pseudo-biographical novel entitled “The Plot Against America”. It is about his family and their living after the election of Charles Lindbergh as President in 1940 instead of Roosevelt. Lindbergh establishes diplomatic relations with the Nazi regime. As you can see using imagination with the facts of history opens up endless ideas. I had called my essays “Historic Twists” but “What If?” sounds like a better idea. The forward of the essay volume points out that it is more than entertainment to conjecture what might have been if—-. It educates us in the value and purpose of what one person or circumstances can do, and did. (In this time of a Presidential election it is a reminder of how much one vote can count.)
My original “twist” or “what if” regarded Thomas Jefferson and the writing of the Declaration of Independence. The fact is he really didn’t want to go to Philadelphia for the Congress. He was more interested in continuing his work on the Virginia Constitution. He did go as a delegate arriving on May 15, 1776. By that time Massachusetts and Virginia via John Adams and Richard Henry Lee had introduced a motion in May 1776 that a declaration of our separation from Britain should be made. It was already a fact. The separation had happened in that Lexington and Concord had been fought in April. Military action had also begun in the state of New York. Shortly after Jefferson arrived, Lee learned that his wife was ill and he had to return to Virginia. The motion for a declaration had passed the congress and committee was to be formed to draft it. Virginia being one of the original movers was to have a member on such a committee. Thus it was that Jefferson was selected. So Lee’s absence made Jefferson a member of the committee. It is probable that even if Lee had been there because of Jefferson’s writings including a list of complaints against the Parliament, he might have been chosen anyway. Both those colonies had via their legislatures had passed declarations. Virginia’s written by George Mason on June 12,1776, encompassed most of the complaints in the Declaration. But it is easy to imagine that it could have been otherwise. The declaration was revered by Jefferson a few years after it was written. He wanted it included as a proud accomplishment on his gravestone. It was for several years by an “unknown” author. It was initially so that the party would be free from Tory or British personal attacks, and later it remained so until its success began to make it a document of which to be proud . In fact too, as Jefferson listened to the Congress take his declaration to task he sat there in quiet anger and soon began asking to be sent back to Virginia. His wife too had become ill and he returned in September. It is a good bet that his and the other compilation of complaints against Parliament would have still made up the body of the Declaration. The main difference was the preamble and the complaints for the first time being made against the King. So maybe these two factors or parts of the Declaration might not have been there.
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The month of October is half way gone. We are still here in cold Philadelphia. Mary Lou came home, to her little apartment, on October 12th and has progressed in her recovery with some ups and downs. We keep hoping all will be well enough with her that we can head south in early November. But as the say, “Only time will tell”
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Over the years I’ve heard the comment “He’s a Philadelphia lawyer”. The idea being that there was something different, or special, about a lawyer from Philadelphia. Unfortunately as I proceeded in practice the connotation I learned inferred not so much special as not too honest.
The reference to a “Philadelphia lawyer” came from early American history. There was a time in the colonies that when ever someone needed a lawyer, they were told to “Get a Philadelphia lawyer!” The good lawyer who created this expression by his acts was Andrew Hamilton. He is not to be confused with Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasurer of United States who served many years later in that office.
The colonies were not only separate states but in some case like separate kingdoms. One that qualified in the early 1700’s for this title was New York. It was run by William Cosby, no relation as far as we know to Bill Cosby. Governor Cosby ran the state as a “Royal Colony”. The Chief Justice of the Courts had a disagreement with his Majesty, Governor Cosby, and so he was summarily fired. The Justice, whose name was Morris, wanted to get back at the Governor/King so he with a few friends hired a printer named Zenger. Zenger printed a newspaper and they express the views and opinions in it about the Governor. The only other newspaper published was of course one under the auspices of the Governor and didn’t dare taint his reputation regardless of the conduct. Morris and friends proceeded to write details of the chicanery of his Majesty and as a result the publisher was indicted for “seditious libe”. This happened in 1733. After 10 months in prison he hired Andrew Hamilton and a trial was ordered in 1734. Hamilton offered what was a unique defense, namely, the truth of the allegation as written is not libelous where the alleged victim is holding public office. The Trial Judge, quite naturally being an appointee of the Governor, refused to let the evidence of such be introduced. However, the jury was apparently so impressed with Hamilton’s words and the proposed defensethat they acquitted Zenger. The case was a landmark one in American Legal History for freedom of the press. We wonder, in keeping with the idea of “what if”,if the jury had found otherwise would we have ever heard of Zenger or the Philadelphia lawyer? I doubt it. Nor would we certainly ever have had the setting apart of a Philadelphia lawyer from any others. The issue was really not decided in a strict legal sense since the court refused to admit the evidence, but it came it came into our law as the result of others using it in the more liberal colonies and states to protect newspapers from the misconduct of Public officers. Free speech in the Press got its start in 1734 thanks to a Philadelphia lawyer.
“Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…”
The legend of Paul and his ride to warn of the British were coming to the Sons of Liberty, could easily be considered as a “what if”. The facts in the poem were composed largely of fiction. It is like Hollywood handling of history. The fact is Paul never made it. He was captured. He was under orders to get word to the Sons of Liberty leader, Sam Adams. They, the British, apparently were after a cache of arms and supplies hidden by the Sons. Fortunately for Paul he had met another Bostonian, Dr. Samuel Prescott, along the route to whom he explained his mission. He, Prescott, went on after Paul’s capture and warned Adams and his militia. But Paul Revere and his ride as created by Longfellow is now remembered, while two other truly historic rides which accomplished their mission are forgotten. One was by Jack Jouett. He rode over forty miles on wilderness trails just ahead of the British troops led by Benedict Arnold who were advancing on Monticello. There Jefferson had gathered with members of the Virginia legislature, including Patrick Henry, since they had all been chased out of Richmond. Jouett got there in time for them to evacuate. The other was a ride by Ceasar Rodney, now remembered by his image on the 1999 quarter. He rode through the night eighty miles from Newcastle, Delaware to Philadelphia in order to put his State in the “yes” column for creating a Declaration of Independence from Crown. So yes the children will listen and hear of a midnight ride of Paul Revere but it is in effect a “what if” of history.
We are nearing a month since we left St. Petersburg but the end of the story begins to come into sight. We however feel we should get these ramblings off before we move on. Pax Tecum…until the next time!