DOCSLIB.ORG

Page 1:Page 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Page 1:Page 1 TheThe SteubenSteuben NewsNews A Newspaper by German-Americans for All Americans VOL. 90 NO.1 DUTY • JUSTICE • CHARITY • TOLERANCE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 Plattduetsche Park in Franklin Square, NY is the site of this yearʼs 98th Anniversary & Founderʼs day Banquet National Council 98th Anniversary 2017 International Germanic Genealogy Conference in MInneapolis, MN Founder’s Day Banquet Speakers include Dirk Weissleder (L) and Roger Minert (R) Join us as we celebrate our 98th year of existence at the 2017 International Germanic Genealogy Conference Founders Day Banquet, May 21, 2017 1:00-6:00 p.m. at the Features All-Star Lineup of Speakers Plattduetsche Park Restaurant, Franklin Square, NY, for a fes- An all-star lineup of speakers, including well-known international tive dinner enhanced by the musical entertainment of John figures, is slated for the 2017 International Germanic Genealogy Weber. We are proud and honored to announce that our guest Conference, set for July 28-30, 2017 in Minneapolis, Minn. Among 39 confirmed presenters are figures including Roger speaker will be Lt. Colonel Michael Breuer. He is the Minert, Ernest Thode, Dirk Weissleder of Germany, Baerbel Johnson, German Army Liason Officer to the US Military Academy at Fritz Juengling, Michael Lacopo, James Beidler, Paula Stuart-Warren, West Point. Founders Day honors our founders, Patron and Teresa Steinkamp McMillin, Jill Morelli and Stephen Morse. military service people. This year's menu is as follows: Other international presenters include Ursula Krause, Werner Hors d’ouvres, seasonal melon with Black Forest Ham Esser and Timo Kracke, all of Germany, and Benjamin Hollister of and berries and a salad is included. The main course choices Australia. The conference entitled “CONNECTIONS: International, Cultural, Personal,” will offer 70 presentations over three full days. include Strip Loin of Beef, Traditional German Sauerbraten, Presentations on regional specialties include Ostfriesen, Loin of Pork, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Broiled Salmon. Beer, Luxembourg, Palatinate, Bremen, Alsace, Baden, Black Sea Germans, wine soda, dessert, coffee/tea are included. There will be a Austria, Czech Republic (Bohemia), Pomerania, West Prussia, East cash bar. The 98th Anniversary Gala tickets are $100 per per- Prussia, Lithuania, eastern Europe, former eastern German provinces, son and children under 12 are $50 per child. Please make check Australia, and others. payable to Steuben Society of America and mail to Elyse Land, Daily “Connections” sessions are planned for attendees to meet others with common interests in specific Germanic regions. P.O. Box 777, Levittown, NY, 11756. The “Connections” focus of this interna- We need your support for this important event. Please tional conference also offers a unique invite your friends and family! DEADLINE is May 8, 2017! opportunity for Germanic genealogists to make personal connections with people PERMIT #12 PAID US POSTAGE PLEASE SUPPORT THE CENTENNIAL CLUB BULK RATE from other countries as well as nationally, THIRD CLASS STONY BROOK, NY 11790 BROOK, NY STONY In anticipation of our Centennial Anniversary Celebration, we have said officials of the German-American established the Centennial Club inviting donations of $100. Genealogical Partnership, which is organ- Donors will be acknowledged in Steuben News. izing the conference. Contʼd page 5 Please make check payable to Steuben Society of America (Note: “Centennial Club”) and mail to: Steuben Society of America, The Steuben Society of America is N One South Ocean Ave. Suite 217, Patchogue, NY 11772 IO dedicated to unite men and women T Your Name:___________________________________ of Germanic origin who share a common interest in the positive and CORREC Address:______________________________________ continued growth of our nation as ED SS well as the preservation of our rich ST Village:___________________State_____Zip:__________ heritage. For more info: All donations are tax deductible www.steubensociety.org Steuben Society of America Suite 217 One South Ocean Ave. NY 11772 Patchogue, ADDRE REQUE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 THE STEUBEN NEWS Page 2 German-American Contributions press in all its vari- ous forms - print, to the Freedom of the Press broadcast and elec- by Christine Lynn Harvey, Editor tronic. We begin The vise of corporate control is tions that are often funded by the aforemen- with the story of ever growing tighter on the free press tioned). John Peter Zenger, due in part to a handful of corporations With President Clinton’s deregula- the patron of Unit owning the majority of all the media in tion of the media in the 1990’s, we wit- 212 in Hicksville, the US and government censure of news nessed these large corporations taking over NY. organizations that actually still engage broadcast and print media, concentrating in investigative journalism. Criticism of news and information into the hands of only The Life of the power system has been left to only a a few decision-makers which is insidious John Peter few resourceful journalists and publish- enough, but by far a very dangerous thing to ers of information who often face the happen to not only the press, but our indi- Zenger wrath of a citizenry drunk on ideology vidual right to free speech. It means that John Peter served up by aberrant demagogues. The challenging the status quo, holding those Zenger (October 26, remaining vestiges of a free press still that rule over us accountable for their 1697 – July 28, trickle out from independent media out- actions, ending the cycle of perpetual war 1746) was a German lets, but they are now under attack for and working for the common good - social, American printer spreading “fake news,” or not being economic and environmental justice for all - and journalist in Andrew Hamilton, John Peter Zengerʼs large enough to be taken seriously. But, has been tossed aside in favor of corporate, New York City. lawyer who represented the German- Zenger was born in American printer when he was arrested in the free press by its very nature has not human, values. 1734 for “seditious”libel for publishing satir- always been small and radical. These Even with the internet at its finger- 1697, the son of ical commentary about the corrupt New York are the ways it retains its independent tips and independent media flourishing Nicolaus Eberhard governor William Cosby. voice, absolved of corporate greed and online, the American public is left to Zenger and his wife government propaganda. research and think for itself, no easy task Johanna. No baptismal record is known. His father was a One could argue it is the corpo- when it has been weaned on an intellectual school teacher in Impflingen in 1701. The Zenger family had rate mainstream media that spreads diet of bread and water otherwise known as other children baptised in Rumbach in 1697 and in 1703 and “fake news” as its financial umbilical public education. This system has been in Waldfischbach in 1706. cord is tied to the Military Industrial underwritten by a government unwilling to The Zenger family immigrated to New York in 1710 Complex, Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big look at the untold history of itself, mindful- as part of a large group of German Palatines, and Nicolaus Banks, Big Agra and other monolithic ly ignoring the injustices it has perpetrated Zenger was one of those who died before settlement. The gov- entities that create and perpetrate poli- on a wide swath of its citizenry, leaving the ernor of New York had agreed to provide apprenticeships for cies, both national and foreign, that are public for the most part, woefully ignorant all the children of immigrants from Palatinate, and John Peter clearly against the best interests, protec- to what the truth really is. was bound for eight years as an apprentice to William tions and prosperity of the American To be informed by a truly free press Bradford, the first printer in New York. people. is vital to raising our intelligence, resisting By 1720, he was taking on printing work in Maryland, And since these same corpora- tyranny, increasing our empathy towards though he returned to New York permanently by 1722. After a tions have also bought and paid for our others and preserving our free will. brief partnership with Bradford in 1725, Zenger set up as a legislative, judicial and executive For without it, we are only slaves to commercial printer on Smith Street in Manhattan. branches of government, mainstream an oppressive system, cogs in a machine to Zenger printed The New York Weekly Journal. The journalists do what they are told, rely- serve the oligarchs and functionaries. Here, I first generation of American editors discovered readers loved ing on what “official” sources tell them present an on-going series of what German- it when they criticized the local governor. In 1733, Zenger (ie government spokespeople, political Americans have done to birth, nurture and began printing The New York Weekly Journal, in which he “pundits” and “think tank” organiza- hopefully save the last remnants of a free voiced opinions critical of the colonial governor, William Cosby. Illustration of John Peter Zenger on trial in 1735 from a book, “Wall Street in A History” by Mrs. Mary Lamb 1883 The most dramatic confrontation came in New York in 1734, where the governor brought Zenger to trial for Criminal Libel after the publication of satirical attacks. On November 17, 1734, on Cosby's orders, the sheriff arrested Zenger. After a grand jury refused to indict him, the Attorney General Richard Bradley charged him with libel in August 1735. THE HISTORY OF ZENGER’S CASE In 1733, Zenger printed copies of newspapers in New York to voice his disagreement with the actions of newly appointed colonial governor William Cosby. On his arrival in New York City, Cosby plunged into a rancorous quarrel with the Council of the colony over his salary.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Indelible Ink – the Trial of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America’S Free Press
    BOOK REVIEW By M. KELLY TILLERY Indelible Ink – The Trial of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America’s Free Press ichard Kluger won the Pulitzer in late 1733. Alexander and Morris RPrize for his masterful expose intended to use it as a vehicle to make of the cigarette industry in Cosby and his royal administration Ashes to Ashes in 1996, and his study accountable to the people. As the most of school desegregation, Simple Justice prominent and wealthy lawyer in New (1975), is a classic. His latest, equally York, Alexander had a lot to lose and excellent if less controversial should be thus concealed his involvement, lest he of interest to every Philadelphia Lawyer. be charged with seditious libel or worse. Indelible Ink is the most thoughtful, Zenger was a businessman without comprehensive and well-researched any particular political leanings, but study of the 1735 criminal trial in New he knew this was risky business. So York City of newspaper publisher John he made a deal. He would print, and Peter Zenger on charges of seditious Morris and Alexander would write, but libel. While you may know that Zenger Alexander would pay for everything and was acquitted, that he was defended by a defend him for free if he was charged. Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, And Zenger would not betray his and that his victory was based upon the backer’s identity. defense of truth, Kluger sets forth so The newspaper was a hit as each much more. And, it is not all what you issue turned up the heat on Cosby.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trial of John Peter Zenger
    THE TRIAL OF JOHN PETER ZENGER A Play in Five Scenes by Michael E. Tigar Copyright © 1986, Michael E. Tigar All Rights Reserved Written for Initial Performance at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association New York, New York, August 10, 1986 Cast of Characters, in Order of Appearance (With names of actors at initial performance) John Peter Zenger, a printer (Scott Armstrong) Chief Justice James Delancey (Tim Miller) James Alexander, a lawyer (David Keyser) Richard Bradley, Attorney General of New York (Mac Williams) John Chambers, a lawyer (Rick Froom) Andrew Hamilton, a lawyer (Michael E. Tigar) Margaret Hamilton, his daughter (Katherine Tigar) Peter Zenger, Zenger's son (Steve Cummins) Thomas Hunt, Foreman of the Jury (G. William Birrell) Scene I: Supreme Court, New York City, April 1735 Scene II: Andrew Hamilton's home in Philadelphia, August 1735 Scene III: The Black Horse Tavern, New York City, August 1735 Scene IV: Supreme Court, New York City, August 1735 Scene V: Supreme Court, New York City, August 1735 ZENGER.DOC Page 1 Program Notes The libel trial of John Peter Zenger was a celebrated event in American colonial history: It fueled the dispute over freedom of the press in New York for decades thereafter. Briefly, Zenger was arrested and charged with libelling the colonial Governor, William Cosby. The Chief Justice, James Delancey, who presided at the trial, was a wealthy adherent to Cosby's cause, and was only 32 years old at the time of the trial. Cosby appointed Delancey to be Chief Justice when the former Chief Justice ruled against Cosby in a celebrated suit.
    [Show full text]
  • The Trial of John Peter Zenger
    The Trial of John Peter Zenger Should someone be prosecuted for criticizing a government official even if the words are true? Should a judge or a jury decide the case? These were the key issues in the trial of John Peter Zenger. English kings had long controlled the press. King Henry VIII required all writing be licensed before it could be printed. The king prosecuted authors and printers who published unlicensed writing. A powerful royal council known as the Star Chamber controlled the licensing of printed works. The Star Chamber also created a crime called libel. “Seditious libel” was the most serious kind of libel. This outlawed insulting the government, its laws, and officials. Kings and parliaments wanted people to respect them. The Star Chamber ruled that the truth of printed words did not matter. Truth was not a defense in libel cases. In fact, the Star Chamber saw true statements that libeled the government as more dangerous than false ones. People would more easily dismiss false statements. The most famous trial lawyer in the American colonies, Parliament got rid of the Star Chamber Andrew Hamilton addressed the court. He was in 1642, and the last licensing laws defending publisher Peter Zenger against the criminal expired by 1695. But courts continued charge of seditious libel. (New York State Library) to enforce the Star Chamber libel laws. Judges decided whether printed words were libelous. Juries decided only if a defendant had published the words in question. By 1700, “freedom of the press” in England only meant no government licensing. Once authors and printers had published their writing, English officials could still charge them with seditious libel.
    [Show full text]
  • John Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press
    John Peter Zenger and Freedom of the Press Should someone be prosecuted for criticizing or insulting a government official even if the offending words are the truth? Should a judge or a jury decide the case? These were the key questions argued in the colonial New York trial of John PeterZenger. s early as 1275, the English AParliament had outlawed “any slanderous News” that may cause “dis- cord” between the king and his people. Slander, however, only referred to the spoken word. Published works became a much more serious threat to kings and parliaments after the invention of print- ing greatly enhanced communication in the 1400s. By the 1500s, King Henry VIII of England required all writing be cen- The most famous trial lawyer in the American colonies, Andrew Hamilton addressed the sored and licensed by royal officials court. He was defending publisher Peter Zenger against the criminal charge of seditious libel. (New York State Library) before being printed. Known as “prior restraint,” this heavy-handed control over the printed word resulted in prose- The Star Chamber ruled that the truth of printed words cutions of authors and printers who published unli- did not matter. Truth was not a defense in libel cases. censed writings. In fact, the Star Chamber considered truthful state- W In England, a powerful royal council known as ments that libeled the government or its officials as the Star Chamber controlled the licensing of even more dangerous than false ones. People would U printed works. (The council got its name more easily dismiss false statements. because stars covered the ceiling of its meeting Parliament abolished the Star Chamber in 1642, and S room.) The Star Chamber created a new crime the last licensing laws expired by 1695.
    [Show full text]
  • Germans Settling North America : Going Dutch – Gone American
    Gellinek Going Dutch – Gone American Christian Gellinek Going Dutch – Gone American Germans Settling North America Aschendorff Münster Printed with the kind support of Carl-Toepfer-Stiftung, Hamburg, Germany © 2003 Aschendorff Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Münster Das Werk ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die dadurch begründeten Rechte, insbesondere die der Überset- zung, des Nachdrucks, der Entnahme von Abbildungen, der Funksendung, der Wiedergabe auf foto- mechanischem oder ähnlichem Wege und der Speicherung in Datenverarbeitungsanlagen bleiben, auch bei nur auszugsweiser Verwertung, vorbehalten. Die Vergütungsansprüche des § 54, Abs. 2, UrhG, werden durch die Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort wahrgenommen. Druck: Druckhaus Aschendorff, Münster, 2003 Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier ∞ ISBN 3-402-05182-6 This Book is dedicated to my teacher of Comparative Anthropology at Yale Law School from 1961 to 1963 F. S. C. Northrop (1893–1992) Sterling Professor of Philosophy and Law, author of the benchmark for comparative philosophy, Philosophical Anthropology and Practical Politics This Book has two mottoes which bifurcate as the topic =s divining rod The first motto is by GERTRUDE STEIN [1874–1946], a Pennsylvania-born woman of letters, raised in California, and expatriate resident of Europe after 1903: AIn the United States there is more space where nobody is than where anybody is. That is what makes America what it is.@1 The second motto has to do with the German immigration. It is borrowed from a book by THEODOR FONTANE [1819–1898], a Brandenburg-born writer, and a critic of Prussia. An old German woman, whose grandchildren have emigrated to Anmerica is speaking in her dialect of Low German: [ADröwen in Amirika.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom of the Press: the Trial of Peter Zenger 
    The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: THE TRIAL OF PETER ZENGER Grade 5 United States History and Geography I. Introduction he trial of a German printer named John Peter Zenger in August 1735 helped Testablish one of our most cherished constitutional rights: freedom of the press. On August 5, 1735, twelve New York jurors acquitted Zenger of seditious libel. He had been arrested and charged with seditious libel for printing statements in the New York Weekly Journal that were critical of colonial Governor William Cosby’s arbitrary rule. Zenger’s defense lawyer argued that Zenger was not guilty of libel because the statements against Cosby were true. However, under English law, the mere fact that a printer published statements that were critical of the government constituted seditious libel, regardless of their veracity. Therefore, the trial judge, who had been hand picked by Governor Cosby in the first place, instructed the jury to return a verdict of “guilty” because Zenger had admitted to printing the statements. However, Zenger’s brilliant defense lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, asked the jury to consider whether or not the statements were true before they rendered a verdict of guilty. Hamilton admitted that Zenger had published the critical statements, but he argued that as long as the statements were true, they should not be considered libelous. (“Truth should govern the whole affair of libels”). The jury unanimously ignored the judge’s instructions and returned a verdict of “not guilty.” This verdict established truth as a defense against libel in New York, departing from English law.
    [Show full text]
  • Colonial Culture 1607
    S ECTION 5 COLONIAL C ULTURE 1607 - 1776 1750BLACK AND WHITE POPULATION OF THE COLONIES Total 1750 Population: 1,170,760 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia 1790ETHNIC POPULATION OF THE NEW UNITED STATES TOTAL 1790 P OPULATION : 3,929, 214 62 5-1 # THE SOCIAL LADDER AND THE AMERICAN DREAM, 1607-1776 “In America, people don’t ask ‘What is he?’ but ‘What can he do?”’ —Benjamin Franklin America has always had social classes. But unlike Europe’s tradition of closed social ranks, fixed by birth, America’s open social ladder—climbed through wealth and talent—offers upward mobility. Abundant land plus hard work put wealth within reach of the colonists, and America’s economic opportunities beckoned them up the ladder. Benjamin Franklin, about whom you’ll read later, is one example of the colonists’ response. Freedom to climb the social ladder, to better one’s self, is the American Dream. To catch the spirit of the American Dream in the colonial era, read the words of Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, a French immigrant living in New York, who wrote Letters From an American Farmer i n 1782. The selection below is from his most famous letter. WHAT IS AN AMERICAN? ¨ UPPER CLASS: GENTRY By J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, 1782 (upper 5%) planters “In this great American asylum, the poor of Europe merchants have by some means met together....Urged by a royal officials variety of motives, here they came.
    [Show full text]
  • Lawfinding Power of Colonial American Juries
    The Lawfinding Power of Colonial American Juries WILLIAM E. NELSON* TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. NEW ENGLAND ............................................................ 1004 HI. VIRGINIA .................................................................. 1008 II1. PENNSYLVANIA.......................................................... 1008 IV. NEW YORK .............................................................. 1015 V. THE CAROLINAS.......................................................... 1023 VI. CONCLUSION............................................................. 1028 Three decades ago I published an article, based mainly on research in published primary sources, arguing that eighteenth-century American juries had the right to decide law as well as fact in the cases, both civil and criminal, that came before them.' I am now in the middle of a decade-long project of examining nearly all extant manuscript sources for colonial American law.2 On the basis of the material I have studied so far, I already know that the story of the jury's power is far more complex than I had thought before. If the question is simply whether colonial juries had power to find law, the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no. In New England, I remain convinced that the answer is mainly yes. In Virginia, where I have yet to research eighteenth-century manuscript sources, published sources suggest that the answer is yes. But in other major colonies-New York, Pennsylvania, and both Carolinas-the answer is no. But that simple question is the wrong one. We care about jury power because it serves as a proxy for a more important issue-the issue of how much power local communities enjoy to live by their own law rather than the law of some central authority. When appellate judges determine what is law and trial judges possess power to take a case from a jury if the jury does not follow their instructions on that law, then central bureaucrats or polity-wide majorities will possess ultimate governance authority.
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and the John Peter Zenger Case
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 244 276 CS 208 3O8 AUTHOR Nord, David Paul TITLE The Authority of.Truth: Religion and the John Peter Zenger Case. PUB DATE i Aug 84 NOTE. 27p.; Paper pretented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (67th, Gaineiville, FL, August 5-8, " 1984). PUB= TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150 -- Viewpoints (120) Historical Materials (060) EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC NoAvailable from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS *Court Litigation; *Freedontof Speech; *Journalism; *Newspapers; Politics; *Religion; Religious Conflict; Unted States History IDENTIFIERS *JournaXism History; Libel; *Zenger (John Peter) ABSTRACT An appreciation of the religious milieu of the John Peter Zenger libel case of 1735 can help explain the nature of the Zenger defense as prepared by'Alexander Hamilton, the meaning of the jury's verdict, and the ambiguous- legacy of the trial.for freedom of expression in the United States. In essence, the case was a disputation on "truth" and on how ,truth it revealed to'humans. Because_this issue lay ot the heart of Protestant religiot as well as of colonial politics, the Zenger cape may be seen as an interesting intersection of. the two. Indeed, ,the case and the jury's verdict were closely associated withthe spirit of the Great Awakening of "religion. Like the Great Awakening, the Zenger case reflected the skepticism about human _auth6rity felt by ordinary people who possessed a deep faith in the existence of God and of truth. Like the ministers of "awakened" congregations, whq were willingto reject the authority of creeds and\hierarchies, the Zenger jurors were willing ` to reject the instructions of the chief justice of New York.
    [Show full text]
  • Journalism Quarterly Devoted to Research in Journalism and Mass Communication
    SUMMER 1985 Journalism Quarterly Devoted to Research in Journalism and Mass Communication By David Paul Nord The Authority of Truth: Religion And the John Peter Zenger Case Freedom of expression had gious roots. The Zenger affair reveals important religious roots. some of these roots. Beneath the Sut$ace w This article is about religion in the John Religion lay beneath the surface and Peter Zcnger case of 1735. Its main argu- between the lines of the Zenger case; the ment is that an appreciation of the reli- overt issues were political and legal. John gious milieu of the case can help to explain Peter Zenger's New York Weeklv Journal, the nature of Zenger's defense, the mean- which began publication in 1733, has been ing of the jury's verdict, and the ambig- described as the "first political indepen- uous legacy of the trial for freedom of dent" newspaper in America.1 This is not expression in America. In essence, the quite true. It would be more accurate to Zenger case was a disputation on truth, call it the first political party paper. The and on how truth is revealed to man. Journal was launched by a group of New Because this issue lay at the heart of Prot- York politicians. led by Lewis Morris, estant religion as well as colonial politics who opposed the administration of Gov- in the 1730s. the Zenger case can be seen ernor William Cosby. Although Zenger as an interesting intersection of the two. was the printer and proprietor of the Throughout their history, Americans have Journal, the true editor seems to have been strangely intolerant libertarians, of- been James Alexander, a well-known law- ten suppressing individual liberties in the yer.
    [Show full text]
  • The Schemes of Public Parties: William Allen, Benjamin Franklin and the College of Philadelphia, 1756
    THE SCHEMES OF PUBLIC PARTIES: WILLIAM ALLEN, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND THE COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA, 1756 ________________________________________________________________________ A Master’s Thesis Submitted to The Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Jefferson Berry January 2011 Thesis Approvals: Thesis Advisor: David Waldstreicher, Temple University History Department Review Committee: Susan Klepp, Temple University History Department © Copyright 2011 by Jefferson Berry All Rights Reserved € ii ABSTRACT Chief Justice William Allen and Benjamin Franklin met hundreds of times prior to Franklin’s departure to London in 1757, and yet very little has been written about Allen. For over twenty years, Franklin and Allen worked closely on a variety of municipal improvements: the library, the hospital, the school, the fire company and many other projects were the first of their kind in America. And while Allen was Franklin’s main benefactor for close to twenty-five years --it was Allen’s endorsement of Franklin that got him his job as Postmaster-- Franklin mentions him only twice in his Autobiography. As the richest man in the Pennsylvania and the leader of the Proprietary Party, the historical silencing of such a powerful figure is usual. This thesis examines the relationship between Allen and Franklin and offers an explanation of William Allen’s lack of posterity and near-total absence from colonial American history. On May 16, 1756 an Allen led coalition of trustees in a vote to fire Franklin as President of the College and Academy of Philadelphia, an institution, a school Franklin founded and would later become the University of Pennsylvania.
    [Show full text]
  • A Meddling Royal Official: Turnout at a Famous Colonial Election in Westchester County in 1733
    National Park Service St. Paul’s Church U.S. Department of the Interior National Historic Site Mt. Vernon, NY 914-667-4116 www.nps.gov/sapa A Meddling Royal Official: Turnout at a Famous Colonial Election in Westchester County in 1733 By David Osborn Site Manager, St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site The election for an open seat in the New York assembly, held on the Village Green in Eastchester, Westchester County on October 29, 1733, is one of the better known political events in colonial America. Two hundred and seventy five years after the contest, historians continue to cite the election to advance various arguments about colonial life. One recent student used the election to argue for the persistent importance of monarchy in the outlook of colonists, while another scholar treated the voting as an important point in the development of political awareness among New York artisans. Many writers address the election, held at what is today St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site, in Mt. Vernon, as part of the story of the printer John Peter Zenger, whose acquittal in a seditious libel case in 1735 is seen as a foundation of the free press in America. The first issue of Zenger’s New York Weekly Journal carried a lengthy report on the famous election, producing one of the few complete accounts of a colonial election available to historians. But how about the election itself, and especially the unusually large turnout it produced. Why would so many men -- nearly 500 in all -- come to a place 20 miles north of New York City for an election to one seat in the lower house of the New York legislature? What does that turnout tell us about the political evolution of New York in the 18th Century, and about the place of elections in the struggles for power that often defined the colony’s public life? Answers to these and related questions help shed light on the importance of the election of 1733, and particularly how the involvement of a Royal official in internal affairs could build an opposition.
    [Show full text]