instance, benjamin franklin, john adams, and john jay said we will deal with great britain without france. one of benjamin rush's biggest problems was that one of the editors still thought britain would win. so he covered things that way. rush actually sued him and one. --won. you have to remind yourself, how insecure bennett -- insignificant america was at the time. of course there was foreign influence in our country. there was not that much here here. france,tionship with our relationship with britain, were much more important in a lot of ways. rush and jefferson were associated with being french to the point that during the yellow fever epidemic, rush's treatment was considered the republican treatment, a french treatment. because rush was friends with jefferson. i think it many of these people all blame this on alexander hamilton. musical and none of them do currently, he has a better publicist than the rest of them. rush, adams, and jefferson all blame templeton for fant -- all blamed hamilton for fanning the flames of partisanship. fever, and the cure that he had was the federalist

was a pittsburgh industrialist, woodrow wilson, mon an horse in london, manhattan socialite, benjamin franklin. one of the caesars are the anonymous makers of japanese and chinese water clocks. toy prisoning forward "is a portrait of pock policy in 20th century, perennial boiling caldron of unsubstantiated science, mysteriously shifting time zone boundaries. a special comedy with congress in at the leading roll. surrounded by a support cast of opportunistic ministers, movie moguls, stock both brokers, sports fanatics and railroad executives, michael downing this author of four novels including breakfast with scott and shoes outside the door, a history of the scandal that rocked the san francisco center. he teaches creative writing at tufts university join me in welcoming michael doning to the odyssey book shop. [applause] >> thank you, joan, thank you all for turning up and i just do want to start by saying, it's rare to feel at home in the world and i'm so grateful to the odyssey and other independent book stores in america that make writers and readers feel at home so thank you, joan. this b

now here's a look at the relationship between george washington and benjamin franklin. >> good evening. welcome to the atlanta history center on this incredible wet night, and i really appreciate all of you coming out tonight and braving the weather to hear our author talk tonight by edward j. larson. now, this talk is being recorded by c-span, so be sure to silence your mobile telephonic devices. you don't want to be embarrassed on nationwide cable. this evening larson will discuss his newest book, "franklin and

someone back in our history, i think it was benjamin franklin, said if ever someone could bring to public office and the precepts of the prince of peace, he would revolutionize the world and men would remember him for 1000 years. i could never be so presumptuous to think he could do that or follow those precepts completely. precepts completely. i can't tell you this, i will try very hard. i think it is needed in today's world. >> how did governor reagan get to be governor? how did he do it? the hard way. by beating the unbeatable pat brown. pat brown, like lyndon johnson, was an organizer of power, a willing tool of those who believed in tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect. and electing was something pat brown was an expert in. in 1958, pat brown ran for governor against the most powerful republican in california, the minority leader of the u.s. senate, william milland. brown won by one million votes. >> i sent my congratulations to attorney general edmund brown. he is given the opportunity to be chief executive of the state of california for the next four years. >> in 1962, bro

that was the, those were the last words that benjamin franklin addressed to george washington. they came to at the end of a ler written in what franklin knew would be the last year of his life. washington closed his response to franklin with the salutation, your sincere friend. in this exchange written in the first year of washington's presidency, each expressed -- and i'm quoting here -- undying respect is and affection for the other. franklin adding esteem and washington topping him with veneration. at the time, franklin and washington were the two most admired individuals in the united states. which is why franklin college all the way down in georgia, the state university -- it wasn't called university of georgia, it was called franklin college. and they were the most famous americans in the world. their final letters to each other represented a fitting end to a three-decade partnership that more than any other pairing would forge the american nation. their relationship began during the french and indian war when franklin supplied the wagons for british general edward braddoc

someone back in our history if i wasn't too good a student but i think it was benjamin franklin said if ever someone could take public office and bring the public office the teachings and the precepts of the prince of peace, he would revolutionize the world and men would be remembering him for a thousand years. i don't think anyone could ever take office and be so presumptuous to believe he could do that or that he could follow those precepts completely. i can tell you this. i'll try very hard. i think it is needed in today's world. >> how did govern reagan get to be governor? how did he do it? the hard way. by beating the unbeatable pat brown. pat brown, like lyndon johnson, was an organizer of power. the willing tool of those who believed in tax and taxed, spend and spend, elect and elect. and electing was something pat brown was an richard nixon. and brown defeated him by almost a quarter of a million votes. >> i congratulate governor brown as her b has indicated for his victory. but the republican party under new leadership in california needs a -- a new birth of spirit, a new bi

that those three men, benjamin franklin wade came into congress with a gun and put it down on his desk. that's a statement, right. i'm not like those northerners in the past. shifted the dynamics. away n't necessarily take power from the southerners in congress. so i wouldn't say that it southerners and how they were behaving particularly given that the reaching a very was peak at this moment. things.icated there is a great example in a northern kind of fighting man in congress and amidst the ng southerners and he objects to something and a fellow from outh carolina yells out, go object in your own part of the house, don't object near us. northerners who did the objecting says something like to listen to any slave driver with a whip telling i'm going to do what i want to do. fellow s not make the from south carolina happy and he marches over there and gets the northerner and the northerner hits him first him.lattens what happens in this moment shows you that things have changed, but it hasn't. southerners who see one of their flattens begin to come across the house, dozens at a time, n

you are right that those three men -- benjamin franklin wade came into congress with a gun and put it down on his desk. that's a statement, right. here you go, i'm not like those northerners in the past. it shifted the dynamics. it didn't necessarily take away power from the southerners in congress. so i wouldn't say that it suddenly changed southerners and how they were behaving , particularly given that the issue of slavery was reaching a peak at this moment. it complicated things. there is a great example in 1858, there is a northern kind of fighting man in congress and he is standing amidst the southerners and he objects to something and a fellow from south carolina yells out, go object in your own part of the house, don't object near us. and the northerner who did the objecting says something like i'm not going to listen to any slave driver with a whip telling me what to do, i'm going to do what i want to do. this does not make the fellow from south carolina happy and he marches over there and gets ready to slug the northerner and the northerner hits him first and flattens him. w

if you type in benjamin franklin, i put in high and rich and he was at uc berkeley. but then it says closed collection. researchers cannot go in. i read more about him. i kind of in my head put together a good case. there is a form you can fill out that said i know that it is closed, i know this is a big deal and let me explain why it should be open and speared i am an established author. i am with the real publishing company. this is why this man is significant and why you need to take the time to open up the collection. i got an e-mail back from the assistant to the archivist who basically said good luck. it probably will not happen. the collection is closed for a reason. because it is so large. about two days later, her boss. [laughter] e-mailed me and she said, we will do it. she said you are right. he has great beard he taught here for 40 years. we should open up the collection. it will take two years. i will work one day a week on it. i said great. i will take it. all of that we send to me and not only identifying someone who i think is worth a book and little

if they have multiple collections, type in benjamin franklin, i put in heinrich at uc berkeley and then closed collection, researchers can't go in. i read more about him, put together a good case and there's a form you can fill out and those archives that i know it is closed, i know this is a big deal and let me explain why. i am an established author with a real publishing company and this is why this man is significant and you need to open up the collection. i got an email back from the assistant to the archivist, this is probably not going to happen. we are so understaffed and the collection that is close for a reason. two days later her boss, laura michaels emailed me and said we will do it, you are right, he is great, we should open up the deflection. it will take two years. all of that leads into not only what is where the book, having to take steps saying this is why you need to open this up, it is worth it. >> let's talk about what was in those boxes, to give folks an idea, oscar meticulously filled out several cases of his, with -- chronicles specific time for every phone call

and like if you type in benjamin franklin, he's at, like, 12 different locations. i put in heinrich, and he was at uc-berkeley, but then the it said closed collection. so that meant researchers can't go in. so i read more about him, i kind of in my head put together a good case, and there's a form that you can fill out in those archives thatge basically says i know it's closed, i know this is a big deal and let me explain why it should be opened. i'm an established author, i'm with a real plushing company, i was with putnam, and this is why this p man's significant and why you need to take the time to open up the collection. and i got a e-mail back from the assistant to the a kentucky -- archivist who essentially said, good luck, because we are so upside staffed. understaffed. and about two days later her boss, laura mikes -- [laughter] e-mailed me and said we'll do it. she said, you're right, he's great. he taught here for 40 years, we should open up the collection. she said it's going to take two will work one day a week on it. and i said, great, i'll take it. an

the statesmen who are leading this test benjamin franklin and thomas jefferson -- they understood the importance of increase of diffusion of knowledge. they talk about it a lot. they were themselves scientists and leaders and founders of scientific societies which were called then philosophical societies. so, for the presidential example,of 1800, for it is pitting john adams, president of the american academy of arts and scientists, against thomas jefferson, who was the president of the american philosophical society. so, that's the sort of atmosphere that smithson is observing from afar. george washington in his farewell address to the nation, he calls specifically for the promotion of institutions for the diffusion of knowledge. this language is in the air then. the other thing that would have touched smithson deeply is that the united states at this time became a place of refuge for chemists like smithson, because across the channel, france's completely melting down. and for smithson and his friends, this is super exciting. it's evidence that the most entrenched in ancient monarchy

that is a model of journalism that goes back to benjamin franklin's day but i am sorry to report it is not followed very much anymore. so whatever your own views are of politics, you will find them reflected on our page. the hope is you will expose yourself to another view and maybe open your mind and see there are merits to other arguments you may not necessarily realize. i'm in charge of the original content. we have reporters, phil wegman covered south carolina and susan crabtree covered nevada. howard feynman is a new contributor and he was in new hampshire for us. we try to be nonpartisan. everybody says that but i think we do a good job. peter: and your title is washington bureau chief at real clear politics and you are executive editor at the real clear politics group? carl: we have a polling unit now. john della volpe runs our polls. we have a publishing unit. we have real clear science. real clear history. real clear defense. real clear markets. we have these things. i am nominally over those editors but they really do their own thing. peter: who founded it in 2000? carl: john

it was a formal statement signed by three republican congressmen, simon cameron, benjamin franklin wade and zachariah chandler. it tells a story of a decision about dueling that they made in 1858. as the document explains, there was a long history of southerners insulting northerners. at a certain period of time when the insults became particularly offensive, these three men had a conversation and made a group decision. they describe it as they could not stand the heat deletion of being assaulted in the longer. they couldn't bear the fact that southern billy bullying was intimidating northerners into silence. as they put it into the document, it was an enand herbal outrage that made them frantic with shame. -- un enendurable outrage that made them frantic with shame. his statements, willing to fight the most of the coffin. so we should not be doing this, but we will. in the statements, they said, we knew that this would ostracize us at home, we knew this was risking our lives in some ways, but for the sake of all they represented, they decided they needed to fight. what is striking abou

leading benjamin franklin to write, when it was nearly over, there has never been or ever will be any such thing as a good war or a bad peace. wars of independence easily turn into civil wars. the irish often find themselves on both sides, in european wars, the american war of independence, and the american civil war. and this was also true at home. when we were commemorating the bicentenary of the 1798 rebellion 21 years ago, our speaker of the house of representatives, the doyle, enjoined me me when i was speaking in public not to mention the monahan militia, which like the north court one was at the cutting edge of british forces putting down the rebellion. the irish war of independence pitted the ira against the initially mostly native-born royal irish constublaer, outside of ouster, mostly catholic, some irish speaking and moderate nationalists. seeing them just as the enemy does not in many instances do them adequate justice. the american war of unless was a war that was studied closely by some of those involved in the irish war of independence. a leader over in america in 1922

benjamin franklin leaving the constitutional convention wasn't supposedly asked by some woman, what form of government had given us? star franklin famously supposedly responded, a republic if you can keep it. that is something i think we need to bear in mind. question, iask a don't disagree with a lot of the points you made, especially about the competition being areed and more of what we now coming out of reconstruction. but the constitution did have the bill of rights, with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. double jeopardy and all that stuff. it seems to me that some of our personality, some of the positive things that who we are can be traced back to the constitution. i understand a lot of those freedoms did not come through until the 14th amendment apply them to the states, but they were an intricate part of who we were after the constitution was passed. it is ansevelt: interesting question paired on one hand, yes. i agree. there are these amendments that place limits on the federal government, protect important values. fact also an interesting that one com

a formal statement of sorts signed by three republican congressmen, cameron, benjamin faa franklin wade and zachariah chandler. it tells a decision about dueling they named in 1858. as the document explains, there was a long history of southerners insulting northerners. at a certain period of time when the insults became particularly offensive, these three men had a conversation and made a group decision. they describe all of this in the statement. they couldn't stand the humiliation of being insulted any longer and they couldn't bear the fact that southern bullying was denying their constituents full representation in congress by intimidating northerners into silence. as they put it in this document, it was an undurable outrage that made them frantic with rage and shame. powerful statement. so these three men decided that from then on when confronted by southerners they would declare themselves willing to fight duels and in a statement they said willing to fight duels to the coffin. so, we shouldn't be doing this, but we will. and in the statement they say, we knew that this would prob

when benjamin franklin appearede elizabeth willing powell, the hostess of one of philadelphia'silad elbest known salons, and wife of the city's mayor, asked franklin what do we have? a republic or a monarchy? uslyhe famously replied, a repu, if you can keep it. we as a nation are at a criticalure juncture wheref we substantive action is needed if we are to keep the democratic republic the framerssioned. envisioned. the fact that you are conveningc this hearing is proof that you also you recognize that.r ied am honored to be a part of the discussion. >> doctor spalding? >> chairman mcgovern, ranking coal, members of the committee, thank you for testifo inviting me. like many of you, i am i'm con concerned about the decline of e congressional power relative to the modern rel executive. i hasten to add this is not ahi recent development. during this administration,is te previousspr administration, and many before that the narrowing of the legislative branch has happened. it is symptomatic of a decades long change in american government towards administrativeof arule. changethe result is a str

when benjamin franklin appeared, elizabeth willing powell, the hostess of one of philadelphia's best-known political salons and wife of the city's mayor, asked franklin, what do we have? a republic or a monarchy? he famously replied, a republic, if you can keep it. we as a nation are at a critical juncture where substantive action is needed if we are to keep the democratic republic the framers envisioned. the fact that you are convening this hearing is proof that you also recognize that. i am honored to be part of the discussion. >> dr. spaulding? >> chairman mcgovern, ranking member cole, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify to the committee on rules. like many of you, i'm concerned about the decline of congressional power relative to the modern executive and hasten to also add this is not a recent development. during this administration, the previous administration or many before that. my opinion, are simple tfr sympy of a decades-long change in american government of administrative rur administrative rule. relationship between the increasingly powerful executiv