Before there was a question of whether wealthy Northerners would support the Union, there was the question of whether they would sign the Declaration of Independence.
And in fact John Dickinson, Delegate to the Continental Congress of Pennsylvania - one of the most eloquent writers in defense of colonists' interests and articulators of t…
Before there was a question of whether wealthy Northerners would support the Union, there was the question of whether they would sign the Declaration of Independence.
And in fact John Dickinson, Delegate to the Continental Congress of Pennsylvania - one of the most eloquent writers in defense of colonists' interests and articulators of their grievances, and one of the wealthiest men in the Colonies - did not. Although his motives were as much loyalty to England and a wish for reform through reconciliation. He resigned from Congress rather than sign, and then headed up a militia to join Washington's troops in battle. And of course, it was Dickinson's "Letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania, to the inhabitants of the British Colonies" which inspired the title of HCR's letters.
Before there was "Hamilton" there was the 1969 play "1776" which depicted all this. The play was was performed in 1970 in the White House for Pres. Nixon who demanded of his friend Jack Warner that the song depicting Dickinson's position be cut from the 1972 film version.
"In the musical “1776,” the song “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” depicts Revolutionary War era conservatives as power-hungry wheedlers focused on maintaining wealth. So it’s not surprising that then-President Richard Nixon, who saw the show at a special White House performance in 1970, wasn’t a big fan of the number.
What is surprising is that according to Jack L. Warner, the film’s producer and a friend of the president, Nixon pressured him to cut the song from the 1972 film version of the show–which Warner did. Warner also wanted the original negative of the song shredded, but the film’s editor secretly kept it intact." - LA Times
. . .
"and Howard Da Silva, who played Ben Franklin. The last time Da Silva had received an invitation from Nixon, it was to testify before 1947’s House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), the anti-communist star chamber that Nixon helped to revivify during his time in Congress. Da Silva refused to talk and was subsequently blacklisted from Hollywood for many years." - LA Times
No wonder Nixon objected. (And if you watch the youtube film clip, please note the rather goose-steppy minuet.) And in the category of political rhetoric over reality, Dickinson's retort to Hancock just about sums up the GOP's successful, if baffling, strategy of ensnaring the working class populists to serve the 1% plutocrats.
[DICKINSON, spoken]
But why, sir? For personal glory? For a... place in history? Be careful, sir. History will brand Mr. Adams and his followers as traitors
[HANCOCK, spoken]
Traitors, Mr. Dickinson? To what? The British crown? Or the British half-crown? Fortunately, there are not enough men of property in America to dictate policy
[DICKINSON, spoken]
Well, perhaps not. But don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor. And that is why they will follow us!
Before there was a question of whether wealthy Northerners would support the Union, there was the question of whether they would sign the Declaration of Independence.
And in fact John Dickinson, Delegate to the Continental Congress of Pennsylvania - one of the most eloquent writers in defense of colonists' interests and articulators of their grievances, and one of the wealthiest men in the Colonies - did not. Although his motives were as much loyalty to England and a wish for reform through reconciliation. He resigned from Congress rather than sign, and then headed up a militia to join Washington's troops in battle. And of course, it was Dickinson's "Letters from a farmer in Pennsylvania, to the inhabitants of the British Colonies" which inspired the title of HCR's letters.
Before there was "Hamilton" there was the 1969 play "1776" which depicted all this. The play was was performed in 1970 in the White House for Pres. Nixon who demanded of his friend Jack Warner that the song depicting Dickinson's position be cut from the 1972 film version.
"In the musical “1776,” the song “Cool, Cool, Considerate Men” depicts Revolutionary War era conservatives as power-hungry wheedlers focused on maintaining wealth. So it’s not surprising that then-President Richard Nixon, who saw the show at a special White House performance in 1970, wasn’t a big fan of the number.
What is surprising is that according to Jack L. Warner, the film’s producer and a friend of the president, Nixon pressured him to cut the song from the 1972 film version of the show–which Warner did. Warner also wanted the original negative of the song shredded, but the film’s editor secretly kept it intact." - LA Times
. . .
"and Howard Da Silva, who played Ben Franklin. The last time Da Silva had received an invitation from Nixon, it was to testify before 1947’s House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), the anti-communist star chamber that Nixon helped to revivify during his time in Congress. Da Silva refused to talk and was subsequently blacklisted from Hollywood for many years." - LA Times
No wonder Nixon objected. (And if you watch the youtube film clip, please note the rather goose-steppy minuet.) And in the category of political rhetoric over reality, Dickinson's retort to Hancock just about sums up the GOP's successful, if baffling, strategy of ensnaring the working class populists to serve the 1% plutocrats.
[DICKINSON, spoken]
But why, sir? For personal glory? For a... place in history? Be careful, sir. History will brand Mr. Adams and his followers as traitors
[HANCOCK, spoken]
Traitors, Mr. Dickinson? To what? The British crown? Or the British half-crown? Fortunately, there are not enough men of property in America to dictate policy
[DICKINSON, spoken]
Well, perhaps not. But don't forget that most men with nothing would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich than face the reality of being poor. And that is why they will follow us!
[DICKINSON & CONGRESS]
To the right, ever to the right
Never to the left, forever to the right.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LxaAw2viEIQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_from_a_Farmer_in_Pennsylvania
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-sep-07-ca-42982-story.html
https://longreads.com/2017/07/06/the-1972-movie-of-the-1969-musical-1776/
Thanks for these links. 1776 is one of my favorites, and I never knew that backstory about Nixon. Wow.