Posted on 07/04/2005 7:29:25 AM PDT by kellynla
When I was a boy my family had a Time-Life book on the mind which featured a chart of the presumed IQs of famous dead men. Goethe, as I recall, led the pack, at 210. But the Founding Fathers did very well: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington all scored over 150. As the Fourth of July approaches, we'd do well to remember that the Founders were a smart lot, with few gentleman's C's among them. Yet they didn't know everything. They were strongest in law, political philosophy and history--all essential subjects for revolutionaries and statesmen. But another subject, equally vital to the success and happiness of countries, lay beyond the ken of most of them: economics.
In part, this lack was a function of their backgrounds. Most of the Founders were lawyers or planters. A few were merchants. Not one was a manufacturer; there was almost no manufacturing in the infant United States. In part, their ignorance had to do with the newness of the discipline. Modern economics was just beginning, in France and Scotland. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" came out in 1776. The Founders knew of Smith and his peers--David Hume, James Steuart, Jacques Necker--but not intimately. Smith was probably better known as a psychologist; John Adams plagiarized his "Theory of Moral Sentiments."
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Happy Birthday, America! Semper Fi, Kelly
I tell you what, I think Franklin HAD to have over a 200 IQ. He was self taught in all of his scientific disclipines. That shows more intelligence than they at Time will give him credit for.
Not only did we get off on the right foot, but much of what he originally wanted came to pass.
I don't like everything Hamilton advocated, but George Washington trusted him and hardly ever went against his advice. The General knew quality when he saw it.
Hamilton for me was always the American success story. An impoverished bastard immigrant who never even knew his own birth date rose to become one of the leading men of his day or any other. Marvelous.
Happy 4th!
Not one was a manufacturer? Didn't Franklin build stoves at one time? And I think their was some type of mill (indigo?) on Washington's property.
"Not one was a manufacturer? Didn't Franklin build stoves at one time? And I think their was some type of mill (indigo?) on Washington's property."
I don't know for sure but I'll take your word for it. LOL
But if you find out, let us know.
Happy Birthday!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
"I tell you what, I think Franklin HAD to have over a 200 IQ. He was self taught in all of his scientific disclipines. That shows more intelligence than they at Time will give him credit for."
I don't know what his I.Q. was but we were certainly blessed to have him and the other founders!
And a Happy Birthday to you!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
yes we were....
Al Gore placed fairly well, coming in at a speculative IQ of nearly 80, on about the same level as Thomas Jefferson's housecat. John Kerry was slightly lower, roughly a 76, or equivalent to a climbing philodendron. And Ted Kennedy's IQ was not measurable; he got drunk and threw up on the test, then passed out in his own vomit.
And Washington above them both.
glad to hear that you overcame a public school education. LOL
Happy Birthday!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
The History channel has the Hamilton - Burr story on now.
thanks,
guess I'll have to catch it later
they had a some very interesting video of WWI Saturday.
I was looking to see if I could catch my father who was in France with Black Jack Pershing.
Can't believe they even approached that suject. Try asking people from my generation what they think of the politics of the Federalists versus the Republicans in shaping the founding of our country.
Thomas Jefferson must have been up there too.
I think he was too...
As was George Washington. A lot of those early guys excelled in many areas.
Mr. Hamilton's proposal for a system of government for the United States:
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/debates/618.htm
was simply a reprise of the British system of government.
Case closed.
;>)
BTTT
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