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When I read the article it struck me that it is nearly the opposite of how people use the quote today. It appears the quote's context was about the liberty of
by matt_s 12y ago
When I read the article it struck me that it is nearly the opposite of how people use the quote today. It appears the quote's context was about the liberty of government (Ben Franklin as a legislator in 1750's Pennsylvania colony) to tax the elite Penn family to pay for arming British troops, the government's army at the time. It had nothing to do with individual liberty or individual security.
It was about his liberty as a legislator to tax the property owners inside the colony to fund the government's army to defend itself during the French & Indian war. The colony governor was appointed by the Penn family and the Penn family didn't want to pay taxes.
- simonh 12y agoI don't read it like that at all. It was about the liberty of a people to govern themselves. I don't think Franklin saw the people and their representative government as being separable the way your interpretation separates them. I certainly don't think he was talking about the liberty of the people from government, nor was he talking about the liberty of the government to govern the people. He was talking about the liberty of the people to govern themselves.