3 Comments Add your own

• 1. grumps&hellip  |  September 12th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

  

  Did anybody ask Paul Bucher for his take on this?

• 2. capper&hellip  |  September 12th, 2008 at 11:55 pm

  

  Most of the founding fathers were also lawyers.

  Secondly, Bush was not just a business man, but a failed businessman.

• 3. elliot&hellip  |  September 13th, 2008 at 7:48 am

  

  I don’t typically play “gotcha,” but I’m not sure that’s true, Cap.

  From Wikipedia:

  The 1787 delegates practiced a wide range of high and middle-status occupations, and many pursued more than one career simultaneously. They did not differ dramatically from the Loyalists, except they were generally younger and less senior in their professions.[6] Thirty-five were lawyers or had benefited from legal education, though not all of them relied on the profession for a livelihood. Some had also become judges.[7]

  * At the time of the convention, 13 men were merchants: Blount, Broom, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Shields, Gilman, Gorham, Langdon, Robert Morris, Pierce, Sherman, and Wilson.
  * Six were major land speculators: Blount, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Gorham, Robert Morris, and Wilson.
  * Eleven speculated in securities on a large scale: Bedford, Blair, Clymer, Dayton, Fitzsimons, Franklin, King, Langdon, Robert Morris, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Sherman.
  * Twelve owned or managed slave-operated plantations or large farms: Bassett, Blair, Blount, Butler, Carroll, Jenifer, Mason, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Rutledge, Spaight, and Washington. Madison also owned slaves, as did Franklin, who later freed his slaves and became an abolitionist.
  * Broom and Few were small farmers.
  * Eight of the men received a substantial part of their income from public office: Baldwin, Blair, Brearly, Gilman, Livingston, Madison, and Rutledge.
  * Three had retired from active economic endeavors: Franklin, McHenry, and Mifflin.
  * Franklin and Williamson were scientists, in addition to their other activities.
  * McClurg, McHenry, and Williamson were physicians, and Johnson was a college president.

  And, of course, Washington was a General and a farmer. Franklin was an author, printer and scientist.

  Certainly, some of our greatest Presidents were lawyers: Jefferson and Lincoln to name, two, but I don’t think it’s accurate to say most of the Founding Fathers were lawyers. :)

Leave a Comment

Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Trackback this post  |  Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed

• BobG: I tend to lean libertarian, so I go with all of the conservative stuff except for same-sex marriage, abortion,...
• Elliot: Oops, I actually did forget marijuana. I meant to include it. I’ll add in when I update the list. I...
• TerryN: We just need to tailor the list to debunked’s liking and he’ll be happy. Put him in power and you...
• Debunked: Could this have been a more hand tailored list specifically geared to unscientifically weigh one side over...
• melinda: Oh – one thing… they are for letting anyone and everyone vote – without having to prove...
• TerryN: Freedom to choose your mode of transportation.
• TerryN: Freedom of speech.
• Wendy: Gas: ethanol vs. non ethanol.
• Wendy: Phosphates in dishwasher detergent/lawn chemicals?
• Chris from Racine: What about consuming salt? Aren’t “they” trying to ban that as well?