Tuesday, January 29, 2013

King George III

 


On 29 January 1820 died King George III, deaf, blind, and insane. Although the myths of American history paint him as a tyrant, he was in fact a pious and serious man. Unlike all his relatives, he married at 22 and never kept a mistress. He was devoted to his wife, by whom he had 15 children. He was often sneered at as "Farmer George" because of his devotion to scientific farming.

Truth is, George III was a constitutional monarch with limited powers. It was the Parliament that sought to tyrannize over America, and actually, to get the Americans to pay for some of the cost of defending themselves by new taxes.

That didn't work out. Still, if you look at how little government interfered in the citizens' lives under King George III, & how little they paid in taxes, how free they were, it's enough to make you nostalgic for "Farmer George."

6 comments:

  1. My long-departed friend, Lewis Burwell, of Floyd, VA said one afternoon in October 1972, over tumblers of Maker's Mark, "You know Americans are nuts, Horace, when they cuss King George, and praise Franklin Roosevelt." That was 50 years ago and today you prove him right. I'm glad I lived this long.

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  2. Is there an original article with this? I got somebody I want to show it to, but they need to be eased into understanding things - you might scare them.

    I mean heck, they are already having to deal with me and that's bad enough.

    WIII

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    Replies
    1. Heh!:) No, that's just the commentary he left at the end of his daily newsletter today.

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    2. Well. I guess I could build up something from Wikipedia. Might be enlightening to some folks.

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    3. Might be a long row to hoe, but I would be interested in your findings.:)

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