After publishing his landmark study of the Constitution in 1913, Charles Beard of Yale University became the most eminent and influential historian in America, and it took decades of nit-picking to bring him down from that perch. He was soon universally ignored inside his profession, a role later reserved for Antony Sutton, who picked up on some of Beard’s style. For both, history was the study of economic interests, not dogmas.
Beard believed there were two American Revolutions, one to break from England, and one to cement an elite aristocracy into control. Far from being the wonderful document we celebrate today, the Constitution was the spearhead of a counter-revolution, conceived and instituted by the largest bond holders from each state, the banksters of their day.
George Washington was one of the richest men in North America at the time, as well as the largest single investor in the Revolution. Loyalist landowners faced seizure from the new government, just as landowners who’d supported the revolution had faced seizure if England won. I imagine many rich people tried to remain neutral, or played either side when convenient.
Washington was the most powerful Mason in North America, and a large number of Masons attended the Constitutional Convention, but that should not be surprising since Masonic principles support the equality of man. But it’s also true Masonry became infected at the highest levels by European royals, and flourished in both the British military and the world’s second multinational corporation, The East India Company (The Dutch East India Corporation was first, and it was their company England was imitating.)
I’ve always found it interesting that the original flag of the East India Company had 13 stripes alternating red and white, and if you possessed one of those flags, turning it into the stars and stripes would have been a relatively easy affair. Since the East India Company was the dominant cartel controlling the American economy, it would have made sense for them to embed prominent operatives into the revolution, in order to preserve the best environment post-revolution for continuing their immense profits. And many of their allies were located along the Eastern seaboard, involved with the China trade, which involved picking up opium in India and transporting it to China to trade for valuable goods.
You mean, no Betsy Ross? Otherwise, I thought the New England sea roving class was quite content with the slave trade until it was abolished by Congress in 1807. That didn’t stop human trafficking (as we call it today) immediately, But by the 1830’s N.E. merchants were throwing their lots in with the British, whose gold and silver reserves were being drained by the Chinese in exchange for their silk and tea. The English had nothing to “trade”, so turned to opium, which, of course, they forced upon the Chinese under the banner of “free trade”. That is, the American involvement in the opium trade was a generation or two after the revolutionary period. New England turned to opium after slaving petered out for them.
Of course Betsy made a flag, but seems like she could have used an old East India flag as a starting point, if not the inspiration.
Old Betsy – still love her