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Tim Bouma
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2025-01-24 11:01:03

Tim Bouma on Nostr: Benjamin Franklin, at age 16, took on the pseudonym of ‘Silence Dogood’, the ...

Benjamin Franklin, at age 16, took on the pseudonym of ‘Silence Dogood’, the identity of a 40 year-old (fictional) widow, and wrote an incredibly popular advice column that was published regularly. Nobody knew, including the publisher, who Silence Dogood was. It was Ben.

Ben, a seasoned publisher, tempered many of the words of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence which gave it its lasting power.

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident’ was a late-night edit by Ben.

In the end, Ben was a badass and rebel: his diplomacy - and his degeneracy - shaped much of the society we have today.

Thanks, Ben
No pseudonyms, no freedom.

> During the debates over the design and ratification of the United States Constitution, in 1787 and 1788, a large number of writers in the popular press used pseudonyms.

> To avoid opening himself and Madison to charges of betraying the Convention’s confidentiality, Alexander Hamilton chose the pen name “Publius,” after a general who had helped found the Roman Republic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pseudonyms_used_in_the_American_Constitutional_debates

https://communityliteracy.org/why-did-the-federalists-use-the-pseudonym-publius/
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