Scandal & Civility, by Marcus Daniel

“Benjamin Franklin Bache and the Desacralization of George Washington” (Ch. 3)

Study Guide

1.     Please discuss the significance of the title of this chapter, including a definition of the word “desacralization.”  George Washington was considered the Father of the U.S.  Bache was responsible for slanderous remarks against him. This was taking the significance of Washington away from what he meant to this country.

2.     Explain this statement on p. 110: “The transformation of American colonists from subjects to citizens seemed complete and almost instantaneous. But it was not.”  There was a change from people living under Great Britain to people gaining their independence.  Some were more enthusiastic about it than others.

3.     Who was Bache’s grandfather? What kind of influence did that grandfather have on his life?  His grandfather was Benjamin Franklin.  Franklin shaped who Bache would become.  He accepting him at an early age sent him to a school to shape his beliefs.  Then became an apprentice figure to Franklin, following him around to see what his work was like.

4.     How old was Bache when he died? (114) The chapter doesn’t mention the cause of his death. See if you can find it somewhere.  Bache died in 1798, from yellow fever.

5.     When Bache first founded the “Daily Advertiser,” he promised he would observe the “strictest impartiality.” (116) What happened to this promise?  He wanted his paper to be objective.  He was presenting it for the good of the public.  The paper started to reflect Bache’s political views.

6.     Bache also had a Jefferson connection. What was it? (117) Jefferson was looking for a paper to compete with the Gazette.  After Freneau shot him down, Jefferson turned to Bache.

7.     What was it about the Jay Treaty that so incensed Bache and others?  (133) They were interpreting it as a battle between the will of the people and a will of the president.  It was creating a King-like figure in the president.

8.     Discuss the  “insidious influence of women” mentioned by the author on p. 123. Do you see that kind of attitude at all in contemporary politics? Women were being involved in politics.  They didn’t necessarily have input then, but there were issues that women had influenced.  Today, more and more women are entering the political realm.

9.     How did Bache’s attitude toward the whiskey rebellion change? Why? (130) He started out at sympathetic to the farmers, but as the struggle continued he changed his feelings.  He sided with the government and said the farmers just wanted British gold.

10. There was talk in Bache’s and other newspapers of impeaching Pres. Washington. On what grounds?  They brought seventeen charges against the president.  He was being a coward and an enemy of the people.  Some also thought he undermined the constitution by signing the Jay Treaty.

11. The author states that Bache’s campaign against Washington was a total failure, but that he did have a different kind of victory. What was it?  The title of the chapter is Benjamin Franklin Bache and the Desacralization of George Washington.  That is what Bache was able to do.  He desacralized the presidency, made it secular.