The White Oak Boys and Deborah Franklin defend the Franklin home from a mob.
 

Mrs. Deborah Franklin had to boldly fling herself into her common law husband's rancorous 1765 political battles with the colonial proprietors of Pennsylvania (the True and Absolute Proprietaries) and with many others. He wanted the Proprietaries to pay their taxes even though their were almost feudal landholders. Much of this conflict was because of Ben Franklin's pragmatic approach to the Stamp Act which did not go over very well in Philadelphians nor with the Penns. Things got so heated in Philly that a group of twenty of Franklin's supporters (going as the White Oak Boys) had to come to guard his new home while he was in London. His wife Deborah guarded the upstairs from the mob, while the White Oak Boys took the downstairs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765

Thanks, yes I know, I got the idea from information you posted. :read:

Word Jumble answers for March 26, 2013 Tuesday.
 

Flank.
Façade.
Abate.
Turnip.

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

The 174 Questions about the Stamp Act and the Colonies presented to Ben Franklin on February 13, 1766 by the Parliament in London showed that Franklin could outflank his enemies both in England and the American Colonies. It also proved that his love of the Colonies was no façade as had been pitched by many of his enemies. As soon as the answers by Franklin to these 174 Questions reached his neighbors in Philadelphia the mob hatred of some soon abated. A barge christened The Franklin saluted him and free drinks were given in the colonies to men who came in with news of Franklin's triumphs as the Stamp Act --a tax on the colonies with no representation in Parliament when enacted-- was repealed. I. His Examination Before the House of Commons by Benjamin Franklin. America: I. (1761-1837). Vol. VIII. Bryan, William Jennings, ed. 1906. The World's Famous Orations Of course, this would not solve the problem of money needed by Parliament but did prove the adage that you cannot get blood from a turnip. American Revolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jumble Answers for Wednesday's puzzle.
 

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

March 27, 2013 Jumble answers:

Fourth.
Decay.
Virus.
Health.

http://www.uclick.com/client/sea/tmjmf/

Benjamin Franklin became a lighting rod of sorts when the Townsend Acts were passed in 1767. Townshend Acts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia These five acts were needed as seen by Parliament to pay for the debt created by the Seven Years' War as well as for billeting of British troops in the colonies. Mirroring the present, these troops' officers were supporters of various Members of Parliament-- kind of a British 18th century military-industrial complex. As expected by Franklin, these Acts created a virus of protest much of it coming from the Boston area where a governmental agency enforced parts of these Acts which were duties on various goods and provided the means of enforcing these taxes. http://www.masshist.org/revolution/townshend.php This led to much decay in colonial relations with the Mother Country as well with Franklin's reputation as he was still very much in love with the Empire and his stellar position in it having the pleasure of being a scientist with a huge international fan base based on his many experiments but especially with those he did with electricity. While the name sake of these 5 Acts, Charles Townsend http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Townsh...-1767)_(DNB00) died on the Fourth of September 1767 before the full effect of those laws took place on the health of relationship between Mother Country and colony. This was the beginning of the end of the American Colonies and the spark of the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin would really have to have his wits about him to get out of the mess created by the Townsend Acts. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/...sponse1767.pdf

Thursday Jumble answers. March 28, 2013.
 

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/c.../comic/Jumble/

Onion.
Stash.
Couple.
Cougar.

Franklin had the cougar by the tail and would not let go. He still tried to champion the notion of harmony between Britain and the Colonies and even went so far as to pen his hopes that the new Secretary of State of the Colonies Lord Hillsborough would appoint him undersecretary. It was not to be. The potential couple had a long and contentious meeting in August of 1768. Hillsborough appointed a lackey instead in John Pownall-- a stanch anti-colonialist. http://www.historyofparliamentonline...l-john-1720-95 Franklin stashed his disappointment and fear in various anonymous articles as well as in a parable-- a young lion and a huge English dog travelled together on a ship. The dog often stole the lion cub's food and bullied him. One day the grown up lion smashed the big dog with a "stunning blow" that left the dog "regretting that he had not rather secured its friendship than provoked its enmity." The parable was humbled dedicated to Lord Hillsborough. Hardly a message that needed to be peeled like an onion. Everything changed very rapidly when on March 5, 1770 a Boston crowd taunted a group of Redcoats enforcing the Townsend duties with "Fire and be damned". Five colonialists died after the Redcoats opened fire in what would be called the Boston Massacre. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...oston-massacre

Friday Word Jumble answers.
 

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Force.
Spurn.
Mingle.
Tomato.

Franklin still had tomatoes on his face from all those who spurned his attempts to keep the colonies and Mother England on friendly terms. This seemed a lot like his work with preventing a civil war in Pennsylvania over the Paxton Boys invasion of Philadelphia who were bent on murdering 140 civilized Indians as well as the Quakers who supported these families. The Quakers whose religion stressed pacifism set aside their beliefs and would meet force with force. They took up arms against the Paxton Boys who had killed six unarmed Indians on December 14, 1763 and two weeks later murdered another fourteen Christian unarmed Indians who were hiding from the Boys in a workhouse. Religion and culture mingled in this growing conflict as the Paxton backwoodsmen were mainly Presbyterians and German Lutherans. Franklin took the side of the Quakers and their defense of their Indian charges and wrote a pamphlet entitled "A Narrative of the Late Massacres in Lancaster County." http://www.historycarper.com/1764/03...ate-massacres/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paxton_Boys

March 30, 2013 Word Jumble answers.
 

Saturday's Word Jumble answers:

Formal.
Tinge.
Tipsy.
Tandem.

http://www.uclick.com/client/sea/tmj.../30/index.html

On February 5/6, 1764 at midnight, Governor John Penn with his counselors in tandem hid from the Paxton Boys in Franklin's home. Penn even offered Franklin command of the militia which he declined. Governor Penn then sent Franklin and six others to formally negotiate with the Paxton Boys. Surely this gave Franklin a tinge of pride. Not for long though as Penn agreed to meet with representatives of the Paxton Boys and promptly took up their cause as they seemed to him to offer him a larger block of potential voters. Franklin was tipsy with rage as Governor John Penn also offered a bounty for any Indian scalps.

Sunday's Word Jumble answers:

Govern.
Doily.
Banner.
Juicy.

Franklin got to see Lord Hillsborough's dessert doily Why is it called a Doily? as well as some of his family banners when he visited the Lord's family estate in Ireland for almost a week while vacationing in Ireland and Scotland in late August through November of 1771. They had run into one another in Dublin and Lord Hillsborough invited Ben Franklin to visit. Franklin was appalled by how England governed Ireland. Absentee landlords exploited Irish tenants and England put severe regulations on Irish trade. Franklin wrote of the Irish famers "They live in wretched hovels of mud and straw, are clothed in rags, and subsist chiefly on potatoes." Franklin visited his new found friend David Hume in Edinburgh, Scotland where he could catch up on juicy gossip about famous people they both had met.

April Fool's Day Jumble. No jokes.
 

Jumble - Houston Chronicle

Will post answers tomorrow for this puzzle.

If you want to check your answers before then-- http://www.uclick.com/client/sea/tmj.../01/index.html