VOYAGERS! - The Voyager Chronicles
TASTES OF FREEDOM - BOOK 2
(Sequel to Discoveries)
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)
March 2007 (Revised 05/2009)
Previous disclaimers apply
Chapter 14 – A MEETING OF THE MINDS
Morning came quickly for the two Voyagers. After literally inhaling their breakfast, the two hurriedly made their way back to Independence Hall. Upon entering the building, their friends Jefferson, Adams, and Franklin greeted them.
"Good morning, Mr. Bogg… Good morning, Jeffrey" Jefferson said as he rose from his desk and walked over to them.
"Good morning to you sir." Bogg and Jeff replied in unison.
"Mr. Bogg!" Adams exclaimed as he ran over to him and clasped his hand.
"I want to once again thank the two of you for all your gallant efforts to convince our dear colleague here to return. I don't know what you said to him, but, whatever it was, it worked for sure!" He said in gratitude.
Slowly and cautiously, Franklin hobbled over to greet the two Voyagers. Following closely behind him were the remaining members of the committee of five.
"Dr. Franklin… Are you ok?" Jeff asked. "Shouldn't you be resting that foot of yours?"
"My dear lad…Thank you, but do not concern yourself. I will be just fine. It's just my gout acting up again." He reassured. "Mr. Bogg…, Jeffrey, I too wish to thank you both for all your efforts to persuade Mr. Jefferson to come back."
"Dr. Franklin…Mr. Adams…No thanks are necessary." Bogg replied. "We just wanted to lend a hand."
Franklin turned to the two gentlemen behind him and motioned for them to step forward.
I would like to introduce you both to the remaining members of our committee." Franklin said with his usual formal manner. "This is Mr. Robert Livingston."
"A pleasure to meet you sir." Bogg said as he reached and shook Livingston's hand
"Nice to meet you." Jeff said.
"The pleasure is all mine. " Livingston replied.
"And this, my friends, is Mr. Roger Sherman" Franklin said as he stepped aside.
"Likewise a pleasure…sir." Bogg replied.
"Now that all the formal introductions have been completed…may we all return to our seats and begin the work of the day." Adams said rather curtly. He turned and proceeded to walk back to his desk. "You know… we do have a declaration to finish!"
"Gentlemen, please pay him no attention. He awoke on the wrong side of the bed this morning. All he needs is a little bit of ale and a beautiful wench to keep him warm tonight and he will be just fine." Franklin said as he began to laugh.
From the far side of the room, Adams exclaimed, "I heard that!"
"I knew you would." Franklin taunted. "That's why I said it out loud."
"Seriously, gentlemen." Franklin whispered. "Mr. Adams has been away from his wife for many months now. He misses her very much. That is the reason for his rather unpleasant disposition today. Come. Let's be seated before he starts again. His bellowing makes my foot ache."
The committee members took their seats and began the task that had been set before them.
"In light of the recent events, on behalf of this committee, Mr. Jefferson, we would like to express our sincerest apologies for the abuse which you took during our last congressional session. We are very grateful that you decided to return and continue with the work at hand. Also, let us not forget our new friends, Mr. Bogg and his son Jeffrey. If it wasn't for their generous help, we would not be here today."
"Thank you, Mr. Adams…gentlemen… It was our pleasure to help you. Right kid?" Bogg acknowledged.
"Right!" Jeff replied.
"Now, Mr. Jefferson, have you had an opportunity to complete those corrections which were made in the last session of Congress?" Adams asked pointedly.
Jefferson turned to face his colleague. "Yes, Mr. Adams. I have reviewed the proposed corrections and have made the appropriate modifications. I have created several copies of the current draft for the members of this committee to review."
Jefferson rose from his seat and began to pass out copies of the current draft to the members of the committee. Once finished, he quietly returned to his seat and started making notes.
For some time, the committee remained silent while they read the current draft.
Bogg finished reading his copy and looked over at his partner.
"Well, Bogg." Jeff whispered. "What do you think?"
"It's good kid, quite good." Bogg replied. "Here, you read it and see what you think."
Jeff took the document and began to read it. A few minutes later, he poked Bogg on the arm.
"What kid?" Bogg whispered.
"Bogg. We've got a problem here."
"What's that?"
"Well, there is a paragraph here that is not a part of the final Declaration." Jeff explained.
"Which one is that? Show it to me." Bogg whispered.
Jeff held the copy in front of his partner and pointed to the paragraph. "It's this one here."
Bogg took the draft from Jeff and read the paragraph again. When he finished, he looked up from the document. With a puzzled look on his face, he turned to Jeff.
"Ok. Explain to me why this one paragraph could possibly cause such a major problem?" He asked.
"It's a long story, but here it goes. You know all about the practice of slavery during this period? Right?"
"Sure, kid. I'll have you to know, American history was a required subject at Voyager Academy. But, I thought slavery had been abolished." Bogg said.
"It has…or it will be, but not for at least a hundred more years."
"Anyway, where was I. During the 1700's and part of the 1800's there was very little opposition to slavery. In the North, the shipping industry depended on the money it received from transporting slaves to the keep its economy going. The South relied heavily on slaves to work the fields, harvest the crops and to do all of the manual labor needed on the plantations. It wasn't until later that slavery became a very unpopular practice in the United States. You remember the Civil War?"
"Yea, kid. I remember. We went back to that time to save President Lincoln from being kidnapped." Bogg said.
"Well, slavery was the issue which started that war. It was a disagreement over its abolishment, which escalated to the point where the North and South went to war. It almost split this country apart."
Bogg sat there, intensely focused on his partner's every word. Jeff continued with his explanation.
"The problem with this paragraph is that it contains points that most in this day and age do not agree with. First, 'slavery is an evil practice and against human nature.' Second, 'King George is perpetuating the slave trade for his own purposes.' The last point, which will be the one that sinks the ship so to speak is, 'slaves have the right to life and liberty.' So you see, this one paragraph will be just enough to keep this document from being ratified."
"So in a nutshell, this one paragraph could cause these colonies not to become a free nation?" Bogg asked somewhat bewildered.
"Yep. You said it. When the final draft was read before congress in 1776, the representatives from the Southern colonies as well as some from the Northern colonies refused to sign the document until this paragraph was removed." Jeff explained.
"Well, kid…what do we do now?" Bogg whispered.
"Nothing…" Jeff replied in a nonchalant manner.
"Nothing! But you said…" Bogg argued in an excited whisper.
"I know what I said Bogg, but, we cannot interfere at his point… All is going as it is supposed to." Jeff said with a lack of concern.
"So why did you bring it up in the first place if all is proceeding normally?" Bogg asked.
"I just wanted you to know this paragraph could potentially be a show-stopper. Especially, if Jefferson and Adams can't be convinced by the delegates to remove it."
"Ok, kid…Is there anything else we need to be watching out for? You know, are there any more of this so-called show-stoppers?" Bogg asked.
"Nope, this is all for now." He replied.
"Mr. Jefferson." Adams said as he began to speak. "This draft is quite good and to the point. Ol' King George should not have any problem deciphering this. I believe we should be able to get this document ratified in Congress."
"Thank you Mr. Adams" Jefferson replied with overwhelming gratitude.
"Gentlemen, I believe we have overlooked one important issue. " Livingston said as he pointed to the document.
"What's that, Mr. Livingston?" Jefferson asked.
"Well, sir, this paragraph concerning the King's involvement in the slave trade is not going to go over well with the delegates from the South." He said pointedly
"I am well aware of that, Mr. Livingston." Jefferson replied. "If you read the document, specifically, the line which states… "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Those are the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How can we declare the inhabitants of this land, free men, if we pick and choose which men are to be free?"
"Yes, but the southern colonies are not going to allow for the abolishment of slavery. It's their life blood, their bread and butter so to speak." Livingston said. "When they read this, they are not going to like it whatsoever. This may be just the thing that causes the entire southern delegation to walk out."
Adams looked over to his colleague. "I agree with Mr. Jefferson. You can't just declare freedom for one man and not for another. If you say 'all men are created equal', then it must be that. It cannot mean one thing for some and something different for others. I say we leave that paragraph in the document and take our chances."
"Here, here! Mr. Adams, I too agree that we should leave it in." Mr. Sherman exclaimed.
"Well, Dr. Franklin...What is your opinion on this matter? You are being very quiet, today." Adams teased.
"Frankly, Mr. Adams, my mind is currently trying to overcome the throbbing pain of my foot. Currently, my foot is winning the battle." Franklin replied with his usual wit.
The group burst into laughter as Franklin continued.
"As for the question now on the table, there are two obvious answers. Either you leave the paragraph in and risk losing the support of the southern colonies or you remove it and allow this document to define the slaves as a group of second-class citizens. This completely negates the sentence 'all men are created equal'. As I see it, it is a no-win situation."
"So, where do you stand, Dr. Franklin?" Adams asked impatiently.
"Sir, I say leave the paragraph in."
Adams at this point interrupted Franklin and quickly posed the obvious question to the group. "Ok, so we are all in agreement here?"
"Wait, Mr. Adams, please let me finish…" Franklin interrupted. "As I said, leave the paragraph in, but we better have an alternate plan in case there is a problem."
"I agree." Livingston concurred.
"Ok, gentlemen, what is our alternate plan? Any ideas?" Adams asked the group.
The group sat there silent, contemplating Adams' question. Seconds later, Jefferson spoke up.
"Well, as I see it, the only alternate plan is to agree to take out the offending paragraph."
"Ok, are we NOW in agreement?" Adams prodded once again. "We leave the paragraph in, unless we have problems with the southern delegation. At that point, we agree to remove it."
The group unanimously responded in agreement with Adams.
"Ok, gentlemen. Are there any other corrections we need to make to the current draft?" He asked.
Adams looked at each of the members of the committee who in turn responded negatively.
"Well, I believe we now have a final draft document to put before the members of Congress. That being the case, I make a motion that we adjourn and meet back here tomorrow to put this before Congress."
"Here, here! Mr. Adams. I second that motion and my foot seconds it also." Franklin said with a smile.
The committee members rose from their seats and began to shake hands and congratulate each other on a job well done. As they made their way toward the door, they once again showed their appreciation to the two voyagers, without whose help none of this would have been possible.
Once everyone had left the hall, Bogg and Jeff remained behind and were now alone in the empty room.
"Well, kid. Looks like things are back on track now." Bogg said as he reached for his omni.
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked his partner.
"Well, Jefferson's back. The final draft has been written. Everything is back to normal." Bogg replied, relieved by the prospect.
"Not so fast, Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed. "It's not a done-deal yet!"
Bogg retrieved the omni from his belt; opened and looked at it. A look of disbelief now came across his face.
"Bats-breath! Another red-light!" He exclaimed.
Jeff shook his head. "What did I tell you? It's not over yet." He teased.
"What's up now, kid?" Bogg asked, innocently.
"I'm not believing this…" Jeff muttered to himself.
"Bogg!! Are you having a "senior moment" or what?" He said as he continued to tease his partner.
"A senior moment? That sounds serious." Bogg said innocently as he began to feel his forehead for a fever.
"Bogg, listen to me…You are not sick, just a little forgetful." Jeff replied. "Remember the paragraph I told you about. Well, guess what! It's still there!"
Bogg had an epiphany. "Hmmm, that's right, kid. They didn't take it out after all."
"So, what do we do now?" Bogg asked.
"As I said before…NOTHING! All is going as expected. They will put this final draft before Congress tomorrow. As I recall, the southern delegation objected to the paragraph when the draft was presented and refused to take any action until it was removed. The committee of five had no other choice than to remove it before the document is presented again in the session on July 2nd. After much review and debate during that session, Congress met one final time on July 4th and voted to ratify the document."
"I hope you are right, kid. Otherwise, we may be here for quite a while." Bogg said as he resigned himself to a possible 'extended mission.'
"Trust me, Bogg. Everything is going along as it is supposed to." Jeff reassured.
"I'll defer to your judgment on this one." Bogg said confidently.
The two got up from their seats and started to leave the hall. As they made their way toward the door, Jeff stopped in front of his partner and put his finger in the middle of his chest.
"So, Bogg, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" He asked.
After Jeff's comment about his "senior moment" and his forgetfulness, Bogg determined some well-deserved aggravation was now in order for his partner.
"You know, I was thinking about a nice, long nap on the beach." Bogg explained, in a sort of dream-like state.
"Well, you definitely have a problem there, 'cause the nearest beach is hundreds of miles away."
"I think the walk will do us good." Bogg replied with a straight face.
"Walk to the beach? Now I know you've lost it." Jeff exclaimed.
Bogg laughed. "Hey, there's always rock-climbing, kid?"
"I hate to further disappoint you but, I don't believe there are any rocks around here big enough to climb?" Jeff teased.
"Ok, I give. You come up with something!", said Bogg.
Jeff looked up at his partner and with a raised brow and a slight grin. "Whaaaaat about…" He said as he paused for a moment and turned away to hide his laughter.
"What is it…c'mon now… You can tell me…But just remember, paybacks are bad… really, really bad…" Bogg said as he smiled at Jeff.
"Ok, whaaaaat aboooouuuuut… we go and do some "bird watching?"
"What? Bird watching! I really don't think so…Besides, I'm not into birds at all." Bogg said with a hint of a smile coming through.
"You sure could have fooled me. How many times have you had a pretty bird in your arms and your lips locked on to her?" Jeff teased.
"Oh…yea! That kind of bird watching…" Bogg replied as his mouth dropped and he almost started to drool. After Jeff's statement had fully sunk in, Bogg turned to his partner and began to playfully chastise him for his comments.
"Why Jeffrey Jones… I know your mom taught you better. I cannot believe you would use such language in front of an innocent person like myself. Calling beautiful women, 'birds!' I am shocked and dismayed." Bogg exclaimed while attempting to hold back a laugh.
"Innocent! You! Yea, right! There's more mileage on your lips than on that omni of yours!"
"Really… You think so… Just wait 'till I get my hands on you!" Bogg shouted in a playful sort of way. "Let's see, I think the phrase is 'you're cruisin' for a brusin'.'"
Jeff took off running and stopped just inside the door of the hall and taunted his partner again. "Yea, whatcha' gonna do? Huh? Huh? Just remember old timer, the last time you tried to catch me… You were breathing so hard, I thought I was gonna to have to call a doctor for you."
"Old timer? I told you kid, I'm in my prime." Bogg reminded his partner.
"In your prime? More like passed-it. And it's miles behind you in your rear-view mirror." Jeff said with a laugh.
As Bogg slowly walked toward his partner, he smiled and waived his finger at him out of sheer intimidation. "Come here, kid… C'mon, you know you've got it coming. Just you wait and see."
"Oooooooh nooooooo!", Jeff said as he backed slowly through the door. "As I said, you've got to catch me first."
Bogg raised both his hands in the air and replied rather nonchalantly, "Hey kid, no problem." Without warning, he took off running after his partner as Jeff leaped out the door and ran down the street