For many of our readers, "the early years" could be the 1960s, when satirist Stan Freberg released the first of a planned four part series of historical comedy records titled Stan Freberg Presents The United States of America.
One highlight of that recording, which would most appropriate for this date is Benjamin Franklin being persuaded by Thomas Jefferson to sign "a harmless piece of paper."
Unfortunately, the interweb provides no way to illustrate that story, so we are left with Freberg's intrepatation of the Sale of Manhattan in 1626.
Other Stories in the Cycle
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video: An animated segment directed by Fred Crippen and designed by Saul Bass & Art Goodman from Stan Freberg Presents The Chun King Chow Mein Hour: Salute to the Chinese New Year (February 4, 1962).
