Founding fathers

In Short

This story is a clever blend of science fiction and heist caper, following a group of small-time Philadelphia racketeers who use a scientist’s prototype time machine to travel back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Their goal is simple: hijack the Continental treasury’s gold. However, by interfering with the delicate fabric of the past, they inadvertently rewrite history, transforming a foundational moment of liberty into an alternate reality of British occupation. It endures as a cautionary, dark-humored look at the arrogance of changing history.

The Story

Sammy, Nunzio, Mush, and their leader, "The Thinker," are struggling to pay off a massive debt to a local mob boss, Mickey Tarantino, while dodging the IRS. Their salvation appears in the form of Professor Cobbett, a disgraced academic who has built a time machine in his basement. After learning through historical research that a shipment of gold was held in Independence Hall on July 4, 1776, the gang forces the Professor to calibrate his machine for their jump back in time.

The plan is to arrive before the Congress convenes, overpower the Founding Fathers, and assume their identities. The Thinker believes they can use their knowledge of history to pose as the architects of the new nation, secure the gold, and return to the present. The Professor warns them that time travel is a volatile science; the presence of modern objects and people in the past could cause irreparable ripples in history. Undeterred, the gang threatens the Professor into silence and initiates the jump.

They arrive in the hall successfully, quickly subduing Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Charles Thomson, and Benjamin Franklin. They gag the captives, steal their wigs and clothing, and prepare for the day. However, the plan unravels almost immediately. When they peer outside, they are shocked to see the city occupied by British redcoats. By appearing in the past and disrupting the original timeline, the gang has inadvertently created an alternate universe where the American Revolution fails. Burgoyne has taken Philadelphia, the Congress is scattered, and the four criminals are now trapped in a hostile, unfamiliar past.

Their modern equipment begins to fail—guns won't fire, watches stop, and the time machine itself becomes an inert hunk of metal. The Thinker realizes with grim clarity that they are not in their own past, but in a divergent reality where the tools of their era do not exist because they were never developed. As the British soldiers storm the room to arrest them, the gang’s dreams of wealth vanish. The story concludes with a cynical nod to Franklin’s famous warning about unity; instead of hanging together, the four would-be thieves meet their end on the gallows, separated and defeated by the very history they tried to exploit.

How It Unfolds

The debt mounts Sammy and his associates find themselves in deep trouble with a local crime lord and the federal government after a series of bad bets and unpaid taxes. With time running out, they corner a disgraced scientist who possesses an experimental time machine.

The heist is planned The Thinker identifies a historical windfall: a cache of gold hidden in Independence Hall on the morning of July 4, 1776. The group forces the inventor to prepare the machine, ignoring his warnings about the catastrophic potential of altering the past.

The arrival in 1776 The gang successfully transports themselves to the morning of the signing, quickly neutralizing the key figures—Jefferson, Hancock, Thomson, and Franklin. They don period costumes and prepare to intercept the gold shipment.

The shift in reality The plan collapses when they realize the British are in full control of Philadelphia. Their attempt to alter the timeline has backfired, locking them into an alternate version of history where the Revolution is already lost.

The final consequence Trapped in a world where their modern technology no longer functions, the gang is helpless against the approaching soldiers. They are captured and ultimately executed, finding that their interference has led to an outcome far worse than their original debts.

The People

The Thinker (Tomaszewski) is the intellectual architect of the gang. A shyster lawyer with an ego to match his vocabulary, he views the past as a solvable puzzle. He is confident that he can outsmart history, but his reliance on cold logic prevents him from seeing the human and physical consequences of his meddling.

Sammy is the muscle and the pragmatist of the group. He is focused entirely on the "loot" and his own survival. He views the Professor and the Founding Fathers as mere obstacles to be threatened, showing a complete lack of reverence for the setting he is invading.

Mush and Nunzio are the secondary enforcers. They are easily led and often confused by the complexities of the Thinker’s schemes. Their primary role is providing the physical force needed to maintain the charade, though they remain consistently out of their depth once they arrive in 1776.

Professor Cobbett is the tragic figure of the story. A brilliant, ostracized scientist, he is the only one who truly understands the danger of the machine. He serves as the voice of reason and the harbinger of the disaster that follows, ultimately being made an unwilling accomplice to the destruction of his own life’s work.

In Its Own Voice

If you’re determined to change history nothing can equal a time-machine. But be warned! You may prematurely whiten your bones!

The Professor offers this grim, prophetic warning to the gangsters before they force him to activate his machine.

“In the immortal words of myself--Benjamin Franklin--we must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

The Thinker, disguised as Benjamin Franklin, inadvertently predicts the gang's grim fate while trying to keep his cohorts in line during the heist.

“He had time only for a final warning as the troops seized them. They were very rough about it. ‘Remember, like Franklin said, we must all hang together,’ he whispered. Even there the Thinker was wrong. They were hanged separately.”

In the final moments, the narrative highlights the irony of the Thinker’s failed attempt to control his own destiny.

What It's Really About

At its heart, this is a story about the danger of treating history as a commodity. The gang views the past as a "hysterical shrine" that can be looted, failing to realize that the present is a fragile construction built upon specific, linear events. The book argues that reality is not a plaything for the clever or the powerful; by trying to "fix" their own financial problems by manipulating the past, the characters destroy the very foundation that allowed them to exist in the first place. It is a sharp meditation on the consequences of arrogance, suggesting that when you try to change the world to suit your own greed, you will likely be crushed by the consequences you set in motion.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy dark, cynical science fiction will find this a compelling, fast-paced read. It is written with a punchy, mid-century noir sensibility, utilizing the gritty, slang-heavy dialogue of 1950s crime fiction to create a jarring contrast with the refined, wigs-and-quill setting of the American Revolution.

Those who appreciate "what-if" scenarios will particularly enjoy the logical traps the characters fall into. The story’s strength lies in its relentless, dark humor—watching a bunch of toughs try to navigate 18th-century politics with mob-boss mentalities is inherently entertaining. However, readers should be prepared for the mid-century flavor of the writing, which includes some dated period attitudes and stylized, hardboiled tropes that define its era. It is a quick, imaginative, and deeply cynical piece of fiction that stays with you, primarily because of how thoroughly the characters' arrogance leads to their undoing. You won't find a heroic narrative here; instead, you get a sharp, cautionary tale about what happens when you try to game the system of time itself. It is a perfect choice for anyone who prefers their sci-fi with a side of irony and a total lack of sentimentality.