Knights........like the knights templar in the Da Vinci code..............a British custom to knight notable British citizens...............former Man U........soccer coach.......Alex Ferguson is Sir Alex Ferguson......knighted by the Queen..............

The debate spread to France on account of the eligibility of French veterans from the Revolutionary War. In 1785 Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was approached by Franklin, who was at the time stationed in Paris and suggested to him to write something about the society directed at the French public.^[16] Mirabeau was provided with Burke's pamphlets and Franklin's letter to his daughter, and from this, with the help of Nicolas Chamfort, created his own enlarged version entitled Considérations sur l'Ordre de Cincinnatus which was published in London November that year, an English translation carried out by Samuel Romilly followed, of which an American edition was published in 1786.^[17]

Following this public debate and criticism, George Washington, who had been unaware of the particulars of the charter when he agreed to become president of the society, began to have doubts about the benefit of the society. He had in fact considered abolishing the society on its very first general meeting 4 May 1784.^[18] However in the mean time Major L'Enfant had arrived bringing his designs of the diplomas and medals, as well as news of the success of the society in France, which made an abolishment of the society impossible. Washington instead at the meeting launched an ultimatum, that if the clauses about heredity were not abandoned, he would resign from his post as president of the society. This was accepted, and furthermore informal agreement was made not to wear the eagles in public, so as not to resemble European chivalrous orders. A new charter, the so-called Institution, was printed, which omitted among others the disputed clauses about heredity. This was sent to the local chapters for approval, and it was approved in all of them except for the chapters in New York, New Hampshire and Delaware. However when the public furore about the society had died down, the new Institution was rescinded, and the original reintroduced, including the clauses about heredity.^[19]

The French chapter, who had obtained official permission to form from the king Louis XVI of France, also abolished heredity, but never reintroduced it, and thus the last members was approved 3 February 1792, shortly before the French monarchy was disbanded.^[20]