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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

A CHARACTER SKETCH

FRANK STRONG, A.M., Ph.D.
Lecturer in History in Yale University

WITH ANECDOTES, CHARACTERISTICS AND
CHRONOLOGY

CHICAGO
The University Association
Association Building

Copyright 1898,.
By The University Association.

^INJIMW FlftHKLilf
*&; BY FRANK STRONB.PH.D. '„;i

EVERY visitor to Boston who has the historical spirit,
walks up Milk Street, near the Old South Church,
to view the tablet which marks the birthplace of Benja
min Franklin. The day which saw Benjamin ushered
into this vale of tears was, according to old style, Janu
ary 6th, new style January 17th, 1706.
Benjamin's father, Josiah Franklin, was blessed with
more than his share of pledges to fortune, Benjamin hav
ing no fewer than sixteen brothers and sisters, some of
them being of the half blood. Josiah came of good
English stock of Northamptonshire, where the Frank
lins owned a small farm and a smithy which regularly
descended to the eldest son, while the youngest son
served as apprentice.
Benjamin was the youngest son of the youngest son
for many generations back. Not far away lived the an
cestors of another great American who was associated
with Franklin in the most momentous struggle that has
engaged the attention ofthe American continent — George
Washington. But there was a great difference in the
station of the two families; the Washingtons were of
5

6 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
gentle blood, while the Franklins were brawny smiths
or farmers. Even then the Franklins had the sturdy
independence of which men are made. They turned
early to the Protestant faith, or perhaps were descended
from the French Protestants, and in Bloody Mary's time
•they persisted in the reading of the Bible, concealing it
by fastening the book under the top of a joint stool.
Thus while one of the children watched, the father of
the household turned over the stool and read the precious
words which peril only sanctified.
In the time of Charles II, Josiah Franklin and Benja
min, his favorite brother, broke with the rest of the fam
ily by abandoning the Church of England and espous
ing the cause of the Dissenters. On this account Josiah
left England about the year 1685 and removed to Boston.
Benjamin also came of good stock on his mother's
side. Her name was Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter
Folger who settled in Watertown in 1635. He was
noted for his missionary labors among the Indians, and
\ showed his liberal spirit and opposition to persecution by
/ l^ecoming a Baptist minister.
Franklin's biographers seem agreed that he derived
from his mother his physical traits, while it seems cer
tain that he derived from his maternal grandfather his
hatred of bigotry and helpful nature. The most distin
guishing quality of mind that Benjainin possessed—
^ clear, sound common sense— he got from his father,
whom he speaks of as having this quality in a marked
degree. Josiah was handsome, cheerful and accom
plished. He was musical and sang to his family of an

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 7
evening, accompanying himself on his violin. Benja
min held these evenings as happy spots in his mem
ory, and he often referred to them when an old
man. The home life, therefore, was affectionate and in
spiring. Benjamin had been named after Josiah's favorite
brother, who still remained in England. The elder was
of a literary tum, and this fact probably had a very
important bearing on his nephew, for the uncle after
ward lived in the same house for years. He left two
quarto volumes of his poetry, some of it written for his
nephew whom he very early (at seven years) encouraged
to court the muses. In 1 7 1 3 he sent the boy lines as
follows: " 'Tis time for me to throw aside my pen,
When hanging sleeves read, write and rhyme like men.
This forward spring foretells a plenteous crop;
For if the bud bear grain, what will the top?"
Sparks says: "These lines are more prophetic, per
haps, than the writer imagined."
Benjamin's father intended him for a preacher, and he
was sent to the Boston Grammar School. But the
boy hankered after the life of a sailor. Josiah had al
ready lost one son by his running away to sea, and, fearful
of losing another, as a sort of compromise Benjamin was
set at "dipping wicks and pouring grease," for his father
was a tallow-chandler and soap-boiler. This was when
the boy had arrived at the mature age of ten years.
He was not very industrious, on account of which his
father quoted to him Solomon's proverb about the dili-

8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
gent man standing before Kings. He spent A good deal
of time in swimming and invented swimming devices,
and again, by flying a kite made it draw him across the
pond of water on his back.
He remained with his father for three years, with
some diversion at intervals by reading the few books
which he procured by much ingenuity and self-sacrifice.
He loved best Bunyan's immortal Allegory. He pur
chased Burton's Historical Collections and Cotton Math
er's "Essays to do Good," and no doubt the "Boston
Newsletter, ' ' America's only newspaper, then about as
large as a sheet of modern foolscap.
This tendency seemed to give the father a dim notion
that the boy was worthy of something better than the
greasy trade in which he was employed. Therefore he
was apprenticed when thirteen years old to his older
brother James, who was a printer. This was not done,
however, until the boy had been taken to the shops of
joiners, bricklayers, turners, etc., that he might get an
idea of what trade he would like best, so anxious was
the father to keep the boy from the sea.
Benjamin soon learned the printing trade and became
a valuable hand. Not only that, but he got access to
better books and often sat up most of the night to read,
when he had borrowed a book or surreptitiously taken it
for a night's reading.
He tried his hand at poetry, for it was the time of
street ballads on the exploits of pirates, on shipwrecks
and murders. This production was printed by his broth-
'. er and sold. But he was saved from becoming a poet,

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 9
to which his vanity now led him, by his father, who
told him that verse makers were generally beggars.
He then turned to putting down his thoughts in prose,
and by the aid of his father and an odd volume of the
"Spectator," succeeded in correcting his faults of com
position. Lacking a vocabulary, he took parts of the
"Spectator" and making a mere sketch of them, after
ward tried to put them into good English. By compar
ing these efforts with the original, he made rapid prog
ress. He early avoided attendance on public worship and
while a mere boy, from reading Collins, Shaftesbury and
Bolingbroke, became very unorthodox. Three years af
ter he was apprenticed he obtained a book on vegetable
diet, and, with some liking for the perverse, became a
vegetarian. In this way he saved part of the expense of
his board, and got a little money for books.
From reading Xenophon's "Memorable Things of
Socrates," he took up the Socratic method of disputa
tion which helped to crystalize his style; and at the
same time he learned from Socrates that courteous man
ner which is so valuable to a disputant.
James Franklin published the "New England Cour
ant," oneof the earliest newspapers in America, and
Benjamin, unbeknown to his brother, wrote occasional
pieces for it which he stuck under the door of the shop.
These were accepted and praised without their author
being suspected, and this led Benjamin to believe in his
own power to influence men by his pen. But he re
ceived from his brother more blows than was altogether

10 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
agreeable, and he therefore sought an occasion of escap
ing his apprenticeship. He found it when his brother
was arrested for some political article in his paper which
was displeasing to the Assembly, and forbidden to longer
publish the "Courant."
As a subterfuge the paper was published in the name
of Benjamin Franklin, and the first indentures of ap
prenticeship cancelled and new ones secretly given.
Under the new management the paper flourished as nev
er before. Taking advantage of the opportunity, and
under strong feeling because of his brother's illtreat-
ment, he left, but was prevented by James from getting
work at his trade in Boston.
He secretly took ship for New York, where he ar
rived in October, 1723. He was then seventeen years
old, with a tolerably good opinion of himself, and with
a reputation in Boston of being a dangerous youth, both
politically and religiously.
On his way to New York the ship stopped off Block
Island to fish for cod, and Benjamin was tempted by the
sweet savor of fried cod to renounce his vegetarian prin
ciples. Finding no work in New York he started for Phila
delphia, and after a voyage of thirty hours reached
Perth Amboy wet, hungry, and feverish. He walked
from Perth Amboy across New Jersey to Burlington,
cutting such a miserable figure as to be suspected of be
ing a runaway servant.
From Burlington he succeeded in getting a boat for
Philadelphia, He reached the city on a Sunday tired

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. ii
and very hungry, with only a Dutch dollar and a shil
ling in copper in his pocket. The shilling he gave for
his passage on the boat. He was worn with fatigue and
loss of sleep; his clothes were soiled and his pockets
stuffed with shirts and stockings. He purchased three
rolls of bread, taking one under each arm while he ate

Franklin's Arrival in Philadelphia. From Holley's "Life of Franklin," 1848.
from the other in his hand. Thus he walked up the
street before the home of his future wife, who stood in
the doorway and surveyed the awkward, ridiculous ap
pearance of her future husband. Such was the manner
of Franklin's beginning in Philadelphia.
There were only two printers in Philadelphia in that
day, and both were poorly qualified for their trade.
Franklin, therefore, found little difficulty in getting

12 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
work with one of them, Keimer by name, who probably
was one of the Protestants of the Cevennes so much per
secuted by Ivouis XIV.
Franklin's ability and originality soon made him
prominent and brought him into contact with Sir Wm.
Keith, governor of the Province. This acquaintance
came near ending disastrously for the young man, or
rather, boy, and he then first had some experience with
the shifty practices of the well meaning but unscrupu
lous politician.
Keith tried to get Franklin to set up in business in
Philadelphia, and sent him to Boston with a letter to his
father urging the elder Franklin's assistance for his son.
Benjamin had been away seven months, and though
well received by his family, except by his brother, he
did not succeed in his mission. The shrewd Josiah.
seems to have suspected what sort of person Sir William
was, and the young man had to return with good will
and advice alone, but no cash.
The ready-tongued governor, in a fit of generosity
which he did not live up to, declared that as long as
Benjamin's father refused, he would set the young man
up himself.
He requested Franklin to make an inventory of the
things needed in a printer's shop and finally urged him
¦ to go to England for the purpose of purchasing the stock
at the governor's expense.
The promised letters of introduction and credit were
not forthcoming before the ship sailed from Philadelphia,
but being assured by Sir William that they would be

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 13
sent aboard at Newcastle, Franklin embarked. At New
castle the supposed packet was sent aboard but on being
opened later no letters were found for Benjamin Frank
lin. It was an indecently cruel trick to thus impose
"so grossly on a poor ignorant boy" and send him to a
foreign country on a useless mission. Bnt after all the
experience and knowledge thus gained were of value.
While in London he worked at his trade and led a
somewhat dissipated Hfe. His infidelity came out in a
pamphlet which brought him some favor with the free
thinkers of England
whose favor and socie
ty never did anybody
any good. Afterward
he destroyed with his
own hands nearly all
the 100 copies issued.
He was also urged by
Sir William Wyndham,
ex-Chancellor of the
Exchequer, to open a
swimming school in
London. This was a
strong _ temptation for
he was promised good
patronage, but a desire to see Philadelphia once more and
the kind advice of a Mr. Denham led Franklin to refuse.
This Mr. Denham ofiered him a position as confiden
tial clerk in his mercantile, business to be opened in
Philadelphia, and Franklin accepted, They returned to

Press used hy Franklin while working at his
trade in London in 1725-6. Now in the
National Museum, Washington, D. C.

14 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
America together after Franklin had been absent eigh
teen months, reaching Philadelphia October nth, 1726.
During the voyage to America, Franklin kept a diary
and recorded several interesting scientific observations.
Tears filled his eyes as he approached his native land
and he seems to have been heartily glad to see America
once more. The business arrangement with Mr. Denham
was soon broken up by the severe illness of both. Mr.
Denham died but Franklin's life was spared. He pro
fessed himself "rather disappointed" when he found he
was not going to die. But Benjamin had a very prac
tical turn of mind, and had a sufficient sense of his own
importance to occupy himself afterward with his famous
epitaph which is too renowned to omit:
The Body
of
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
(Like the cover of an Old Book;
Its Contents Torn Out,
And Stript of Its Lettering and Gilding, )
Lies Here, Food for worms.
Yet the work Itself Shall not Be Lost,
For It will, as He Believed, Appear Once More,
In a New
And More Beautiful Edition,
. Corrected and Amended
By
The Author.
But Franklin got well of his pleurisy and returned to
his old trade, this time with his old employer, Keimer.
He was the life of the shop; cast type, made the ink, en
graved, and bound the books. He soon left Keimer be
cause of a quarrel and made a secret agreement with one

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 15
of Keimer's workmen, Meredith, to go into partnership
as soon as they could get the tools of the trade from
London. Keimer having a chance to print paper money for
New Jersey, persuaded Franklin to return for a season
because he was the only one who could engrave, cast
type, etc. He contrived for this job the first copper
plate press in America. What was more important, he
had a chance to visit Burlington and become acquainted
with the influential men whose friendship proved after
ward of great advantage.
He soon set up his business with Meredith, and after
a few months bought from the shiftless Keimer a news
paper recently started and called "The Universal In
structor in all Arts and Sciences, and Pennsylvania Ga
zette." This long name being too heavy a burden for
a small paper with ninety subscribers to carry, the first
clause was chopped off, and being relieved of part of its
burden the "Pennsylvania Gazette" began to prosper
greatly. It soon became very influential, Franklin's first
number being number forty issued October 2d, 1729.
It is interesting to remember that in this paper Frank
lin originated the modern system of business advertising
that has grown to such an enormous extent.
The other printer in the town, Bradford by name, was
also postmaster and refused to allow his postriders to
carry Franklin's paper because he published one him
self. This constituted no difliculty to Franklin whose
code of ethics was of a somewhat elastic sort. He simp
ly bribed the postriders with so liberal sums that his pa-

i6 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
per gained a wide circulation and soon became extreme
ly profitable. It was well printed, and, especially, arti
cles of Franklin's which discussed the trouble between
the Governor and Assembly of Massachusetts and fore
shadowed the coming trouble of forty odd years later,
brought much favor to Franklin and many subscribers
to his paper. In the year 1730 the partnership with Mere
dith was dissolved. Even before this Franklin had formed
I his famous debating society called the Junto,or The Leath-
ern.Apron Club. The ideaseems to have been borrowed
from Cotton Mather's Benefit Societies. The members
entered upon the discussion of topics which afterward
became leading questions in colonial affairs. The Club
soon became of very great influence and formed sub
ordinate clubs. So began the American system of de
bating societies.
One of the questions taken up was that of paper, mon
ey which was now coming to the front in the Province.
Franklin favored the measure in his paper and to such
good purpose that it carried, and he got the job of print-,
ing the money which brought him a handsome sum.
He worked very hard at this time and vvas not above
making some show of his industry and frugality. He^
was now induced by friends, who were would-be match-.
makers, to contemplate marriage but his mercenary de
mand of enough dowry to pay off the debt of his print-
ing house broke off" the match.
He then turned to Miss Reade to whom he had prom
ised himself before he went to London and whom he had
conveniently forgotten. She in the meantime had mar-

Mrs. Benjamin Franklin.

i8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
ried a worthless fellow who deserted her. The affection
between her and Franklin reviving, they were married
September ist, 1730.
It has seemed wise to give some space to Franklin's
early life because of its very great interest and its im
portant bearing on his subsequent career. It was, how
ever, the least satisfactory and least to be respected part
of his life. He had pretty thoroughly sown his wild
oats and had been guilty of many indiscretions that, but
for his correct and helpful after life and his exceeding
great services to his country, would leave a blot on his
reputation. In fact, if Benjainin Franklin had not at
the bottom been of sound character and high aims, . he
would never have recovered from his early sins and mis
takes; but instead we should read of another disastrous
failure in life.
We have come to the turning point in his career.
With his marriage a new period in his life begins; dan
gerous tendencies in his character disappear and the no
bler elements more strongly appear. He had always
been industrious; now he is frugal and steady.
His direct pungent style of writing he puts to good
use and the writing of infidel essays is given ovijr. His
full stock of information which makes him a self-educa
ted man; his breadth of mind and charming originality,
and most of all his sound judgment and wonderful com
mon sense, are put to the uses that help his fellow men,
not only of his own city and colony, but of the world.
His thriftiness brings financial success; his happy mar
riage brings tranquility of life and correctness of living.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 19
He becomes influential and public-spirited, and what
Benjamin F'ranklin undertakes is pretty sure to be suc
cessful. Franklin is very remarkable for the number of schemes
for social and public improvement which he began when
they would be of vast influence on the undeveloped col
onies. It would be hard to parallel his case in history.
The experience he gained thus was of great value to
himself, also, for he learned in such matters to put him
self in the background. He says:
"I therefore put myself as much as I could out of
sight, and stated it as a scheme of a number of friends,
who had requested me to go about and propose it."
This method brought success and is important because
it was the one he uniformly followed in after life. His
first enterprise of this character was the establishment of
a library. He induced the members of the Junto to
bring their few books to their club room for the common
benefit, members being allowed to borrow books to read
at home. This proved of service and led him to think
of affording the benefit of reading to the public by means
of a public subscription library. With difficulty he got
fifty persons to subscribe forty shillings each and ten
shillings a year. The books were imported and the li
brary was open one day in the week to subscribers for
borrowing on their promissory notes to pay double the
value, if the book was not duly returned. This method
was soon imitated by other towns and provinces and led
to consequences of great moment.
"They made," he tells us, "the common tradesman

20 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other
countries, and perhaps have contributed in some degree
to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies
in defense of their privileges." The library was found
ed in 1731 and incorporated in 1742.
He now began to acquire some wealth through his
own industry and frugality and that of his wife who
cheeifully folded and stitched pamphlets, tended shop
and purchased old linen rags. He considered himself
lucky in having such a wife and quoted the old English
proverb: "He that would thrive, must first ask his wife."
They lived very plainly, his breakfast being bread and
milk with no tea, eaten out of a "two- penny earthen
porringer with a pewter spoon."
He seemed to recover somewhat from his very strong
tendency toward free-thinking and this new inclination
grew stronger as the years went by. His experience
with himself and others had convinced him that there
was something wrong with his early views. He even
wrote a pamphlet in refutation of his London screed.
The preaching of the day, which he alwaj's helped to
support with his money, lacking the inculcating or en
forcing of moral principles, he formed in 1728 a Lituro-y
for his own private use and went no more to public wor
ship. But he strongly advised his daughter Sarah to
never give up Divine Worship.
He now conceived the project of arriving at moral per
fection. This illustrates well Franklin's moral attitude.
He found the task, however, more difficult than he had

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 21
imagined. Among the virtues in which he meant to at
tain perfection were Temperance, Order, Frugality, Sin
cerity, Justice; and, on being told by a candid Quaker
friend that he was proud and too confident in his own
opinion, and being convinced of the truth of the asser
tion, he added to the list Humility. He naively says
that he had a good deal of success with regard to the
appearance of humility.
In 1732, he first published his "Almanac" under the
name of Richard Saunders, and it was continued by him
as Poor Richard's Almanac for twenty-five years. It
was the comic almanac of the time and proved a great
success, circulating to the extent of ten thousand copies
per year.
It had enormous influence so that, as "one of his biog
raphers tells us, " 'Poor Richard' became a -jto-m de plume
as renowned as any in English literature.' ' It was one of
the most influential publications in the world, being re
printed in Great Britain, and translated into French and
distributed among the poor. Franklin thought that by
discouraging useless expense it helped toward the grow
ing plenty of money in Pennsylvania.
In 1733 he began the study of languages, and soon
had some mastery of French. He then acquired a read
ing knowledge of Italian, Spanish and Latin, and
strongly advocated this order in learning languages.
He loved the game of chess, and he persuaded the
friend with whom he played to agree that the one who
was beaten should learn the parts of some Italian verb,
or do a portion of Italian into English before the next

The University of Pennsylvania, the outgrowth of the Academy established
by Franklin.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 23
game. Thus, Parton,says, "they beat one another into
the acquisition of the Italian language."
We find him all through his life seeking diversion
through music, also, which taste he inherited from his
father; and he is said to have played on the harp, violin,
violincello and guitar.
His political promotion began with his being elected
Clerk of the General Assembly in 1736, and was fol
lowed the next year by his being appointed by Colonel
Spottiswood, the postmaster-general, his deputy in Phil
adelphia. Franklin found this of great advantage, for
it increased the circulation of his newspaper and the in
come from its advertisements.
He started the agitation which led to a regular police
system instead of the old city watch, and December 7th,
1736, formed the Union Fire Company, the first of its
kind in America.
When Whitefield visited the colonies in 1739, he
found Franklin one of his earnest supporters. He tells
in his inimitable autobiography a story of how he was
carried away by Whitefield's eloquence and emptied his
pockets, copper, silver and gold, into the collection box
when he had made up his mind to give nothing.
A little before this he invented the Franklin stove or
Pennsylvania fireplace which was the beginning of the
American stove system. Franklin refused to take out a
patent on it for worthy reasons which had no effect on a
thrifty iron-monger of London who made some disadvan
tageous changes and at once secured a patent.
In 1743 he proposed to establish an academy but

24 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
failed; but the next year succeeded in founding the Amer
ican Philosophical Society. These various projects were
either established through the Junto or received valuable
aid from that unique organization.
A few years later he again took up the matter of an
Academy and the result was in time the University of
Pennsylvania. His mind was continually running on scientific mat
ters. He loved to observe nature. He was a careful ob
server of ants and made interesting discoveries about
them and, in 1743, he made the discovery that the north
east storms move backward, that is from southwest to
northeast. As the war between Spain and England came on in
1739, he took up the matter ofthe unprotected frontier
of Pennsylvania, and wrote a pamphlet entitled "Plain
Truth," setting out in strong colors the defenceless con
dition of the colony and the necessity of union. This
pamphlet was the means of a voluntary association for
defence. Franklin and others were sent to Governor Clinton of
New York for cannon. Clinton at first absolutely re
fused to lend any, but at night when his council met and
they had drunk a few glasses of Madeira wine, the Gov
ernor promised six; after a few more glasses ten, and
when further intoxicated, he advanced the number to
eighteen. Franklin took his turn as a common soldier
in the battery. This visit to New York gave him some
acquaintance with men of prominence.
Franklin proposed a lottery to defray the expenses of

George Clinton. Colonial Governor of New York.

26 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
building the battery. He now discovered that in defen
sive warfare the Quakers would offer no obstacle, for
when New England solicited a grant of powder from
Pennsylvania, the Quakers voted ;^3,ooo for the pur
chase of bread, flour wheat, or other "grain," which
latter meant gunpowder.
Franklin in 1748, took into partnership David Hall
who had been a fellow workman in London, in order
that he might have more leisure. He then turned his
attention toward scientific investigations, especially in
electricity. But the people needed his services and he had to serve
as justice of the peace, in the Common Council, and as
their representative in the Assembly, which latter posi
tion pleased him especially. He was also elected by the
House as one of the Commissioners for treating with the
Indians at Carlisle. The Commissioners with difficulty
persuaded the Indians to keep sober during the time of
the treaty by promising plenty of rum afterward, which
promise was kept.
In 1751, he assisted Dr. Bond,"whose skillful flattery
won him over, to found a hospital in Philadelphia. He
got a conditional grant from the Assembly of |io,ooo for
the purpose.
He also interested himself in schemes for street clean
ing, paving and lighting, which afterward became organ
ized efforts. He improved on the London lamps by
making them of four flat panes with openings for air be
low, which the smoky London lamps did not have.
Tradition tells us also the story of the introduction of

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 27
plaster as a fertilizer; how Franklin in a field by the high
road wrote in large letters with plaster: — "This Has
Been Plastered;" and how the brilliant green of the in
creased growth made the words very plain to the aston
ished farmers.
Having acted for some years as comptroller under the
postmaster-general of America, he was, upon the death
of that officer, appointed conjointly with Mr. William
Hunter to succeed him. This was in the year 1753 and
marks the time when Franklin began to have a part in
the more important matters of the colonies as a whole.
The American office had never paid the British govern
ment any revenue, but before Franklin got through with
its management it paid three times as much net revenue
as the Ireland office. After he was displaced ' 'by a freak
of the minister' ' it again ceased to pay. His connection
with the post office was a matter of importance.
He was now a rising man in colonial affairs. It led to
his travelling in New England and gave him an acquain
tance there which had some bearing on after events.
Harvard then conferred upon him the degree of Master
of Arts. Yale had already done so, the honor in both
cases being in recognition of his discoveries in electricity.
As the French and Indian war came on, the Lords of
Trade (1753) directed the governors of various provinces
to have commissioners sent by the assemblies to treat
with the Six Nations and to form a union for general de-'
fence. The place of meeting was to be Albany on ac
count of its convenience and nearness to the Six Na
tions.

28 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Franklin was appointed one of the commissioners for
Pennsylvania and the Congress met in June, 1754- On
the way to Albany Franklin drew up a plan of union
which he says in his autobiography was for all the col
onies. This plan, which was his so-called "Short Hints, "
he showed to his friends in New York, in whose judg
ment he had confidence, i. £•., James Alexander and Cad
wallader Colden. The "Short Hints," however, referred
at first, at least, to a union of northern colonies only.
Alexander and Colden offered some criticisms and sug
gestions which Franklin made some slight use of.
At the Convention several plans of union were proposed
but the Committee appointed to draw up plans, of which
Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts and Benjamin
Franklin of Pennsylvania were members, chose Frank
lin's and reported it with some modifications and it was
adopted. There were twenty-five delegates from only
seven states; all of which, except Maryland, were north
ern states. When the plan of union was submitted to
the colonies their assemblies rejected it without exception
because it gave the Crown too much power.
When submitted to the Lords of Trade and Plantations
it was rejected because it gave too much power to the
colonies. It was, however, a very important step in the
evolution of a national idea and Franklin had his full
share in it. The real reason why England rejected the
plan of union was not that it gave the colonies too much
specific power, but because it formulated a tendency to
ward organic union that the home government was
alarmed at, although its order had led to it.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 29
Franklin thought afterward that the adoption of his
scheme might have made the assistance of the English
troops in the French and Indian war unnecessary, pre
vented the attempts to tax the colonies for the expense
of the war, and so prevented the Revolution. But that
was mere fancy.
In the winter of 1754-5 he had some conversation with
Governor Shirley of Massachusetts over the relations of
the colonies to the mother country. Shirley seemed to
favor a scheme, to take the place of the one rejected, by
which the governors of the provinces and their councils
should meet and order the raising of troops, etc., and
draw on the imperial treasury for funds which should be
returned by a tax levied by Parliament on the colonies.
Franklin took alarm at once and wrote three letters
in December, 1754, setting out the principle of no taxa
tion without representation. These letters were afterward
published in the London "Chronicle" in December, 1766.
Franklin thus laid out before hand the plan of campaign
according to which the Revolution was fought. He, how
ever, injudiciously admitted the right of Parliament to lay
what he called secondary taxes through the operatioii of
the Navigation Acts. Shirley proposed that the colo
nies be represented in Parliament, but Franklin thought
that hardly practicable.
He was swept into the vortex of the war and gained
experience of value in the coming struggles for indepen
dence. The inevitable struggle between England and
France for the ownership of North America had begun.
The contest seemed very unequal when we consider that

30 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
there were over a million whites in the British Prov
inces and only 80,000 French in Canada.
The outcome of the contest therefore could not be in
doubt, though the concentrated administration of Cana
da and the incompetency of the English put off the inev
itable. Braddock's campaign and defeat cost Franklin dear
because he was induced to persuade his fellow citizens of
Pennsylvania to let out their horses and wagons to haul
supplies and baggage for the army. They first insisted
on his giving them a bond for the value of their property,
which he did. The loss through Braddock's defeat was
about $100,000, which Franklin was bound to pay. Suits
were instituted and he was only saved from ruin by Shir
ley, who appointed a commission to audit and pay the
claims. Part of the money which he had advanced he
never received. Against his own judgment he was, dur
ing the war, appointed Colonel of a regiment and s&nt
with a small force to build forts on the frontier. He did
his work well.
About this time he conceived the idea of extending
the colonies inland over the mountains, thinking that in
a century the Ohio Valley might become a populous and
powerful domain; and such it has become even beyond'
his wildest dreams.
Ever since 1746 Franklin had been engaged in elec
trical experiments which culminated in his celebrated
proof ofthe identity of lightning with the electric spark.
The story is one of the most famous in history.
Standing under an old cow-shed after they had raised

Braddock's Retreat.

32 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
their kite in the rain, Franklin and hig son had the sat
isfaction of drawing from the key at the end of the hemp
en kite-string unmistakable sparks. They then filled a
Leyden jar which they had carried with them, and the
next ship to Europe took the news of the discovery.
Having been provided by Mr. P. Collinson, Fellow of
the Royal Society of London, (whom he had known in
England), with a glass tube for use in his experiment, he
soon had his hous© continually full of "people who came
to see these new wonders. "
He wrote several lectures and set up an ingenious
neighbor as lecturer with machines made after Franklin's
models and sent him through the colonies and even down
to the West Indies. He then wrote Collinson several let
ters about his experiments, and sent the paper he had
written for his neighbor on the sameness of lightning
with electricity to Dr. Mitchell, one of the Royal Society.
The Royal Society, however, poked fun at Franklin's
papers. They fell afterward into the hands of Dr. Foth-
ergill who saw their worth and had them printed; and
wrote a preface for the publication. A copy of this came
into the hands of Count de Buffon, was translated in
to French and began to attract very general attention.
It was afterward translated into Italian, German and Lat
in, and Franklin had full revenge upon the pedants who
derided him. He was chosen a member of the Royal
Society and presented with the medal of Sir Godfrey Cop
ley for the year 1753.
Franklin incurred the enmity of the proprietaries of
Pennsylvania by his conduct in the Assembly. He was

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 33
the leader in the legislature and opposed very warmly the
exemption of the estate ofthe proprietaries from taxation.
He even denounced their motives as mean and unjust in
demanding exemption.
The full force of their displeasure, fell of course, upon
the leader, and we have in
a sense a beginning of the
struggle that was to issue in
a contest, not between a pro
prietary and his colony, but
between a King and his sub
jects. The proprietaries ac
cused Franklin in turn with
an intention of assuming the
government of Pennsylvania
by force. They even tried to Oold Medal presented to PranltUn by
, , . , - . . the Royal Society of London.
get him removed from his
ofiice as post-master general for America but without suc
cess. The Assembly meantime, were in a chronic state of
wrangling with the governor, who was torn with conflict
ing desires to please the King, the proprietaries and the
Assembly. Franklin and the governor seem, however,
to have kept, personally, on good terms. The struggle
between the Assembly and the proprietaries soon came
to a head. The proprietaries insisted on a course of act
ion which the Assembly construed as inconsistent with
the privileges of the people and the service of the crown.
The Assembly therefore determined to send a petition to
the crown in their behalf and to send Franklin as their

34 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
agent in support of the petition. After a long delay oc
casioned i)y Lord Loudon's indecision, which Franklin
graphically and humorously describes, he succeeded in
getting off", although his baggage had all gone on be
fore. It was on this occasion that Loudon was char
acterized by one of Franklin's friends as "like St.
George on the signs, always on horseback, but never
rides on.''"'
Franklin was waiting on Loudon partly to recover the
balance due him for provisions . furnished Braddock's
army. Although Loudon's paymaster found the accounts
entirely accurate, Loudon himself refused to pay, coarse
ly intimating that Franklin, like other contractors, had
found a means of recompense by stealing from the pub
lic treasury. But after the fiasco at Louisburg, Loudon
was recalled, too absurdly incompetent to be of use in
the New World.
Franklin was, among other things, attempting to in
duce the Crown to resume the Province of Pennsylvania
as his own. But there seemed to be no good prospect
of the success of this mission; for about the time that
Franklin was appointed, the House of Commons passed
a resolution that the claim of the colonial Assemblies of
the right to raise and disburse public money on their
own authority was derogatory to the crown and the rights
of the English people.
Franklin was accompanied by his son as secretary.
They were chased by the French several times, but es
caped. Oh his way to London from Falmouth he
stopped at Stonehenge and arrived in the British capital

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 35
July 27th, 1757. He soon had an interview with Lord
Granville, president of the council, and was alarmed at
the position then taken by that statesman. Franklin
was told in substance that the king's instructions to his
governors were the ''¦law ofthe land, for the king is the
legislator of the colonies." Somewhat aghast, he an
swered that that was new doctrine to him. No wonder
he was alarmed.
Franklin did not get on well with the proprietaries.
Each side justified its own acts, and there seemed to be
little hope of agreement. In fact Franklin had under
taken a negotiation with the proprietaries only on the
advice of Dr. Fothergill, mentioned before. He was now
told to negotiate with the solicitor of the proprietaries,
Ferdinand John Paris, who had conducted their disputes
with the Assembly. But he already had a mortal enmi
ty to Franklin because the latter had, when answering
the papers and messages sent to the Assembly, handled
him without gloves. For Franklin knew how to wield
a sharp pen on occasion.
Paris was such "a proud, angry man," that Franklin
refused to have anything to do with him. The business
was then turned over to the Attorney and Solicitor-Gen
eral. The matter dragged on for more than a year during
which time Paris got even with his enemy by sending
for the proprietaries a message to the Assembly com
plaining of Franklin's rudeness, and professing willing
ness to accommodate matters if "some person of can
dour" was sent to treat with them. But the Assembly

36 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
got back at them by passing an act taxing the proprie
tary estate in common with others and omitting to an
swer the message at all.
This whole matter has an extremely humorous flavor.
In those times thcy did not preserve the amenities of
life, nor were our ancestors backward in giving as good
as was sent. When
this Act reached Eng
land for ratification by
the king, there was a
great effort made to de
feat it. But as it in
volved a vital point of
the right of the Assem
bly to tax the proprie
tary estate, Franklin
fought hard to get it
ratified. The matter
of $500,000 of paper
money was involved in
this dispute also, and
the legality of the issu
ing of bills of creidit. By making some concessions, the
act was ratified and the Assembly won.
Franklin had been kept in this business three years
or more, for he had found himself very much hampered
because he was merely the agent of the colonists and so
a person of no importance.
He vainly tried to get an interview with William Pitt.
Yet in other ways he found friends. His scientific dis-

David Hume.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 37
coveries had made him a reputation and he was wel
comed into the literary circle of such men as Lord Kames
and David Hume.
He traveled extensively, going even to the Low Coun
tries; was made Doctor of Laws by the Universities of
St. Andrews and Oxford. This all led to a strong af
fection for England as time went by. One of his friends,
Mr. Strahan, tried hard to get him to make England his
permanent home, and offered his son in marriage with
Franklin's daughter. But Mrs. Franklin did not look
kindly on an ocean voyage.
Just at this time Franklin himself was trying to in- ,
duce his son William to marry an English girl, Mary
Stevenson, whom he had taken a strong fancy to. He >
also failed, and so no family bonds united him to the
mother country.
It would have been a hard blow to the colonies if all
these efforts had succeeded in making Franklin a natur
alized Englishman.
The fall of Quebec in 1759 had practically ended the
French and Indian war. Now arose a question of vital
importance to the colonies. England, though the con
queror, desired peace, and the question was whether to
retain Guadeloupe or Canada, both of which had been
conquered. The discussion of this question showed with what
penetration some foresaw the coming splitting off of the
colonies from the mother country. Many opposed the
retention of Canada, because Canada in the hands of the
French would always keep the British colonies depen-

38 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
dent upon England. Some went so far as to say that
even if England could get Canada without any sacrifice
at all she should not desire it.
Franklin had some important part in this discussion.,
and with searching directness showed that the French
occupation of Canada was a menace to the English pos
sessions, and that to leave them there as acheckupon the
colonies only gave license to Indian barbarities.
In regard to the probable union of the colonies, he
was not wholly ingenuous. That was what England
feared, and Franklin labored to show that such union
was impossible except under the most grievous tyranny
and oppression.
Attorney-General Pratt did not believe in Franklin's
boast of colonial loyalty and thought that an attempt at
their independence was sure to come. Choiseul, the
French Minister, and Vergennes thought the same.
Franklin returned home late in 1762. The Assembly
voted him $15,000 for his expenses, although he had
.spent much more. His friends filled his house in suc
cession for many days, coming to congratulate him on
his return.
The English government tried its hand at diplomacy,
also, and in the Autumn of 1762 appointed his son Will
iam governor of New Jersey. Lord Bute seems to have
brought this about. There was considerable intimacy
between him and Franklin, for Bute was a man fond of
books and an experimenter in science. Franklin took
no part in securing the position— a valuable one— for his
son. This appointment resulted in William becoming a

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 39
royalist and afterward a Tory refugee and led to an ali
enation between father and son that was only partially
healed. Franklin was now fifty-six years old. He, however,
threw himself into business both public and private, and
in 1763 traveled 1600 miles looking after the postal bus
iness of the colonies.
He was still a member of the Assembly and soon got
into trouble with the governor, John Penn, who far from
measured up to the character of the founder of the Prov
ince. F^ranklin had helped Penn in a marked way dur
ing the excitement over the Paxton massacre in which
excitement Penn had acted an ignoble part, but on this
very account Penn disliked Franklin the more.
The new governor, from whom much was expected
because of his fair words, soon began the old quarrel
with the Assembly. The ancient trouble over the tax
levy on the proprietary's land came up anew. Franklin
took a prominent part in the hot discussions and the
people thought of again asking the Crown to assume the
government of the colony.
During a recess of the Assembly he wrote a pamphlet
entitled "Cool Thoughts on the Present Situation of our
Public Affairs." He discussed the matter ably and
impartially and was keen enough to see that' neither
the proprietary nor the people were different from others
of their class, and that the trouble resided in the very
nature of proprietary government and would last as long
as it lasted.
He advised an immediate Royal Government. He

40 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
drew up a petition to the King in Council showing the
difficulties and dangers in a proprietary governor, and
praying his Majesty to resume the government of the
Province. The Speaker of the Assembly not having the courage
to take so important a step even after the measure was
carried resigned, and Franklin was chosen in his stead
and affixed the official signature to the petition.
These disturbances led to deep animosity on Frank
lin's part toward the Pennsand tobitter hatred of Frank
lin on the side of the proprietary party in Pennsylvania.
So strong did Franklin's enemies become that they de
feated him for the Assembly in 1764. But the new As
sembly promptly took into consideration his appoint
ment as Agent to the King in Council in support of the
petition for the Crown to assume the government. This
was a bitter pill to Franklin's enemies. They tried to
defeat the measure and failing in this, passionately urged
him to refuse the honor. He, however, accepted.
Franklin was. ready to return to England within two
weeks after his election. Because of lack of money in
the treasury of the colony, some well-to-do citizens had
to make up a private fund, part of which Franklin took.
His enemies made much of his being escorted to his
ship b}'- mounted citizens whose kindly service he was
not informed of, and which he could not refuse.
He reached the Isle of Wight December 9th, 1764,
and went at once to London to his old lodgings at No. 7
Craven Street, Strand. His lodgings were with Mrs.
Stevenson whose daughter Mary he wished for his son

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 41
William. His affectionate letters to his wife show that he
thought his stay would be only ten or twelve months, but
it was ten years before he returned again to America.
The great oncoming struggle was throwing its shadow
before. While Franklin was sent as the agent of but
one colony on a matter of trivial importance, his field
of operation was of necessity widened by the inevitable
course of events until he became the representative of a
whole people in regard to the most vital issues that
could absorb the attention of a continent.
The matters in his hands grew more and more com
plex, and caused him more and more anxiety, and drew
him on further and further, until in the English eye he
stood as the personification of rebellion.
It will be remembered that more than one statesman,
English or French, had foreseen the destiny of the colo
nies, and that the plan of union of 1754 had been re»
jected by the Lords of Trade because it would produce
an organized, consolidated power in the colonies. But,
although the theory of union had failed of recognition,
the fact of union was evident. The war had done that.
It "had moved the colonies into a perilous foreground."
Another thing; the war had shown the colonies their
own strength as a military power.
Still again, it had made clear their immense financial
resources; and these took on enormous proportions when
the development of the future was considered. All of
these things except the last had been dimly apparent to
Great Britain. The financial resources of the colonies
came as a positive revelation to the British government.

i2 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
What this meant, what use could be made of it, became
at once entirely clear to a government compelled to in
crease its taxation on an already over-burdened people.
The governinent over-estimated the advantages ofthe
war to the colonies in contradistinction to the benefit to
Great Britain, and under-estimated the share of the bur
den that the colonies had borne in the war. The minis
try claimed that the war was undertaken in defence of
the colonies, when in fact it was to stop encroachments
upon territory of the British Empire. It was claimed
further that the war was undertaken because the colo
nies could not defend themselves against the French and
Indians, when they not only could do so but had done so.
But it was at bottom a dispute that was sure to arise
between a colony and the mother country under the ex
isting colonial system.
The Stamp Act of 1765 was no change in policy in
any sense; it was all contained in the navigation and co
lonial system of England after 1651.
This is well shown by the fact that when the ministry
tried to relieve the overtaxed people of England by
throwing part, of the charges of the war on the colonies
by direct act of Parliament, it began by revising the
Navigation Act. In general, ever since 1651 the Navi
gation Act had either not been enforced at all or had
been evaded by smuggling. It was now intended to
enforce it by reducing the duties which had before
been so high as to be uncollectible, and thus obtain rev
enue. All economists of the time seemed to agree upon
the wisdom and justice of the navigation acts. Even

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 43
Adam Smith later could not entirely divorce himself
from old traditions. Nor could the ministry .say that
money for the king's service had not readily been ob
tained. Upon requisition from the Secretary of State
the assemblies had uniformly appropriated money up to
the limit of their ability. In the late war they had lost
30,000 men in the field and spent $15,000,000.
The new efforts to tax America began in 1763, when
George Grenville took up Townshend's plan already re
ferred to. The colonists had one weak point. They
had always professed willingness to submit to auy indi
rect taxation such as was laid for the ostensible benefit
of English trade. So Grenville started in to regulate
trade along this line.
His method was to the effect that first, the colonies
could purchase goods in England alone; second, that
colonies should not manufacture any articles which they
could purchase from England; third, that they could not
trade with one another in articles which would in any
way directly or indirectly interfere with English trade.
To this, in 1764, it was intended to add an act which
would be in the nature of direct taxation. . This was the
~ Stamp Act. Grenville gave notice of his intention to
introduce it later.
Very few in England seemed to think that this would
meet with any determined opposition. ' Franklin, how
ever, before he set out for England in 1764, heard of the
coming step and opposed it in the Assembly. He carried
with him the protest of the people of Pennsylvania.
He visited Grenville and protested against the Act, but

44 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
to no purpose. It became a law March 2 2d, 1765.
It seems at first glance strange that Franklin, after
the Act became a law, apparently looked upon it as some
thing that the colonies would have to submit to as best
they might.
In one of his letters he speaks, not of opposition, but
of frugality and industry by which to indemnify the
people for their loss through the Stamp Act.
He was much discouraged and despondent although
his mind did not lose its philosophical way of looking at
things. He looked upon forcible resistance as not only
entirely unlikely but impossible. It was only in the
dim future, when the colonies had greatly increased in
numbers, that he saw any chance of secession. In fact
it was much easier to think and talk resistance three
thousand miles away, than it was in England itself
where fhe seemingly overwhelming power of Great Brit
ain was everywhere manifest.
But Grenville intended, as he told Franklin, to make
the execution of the Act as little inconvenient as possi
ble, and so arranged to have for stamp distributors
American born and not Englishmen. Strangely enough
he succeeded in -getting Franklin to nominate a man in
Philadelphia. This mistake almost ruined Franklin who did not at
all understand the temper of the colonists, and is to be
explained on the ground that he, over-awed by the man
ifest power of the mother country, looked upon any
thing else but submission as madness. He was de
nounced in Pennsylvania as a traitor. All sorts of ru-

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 45
mors were set afloat. He was said to have actually
planned the Stamp Act, and in some of the coarse cuts of
the time the devil was represented as making "Ben" his
agent throughout his dominions. This all hurt him very
keenly. He was taken by surprise because he was total
ly unconscious of wrong. The bitter, frenzied denunci
ation of him, the threatened mob violence upon his house
and his wife and daughter, fairly took his breath away.
Truly he had raised a tempest of great proportions.
In this connection we must remember the growing af
fection which he had conceived for the mother country.
That was of influence on his mind. But his patriotism
was as pure and undying as any man's, and the news
from America at once woke him to the true state of af
fairs and he hastened to take his stand squarely and
firmly with his countrymen.
It is interesting to notice this only occasion when
Franklin failed to accurately judge and reflect the opin
ions and wishes of the colonies.
The Act had become a feature in English politics and
the foes of the government now attacked the measure
although the belief in it had been well nigh universal.
But Grenville had things well in hand. He was grow
ing daily stronger in Parliament and the cause of the
colonies seemed lost. But all of a sudden the erratic
and half insane George III drove out of office the man
who was best qualified and most likely to bring about
the very results desired by the Crown.
Pitt tried to form a ministry but failed, and the Duke
of Cumberland who succeeded could get together only a

46 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
weak and odd patchwork of a cabinet. But in other di
rections a strong agency was working against the Stamp
Act. The Americans had formed their non-importation
agreements. They imported no more English cloth or
other goods. They killed no sheep for food but raised
wool for homespun cloth. English manufacturers lost a
profitable market and began to go into bankruptcy.
Commerce and
shipping were af
fected; all branch
es of business suf
fered. John Milton tru
ly said in one of
his prose produc
tions, that when
you touch an Eng
lishman in his
pocket you touch
his very life. So
it was here. The
Stamp Act now touched the Englishman personally, in
his home, and although he cared nothing for the colon
ists, yet he became an enemy of the Stamp Act and the
ministry. To add to the discomfiture of the government the
Duke of Curaberland died. In January, 1766, Pitt took
up the cudgel for the colonies and denied Grenville' s as
sertion that taxation is a part of that sovereign power
which England had over America. He also denounced

Franklin in 1766.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 47
the fiction that the colonies were virtually represented in
Parliament, as of the Manor of East Greenwich, as "the
most contemptible that ever entered into the head of
man." Thus the movement began for the repeal of the
Act. Parliament, however, took its stand on its rights
first and passed a resolution that the King in Parliament
had full power to bind the colonies in all cases. This
was a sop to the King to get him to sign the repeal.
While Parliament was considering the repeal, Frank
lin was called as a witness before the bar of the House
of Commons in committee of the whole. This examina
tion "perhaps displayed his ability to better advantage
than any other single act in his life." His statements
were pithy, searching, courageous, moderate, able and
in good temper.
He made it clear that the colonies would never submit
to the Stamp Act or any other like act, and that if re
quired they would produce their own necessaries. He
referred to himself later as willing to retire to the forests
of America and support himself by the labor of the
chase rather than submit to wrong.
During this examination he brought out very clearly
that the colonies had their own parliaments, i. e., their
assemblies, and that the King was their sovereign as he
was of the people and Parliament of England.
"Weare," he said, "free subjects of the King; and
fellow subjects of one part of his dominions are not sov
ereigns over fellow subjects in any other part."
Another thing that he brought out; that he was es
pecially instructed to say that the assemblies would be

48 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
glad to vote for the King's service all they could afford
when called upon in the constitutional fashion. He was
very careful, too, to show how the feeling in America
had changed since 1763. His answers astonished Eng
land and thrilled America.
Yet, strange to say, Franklin had a personal regard
for King George, and a remarkable and unfounded faith
in his purposes toward America. He kept trying to in
fluence America in favor of the King while denouncing
Parliament. His old affection for England led him to
look kindly upon the British people. It was Parliament
that he denounced. It was Parliament that was up
setting the British Empire. This was an illogical posi
tion, but one easily explained from Franklin's previous
history. He soon saw his mistake, and that King George III
was behind the movement to subject the colonies, and
his former liking turned to deep personal hatred.
Friends of the colonies and Parliament tried to avoid
serious trouble by advocating representation of the col
onies in Parliament. Franklin, of course, did not oppose
such a movement which in theory was all right, but he
was shrewd enough to see that it would never work in
practice. For the colonies which had very much de
sired this once were indifferent now, and soon would take
the stand of absolutely declining any such union. Yet
as advantageous as it would be to England, that nation
was too proud to seek union with the despised colonies.
He also brought out clearly his ideas as to internal and
external taxation and how the first could not be evaded

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 4g
and was unjust if forced upon a people by others than
their own representatives. He felt himself bound to say
that a duty on the importation of goods was just because
it went to maintain a fleet and protect commerce.
He showed also how willing the colonies were to bear
their share of public burdens and how it would take
twenty years to recover from the burden of debt on ac
count of the old French war.
He pointed to their actions during the late war as
conclusive proof. Not only that, but he stated that in
the case of an European war, the colonies would help
England to the best of their ability.
Early in 1766 Parliament, under heavy pressure,
passed the repeal of the Stamp Act and on March i8th
the King was induced to sign it.
It was a day of rejoicing not only to English mer
chants and manufacturers but to all the colonies as well.
They seemed to forget that Parliament had not given
up the right to lay such taxes, but had passed with the
repeal an act declaring in vigorous terms such authority.
Franklin of course was now a great man in the eyes
of the people, of Philadelphia who thought the repeal
was due to his efforts. They forgot their wrath which
so lately burned against their agent for his early mistake
as to their temper toward the Stamp Act.
In all his earnest endeavors to protect the colonies, he
could not help perpetrating his jokes at the expense of
the impenetrable British egotism and ignorance of Amer
ica. Many absurd stories were afloat as to America which

50 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
were easily swallowed by the Britons. One was that
American sheep had almost no wool. He answered this
by the statement that the very tails of the American
sheep were so laden with wool that they had to have a
little wagon on four wheels to support it. Such extrav
agances they received with open-mouthed amazement.
He turned the tables on them by writing, secretly, an
article for the newspapers to the effect that the King of
Prussia claimed England as his province, and asserted
the right of taxation there, using the same arguments as
the English used in regard to the colonies.
Yet he could arouse no interest in American affairs.
Peopile were densely ignorant and wished to remain so.
Nothing could arouse them to learn the facts about the
colonies. In France it was very different. France,
through her consulate, kept up communication with
Franklin. His papers were translated into French, and
all information in regard to America was eagerly sought.
Franklin had long desired to return home, and was
preparing to do so when news came of his appointment
by Georgia and New Jersey as their colonial agent. He
seems to have owed his appointment Tiy Georgia to
Whitefield, who still had great influence there, and
whose warm regard for Franklin never ceased.
On the other hand, he was appointed to the same office
by Massachusetts only after a bitter fight on him by
Samuel Adams, who did not seem to appreciate Frank
lin. Arthur Lee, of Virginia, the candidate of Adams, was
elected substitute in case of Franklin's absence from

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 51
London. Meanwhile the reaction after the repeal was
in full force, and the English newspapers were full of
attacks on the colonies, especially after their vigorous
protest against
the new taxes
on tea, paint,
etc., which Eng-
1 a n d thought
so innocent.
All these
things c o m -
bined to keep
Franklin in
England for
nearly ten years.
He still held
his position as
postmaster-gen eral in the col-
onies,though he
felt his tenure
of office to be
b y sufferance.
His enemies
made use of his continuance in office for the basis of slan
derous rumors that he was being thus bribed by the Brit
ish government; that he was to be made secretary in re
turn for his changing his views on colonial questions.
In fact, he was often approached through offers of office.
But these rumors were partly, at any rate, the work of a

Statue of FrankUn, in front of City Hall, Boston.

52 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
traitorous egotist — Arthur Lee. It must be borne in
mind that the repeal of the Stamp Act was not through
any liking for the colonies, nor because the Parliament
or the people as a whole desired it. It was the disturb
ance of commerce that did it.
England merely admitted that she had erred in the
method of asserting her rights, but not in regard. to the
rights themselves. It was a humiliating thing, indeed,
that the greatest nation in Europe should be obliged to
back down in its first attempt to deal with its colonies
in the matter of taxation. The only saving thing about
it was the declaration that Parliament could tax if it
wanted to.
France, we may be sure, enjoyed the episode hugely,
and looked forward with delight to the time when the
colonies should break away entirely. It would be a
sweet revenge, in one sense, for the loss of Canada.
The colonies, like a parcel of children, as soon as the
Act was repealed, seemed to consider the whole incident
closed for good. Various colonies voted statues for the
King and Pitt, and portraits of Camden, Barr^ and Con
way. In their minds England would never again en
danger by her acts the good will of the colonies toward
the mother country.
Franklin set himself to calming the colonies on the
one hand and educating the English on the other, so
that he soon found himself suspected by both— by the
colonies as too much of an Englishman; by England as
too much of an American.
The Rockingham ministry was too weak to stand the

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 53
shock of the repeal, and went to pieces. Pitt formed a
new one with Shelburne, Camden and Conway, all of
whom were favorable to America. But he was obliged
to take in Townshend as chancellor of the exchequer.
Townshend was the arch-enemy of the colonies, the
originator of the offensive scheme of colonial taxation,
the reckless scoffer at colonial rights, "the incurable,"
as Pitt called him.
While Shelburne had charge of the administration of
colonial affairs', and acted in a perfectly just and satisfac
tory manner in all things coming within his functions,
Townshend had the management of taxation. He had
the initiative, while Shelburne administered. Not only
that, he had the backing of King George III, who urged
him on in his warfare against the colonies.
Unfortunately for America, Pitt had committed the
mistake of ceasing to be a commoner and had become
the Earl of Chatham, and while he rose in dignity he
fell in power. He soon became a wreck, and shut him
self up from all participation in public^^business. This
left Townshend in full sway.
Taking advantage of the distinction drawn by Frank
lin, Pitt and the colonies, between a direct tax and com
mercial imposts, which latter were admitted to be right,
Townshend brought forward a new scheme of taxation.
It embodied the method of indirect taxation by means of
imposts, and so satisfactory to the colonies was it sup
posed to be that it passed Parliament without opposi
tion of consequence.
Townshend also tried to punish New York for not

54 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
obeying the act as to quartering British soldiers in the
colony. This created bad blood. These acts showed
clearly the determination of Parliament to raise revenue
from America.
Townshend's bill had provided imposts on tea, paint,
paper, glass and lead. It at once became apparent to
John Dickinson of Pennsylvania that the stand of the
colonies in favor of submitting to imposts was fraught
with grave danger. He therefore wrote the "Letters of
a Farmer, ' ' to urge the colonies to recede from their po
sition, and to maintain that any tax of whatever kind
for the purpose of raising a revenue was a violation of
their rights as British subjects.
Under the pressure of these and similar papers and of
the trend of events, the colonies advanced to this posi
tion which they maintained to the end of the Revolu
tionary war.
When Townshend's influence was most in the ascen
dant, he died September, 1767. He was succeeded by
Lord North, who was in name the head of the ministry
while the King himself was the real controller of the
destinies of Britain.
Shelburne was also superceded by an Irish peer, the
Earl of Hillsborough. At first Franklin was inclined to
like the new secretary for the colonies, but he was soon
undeceived. The Earl tried to insist that Franklin had no regular
commission as an agent because it was not a bill signed
by the governor, but simply a vote of the Assembly.
In this attempt to bluff Franklin he condescended to use

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 55
falsehood, but in this he was detected by Franklin, who,
at the end of the stormy interview, left the Earl pale
with anger by intimating that he would give his lord
ship no further trouble because he had no conception
that an agent could, ''- at present, be of any use to any
of the colonies." To this the doughty Irish peer took
offense and continued to refuse to acknowledge Franklin
as agent of Massachusetts.
This did not materially affect the latter's position or
influence. Papers and arguments found their way
through his hands to their proper place and were as ef
fective as before. But Franklin had his revenge in see
ing Hillsborough soon lose his position, because of his du
plicity and of the growing dislike of the King which
Franklin took care to augment.
The ministry, desiring to propitiate the colonies as far
as possible asked Franklin to nominate a successor to
Hillsborough who would be acceptable to America. He
suggested the Earl of Dartmouth who was friendly to the
colonies. He got on well with Dartmouth, but the trouble was
that both the colonies and Parliament had gone too far
to recede. Each had taken its stand upon the princi
ples it meant to abide by and the pleasant personal re
lations between Franklin and Dartmouth did not matter.
Then in 1772 and 1773 came up the wrangle between
Hutchinson, governor of Massachusetts, and the Assem
bly over the same old question about colonial taxation.
That made matters still worse for it embarrassed the
ministry and led the Assembly of Massachusetts to a res-

56 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
olution which was absolutely repugnant to the claimed
powers of Parliament. Franklin and Dartmouth labored
in vain to undo the mischief that the Stamp Act had
begun. Franklin longed for the restoration of the kindly feel
ing and the state of affairs before that awful blunder
was made. But of course neither he nor Dartmouth
could turn back the hand on the dial of time. The mis
chief had been done and nothing could now undo it.
Yet he longed for peace and refused to believe that war
would come.
He counselled moderation at home; that the mob
might not get control; but that leaders of ability and
patriotism might have direction of affairs. Especially
he recommended the non-importation agreements which
produced industry and frugality in the colonies and ruin
to English merchants. They would act as a tariff now
acts, but without the tremendous cost that a tariff makes
necessary, and he seemed to be about to accomplish his
purpose. It had cost vastly more to collect revenue by
the Customs Act than the revenue was worth.
The East Indian Company lost enormously by the
failure of the colonists to purchase tea, while at the same
time Dutch, Danish, Swedish and French smugglers up
and down the 1500 miles of sea coast furnished all the
beverage which the thriving Yankee house-wives wanted.
Franklin, while in England, never ceased his private
studies, and large social intercourse with educated
Englishmen. With him lived his grandson, William
Temple Franklin, son of the governor pf New Jersey.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 57
The lad was intelligent and comely and a great solace to
his grandfather under whose eye he was trained. While
the father in New Jersey was drifting toward the position
of royalist, the son was imbibing the ideas of liberty.
With him lived, also, Sally Franklin, a daughter of dis
tant English relatives, whom he adopted and educated
aud saw happily married. While he was in England his
favorite daughter, Sarah, was_ married to Mr. Bache
whom Franklin had never seen. Their son was the
Benjamin Franklin Bache so famous in the controversies
of Jefferson's day.
Franklin longed for home as much as Mrs. Franklin
fondly longed for him, but they were never to see each
other again on earth. She reminded him of home, how
ever, by sending Indian meal, cranberries, apples, hick
ory nuts and material for buckwheat cakes, which he
sometimes divided with English friends.
He was still engaged in helping others. He assisted
American hospitals; sent the books for a medical library;
sent a telescope to Harvard College in 1769, and secured
for his friend. Rev. Samuel Cooper, of Boston, the de- ,
gree of Doctor of Divinity from Edinburgh University.
His philosophical investigations at this time would fill
a volume. He discovered how breathing devitalizes the air; sug
gested a method to ventilate the House of Commons;/
showed that fresh air does not produce colds; dis
cussed smoking chimnies, swimming, metallic roofs,
spots on the sun, rainfall, fire proof stairs, the torpedo,
Armonica, Northwest Passage, magnet, improved carri-

58 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
age wheels, glass blowing, Prince Rupert's drops, Aurora
Borealis, inflammatory gases, the effect of vegetation upon
air and water, the use of oil to calm the waves, the in
vention of a stove that should consume its own smoke.
He discussed questions in political economy, and Adam
Smith seems to have been indebted to him for some
parts of "The Wealth
of Nations."
Franklin had many
friends in England;
some of them have al
ready been mentioned.
He was well acquaint
ed with Lord Shel
burne, the Marquis of
Rockingham, Lord Le
Despense, Lord Bath-
urst and Lord North.
He knew George II and
George III, Mrs. Mon
tague, Garrick, Benjamin West the American painter,
Horatio Gates and General Charles Lee, Hawksworth,
Stanley, Dr. Price, Dr. Priestley, Dr. Fothergill, Dr.
Shipley, and Sir John Pringle.
He saw Handel conduct for the last time one of his
own works. He knew intimately Adam Smith and Ed
mund Burke. He met Goldsmith and had known Col-"
linson since his first visit to London when a youth.
Franklin found a true friend in Pringle who in 1772
was chosen President of the Royal Society, but was

Gen. Horatio Gates.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 59
forced by King George III to resign for a singular reas
on. The King had in his anger against Americans ob
stinately set his mind on having blunt knobs on the
lightning rods of the Palace instead of sharp points.
Franklin had directed sharp points for better protection.
The matter became a court question. All concerned i
were obliged to line up for or against blunt knobs or
sharp points. King George III or Franklin. Because
Pringle sided with Franklin, the King intimated that a
man who did not know any more than to favor sharp
conductors was not fit for the position as President of the
Royal Society.
An incident about this time added fuel to the flames.
It was the matter of the Hutchinson letters. Franklin
naturally resented the measures taken by the govern
ment to over-awe the colonies and showed his resent
ment. He was informed that the measures were those
advised by Americans and ought to be satisfactory to
America. This Franklin refused to believe until he
was confronted with the very letters advising the send
ing of troops to Boston and other measures. They were
written by Thomas Hutchinson governor of Massachu
setts and by Lieutenant-Governor Oliver.
Franklin seemed to think that if leading men of Mas
sachusetts could know that the action of the English
government had been by instigation of men in their own
colony in high position, it might mitigate the bad feel
ing on their part toward Great Britain and tend to a set
tlement of matters.
Whether Franklin was entirely sincere in this or not

6o BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
may be a question, but his conscience seems to have
been entirely devoid of offense. At any rate, on this
understanding he obtained the letters on a pledge that
they should be given into the hands of a select few only
and should not be printed or copied. He agreed and
sent the letters to Massachusetts strictly requiring his
correspondents to observe the conditions set out.
In all this Dr. Franklin's judgment was at fault, for
in this case, as is almost sure to happen, some one re
fused, in a matter of such great importance, to be bound.
By a trick the documents found their way into the hands
of the Assembly and were printed. Their publication
produced a sensation. There were charges and counter
charges. Hutchinson and Oliver were furious; so was
the Assembly and petitioned the King for the removal
of the governor and his lieutenant. This petition was
sent to Franklin and by him presented.
Meantime the friends of Hutchinson and Oliver, and
the enemies of the colonies were trying to discover how
these letters came into the hands of the Assembly, and
over the dispute as to the matter two men fought a bloody
duel. Franklin, at the time, was absent from London and
on his return heard of the affair and hastened to prevent
a renewal of the duel by publishing a letter to the effect
that he sent the documents to Massachusetts. This
brought the wrath of the English government down on
Franklin because by this time the matter had become of
political importance. He was cited to appear before the
Lords of the ' Committee for Plantation Affairs on the

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 6i
matter of the petition, and was there grievously insulted.
It was rumored that he was to be arrested and sent to
Newgate and the result of the petition was decided be
forehand. The Lords in their decision censured him
and went out of their way to insult him.
This judicial censure put an end to his prestige and
his ability to be of service as Agent of the colonies. He
was looked upon in England as the fomenter of trouble
and even Massachusetts found fault with him for alleged
laxness. His liberty if not his life seemed to be in dan
ger. He was threatened with prosecution for treason
and yet he refused to leave England. He visited Lord
Chatham and was well received and warmly defended
by him in the House of Lords.
One of the last pieces of business he was engaged in
was one in which he was secretly "approached" by per
sons connected with Lord Howe and Lord North. In
the course of this the formal attempt was made to bribe
Franklin but without success. In fact, these attempts
had been very numerous. The political morals of Eng
land were then so low, and statesmen were so accustomed
to bribing and being bribed that they could not conceive
of any one rejecting such offers as were made to Frank
lin. He still suffered from the venomous slanders of Arthur
Lee. He, however, placed his agencies in Lee's hands
and spent one last day with his tried friend, Dr. Priest
ley, who never deserted him.
Franklin experienced profound feeling in leaving Eng
land. It meant the impossibility to peaceably settle the

62 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
troubles between England and her colonies. To avoid
arrest, he went to Portsmouth as secretly as possible and
arrived in Philadelphia May 5, 1775. In the meantime
his faithful wife, with whom he had lived so long, had
passed away.
Americans of the present day scarcely ever appreciate
the fact that Franklin perforined his greatest services for
his country when he was an old man; when he had
passed beyond the age to which very few attain, an age
when those that reach it are beginning to be feeble in
body and torpid in mind.
When Franklin returned from England he was sixty-
nine years old; older than Washington when he died.
When he landed, the battles of Lexington and Con
cord had already been fought. The colonies needed the
services of every man, but especially of a man whose
character and abilities were so transcendent. Therefore
instead of coming home to spend his old age in peace
and quiet, Franklin was called upon to perform services
that were so harassing and difficult that they wouM have
taxed the energies of a far younger man.
The breach between the colonies and the mother
country, of course, brought a breach between him and
his English friends. It would not do at this point to
omit the very famous letter to Mr. Strahan, his friend
for many years. It was dated July 5th, 1775: —
"Mr. Strahan:
You are a Member of Parliament, and one of that Majority which
has doomed my Country to Destruction. You have begun to burn
our Towns, and murder our People— Look upon your hands!— They
are stained with the Blood of your Relations! — You and I were long

-^^^"U^-.^.c^

*77-^-

'^'^^i-^^ a-^ /Lcyrriyi:^i^^^/iy^i^^l^,^,^yr^^

/

<7 ^e:n4''3'^

t3-^>-<:^ ytycr t-i^
JBeduced Fac-Simile ot Franklin's Famous Letter to Mr. Strahan.
64 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Friends: — You are now my Enemy, — and I am, Yours, B. Franklin."
This breach between old friends was, however, healed
in after years and they became enemies no longer.
In quite a different strain he wrote to Dr. Priestley,
for whom he had a deep affection, but his letters show
profound feeling against England. He bade him tell
his friends in England that they need have no doubts as
to America's firmness.
"Britain" he said, "atthe expense of three millions,
has killed one hundred and fifty Yankees this campaign,
which is twenty thousand pounds a head; — during the
i same time sixty thousand children have been born in
i America." He then bids them "calculate the time and expense
necessary to kill us all, and conquer our whole territory."
He had hardly landed in May before he was elected
delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He was
especially active on committees and was instrumental in
organizing the army, navy and the finances of the new
government. He was especially instrumental in outlining the na
tional policy of the government. His calm tempera
ment and sound judgment made him just the person to
harmonize conflicting interests. He equalized and uni
fied action. He restrained the over zealous, and spurred
on the slow footed.
To the contention that America was unfiUial in her
rebellion, he retorted that Britain had never accorded
any advantage to Saxony, her mother country, but had

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 65
subsidized the King of Prussia to invade that mother
country. In all this he had to have his joke, and Parton
inhis "Life of Franklin" conjectures that the reason
why he was not called upon to write the Declaration of
Independence was that he would have put a joke in it.
"His jokes, the circulating medium of Congress, were
as helpful to the cause as Jay's conscience, or Adams
fire; — but they were out of place in formal, exact, and
authoritative papers. ' '
Having once tried his hand on the plan of union of
1754, he drew up a plan of union for the colonies which
he presented July 21, 1775, which is called the "First
Sketch of a Plan of Confederation which is known to have
been presented to Congress." It is of interest to notice
that it provided for the admission to the confederation,
on application, of Ireland, West Indies Islands, Canada,
and Florida.
Not only did he have to serve in Congress, but he was
put in charge of the postal service, and made chairman
of the provincial committee of safety to organize Penn
sylvania for war.
He tells Dr. Priestley in a letter that he began his
daily work at six o'clock in the morning by attendance
upon this committee.
He also "devised and constructed" marine Chevaux
defrise to protect the Delaware river.
In October, 1775, he was elected a member of the As
sembly of Pennsylvania, but as the oath of allegiance to
the King was still required he refused to take it and re
signed his place.

66 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
In September, as one of a committee for Congress, he
had gone to Boston to confer with Washington and to
view the condition of the war.
It took thirteen days to go on horseback from Phila-

Meeting of Wa'fehington and the Commissioners — Franklin, Benjamin Harrison
and Thomas Lynch, Cambridge, October, 1775.
From Holley's "Life of Franklin."
del phia to Boston. There he, of course, met the great
leaders of the Revolution who looked upon him with
the greatest admiration. As if all these services were
not enough to put upon an old man of seventy years,
Congress was selfish enough to send him to Canada to
confer with Arnold about the attitude of Canada. It
was early in the year and the ice still made progress in
the lakes and rivers impossible. Upon reaching Sarato
ga he realized the task he had undertaken and sat down

Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, where the first Continental Con
gress met on September 5, 1774.

68 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
to say a last word to his friends whom he never expected
to see again. Writing to Josiah Quincy he said:
"I begin to apprehend thatl have undertaken a fa
tigue that at my time of life may prove too much forme;
so I sit down
to write to a
few friends
by way of
farewell." He lived to
reach Cana
da, but ; the
state of his
health com
pelled a quick
return with
out accom
plishing any
thing. Upon
recommendation of Con
gress, the dif
ferent states
set about
erecting new, independent governments, and of course
Franklin was called upon for assistance and advice in
regard to Pennsylvania's constitution. He was elected a
member of the constitutional convention and presided
over its meetings. The new constitution called for a
legislature of one house, Pennsylvania being one of only

Interior, Carpenter's Hall.

69
to

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
two states having but one house. Franklin seems
have always opposed bi-cameral legislatures.
Even in the spring of 1776, many leaders were op
posed to permanent independence, but Franklin could
see no probability of a return to the old order of things,
and when Samuel Adams threatened to form a New

'^:0^'^%

England c o n-
federacy, Frank
lin offered to
join it.
But he did not
need to join a
New England
confederacy to
declare his in
dependence of
England, for it
was only a short
time until he
was on a com
mittee appoint
ed by Congress
to draft a Dec
laration of Independence. During the debate on the
Declaration he amused Jefferson with stories, and when
the immortal document was about to be signed, gave
utterance to that grim joke which is world famous :
"Yes, we must indeed all hang together, or assuredly^
we shall all hang separately."
When it came to establishing a working government

Franklin Signing the Declaration of Independence.

70 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
and to forming a constitution, Franklin had great influ
ence. He made a draft of Articles of Confederation,
which his experience in the convention of 1754 had
fitted him to do.
When the struggle arose between the large and small
states and their proportion of power, he was in favor of
the larger states, for we must remember that Pennsylva
nia was then, as now, the second state in the union in
.population. He wanted the voting according to popula
tion, and did not regard the danger of the large states
swallowing up the smaller as worthy of consideration.
In his humorous way he illustrated it by Scotland
and England. He explained that it was said when
Scotland was united to England that the. whale had
swallowed Jonah, but when Lord Bute came into power
it was seen that Jonah had swallowed the whale.
Lord Howe was especially acceptable to Americans,
and was for this reason sent to America in July, 1776,
to affect a reconciliation. He communicated with
Franklin whom he had known in England. Franklin
answered by authority of Congress in a firm and rather
aggressive letter giving Lord Howe the reasons why no
reconciliation could be effected upon any other basis than
independence. Lord Howe took this aggressive letter in good part
for he seems to have had a genuine liking for Franklin,
and after the battle of Long Island tried again by pafol-
ling General Sullivan and sending him with a message
to Congress proposing an accommodation. Franklin,
John Adams and Edward Rutledge were sent to meet

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. yi
him, but the conference amounted to nothing for his
Lordship was told by all three that the colonies could
not return to the domination of Great Britain. vSuch
was the condition of affairs when Franklin was elected
in September, 1776, envoy to France.
It is easy to see why Franklin was chosen for this im
portant work. Besides his unrivalled judgment and tact,
he was the only American who had had anything ap
proaching diplomatic experience. Diplomats of that day
and of a few rebellious colonies had naturally a very dif
ficult position. Europeans were in no hurry to ac
knowledge the independence of rebellious peoples even
though they desired to strike a blow at England. For
monarchs to do that looked like encouraging attempts at
liberty at home.
It was evident to all that the colonies could hope for
the most from France of all the European nations. Her
statesmen had foreseen this struggle for independence,
and had expected that thus England would be repaid for
the taking of Canada.
Silas Deane had already been sent to France, even be
fore the colonies had declared themselves independent,
and Arthur Lee, then in London, had been directed to
ascertain the disposition of the European powers.
Morse, in his "Life of Franklin," says of Deane: "He
was the true Yankee jack-at-all-trades; he had been
graduated at Yale College, then taught school, then
practiced law, then engaged in trade — had been elected
to the first and second Con gres.ses— and was now with
out employment."

72 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
He could not speak French, and had had no adequate
training whatever, and soon got so involved that he was
recalled practically in disgrace, having partly lost his
reputation for financial honesty. He was, no doubt,
hardly used and suffering unjustly, but being unwilling
to await the vindication of history, he became, like Ar
nold, embittered, lost his head,
turned renegade to his country,
and died in exile broken down
and unreconciled.
Deane reached France in Junei
1776, with some letters of intro
duction from Franklin. He had
a little money, and was to be fur
nished more by sending to him
cargoes of American products like
Cou^t de Vergennes. ^.j^^^ tobaCCO, etC.
His first business was to sound Vergennes, the French
minister, as to what help the colonies could expect, and
was further to ask for military supplies and equipment
for 25,000 men, with 200 pieces of field artillery. Of
course the colonies had no money with which to pay for
the things needed, and so offered to pay in promises.
Deane found Vergennes on the whole favorable to the
colonies, as were other members of the French Cabinet,
and these overcame the scruples of Louis XVI, who
seems not to have understood the significance of the
movement he was about to assist.
While Deane was to conduct his mission in secrecy, as
a merchant writing under the name of Timothy Jones,

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 73
and adding to his commercial letters dispatches in invis
ible ink, he had too much of the failing of the Connecti
cut Yankee to keep still. He indiscreetly told every
thing he knew to Dr. Edward Bancroft, an American
whom Congress had hired as a spy. Bancroft was a
traitor, and communicated his information to the British
ministry. Before Deane arrived in France, Beaumarchais, "one
of the most extraordinary characters in history," had,
while in England, imbibed the notion from Arthur Lee
that the colonies were invincible, and had begun opera
tions in France in their behalf. He was greatly in favor
with the young King, and his enthusiasm infected even
the King.
Vergennes sided with Beauniarchais, and declared
that now was the time to reduce England to a second
class power. He wanted the rebellion to last at least
one year, so that the. colonies would suffer so much as to
thoroughly hate England. He favored keeping nomi
nally a friendly attitude toward England while secretly
assisting the Americans.
Turgot argued differently, and opposed this scheme
and won the King to his side, but Vergennes was the
coming man in France and controlled the policy of the
realm. He and Beaumarchais thereupon concocted a
remarkable scheme to secretly help the colonies.
The firm of Roderique Hortalez & Co. was established
in Paris, and Beaumarchais was made manager. The
capital, $600,000 in all, was secretly furnished by the
French and Spanish governments. Beaumarchais was

74 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
to act simply as a merchant "at his own risk and peril."
He was to use'his capital to purchase military supplies
for the colonies, which, however, would be sold from the
French arsenals. But he was obliged to pay for them,
and when he sold them to the colonies he was to get his
return in American products.
Deane arrived just then, heard what was doing, told
it all to Bancroft, Bancroft to the British government',
and British cruisers shut up the ships of Hortalez & Co.
in French harbors.
The British government vehemently complained;
Vergennes was obliged to issue strict instructions against
unlawful trade and Beaumarchais, reduced with a ven
geance to the level of a real merchant, had to get his
goods out and in as best he could. He had no favorit
ism shown him by the government, and consequently it
was a long time before he got any supplies to America.
He, also, could not get American products in, and was
near bankruptcy. But Franklin arrived late in 1776,
and things began to look brighter.
Congress had in the early autumn decided to send a
regular embassy to France, and elected Franklin, Jeffer
son and Deane (who was already there), to represent the
colonies in France. Jefferson declined and Arthur Lee
was substituted.
Franklin ran great risks in going to France, as he had
to go in a sloop of war of only sixteen guns, which was
several times chased by British frigates. Soon after
landing he wrote to one who playfully called him a
rebel, that she must wait the outcome to see whether

3

re

n oc

76 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
it was a rebellion or a revolution. His appearance in
Paris caused a furore, and Lord Rockingham said that
Franklin's presence more than offset the victory of the
English at Long Island. They looked upon him as a
sage, an ideal of republican simplicity, compared with
immortal Greeks and Romans.
Strange, indeed, to the gay Parisians must have
seemed his appearance with his spectacles and cap of
fur, his brown Quaker clothes of colonial cut^ his head
devoid of a wig.
He seemed to enjoy a reputation, according to John
Adams, greater than either Leibnitz, Newton, Frederick
or Voltaire. In order not to embarrass the government,
he established himself in the retired suburb of Passy.
He lived plainly but comfortably, although he was ac
cused by John Adams of extravagance.
On December 23, 1776, the American envoys wrote to
Vergennes and requested an audience. They were
granted one the 28th. They asked for a treaty of com
merce and alliance, and the loan of eight ships of the
line to enable them to get American ships, then block
aded in America by English vessels, out of port and off
to France. This was refused, but -they were offered a
strictly secret loan of $400,000, to be paid after the war
without interest.
Franklin did not have any practical connection with
what was going on between Beaumarchais and Deane,
and even Deane did not know the connection between
Beauniarchais and the French government. That did
not come out for fifty years.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 77
As it happened, Arthur Lee was an implacable enemy
of Silas Deane, and, Morse says, "resembled the devil in
at least one particular, in-as-much as he was the foe of all
mankind." Beaumarchais early had taken a dislike to
Lee, and made use of Deane in Lee's place. This an
gered Lee, who wrote letters to Congress not to send
ships consigned to Beaumarchais, for the reason that
they" only went to fill the pockets of Deane and Beau
marchais. He had not a particle of evidence and there
was no truth in the libel, but Congress was bewildered
by contradictory letters from Beaumarchais, Deane and
Lee, and refused to send the ships, and recalled Deane.
Deane tried repeatedly to get his reputation cleared
from these libels of Lee, but failed because he could not,
of course, produce the evidence existing in France.
Franklin believed him innocent, and Deane insisted
that Congress owed him $60,000, which he could not re
cover. In 1835, however. Congress paid to Deane's
heirs a part of the sum due ,him.
The real cause of Dearie's recall seems to have been
the following: Large numbers X)f -French' officers, espec
ially, sought service in the American armies. They
were in most part adventurers. But Deane was dazzled
by their over-estimation of the invaluable- assistance
they could render the cause, and sent over great nmn-
bers of- them. These, after they had harassed Washing
ton nearly to death, had to be shipped back at the ex
pense of Congress with some salve, in the way of -tips, to
their wounded feelings. Of course when they got back
they were enemies of America.

78 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Franklin appreciated the difficulties of Deane's posi
tion, he being unacquainted with the language, and
spoke a good word for Deane to Congress, saying that
he "daily proves himself to my certain knowledge, an
ablt, faithful, active and extremely useful servant of the
public, etc."
It is to be remembered, moreover, that Deane is the
one who did such signal service
to the colonies by commissioning
Lafayette, Steuben and DeKalb.
Franklin had the same trouble.
He wrote:
"Great officers of all ranks, in
all departments, ladies great and
small, .... worry me from morn
ing to night. The noise of every
coach now that enters my court
terrifies me. ' '
But he had the firmness to bluntly refuse these that
importuned him, and so wrote to Washington. He drew
up a "Model of a Letter of Recommendation of a person
you are Unacquainted with," that was a stinging rebuke
to place-hunters. Yet he recommended good men like
Lafayette and Steuben with letters of real value.
In one way England was at a great disadvantage in
the war. She had an enormous commerce, and the col
onies early turned toward privateering as a means of
harassing their enemy.
One of the first to see the advantage of such a course
was Franklin in France, who early began arrangements

Baron DeKalb.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 7g
to make F'rance the center of cruising in English waters.
It must, of course, be borne in mind that privateering
was then regarded in a much more favorable light than
now. Under his direction and by his aid Conyngham
and Wickes, and other gallant but reckless men fairly
took Englishmen's breath away by their boldness and
success. They took hosts of prizes and prisoners, and
in London insurance ran up to a premium of sixty per
cent, and even on boats plying between Dover and
Calais, to ten per cent.
Franklin was the center of this. He issued instruct
ions and commissions, gave orders and suggestions,
paid bills, purchased ships; in fact, "he was the only
American government which these independent sailors
knew." But this issuing from a neutral port to capture ves
sels, only to bring them back to port to condemn and
sell as prizes, was contrary to international law, and at
once brought the French government into trouble with
England. Vergennes wanted to avoid war with England if possi
ble, and increased the strictness of his instructions as to
neutral ports. This made the American officers angry,
without reason it must be said. Their boundless assur
ance was something remarkable, and Franklin had to
spend considerable time in keeping the peace. He very
adroitly did this by correspondence and argument, re
quests and correcting mistakes, which all meant delay,
while the American captains meantime were playing
havoc with English commerce. This was possible, be-

8o BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
cause Franklin well knew that secretly the French were
favoring the Americans in the privateering.
But numerous captures brought another trouble.
Prisoners got so numerous that Franklin did not know
what to do with them. He, of course, had no place for
them in France, nor could he send them to America.
Meantime the American prisoners in England were
very badly used. He then tried to effect, through his
old friend David | Hartley, who was in Parliament and
stood well with Lord North, to arrange a general scheme
of exchange of prisoners. Hartley worked hard to this
end, but to no purpose.
Franklin sent regularly money to England to better
the condition of American prisoners there, but it was
mostly embezzled by his agent. ,
At last Franklin had to release his British prisoners
for want of means and a place to keep them.
Franklin's vexations were numberless, and a man not
well poised would have succumbed to them and re
signed. Thomas Morris, commercial agent for the col
onies at Nantes, turned out to be a drunkard and a ras
cal. Franklin found it necessary to employ another, his
own nephew, to take part of Morris's duties. This an
gered Robert Morris, brother of Thomas; but he after
ward retracted his harsh words of resentment on being
presented with indisputable evidence of his brother's
wrong doing.
Arthur, Lee now, also, had to vent his venomous ha
tred on Franklin and his nephew, which latter individ
ual did his work well and honestly. Lee accused him

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 81
of being implicated with Deane in stealing money in the
way of prizes. He even got the ear of John Adams, on
his arrival to take Deane's place, and in an insulting
manner compelled Franklin to discharge his nephew.
The year 1777
was a trying
year even to the
sanguine Dr.
Franklin. It was
the year of the
retreat across
New Jersey, of
Valley Forge,
of Howe's cap
ture of Philadel
phia, and Bur-
go y n e ' s ad
vance. The commis
sioners begged
for more funds
from France, and got timely but inadequate relief. The
news of the fall of Philadelphia was like a dash of cold
water. The French government became more and more
distant, yet Franklin did not give up hope. When some
Englishman said to him:
"Well, doctor, Howe has taken Philadelphia," he an
swered, "I beg your pardon sir, Philadelphia has taken
Howe." This proved to be true; yet even then a British cap-

Robert Morris.

82 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
tain was living in Franklin's house, tampering with his
electrical machines, while the patriot's daughter with her
four day's old infant had to be hurried out of the city.
So dark did the outlook become that, when the three
commissioners met at Passy to discuss the situation,
Deane favored demanding from France a categorical an
swer to the question of an alliance and, if she refused, de
claring to her that the alternative was an accommodation
with Great Britain. But happily both Franklin and Lee
opposed this. Probably Lee opposed it because he hated
Deane worse than he did Franklin.
But a good time was coming. After Bemis Heights
and Stillwater, Burgoyne was compelled to surrender.
Massachusetts at once sent out the Secretary of the Board
of War, Jonathan Loring Austin, to acquaint France with
the news. She prepared a swift sailing vessel and as soon
as dispatches were ready bade the young man "God
speed." For all saw at once the immense importance of
getting news to France without delay.
The vessel made a quick passage and early in Decem
ber Austin arrived at Passy. When his carriage was
heard in the court all the Americans were ready to receive
him and before he could alight Franklin asked whether
Philadelphia was really taken, and when the messenger
answered "Yes," the old man turned sorrowfully away
as if to enter the house. Then Austin exclaimed that
Burgoyne and his whole army were prisoners of war.
The joy of the American legation was too deep for ex
pression. Deane said: ' 'The news was like a sovereign
cordial for the dying."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 83
Soon dispatches were sent to Vergennes at Versailles.
At once all Paris knew it and burst into acclamations.
Soon all Europe knew it, too, and felt that the colonies
at last were lost to Great Britain.
The attitude of the F'rench ministry immediately
changed. Two days after the news was received M. Ge
rard called to say that a renewal of negotiations for an
alliance would be agreeable to the French government.
In a few days the Cabinet met and the envoys went to
Versailles, where in a concealed spot in the wood they had
a long conversation with Vergennes. But Spain also had
to be consulted and this led to some delay. So did a dis
agreement over a clause that no export duty should be
levied on mola.sses taken from the French West Indian
islands to the colonies for the manufacture of rum. This
was of importance because our forefathers, while extreme
ly strict religionists, had succeeded in making molasses
for rum the "basis on which a very great part of the Amer
ican commerce rested. ' '
M. Gerard demanded a reciprocal concession, which
Franklin shrewdly drew up in the shape of an agree
ment not to lay export duties on articles purchased in
the colonies for the French West Indies. At first Ar
thur Lee agreed to this, but afterward objected under
the influence of William Lee and Ralph Izard, after the
King had approved the treaty and it had been engrossed.
Gerard was disgusted with good reason, but finally con
sented to. leave both exemptions to the decision of Con
gress. On February 6th, all parties met to sign the treaty

84- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
which, according to the stipulation, was to be kept se
cret until ratified by Congress. At the signing of the
treaty Franklin wore the suit of Manchester velvet he
had worn when so grievously insulted in the Privy
Council. France had feared some accommodation between the
colonies and Great Britain, and this accounts for her in
creasing liberality, and also for her desire for secrecy
until Congress acted on the treaty. There was some
ground for this fear, for after Burgoyne surrendered to
"Mr. Gates," Lord North introduced into Parliament
two conciliatory bills which were "to restore the form of
constitution as it stood before the trouble. "
But the bills were passed too late, for the treaty was
already signed, and news of it had already come to the
ears of Charles Fox and the opposition. They were
passed, however, and reached America almost at the
same time with the French treaty, and, of course, were
promptly rejected by Congress.
Meantime, Franklin, who always kept in communica
tion with the opposition party in England, sent Austin,
for whom he had conceived a great regard, ' on a secret
mission to Great Britain. He was to acquaint the op
position with the latest news and the real state of affairs
in the colonies. He accomplished his purpose with
skill ; lived in the family of the Earl of Shelburne under
the protection of Dr. Priestley; was introduced to the
Prince of Wales and Charles Fox, and was present at
the meetings of the opposition.
Of course no reconciliation with Great Britain which

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 85
Franklin had to do with was possible, for the King
hated Franklin with an extreme personal hatred which
Franklin fully reciprocated.
The treaty of commerce signed at the same time as

Voltaire.

that of alliance inserted the principle which Franklin
favored, i. e., that free ships should make free goods and
free persons, also, except soldiers. After the treaty was
signed Voltaire came back to Paris, and the two aged

86 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
men met upon the stage of the Academy of Sciences and
saluted each other, whereupon. Frenchmanlike, the
crowd went wild with enthusiasm, and embraced one
another to see the "new Solon and Sophocles" exchange
greetings. Gerard soon went out as the first French envoy to the
United States, and with him went Deane. Their depart
ure was kept secret from Lee who took offense and still
. further pestered the Doctor with his untiring malevolence.
Morse says that there probably remain few epithets in
the English language which have not at some time or
another been applied to Lee. He deserved them all for
he did immense mischief. Vergennes hated him and all
Europe ridiculed his want of capacity. Franklin chari
tably called him insane.
When John Adams arrived in Paris to take Deane's
place, he found papers in confusion and books and ac
counts badly kept, because a perfectly enormous amount
of labor had been put upon the commission with no cler
ical help. He was much disposed to lay the blame on
Franklin at first, but soon found out that the condition
of affairs with three envoys and no clerical force could
not be helped. He therefore advised reducing the num
ber to one envoy. Lee with his intense egotism thought
he would be the one designated, but not so. Franklin
was left in France, Lee accredited to Spain as at first, and
Adams was recalled to America.
The struggle in Congress to ruin Dr. Franklin and
procure his recall and to put Arthur Lee in his place was
a bitter one. It was a cabal like that of Conway against

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 87
Washington and was due, as was Deane's ruin, to the al
most unheard of malevolence of Arthur Lee.
Under Franklin's assistance naval operations began
again with John Paul Jones as commander. He embar
rassed the Britons even more than Conyngham and
Wickes; made incursions on land,
spiked guns in forts and burnt
ships under the very noses of
Englishmen before they could re
cover from their astonishment.
His famous fight with the '-'Se-
rapis^'' is well known. It stirs
the blood yet to read of the en
gagement, but it has a ridiculous
side, for it strongly excites the
humor to think of the crazy John Paui jones.
Frenchman, Landais, captain under Jones, during the
battle sailing up and down, firing broadside after broad
side into the '-'^Bon Homme Richard'''' of his comman
der, too crazy with excitement to know what he was
about. Soon Landais quarrelled with Jones and Franklin
had to patch up that difference. Landais afterward
went insane.
The financial duties of Franklin proved to be the most
vexatious and humiliating that he had to perform. Con
gress carried on the war without available funds or any
direct means of deriving funds. They resorted to two
methods of meeting their obligations, i. e., issuing irre
deemable paper money and borrowing abroad.
Congress had no revenues because it could lay no tax-

88 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
es. It could only call on the states to pay their quotas.
If they saw fit to do so, well and good, if not. Congress
had to get along without them, for there was no way in
which it could compel the states.
It follows of course that Congress could give no secur
ity for loans, and we have the absurd picture of a debtor
who is utterly irresponsible asking the loan of funds. All
that the creditor could do was to trust in Providence.
To be sure the states did pay a little in driblets as they
were called upon, but the sums were entirely inadequate.
The paper money circulated in the colonies, but would
not, of course, circulate abroad, and even in the colonies
it began at once to depreciate. The outcome of this all
was that the burden fell on the envoys to Europe who
were really sent over there to borrow or beg what they
could from foreign nations.
But this does not complete the picture. Jay found it
impossible to get money in Spain, as did John Adams in
Holland. More than that; just as soon as their envoys
had left the shores of America, Congress began sending
after them drafts for large amounts, with the supremest
indifference as to how they could get the money to pay
the drafts.
They even sent drafts on Henry Laurens who was cap
tured and sent to London Tower. The absurdity ofit all
has never been surpassed.
All these drafts centered on Franklin, who was the
only one who succeeded in getting money, and we must
think of a continuous snow-fall of drafts on his devoted
head, until he floundered about in great difficulty and

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 89
was forever trying to extricate himself He had even
to pay Jay's household expenses in Spain because Con
gress did not furnish him his salary.
The cargoes of tobacco, rice, indigo, etc., that were to
offset these drafts for the most part never came. Some
times the ship's captain
ran off with them; some
times the ships foundered;
but oftener the British
captured them. Franklin
said with a sigh, that it
simply resulted in the
English getting all these
goods for nothing.
Then Arthur Lee and
Izard, drew on him for
$10,000 each, on the
ground that they were
about to go to Spain and
Italy respectively, to which countries they were ac
credited; and then they never went. They did not fail,
however, to use up the money.
The brave seamen who had fought in the European
waters for the colonies demanded their pay, and Frank
lin had to put them off with one suit of clothes apiece.
To add to the trouble, the individual states began to
flood Europe with agents for the purpose of borrowing
money, and Congress seemed to be about as unconcerned
as school boys about drawing bills on anybody and
everybody..

John Jay.

go BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
But Franklin carried the burden to the end without
dropping it, thanks to the very remarkable good nature
and kindness of Vergennes and the French government.
The services of Franklin in this regard can hardly be
overdrawn; they were of extreme importance.
Congress never allowed Franklin, a man of over sev
enty years of age, a secretary or copyist, and when he
took his grandson William Temple Franklin as a secre
tary, he did it on his own responsibility and could pay
him, sometimes his board, sometimes not even that.
Yet Congress because of Lee and others, persecuted
the old man through his grandson, formed a cabal
against him and threatened to discharge the young man.
Big business Congress was in ! Franklin had asked many
times that Congress do something in recognition of the
services of William Temple Franklin who had sacrificed
his prospects in life to- act as the secretary to his grand
father. Franklin never asked but this one favor. Con
gress put the request aside with contemptuous indiffer
ence. We can easily see why at the end of the Revolution
and during the time of the Articles of Confederation,
Congress had lost the respect of the people.
Finally March, 1781, Franklin determined to resign,
but then Congress took alarm and refused to accept his
resignation. It had refused any proper appointment
and salary for his grandson; had almost always neglect
ed any expression of thanks for his untiring services for
his country, many of them entirely outside of his regu
lar province; but when he was worn out and disheart-

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

91

ened and wanted rest and quiet, they refused to give
him that.
Meantime Adams had been sent back, having been
appointed with Franklin, Jay, Laurens and Jefferson, to
treat for peace.
Adams at once
set about stir
ring up a hor
net's nest in the
French minis
try by usurping
part of Frank-
lin's preroga
tives, and grat-
uitously in
structing Ver
gennes on mat
ters connected
with America.
Vergennes dis
liked Adams ex
tremely, much
as he did Lee.
When Congress passed the act to redeem the continen
tal currency, a considerable of which Frenchmen held,
far below its face value, Adams sent Vergennes word of
it. The minister was much exasperated, and protested
against the injustice of it as far as the French were con
cerned. Adams was then so lacking in tact as to write
a strong defence of the action of Congress, and the quar-

Henry Laurens.

92 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
rel grew so bitter that both parties had to call in Franks
lin to patch up a peace.
From the very beginning of the war England had
made efforts to come to some understanding with the
United States. The British government showed its ap
preciation of Franklin by directing all of its attention iA
these matters to him. He stood in Europe for America.'
Franklin's old friend Hartley had been especially for
ward in schemes for peace. They tried to frighten
Franklin about the harm that would come to the colon
ies through "throwing themselves into the arms" of their
ancient enemy, France.
But such efforts on the part of England were too thin
ly veiled to be effective with the astute old man. Frank
lin did not propose that the colonies should' throw over a
friend who was helping them to freedom for any enemy
who was trying to enslave them. The battle of York-
town- was the beginning of the end. The commissioners
from America to treat for peace were appointed. Lord
North's ministry fell, and Rockingham formed one of
friends .of America in which was Charles Fox and Lord
Shelburne.' . .,.._
The negotiations developed many coflicting interests.
Lord Shelbvirne had some idea of making independence
a matter of -treaty and providing for some sort of federal
union instead of entire independence.
Fox, who was hostile to Shelburne and wished to con
trol the negotiations, offered to grant immediate inde
pendence. This split in the Cabinet led to sending two
envoys to France both trying to^ divide France and the

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 93
United States. The treaty of 1778 between the United
States and France provided that neither party should
make peace except in conjunction with the other, and
England tried, in spite of this, to deal with the United
States and France separately. But both Vergennes and
Franklin refused to be parties to such a scheme.
Spain also made a disturbing element. She had been
in alliance with France and England and had claims for
territory in America and elsewhere that she wished to
further. So perplexing did affairs become that Frank
lin sent for Jay in hot haste to come from Spain to aid
him, Adams being yet in Holland.
When Jay got to Paris he was convinced that France
was undertaking to deal with England secretly, to pre
vent the right of fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland
going into the treaty. He insisted also that independence
should not be a matter of treaty, but should be acknowl
edged before any treaty was made. This Franklin was
inclined to waive.
So convinced was Jay that Vergennes had sent an agent
to make secret arrangements with Lord Shelburne, then
at the head of the English ministry, that he alone, on his
own responsibility, sent Vaughan secretly to prove to the
English minister that England's advantage lay in siding
with the United States. Vaughan did his duty well and
was sent back with an amended document empowering
the English agent to treat with the Commissioners ofthe
Thirteen United States of America. Jay had won.
Meantime Vergennes had been using his influence on
Congress through the French minister, and Congress

94 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
sent over stringent orders as to the treaty, that American
demands outside of independence should not stand in the
way of the purposes of France.
This still further convinced Jay that France intended
to jeopardize the interests of the United States in regard
to matters other than independence. He favored disobey
ing the specific commands of Congress. On this point,
as on several others, he and Franklin sharply differed,
for Franklin could not believe that France would act un-
unworthily of herself. To the advice of Jay to conduct
the negotiations without the knowledge of France, he re
sponded: "No."
It was a deadlock, but Adams soon arrived from Hol
land sided with Jay. Franklin then had to give way, and
did so without a quarrel. He decided to stand by his
colleagues and refrain from communicating with Ver
gennes. In this whole matter both Jay and Adams had an axe
to grind. Jay wanted the Mississippi made the Western
boundary with the right of navigation of the river. Ad
ams wanted to procure the right of fishing off Newfound
land. P^rance opposed both these demands; the first on
account of her ally, Spain; the second on her own ac
count. When they got rid of her by making a secret
treaty, they won both points.
Such concessions drove Shelburne out of power for it
was seen that the commissioners for the United States
had done a brilliant piece of work. Of course Vergennes
was indignant at the manner in which the treaty was ar
rived at and wrote sharp letters to Franklin, who explained

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 95
the matter best as he could. As often happens in such
cases. Jay and Adams were condemned at home because
they did not side with France,aiid Franklin because he did.
In 1782 after the treaty, Franklin resigned a second
time, but Congress kept him there until March, 1785,
when it voted his return. These years were spent in
making commercial treaties with Sweden, Denmark,
Portugal, Morocco and Prussia. The one with Prussia
called for the abolishment of privateering.
Jefferson succeeded Franklin, and when he was asked
"C'est vous. Monsieur, qui remplace le Docteur Frank
lin?" he replied: "No one can replace him, sir; I am
only his successor."
The Doctor left France in the summer of 1785, al
though several persons had offered him a home as long
as he lived. But he desired to spend the rest of his
days with his family. When he left he carried a por
trait of the King framed in a double circle of four hun
dred and eight diamonds of great cost and beauty. He
crossed the channel to take ship at Portsmouth, and the
British government did him the honor to exempt his
baggage from examination. His son William, who was
a Tory, came to see him, and a partial reconciliation
took place between them.
On September 14, 1785, the ship on which Franklin
sailed came in full view of Philadelphia. For this city
he had a genuine affection, and called it "dear Philadel
phia." When he landed at the Market Street wharf he
was "received by a crowd of people with huzz'as, and ac
companied with acclamations quite to my door 

96 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
God be praised and thanked for all his mercies." He
received endless addresses, both public and private,
congratulating hiin on his return, and they all show
great consideration and even affection.
His health was now fairly good, and in his letter to
Mr. and Mrs. Jay he says that he finds himself rather
better for the voyage. But his countrymen could not
do without his services. They at once elected him coun
cillor for Philadelphia, and on taking his seat he was
chosen President of Pennsylvania.
In a letter to his sister he says in a playful way that
he could not resist the desire of his people, and added
that when sent to France he had said:
"They have eaten my flesh and seem resolved now to
pick my bones." Dr. Cooper, to whom he said this, re
plied: "The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat."
Yet Franklin was pleased, nevertheless, at their re
gard for him, and refused to accept any pay for his ser
vices in behalf of his fellow citizens. Investments in
real estate in Philadelphia had turned out well, and
he was in affluent circumstances. He lived in a
house which his faithful wife had built several years
before. Surrounded by his daughter and her fam
ily, his friends and his books, the old man enjoyed a
quiet life in his garden with cribbage and chess. He
speaks in his letters in a very affectionate way of his
grandchildren, whose innocent play pleased his old age.
Yet he was never idle. Nor had he ceased to be a joker.
He wrote an article for the "Pennsylvania Gazette," pro
fessing to advocate the transportation of American

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. - gy
felons to England, as English felons had been before
transported to America. "No due returns," he says,
"have yet been made for these valuable consignments."'
He failed, however, to seize one opportunity of his
life. John Fitch visited him often and tried to gain his
assistance for a new invention — a steamboat. But
Franklin could see no value in the contrivance and griev
ously offended Fitch by offering him money in charity.
The feebleness of the government under the Articles
of Confederation caused him, as it did other patriots,
great anxiety; and especially as reports as to the demor
alization of the United States were general in Europe.
But by private letters he demonstrated to his friends in
England that things were not so bad as reported.
In 1786 he wrote to a friend ofthe manner in which
he passed his time, in official labors, in study and recre
ation in which music played a part. He had been so
persistent a worker that he had now and then some
compunction about being so idle as he thought himself;
"but another reflection," he says, "comes to relieve me,
whispering. You know that the soul is immortal; why
then should you be such a niggard of a little time, when
you have a whole eternity before you ?"
The famous letter supposed to have been written to
Thomas Paine upon his work, "The Age of Reason, "
although undated, belongs to this period. Parton be
lieves it to have been written not to Paine but to Dr.
Edward Bancroft. No one ever penned a more telling
rebuke to infidel writings, and this incident serves to
show what a remarkable change had come over Frank-

g8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
lin since he penned his heretical tract in London. He
still was interested in the education of the young,
and took great trouble to assist in the location at Lan
caster of a college for Germans.
Meanwhile the condition of the government was be
coming unbearable. Its impotence was well shown by
frequent domestic troubles, riots and general disturbances.
In fact. Shay's Rebellion in Massachusetts was the thing
that frightened Washington into withdrawing his declin
ation to attend the Constitutional Convention.
Franklin was not at first elected a delegate from Penn
sylvania; but was added afterward, as Parton says, in or
der that, in case Washington still refused, there might be
some one on whom all could unite as president of the
convention. It is not necessary to say much about this
convention, a subject on which so much has been writ
ten. It is to be noted, however, that Franklin ranged
himself against a strongly centralized government. That
is, he allied himself with what came to be the Jefferson
party and not with the Hamilton party.
This fact no doubt had weight in forcing the conven
tion away from a form of government whose centralizing
tendencies would have been too strong to be wise. As
he had practiced, so he now preached. He opposed
granting any salary to the president, as he had refused
to accept any salary as president of Pennsylvania. The
honor was a reward sufficient for any man.
Such was the spirit of the early years of devotion to
liberty, and such the romantic fervor of the first pure love
of freedom. Would that more of it was left! He was

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 99
in favor of a legislature of one house and against the
equality of states. When the struggle between the op
posing parties on the last named subject seemed about to
disrupt the convention, his compromise saved the Union.
When the Constitution was finished, he found as many
others did, that not all parts were satisfactory to him per
sonally, yet he heartily supported it. When the instru
ment was signed, looking toward the President's chair on
which a sun was painted, he said he had not up to that
time been able to tell whether it was a rising or a setting
sun; but on the happy termination of the convention he
said: "I have the happiness to know that is a rising and
not a setting sun."
It is remarkable that Franklin was one of only three
or four persons in the convention that thought prayers
necessary at the opening of each session.
After the adjournment he exerted himself to promote
the adoption of the Constitution, and when ten states had
ratified, they had in Philadelphia a great celebration and
and a procession in which was a printer's car which struck
off", as it proceeded, and scattered among the people, a
ditty which Franklin himself had written.
He was elected a third time President of Pennsylvania
although eighty one years old, and said of himself:
' 'I seem to have intruded myself into the company of
posterity, when I ought to have been abed and asleep. ' '
Such was his idea of death.
His growing infirmities warned him that his end was
not far off", and he looked forward to the end of life with
complaisance, for he was, he said, growing curious to

loo BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
find out something of another world. He suffered
much pain, too, at intervals, but bore it with patience
and firmness. He wrote to a friend in November of
1788: "People that will live a long life and drink to
the bottom of the cup must expect to meet with some of
the dregs."
Providence allowed him to live long enough to see his
country, for which he had long labored, established un
der a secure and vigorous government with George Wash
ington, whom he supported, as its first President.
He lived long enough, also, to see the beginning of
that terrible upheaval— the French Revolution. He was
profoundly interested, yet he did not understand the gen
ius of the movement as Jefferson did. Franklin, when
in France, had seen the fair side of the French life; he
had known the educated class of nobility; he had not
explored the lower walks of life, the highways and hedg
es, as Jefferson had, to see how the peasant lived and
toiled and died.
The last months of his life he spent mostly in bed, an
acute sufferer. Yet when the pain ceased for a time he
was again at work.
He was a hater of slavery and one of his last acts was
a memorial addressed to Congress, as president of the
abolition society, to discourage the slave trade and re
move that "inconsistency from the character" of Ameri
can government. And as late as March 23, 1790, he
wrote a characteristic answer to the pro-slavery speech in
Congress of Jackson of Georgia.
Franklin died April 17, 1790, aged eighty four years

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. loi
and three months. France mourned over his death as
sincerely and with more recognition of his great worth
than his own country. Mirabeau delivered a eulogy
and the President of the National Assembly commu
nicated to Washington their resolution to wear mourn-

Franklin's Grave, Christ's Churchyard, Cor. Fifth and Arch Streets,
Philadelphia.
ing for three days. Yet after all he had done for his
country he never succeeded in getting Congress to put
aside its indifference enough to audit his accounts and
discharge them.
It has been well said that Franklin attracts even in
the readers of his life a personal regard. He had many

102 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
friends and they were close and constant. Even in Eng
land during the war this was true . He had some enemies.
The proprietary party hated him bitterly and that feeling
has been handed down. The Adams party in New Eng
land disliked him and have handed down that dislike to
their descendants.
Franklin was great intellectually as few men have been
great. He was great in his diversity of powers; and his
range of activities was remarkable. He was great mor
ally, and he had a very wide and remarkable influence
as a moral teacher. His moral teachings, although not
always of the highest type, are helpful and wholesome.
He never announced himself as a follower of Jesus
Christ, and it is unfortunate that it is true. He wrote to
Dr. Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College, that he
thought the system of morals taught by Jesus of Nazar
eth the best world ever saw or was likely to see; yet he
had to confess "some doubts as to his divinity," although
on that subject he did not pretend to dogmatize. It
seems certain, however, that he underwent an enormous
change in his lifetime in his attitude toward religious and
moral truth.
As he grew older he drew nearer and nearer to the
Christian ideal of faith as well as works. For when his
end was about to come, he had a picture of Christ upon
the Cross placed where he could keep his eyes upon it,
and with his eyes upon that pledge of sacrifice he died.
For he was accustomed to say:
"That is the picture of one who came into the world
to teach men to love one another."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 103

ANECDOTES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF FRANKLIN.
FRANKLIN WITHOUT PERSONAL ENEMIES, HIMSELF EV
ERY man's FRIEND.
In the year 1784, Benjamin Franklin, then seventy-
eight years old, while United States Minister to France,
wrote to his distinguished friend, John Jay, thus:
"I have, as you observe, some enemies in England,
but they are my enemies as an American. I have also
two or three in America who are my enemies as a minis
ter, but I thank God there are not in the whole world
any who are my enemies as a man, for by His grace,
through a long life, I have been enabled so to conduct
myself that there does not exist a human being who can
justly say, 'Benjamin Franklin has wronged me.' This,
my friend, is in old age a comfortable reflection."
franklin's sagacity AND WISDOM.
Franklin's practical sagacity and wisdom are shown
in the following incidents:
In the legislature of Pennsylvania Franklin found
great difliculty in carrying out the necessary measures
for military defense, because a majority of the mem
bers were Quakers, who, though friendly to the success
of the Revolution, refused to vote the supplies of war.

104 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
So Franklin caused them to vote appropriations to buy
bread, flour, wheat, or other grain. The governor said,
"I will take the money, for I understand their meaning,
— other grain is gunpowder."
Franklin afterward moved the purchase of a fire-en
gine, saying to a friend, "Nominate me on the commit
tee, and I will nominate you, we will buy a great gun,
which is certainly a fire-engine. The Quakers can have
no objection to that." Matthew Arnold, in his address
on Emerson in this country, said that he considered Ben
jamin Franklin the greatest of all Americans.
the SILVER HOOK.
The following incident contains a good hint to men
who are not blacksmiths; a hint to such as have learned
useful trades, but have not learned what is infinitely
more valuable; that divine philanthropy which alone can
make their trades their delight, and thus strew life over
with roses:
Dr. Franklin observing one day a hearty young fellow,
whom he knew to.be an extraordinary blacksmith, sit
ting on the wharf, bobbing for little mud-cats and eels;
he called to him.
"Ah, Tom, what a pity 'tis you don't fish with a sil
ver hook. ' '
The young man replied, "I am not able to fish with a
silver hook."
Some days after this the doctor, passing that way, saw
Tom out at the end of the wharf again, with his long
pole bending over the flood.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 105
"What, Tom," cried the doctor, "have you not got the
silver hook yet?"
"God bless you, doctor, ' ' cried the blacksmith, "I'm
hardly able to fish with an iron hook."
"Poh! poh!" replied the doctor, "go home to your an
vil; and you'll make silver enough in one day to buy
more and better fish than you would catch here in a
month." FRANKLIN. AND THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED
STATES.
The final vote on declaring the colonies of the United
States free and independent was taken July 4, 1776, at
two in the afternoon. About four hours later a commit
tee consisting of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and
Thomas Jefi'erson, were appointed to prepare a Great
Seal for the new republic. On the ninth of July, 1776,
the committee met in the London Coffee House, which
still stands on the southwest corner of Front and Market
Streets, Philadelphia.
Several designs were submitted at this and subsequent
meetings by Du Simitiere and Jefferson, with sugges
tions by Adams and Franklin. The one proposed by
Du Simitiere had the arms of the several nations from
whence America had been peopled, as English, Scotch,
Irish, Dutch, German, etc., each in a shield.
On one side of them he placed Liberty with her cap;
on the other a rifleman in his uniform, with his rifle in
one hand, and a tomahawk in the other, that dress and
weapons being peculiar to America.

io6 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Dr. Franklin proposed for the device, Moses lifting
his wand and dividing the Red Sea, and the char
iot of Pharaoh, and his host overwhelmed with the
waters. For a motto, he suggested the words of Cromwell,
"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."
Nothing came
of the action of
this committee.
Later on other
committees
were appointed
and other de
signs submitted.
At last Congress
in June, 1782,
adopted the
present Seal of
the United
States. The design of
this Seal was
sent by John Adams from England to Charles Thomson,
the Secretary of Congress, to whom the whole matter
had been referred.
It is very interesting to note that a British aristocrat
gave us the design. For it was furnished by Sir John
Prestwich, a baronet of the west of England, who was a
fast friend of the Americans during the Revolutionary
war, and an accomplished antiquarian.

Du Simitlere's Design lor Seal of the United States.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 107
TRUE INDEPENDENCE.
This anecdote contains much that is suggestive to the
modem press.
Soon after his establishment in Philadelphia, Franklin
was offered a piece for publication in his newspaper. Be
ing very busy, he begged the gentleman would leave it
for consideration. The next day the author called and
asked his. opinion of it.
"Why, sir," replied Franklin, "I am sorry to say
that I think it highly scurrilous and defamatory.
But being at a loss on account of my poverty whether
to reject it or not, I thought I would put it to this issue
— at night, when my work was done, I bought a twopenny
loaf, on which, with a mug of cold water, I supped heart
ily, and then wrapping myself in my greatcoat, slept very
soundly on the floor till morning, when another loaf and
a mug of water afforded me a pleasant breakfast.
Now, sir, since I can live very comfortably in this
manner, why should I prostitute my press to personal hat
red or passion, for a more luxurious living?"
One cannot read this anecdote of our American sage
without thinking of Socrates' reply to King Archilaus,
who had pressed him to give up preaching in the dirty
street of Athens, and come and live with him in his splen
did courts. "Meal, please your majesty, is a halfpenny a
peck at Athens, and water I can get for nothing."
FRANKLIN AND THE WIG.
Nothing can better illustrate the spirit which Dr. Frank
lin carried with him to the court of Louis XVI, and the

,o8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
spirit he found there than this story: On Dr. Franklin's
arrival at Paris, as Plenipotentiary from the United
States, the king expressed a wish to see him immediate
ly. As there was no going to the court of France in
those days without permission of the wigmaker, a wig-
maker, of course, was
sent for. In an instant
a richly dressed Mon
sieur, his arms folded
in a prodigious muff of
furs, and a long sword
by his side, made his
appearance. It was the
king's wigmaker, with
his servant in livery, a
long sword by his side, too, and a load of sweet-scented
bandboxes, full of "de wig," as he said, "de superb wig
for de great Docteer Frankline. ' '
One of the wigs was tried on — a world too small!
Bandbox after bandbox was tried; but all with the same
ill success! The wigmaker fell into the most violent
rage, to the extreme mortification of Dr. Franklin that a
gentleman so bedecked with silks and perfumes should,
notwithstanding, be such a child.
Presently, however, as in all the transports of a grand
discovery, the wigmaker cried out to Dr. Franklin, that
he had just found out where the fault lay — "not in his
wig as too small; Oh, no! his wig was not too small; but
de docteers head too big; great deal too big." Franklin,
smiling^ replied, that the fault could hardly lie there; for

Signatures of the Commissioners to
France. '

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 109
his head was made by the Almighty himself, who
was not likely to err. Upon this the wigmaker took in
a little; but still contended that there must be something
the matter with Dr. Franklin's head.
It was at any rate, he said, out of the fashion.
He begged Dr. Franklin would only "please for re
member, dat his head had not de honeer to be made in
Paree. No, no! for if it had been made in Paree, it nbt,
bin more dan half such a head. None of the French
noblesse," he declared, "had a head any ting like his.
Not de great Duke d' Orleans, nor de grand monarque,
himself had half such a head as Docteer Frankline." And
he did not see, he said, "what business anybody had
wid ahead more big dan de head of de great monarque."
Pleased to. see the poor wigmaker recover his good hu
mor, Dr. Franklin could not find it in his heart to put a
check to his childish rant, but related one of his fine anec
dotes, which struck the wigmaker with such an idea of
his wit, that as he retired, bowing most profoundly, he
shrugged his shoulders, and with a look most significant
ly arch, he said:
"Ah, Docteer Frankline! Docteer Frankline! I no won
der your head too big for my wig. I 'fraid your head be
too big for all de French nationg."
OUR FIRST FLAG.
As a nation we are the most pictorial in the world, and
we began early to read from symbols, our first standard
of independent rule being the design of a rattlesnake cut
in thirteen pieces, representing the thirteen colonies, bear
ing first the motto, "Unite or die," and later the signifi-

no BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
cant warning, "Dont tread on me," the rattlesnake being
typified in an attitude prepared to strike.
Dr. Franklin, seeing the emblem one day wrote of it
in this admirable explanation:
"On inquiry and from study I learn that the ancients
considered the serpent an emblem of wisdom, and in some
attitudes of endless duration. Also, that countries are
often represented by animals peculiar to that country.
The rattlesnake is found nowhere but in America.
Her eye is exceedingly bright and without eyelids — em
blem of vigilance. She never begins an attack and she
never surrenders — emblem of magnanimity and courage.
She never wounds even her enemies until she gener
ously gives them warning not to tread on her, which is
emblematical of the spirit of the people who. inhabit her
country. She appears apparently weak and defenseless,
but her weapons are neverthelss formidable. Her poison
is the necessary means for the digestion of her food but
certain death to her enemies — showing the power of
American resources.
Her thirteen rattles, the only part which increases in
number, are distinct from each other, and yet so united
that they cannot be disconnected without breaking them
to pieces — showing the impossibility of an American re
public without a union of states.
A single rattle will give no sound alone, but the ring
ing of the thirteen together is sufficient to startle the
boldest man alive. She is beautiful in youth, and her
beauty increases with age. He tongue is forked as the
lightning,and her abode is among the impenetrable rocks."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

THE STORY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
FOR A SCHOOL OR CLUB PROGRAMME.
Each numbered paragraph is to be given to a pupil or
member to read, or to recite, in a clear, distinct tone.
If the school
or club is small,
each person
may take three
or four para
graphs, but
should not be
required to re
cite them in suc
cession. I. Benjamin
Franklin was born
in Boston, January
17, 1706.
2. His father,
Josiah Franklin,
was of English des
cent. He was an
excellent man, of a
firm and healthy
texture of charac
ter, "fond of me
chanical opera
tions, skilled in
drawing and much
given to music.
3. Franklin says of him, "He turned our attention to what was
good, just and prudent in the conduct of life." At the age of eighty-
nine years he died, honored by all who knew him.
4. Franklin's mother was Abiah Folger, a daughter of Peter
Folger, one of the early settlers of New England, whom Cotton
Mather styled "a godly and learned Englishman." He was a writer

Birthplace of Franklin, Milk Street,
Boston, Mass.

112 . BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
of political verses, and a zealous opponent of the persecution of the
Quakers. 5. His mother lived to be eighty-five years of age, bequeathing
to her son Benjamin her splendid physical traits.
6. When young Benjamin was eight years old he was sent to the
Boston Grammar School. He was a ready learner, and made rapid
progress in his classes, rising from one to the other.
7. Such was his precocity that his father thought of sending him
to Harvard College and educating him for the ministry. But the
wants of his large family were so numerous that he could not afford
the expense of this.
8. At the age of ten years, his father took him into his chandlery
to teach him his own trade, but it was so distasteful to the boy that
he was permitted, two years later, to become an apprentice to his
brother James, a printer.
g. This action of his father prevented the carrying out of Benja
min's desire to run away and go to sea.
10. His natural fondness for knowledge made him an insatiable
reader. He devoured all the books he could borrow, and would often
pass the greater part of the night in reading or study.
II. The few shillings that found their way into his hands were
all laid out in books instead of sweetmeats^ of which children are
generally so fond. Daniel Defoe, the author of ''Robinson Crusoe, ''
"The Pilgrim's Progress," "Plutarch's Lives," were among his favor
ites. But soon he was studying Locke's "Essay on the Human Un-der-
standing," and the Port Royal Logic, heavy works for one of his ten
der years. 12. When Benjamin was fifteen years of age, his brother Jameis
began to print the "New England Courant," the third newspaper
published in Boston and the fourth in America.
13. For this paper young Franklin wrote anonymous articles of
great merit, which were attributed to men of eminence in the colony.
14. To improve his style Benjamin read "The Spectator," and
endeavored to imitate it. He was careful and laborious in his writ
ings, and in the end acquired a style noted for its singular purity and
simplicity. 15. , The "New England Courant" soon got into trouble, for the
freedom with which men and events were handled by Benjamin. ,
16. In 1723 the General Court ordered that the paper should not
be published, "except it first be supervised."
17. When he was seventeen years old Franklin resolved tp
leave Boston and seek his fortune elsewhere; and in October, 1723,
set sail in a sloop for New York.
18. Unable to find employment in New York, he set out for
Philadelphia, which he reached after many hardships and adventures.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 113
, 19. . With hands sorely blistered from rowing, with but a dollar
in his pocket, and without a friend he began life in the Quaker city.
20. With a roll under each arm, and eating a third, he set out in
search of a lodging and employment.
' 21. There were but two printers in Philadelphia at this time,
and one of them, a Mr. Keimer, took him into his primitive printing
establishment. 22. He took comfortable lodgings in the house of a Mr. Read,
witTi whose charming daughter, Deborah, he soon fell in love.
23. Sir William Keith, the Governor of Pennsylvania, became
attracted to Franklin, and invited him to his house, giving him also
the free use of his libi*ary.
24. The Governor advised him to set up a printing establish
ment of his own, and urged him to make a voyage to London to pur
chase the necessary articles, promising to assist him and give him
letters of introduction.
25. When the ship sailed, the letter-bag was opened, but not a
scrap from the Governor did it contain. Franklin, therefore,
reached London in the spring of 1724, in as destitute a plight as he
had landed in Philadelphia.
26. But he worked hard at his printer's trade for a little more
than two years in London, and saved the greater part of his wages.
27. In the autumn of 1726 he made his way back to Philadelphia,
and in 172Q became editor and proprietor of the "Pennsylvania Ga
zette," which he made very popular.
28. On September i, 1730, he married Miss Deborah Read, and
lived most happily with her until her death, December 19, 1774.
29. Though devoting himself assiduously to business he contin
ued his literary pursuits, and organized, in 1731, a club called "The
Junto," composed of acquaintances of congenial tastes. Out of this
grew the idea in Franklin's' mind of a public library, which after
wards developed into that noble institution, the Philadelphia Li
brary. 30. In 1732 he began the publication of the famous "Poor Rich
ard's Almanac," which he continued to issue regularly for twenty-five
"years. 31. In 1736 he was made Clerk of the Assembly of Pennsylvan
ia, and in 1737 was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia, and intro
duced into that office the excellent system with which he managed
all his affairs.
32. In 1738 he organized a fire cornpany, the first of the kind
ever established in this country.
¦ 33. In 1742 he invented the "open stove for the better warming
cf rooms," an invention which is still in use.
34. In 1744 Franklin proposed a volunteer association for the

„4 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
protection of the, Province against the savages, and at one time held
the command of the Pennsylvania volunteers.
35. In 1747 he was elected to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, and
continued a member of that body for ten years.
36. In 1752 he made his renowned experiment in electricity by
flying a kite of silk during a thunder storm. He received the degree
of M. A. from Harvard and Yale Colleges.
37. In 1753 he was appointed Deputy Postmaster-General of the
British Colonies, on account of his excellent management of the
Philadelphia Post Office.

Philadelphia Library, Founded by FrankUn.
(From an Old Print.)
38. In 1754 Franklin became a conspicuous figure in Continen
tal politics, and was sent to the Congress at Albany as a Commission
er from Pennsylvania.
39. At the Albany Congress Franklin brought forth the first co
herent scheme ever propounded for securing a permanent Federal
union of the thirteen colonies. But public opinion was not yet ripe
for the adoption of the bold and comprehensive ideas which it con
tained, and, in consequence, it was rejected.
40. In 1755, by the steadfast personal exertions of Franklin,
General Braddock was enabled to obtain horses, wagons and provis
ions 'ifor his expedition. For the payment of these Franklin pledged
his own property.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 115
41. In 1757 Franklin was sent over to England as agent for
Pennsylvania, to plead the cause of the Assembly before the privy
council. The duties of the position kept him five years in England.
42. His discoveries and writings had won him now a European
reputation, and in 1762 he received the degree of LL.D. from the
Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh.
43. In 1764 Franklin was Si^nt again to England as agent for
Pennsylvania, and was instructea to make every effort to prevent the
passage of the Stamp Act.
44. But when the obnoxious measure was passed in 1765, Frank
lin counselled submission. "In this case, however, the wisdom of
this wisest of Americans proved inferior to the 'collective wisdom' of
his fellow countrymen." The Stamp Act was soon repealed, and
Franklin's testimony, in which was evinced his strong sense and va
ried knowledge, contributed greatly to the desired result.
45. In 1774 Franklin was tried before the privy council for his
connection with the historical "Hutchinson Letters." He was vilified
and abused, but bore the ordeal nobly. The infuriated King dis
missed him the day after the affair, from his position of Deputy Post
master-General. 46. When the demand was made on Massachusetts for the pay
ment of the tea destroyed in Boston Harbor, Franklin went so f^r as
to Sdvise Massachusetts to make the payment, fearing that war would
result if it were refused.
47. Samuel Adams, on hearing of this, said: "Franklin may be
a good philosopher, but he is a bungling politician." "In this in
stance Franklin showed himself less far-sighted than Adams and the
people of Massachusetts."
48. After using all his efforts at conciliation between the King
and the colonies, which he found fruitless, he returned to America,
arriving in Philadelphia May 5, 1775, to find the shedding of blood
had just begun.
49. When the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill reached him,
he wrote to his friends in England, "Americans will fight, England
has lost her colonies forever."
50. When Samuel Adams proposed his plan for a confederation
the colonies, which did not meet with general approval, that sturdy
patriot said, "If none of the rest will join, I will endeavor to unite the
New England colonies in confederating."
51. Franklin said to Adams, "I approve your proposal, and if
you succeed I will cast in my lot among you."
52. Franklin earnestly supported the proposition for a Declara
tion of Independence, and affixed his signature to it on July 4, 1776.
He said, with grim humor, after fhe signing, "Now, gentlemen, we
must all hang together, or we shall hang separately."

n6 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
53. By never wasting time Franklin had acquired a knowledge
of the French language, with Italian and Spanish also, besides get
ting some acquaintance with the Latin. He was thus fitted for the
important position of Commissioner Plenipotentiary to the Court of
France in 1776, at the age of seventy-one.
54. He became the most popular man in Paris, and was over
whelmed with attentions from the learned, the nobility and the com
mon people. He rendered, while in France, the most signal services
to his beloved country.
55. He returned to America in 1785, and was soon after elected
President of the Supreme Executive Council of Philadelphia — the
Chief Executive of the State. He was twice re-elected, his last term
expiring in October, 1788. He was a delegate to the Federal Conven
tion of 1787, which framed the Constitution of the United States.
56. On April 17, 1790, this distinguished American passed away
at the age of eighty-four years and three months.
57. The mortal remains of Franklin were laid away to rest in
the northwest portion of. Christ churchyard at the corner of 5th and
Arch Streets, Philadelphia, under a plain marble stone, inscribed,
"Benjamin and Deborah Franklin."
58. We can truly say of Franklin, "He was at once philosopher,
statesman, diplomatist, scientific discoverer, inventor, philanthropist,
moralist and wit; while, as a writer of English, he was surpassed by
few men of his time. He is in many respects, the greatest of Ameri
cans, and one of the greatest men whose names are recorded in his
tory."

PROGRAMME FOR A FRANKLIN EVENING.
I. Music.
2.; Anecdotes of Franklin.
3. Essay— Franklin's Youth and Apprenticeship. Discussion of
same. 4. Reading of Extracts from Poor Richard's Almanac.
5. Music — Vocal or Instrumental.
6. Essay— The first American Flag, and Franklin's Interpreta
tion of its Meaning. Discussion of the same.
. -7. 'Essa-y~"Eripint caslofulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis." Trans
lated: "He snatched the lightning from heaven and the scepter from
tyrants." 8. Music.
.9. Franklin as a Diplomatist.
10. Song — "America."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 117
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW.
IVhere is the tablet that marks the birthplace of Benja-min Frank
lin? What was the name of Franklin's father? Of what stock did
his family come? What was their station?
What was the name of Franklin's mother? Of what stock did
she come ?
II 'hat may be said ofthe hereditary traits of Franklin ? What is
said of Josiah' s favorite brother? What did Benjamin s father in
tend him to be? To what occupation was he assigned? What were
the books he read? In what circumstances did he become a printer?
How did he correct the faults of composition ? What unorthodox
books did he read? How did Franklin come into notice as a writer?
Why did he take ship for New York, and when ?
In what condition did he arrive in Philadelphia ? What event
specially marked his entrance?
How did he come to the notice of the Governor? What was the
reason of his return to Boston, and its result? How did Franklin
come to go to England? ]Vith what result? What were the chief
features of his life in London ?
In what spirit did he return to America? What was the famous
epitaph Franklin composed? What were the chief features of his re
lations to his partners in printing? What was Franklin's relation
to business advertising? How did Franklin increase fhe circulation
of his paper? What was the beginning of American debating socie
ties? One of the chief questions Franklin favored?
When and to whom was Franklin married? When was the
turning point in Franklin' s career? What were the chief features in
his new life?
For what was Franklin remarkable? What is said of his estab
lishment of a public library ? What is said of Franklin's wife? Of
their mode of living? Of his tendency to free thinking? Of his use of
a Liturgy ? Of his struggle after moral perfection ?
What is said of 'Poor Richard' s Almanac" ? Of Franklin' s study
of languages? Of chess? Of music?
How did his political promotion begin ? What is said of White-
field? Of the Franklin Stove? Ofthe American Philosophical Soci
ety? Of Franklin s love of nature? Of plain truth? Of Franklin as
a soldier? Of the Quakers and defe7isive warfare? Of the different
positions Franklin filled? Of his various schemes? Of plaster as a
fertilizer? Of his work as postmaster? Of ihe degrees conferred up
on him? Of his appoi7itmeJit as Com?}zissioner? Of Franklin s
" Short Hints" ? Of his relations with Governor Shirley? Of his
letters on "no taxation without representation?"
What is said of Braddock' s campaign ? Of Fra7iklin's discover
ies in electricity? Of his relations to the proprietaries of Pennsylvan-

ii8 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
ia? To Loudon? Of his visit to England and the persons he met
there? Of the fall of Quebec? Of Franklin's return home? Of
Franklin' s son William? Of Franklin' s relation to John Penn? Of
his pamphlet on "Cool Thoughts," etc.? Of the wider fields of
Franklin's operations? Of the Stamp Act? Of Franklin' s mistake
in favoring it?
What is said of Franklin as a witness before Parliament? Of
the repeal ofthe Stamp Act? Ofthe stories afloat as to America ? Of
the indifference to American affairs in England? Of interest in
France? Of his relation to Whitefield? To Samuel Adams? Of
Franklin s enemies? Of the admission by England of her error? Of
the effect upon the colonies? Of Franklin s efforts to promote good
will? Of various English statesmen? Of Franklin' s relations to
them? Of Franklin s children and grandchildren? Of Mrs. Frank
lin ? Of Franklin' s varied discoveries, etc. ?
What is said of Franklin' s English acquaintances ? Ofthe Roy
al Society? Of "The Hutchinson Letters?" Of the attempt to bribe
Franklin? Of Arthur Lee? Of Franklin's return home? Of his re
lations to Strahan? To Dr. Priestley? Of his services as delegate?
Of his love of jokes? Of his plan of union? Of his various positions
and constructions ?
What is said of the operations of Deane and Beaumarchais in
France? Of Franklin s risk in trying to reach France? Of the rela
tions of Deane and Lee to each other? Ofthe cause of Deane' s recall?
Of Franklin's estimate of him? Of privateering and Franklin' s re
lation to it? Of Franklin and Vergennes? Of the capture of prison
ers? Of Franklin and Thomas Morris? Of Franklin and Arthur
Lee? What is said of the year i'777? Of the meeting ofthe commission
ers? Of the journey of Austin to France? Of the meeting at Ver
sailles? Of Franklin and Gerard? Of the treaty of alliance between
France and the United States? Of the bill of Lord North ? Of the
action by Congress? Ofthe mission of Austin to England? Of the
the treaty of commerce? Of Voltaire and Franklin? What was the
general estimate of Lee? What is said of John Adams? Ofthe at
tempt to ruin Franklin? Of John Paul Jones? Of Franklin' s finan
cial duties and difficulties ? Of Arthur Lee and Izard? Of Congress
and William Temple Franklin?, Of Congress and Franklin? Of
Adams and Vergennes? Of the efforts of England to reach an under
standing with the United States ?
Of his financial circumstances? Of Franklin as a joker? Of
Of John Fitch? Ofthe letter to his friend? Of his letter to Thomas
Paine? Of his interest in education? Of Shay's rebellion? Ofthe
Constitutional Convention? Of Franklin's attitude? Of his remark
about the sun ? Of his wish for prayers for the daily sessions? Of his
action after adjournment? Of his further election and consequent re
marks? Of the French Revolution? Of Franklin's relation to sla
very? What is said of Spain? Of Jay when he reached Paris? Of

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 119
Jay and Vergennes? Of Jay's difference with Franklin? Of Jay and
Adams? Of Shelburne? Of Franklin and Adams? Of Franklin
in 1782 andiySj? Of Jefferson as Franklin's successor? Of Frank
lin as he returned home? Of his reception in Philadelphia? Of his
further election to office? Of his death ? Oj his sentiment in France?
Of Franklin's attractiveness? Of his intellectual and moral powers?
Ofthe change in his attitude toward moral and religious truth ?

SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL STUDY.
I. Franklin as a Boy.
2. Franklin as a Printer.
J. Franklin as Postmaster-General .
4. Franklin as a Moralist and IVit.
J. Franklin as a Scientist.
0. Franklin s Relations with the English Parliament.
y. Franklin as a Minister Plenipotentiary to France.
8. Franklin's Relations to Education.
g. Franklin as a Soldier.
10. Franklin and the Hutchinson Letters.
II. Franklin as a Philanthropist.
12. Franklin as a Statesman.

CHRONOLOGICAL EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF FRANKLIN.
1706 Franklin was born in Boston. Mass , Jan. 17.
1 71 5 Sent to Boston Grammar School.
1718 Apprenticed to his brother James as a printer.
1 721 Began writing articles for the "New England Courant.''
1723 Set sail for New York. Reached Philadelphia. Returned to
Boston to solicit aid for printing.
1724 Went to England at Sir William Keith's request.
1726 Returned to Philadelphia.
1729 Established in printing business at Philadelphia.
1730 Married Miss Read, Sept. i. Established Debating Society,
which afterwards became the American Philosophical Society.
1731 Founded the Philadelphia Library.
1732 Began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."
1736 Elected Clerk ofthe Assembly of Pennsylvania.
1738 Organized the first fire company in the country.
1742 Invented the Franklin or "Open Stove."
1743 Projected the University, which afterwards became the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania.
1744 Assisted in organizing a Volunteer Association for the defense
of the Province,
1747 Elected to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, of which he contin
ued a member for ten years.

120 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
1753 Appointed Deputy Postmaster-General for the Continent.
1754 Began to serve in the Continental Congress. Brought forward
plan for a Federal Union.
1755 Assisted General Braddock in obtaining money and supplies.
1757 Sent by the Assembly to England.
1762 Received the degree of LL.D. from Oxford and Edinburgh
Universities. Received the formal thanks of the Assembly.
1764 Sent again to England.
1774 The celebrated affair of the "Hutchinson Letters."
1775 Elected unanimously by the Assembly of Pennsylvania to the
Second Continental Congress, May 6.
1776 Sent to join with Arthur Lee and Silas Deane, in securing the
co-operation of France.
1778 Signing of the Treaty of Paris, mainly by Franklin's efforts.
1783 Signing of the Treaty, by which a large portion of the conti
nent was secured to the United States, in which the tact of
Franklin was signally displayed. Negotiation of a treaty
with Prussia.
1785-87 Returned to America. Elected President of Pennsylvania,
and twice re-elected.
1787 Elected delegate to the Federal Convention.
1789 Signed Memorial to Congress as President of an Anti-Slavery
Society, to abolish slavery.
1790 Died in Philadelphia, April 17.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

For those who wish to read extensively the following works are
especially commended:
"Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin." James Parton. 2 Vols. New
_ York, 1864.
"Life of Benjamin Franklin." Jared Sparks. Tuppan & Dennett.
Boston, 1844. '
"Benjamin Franklin." George Canning Hill. R. Worthington, New
York, 1864.
"Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography." D. Appleton & Co.,
New York.
"Life of Benjamin Franklin." Lindsay & Blakeston. Philadelphia,
1846. *;
"Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.'- John Bigelow. Philadelphia,
1868.
"Life of Franklin." M. L. Weems. J. P. Lippincott & Co. Philadel
phia, 1883.
"Benjamin Franklin." J.Abbott. Harper's Magazine. Vol. 4: 145, 280.
Benjamin i rankiin as a Man of Letters." Professor John Bach Mc-
Master. Houghton, MifHin & Co. Boston, 1887

r

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A DletMnary of Aiatakea.'?nad6 in ordinary conversation. ' ; ,,
1. A Dictionary of contractions and of the plurals of all thia diiB(i1}li ; 7
wdrds m the EngUsh language i. . , , ,
Tlie regular price pf thi^ great wdrkis ,*2.00;^, but far
30 days we \rlll forward tc^ any address, all cbarges
paid, on receipt of but t$1.25. Mo^ey refunded if not
satisfactory.

TBE ONIYERSITY ASSOCIATION.

ASSOCIATION BUILDIiyG.

CHtOAGO

WHI^ WHillKO TO tDVMTfilllt KlMl^* m^KTION TMe f»T«IOT

I "flHE PATRIOT"
I FOR AMERICA— >
I MTHE land of the free and the HOMlfe OF THE BRAVE.
i

I

"I xras^Aol'n an American; I ivili ilve an American; I sliall die
American.^'— Daniel Webster.
"I rf^oice tha^ America lias resisted.^' —WiUiam Fitt. . .
Vr*- *., , ^  ,L_ ¦ . • ' , , ''.¦'..¦¦
"The JUecIaration of Independence 1«i the worfe ofthe greftWP'ramltlin."
m. ¦-'• f ¦¦ ¦ I. ,, 11, HI .1 , . ¦ '
! »'Of Franlillii no: *ne ever became tired."— William, Wirt.
Zi ' ,, '. ¦ ' ,
X ¦'-¦'-' ¦'¦!"* ' ^^  ^ S^: • "' '- ¦ '¦ ¦
J ; -"t<Iie'':nd-tii^ of !^he fathers 'is the elixir »he childreli'.?f*©r,''N.,]?. H,il«8,
£ ¦ ''„L ' ' '—Ll — , Ik ¦ / ' 'v''" •
i( '*FIII fjb^/minds of the' children with the Justice' of oilr canse.*'
<k '-''j'tit-^ , I  '^_ ' -¦¦:'-' -V- Washington.
£ "Americanlspn !-^A poetic fervor, aproiilj^titi^ fbith^ a Itoiindless hope.''
" ' ¦ I ","-'^ — IJr.iJuhsaulas.
.iS ¦."','¦ .'.  ~~~ , ¦' ¦ ¦¦ -1 ¦. V ., J
4 ¦Tlie best instruction which' the youth of a country like onrs.i^an
f have is its ikwn history."— Senator Hoat. ¦ ' |
,; V^'I am in earnest: I will not eqnlTocate; I Will not excneie; I will
1^ retreat a Ittmgle inch; and 1 will be heard.",^Willtaiii Lloyd Uarrisuu.

I

"We, EnifMWlneii, livins in America, have all tlte rights of GneliNh-
men living mi K!hBlaiid."v-Pa(rlclc Henry.

"Our country mnst never forget the gratitude it on-es to the brav»
soldiers."— Washin^t^. ; ,>

I

An JSn^ish Mpniirch is, now 'as niuch, the creature^ of, an act «f <^

parlianient OS the .pettiest tax gatljierer in his realm."- W. R. Qreou.
,4*X '^ant' an Aiptericau' Cbai^acter that fhe powers of jittrope mta
cortyiUfecd w^e act for ourselves."— Washington. ;.'; '

.,., I

I

2 "Tliose have a short Iient (saith poor Itichard; w1i« owe money to lu-«S
W paid at Easter."— Franklin. ______ .' j
. '^Ity best wishes attei|i| my dear conntry. 9|ay' it last A>)<-eiir^r.''
*''¦'' . '' . . . /\ ^ *^'-^J*raiiHIin.
"Let us preserve our reputation by perfofifiiiig our engagements.
 '', — Franltlin.
'^ "I have lived now a long timls^, and the ioneer t live, th^fe more con- €
gi vincing pro<>Ai 1 see of this truth, that Uod rules in tlie affairs of man." M
9 ' 'M ' '" ~ *''''"''^'*»- - ' i

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