1
00:00:08,308 --> 00:00:11,005
Man as Benjamin Franklin:
Being now in my last Act,

2
00:00:11,044 --> 00:00:15,379
I begin to cast about
for something fit to end with.

3
00:00:15,415 --> 00:00:19,546
Or if mine be more properly
compar'd to an Epigram,

4
00:00:19,586 --> 00:00:22,146
I am very desirous of concluding

5
00:00:22,189 --> 00:00:24,158
with a bright Point.

6
00:00:24,191 --> 00:00:26,683
Benjamin Franklin.

7
00:00:26,727 --> 00:00:28,389
Schiff: The thing
about Franklin is,

8
00:00:28,428 --> 00:00:30,192
whatever you say about him,
on the one hand,

9
00:00:30,230 --> 00:00:32,256
you can always say
the opposite, as well.

10
00:00:32,299 --> 00:00:35,133
I mean, this is a man who is
very much pro-temperance

11
00:00:35,168 --> 00:00:37,399
and he writes
bawdy drinking songs.

12
00:00:37,437 --> 00:00:39,030
He founds a fire company,

13
00:00:39,072 --> 00:00:41,132
and he founds a fire
insurance company.

14
00:00:41,174 --> 00:00:43,200
He does play all sides.

15
00:00:43,243 --> 00:00:46,042
But during those British
years, he very much plays

16
00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:47,547
the British gentleman.

17
00:00:47,581 --> 00:00:51,313
He has a... a crest on the
door of his carriage.

18
00:00:51,351 --> 00:00:54,515
And, yet, by the time he
becomes an American rebel,

19
00:00:54,555 --> 00:00:57,491
so to speak, he is
entirely an American.

20
00:01:06,433 --> 00:01:13,135
Narrator: In January of 1775,
Benjamin Franklin turned 69.

21
00:01:13,173 --> 00:01:16,234
He had already achieved
extraordinary success

22
00:01:16,276 --> 00:01:19,644
as a printer and publisher
in his adopted hometown

23
00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:23,776
of Philadelphia, where
a library, a college,

24
00:01:23,817 --> 00:01:26,446
and countless civic improvements

25
00:01:26,486 --> 00:01:30,082
testified to his belief
that his highest calling

26
00:01:30,123 --> 00:01:32,092
lay not in making money,

27
00:01:32,125 --> 00:01:35,823
but in improving
the lives of everyday people.

28
00:01:35,862 --> 00:01:38,661
And his revolutionary
breakthroughs

29
00:01:38,699 --> 00:01:41,726
in unraveling
the mysteries of electricity

30
00:01:41,768 --> 00:01:47,264
had made him the most famous
American in the world.

31
00:01:47,307 --> 00:01:49,242
Ellis: He is every man,

32
00:01:49,276 --> 00:01:52,508
but he's a very
extraordinary every man.

33
00:01:52,546 --> 00:01:56,608
He was a Nobel Prize-winning
caliber scientist,

34
00:01:56,650 --> 00:02:00,246
probably the great... greatest
prose stylist of his generation,

35
00:02:00,287 --> 00:02:02,449
and he's probably
the greatest diplomat

36
00:02:02,489 --> 00:02:04,651
in American history.

37
00:02:04,691 --> 00:02:08,219
Narrator: Franklin had been in
England for the last decade,

38
00:02:08,261 --> 00:02:10,890
trying desperately to bridge
the growing gulf

39
00:02:11,131 --> 00:02:15,193
between Parliament
and the American colonies.

40
00:02:15,235 --> 00:02:18,433
Only a year earlier,
the future he had envisioned

41
00:02:18,472 --> 00:02:22,341
for himself and his family
seemed bright and tethered

42
00:02:22,376 --> 00:02:25,403
inextricably to
the British Empire.

43
00:02:25,445 --> 00:02:29,314
Now that dream was in ruins.

44
00:02:29,349 --> 00:02:31,841
During his long absence
from home,

45
00:02:31,885 --> 00:02:36,823
he had missed his wife
Deborah's death and funeral.

46
00:02:36,857 --> 00:02:40,521
In London, in a government
chamber called the Cockpit,

47
00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,155
he had been publicly humiliated,

48
00:02:43,196 --> 00:02:47,566
accused of inciting the colonial
crisis he had, in fact,

49
00:02:47,601 --> 00:02:50,469
worked so hard to prevent.

50
00:02:50,504 --> 00:02:54,737
And as that crisis
intensified, his son William,

51
00:02:54,775 --> 00:02:57,643
now the royal governor
of New Jersey,

52
00:02:57,678 --> 00:03:01,581
seemed to be choosing
the wrong side.

53
00:03:01,615 --> 00:03:04,779
Skemp: The longer William
stayed in New Jersey,

54
00:03:04,818 --> 00:03:08,448
the more corrupt
and rebellious and selfish

55
00:03:08,488 --> 00:03:10,616
the colonies started to
look to him

56
00:03:10,657 --> 00:03:15,686
and the more wonderful and
inspiring the Crown looked.

57
00:03:15,729 --> 00:03:19,257
I think that the longer that
Benjamin Franklin stayed

58
00:03:19,299 --> 00:03:24,431
in England, the more he
idealized the colonies and saw

59
00:03:24,471 --> 00:03:27,839
the corruption and venality
around him in England.

60
00:03:27,874 --> 00:03:29,968
And so, they began to see things

61
00:03:30,210 --> 00:03:32,509
kind of as a mirror
image of one another.

62
00:03:34,448 --> 00:03:36,440
Narrator: For years,
Franklin had reveled

63
00:03:36,483 --> 00:03:38,850
in the intellectual
life of Britain.

64
00:03:38,885 --> 00:03:41,878
But increasingly, he dwelled
more on the differences

65
00:03:41,922 --> 00:03:44,585
between the Old World
and the New,

66
00:03:44,624 --> 00:03:47,822
rather than what they
shared in common.

67
00:03:47,861 --> 00:03:49,557
Man as Franklin:
In America,

68
00:03:49,596 --> 00:03:52,259
People do not enquire,
concerning a stranger,

69
00:03:52,299 --> 00:03:55,861
"What is he?"
but "What can he do?"

70
00:03:57,304 --> 00:03:59,398
The people have a saying,

71
00:03:59,439 --> 00:04:02,841
that God Almighty is himself
a mechanic,

72
00:04:02,876 --> 00:04:05,539
the greatest in the universe;

73
00:04:05,579 --> 00:04:10,449
and he is respected more
for the variety, ingenuity,

74
00:04:10,484 --> 00:04:12,715
and utility of his handiworks

75
00:04:12,753 --> 00:04:16,690
than for the antiquity
of his family.

76
00:04:18,658 --> 00:04:22,527
Narrator: "Life," he once said,
"is like chess."

77
00:04:22,562 --> 00:04:26,522
And in the turbulent years
ahead, as his country and his

78
00:04:26,566 --> 00:04:30,526
family would be challenged as
never before, Benjamin Franklin

79
00:04:30,570 --> 00:04:35,565
would need every skill
the game had taught him.

80
00:04:35,609 --> 00:04:37,009
Man as Franklin:
The game of chess

81
00:04:37,043 --> 00:04:40,445
is not merely an idle amusement.

82
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,917
By playing at chess,
we may learn, Foresight,

83
00:04:43,950 --> 00:04:47,318
Circumspection, Caution.

84
00:04:47,354 --> 00:04:49,619
The habit of not being
discouraged by present

85
00:04:49,656 --> 00:04:52,820
bad appearances in the state
of our affairs,

86
00:04:52,859 --> 00:04:56,955
the habit of hoping for
a favorable change,

87
00:04:56,997 --> 00:05:00,456
and that of persevering.

88
00:05:00,500 --> 00:05:02,560
He's different from
the other Founders,

89
00:05:02,602 --> 00:05:04,537
from a Washington,
from a Jefferson.

90
00:05:04,571 --> 00:05:08,303
He's older.
And so he brought a past,

91
00:05:08,341 --> 00:05:12,745
a past in which he created
himself as a man.

92
00:05:12,779 --> 00:05:15,442
He brought his wisdom,
his experience,

93
00:05:15,482 --> 00:05:18,452
his travel abroad to make,

94
00:05:18,485 --> 00:05:21,887
I think, a much more
cosmopolitan and urbane

95
00:05:21,922 --> 00:05:24,323
understanding of what
America could be.

96
00:05:26,693 --> 00:05:29,492
Brands: Franklin was born an
Englishman, like everybody else

97
00:05:29,529 --> 00:05:31,657
in the American Colonies
of his generation.

98
00:05:31,698 --> 00:05:33,633
He died an American.

99
00:05:33,667 --> 00:05:38,571
He is made to realize that he
will never be allowed to be

100
00:05:38,605 --> 00:05:42,372
sort of a... a fully recognized,
respected Briton.

101
00:05:42,409 --> 00:05:44,537
And, for that reason,
he decides he has to

102
00:05:44,578 --> 00:05:45,602
become an American.

103
00:06:00,727 --> 00:06:02,423
Man as William Franklin:
Dear Father,

104
00:06:02,462 --> 00:06:04,624
The Measure of Sending
Troops to Boston

105
00:06:04,664 --> 00:06:07,395
is putting a Stop to the Riots.

106
00:06:07,434 --> 00:06:10,131
The same Spirit however,
still prevails

107
00:06:10,370 --> 00:06:13,772
in the Colonies, and nothing
can make them acknowledge

108
00:06:13,807 --> 00:06:16,834
the Right of the Parliament
to tax them.

109
00:06:16,877 --> 00:06:20,109
Your dutiful son, William.

110
00:06:21,982 --> 00:06:24,008
Narrator: The repercussions of
the Boston Tea Party

111
00:06:24,050 --> 00:06:28,078
had created a tinderbox
in the American colonies.

112
00:06:28,121 --> 00:06:30,613
King George Ill ordered
a crackdown

113
00:06:30,657 --> 00:06:32,990
on the American upstarts.

114
00:06:33,026 --> 00:06:36,428
"The New England governments
are in a state of rebellion,"

115
00:06:36,463 --> 00:06:38,022
he declared.

116
00:06:38,064 --> 00:06:41,057
"Blows must decide whether
they are to be subject

117
00:06:41,101 --> 00:06:44,128
to this country
or independent."

118
00:06:44,170 --> 00:06:48,107
Parliament quickly passed
a flurry of new laws.

119
00:06:48,141 --> 00:06:52,670
Until the East India Company was
compensated for its lost tea,

120
00:06:52,712 --> 00:06:55,113
Boston Harbor was to be closed.

121
00:06:56,783 --> 00:07:00,117
Massachusetts was placed
under martial law,

122
00:07:00,153 --> 00:07:03,487
the colonial charter
was suspended,

123
00:07:03,523 --> 00:07:05,788
the elected assembly outlawed,

124
00:07:05,825 --> 00:07:09,091
and most public meetings banned.

125
00:07:09,129 --> 00:07:12,099
Communities were required
to provide quarters

126
00:07:12,132 --> 00:07:14,601
for British troops.

127
00:07:14,634 --> 00:07:19,197
Americans called the new
laws the Intolerable Acts.

128
00:07:19,439 --> 00:07:23,137
Protests sprang up
in every colony.

129
00:07:23,176 --> 00:07:26,874
Committees of correspondence
were established.

130
00:07:26,913 --> 00:07:30,907
They urged colonists "not to
purchase any goods which shall

131
00:07:30,951 --> 00:07:33,546
be imported from
Great Britain."

132
00:07:33,586 --> 00:07:36,556
Each colony was asked
to send delegates

133
00:07:36,589 --> 00:07:38,490
to a Continental Congress

134
00:07:38,525 --> 00:07:41,962
that could propose
a united response.

135
00:07:41,995 --> 00:07:45,898
In New Jersey, Governor
William Franklin wrote to his

136
00:07:45,932 --> 00:07:48,026
superiors in London.

137
00:07:49,836 --> 00:07:51,464
Man as William Franklin:
My Lord,

138
00:07:51,504 --> 00:07:54,030
His Majesty
may be assured that I shall

139
00:07:54,074 --> 00:07:58,205
omit nothing in my Power to
keep this Province quiet,

140
00:07:58,244 --> 00:08:01,737
no Attachments or Connexions
shall ever make me swerve

141
00:08:01,781 --> 00:08:03,943
from the Duty of my Station.

142
00:08:03,984 --> 00:08:06,146
Your Lordship's most obedient

143
00:08:06,186 --> 00:08:08,815
and humble Servant.

144
00:08:08,855 --> 00:08:11,791
Narrator: For more than
a decade, William Franklin

145
00:08:11,825 --> 00:08:14,659
had managed better
than other colonial governors

146
00:08:14,694 --> 00:08:17,960
to work with his assembly
and steer it toward a more

147
00:08:17,998 --> 00:08:20,092
moderate course.

148
00:08:20,133 --> 00:08:23,900
"The most despotic and worst
of all Tyrannies," he told them,

149
00:08:23,937 --> 00:08:25,906
is "the Tyranny of the Mob,

150
00:08:25,939 --> 00:08:28,773
"which must at length
involve us all

151
00:08:28,808 --> 00:08:31,209
in one common ruin."

152
00:08:31,244 --> 00:08:34,646
William wrote to his father
in London suggesting that

153
00:08:34,681 --> 00:08:39,847
the necessary first step was for
Boston to "do justice" and pay

154
00:08:39,886 --> 00:08:42,981
for the tons of tea that
had been destroyed.

155
00:08:43,023 --> 00:08:45,185
Man as Franklin: Dear Son,

156
00:08:45,225 --> 00:08:48,024
As to "doing Justice,"

157
00:08:48,061 --> 00:08:50,155
that should have been
thought of by Parliament

158
00:08:50,196 --> 00:08:53,928
before they demanded it
of the Bostonians.

159
00:08:53,967 --> 00:08:57,301
They have extorted many
Thousand Pounds from America

160
00:08:57,537 --> 00:09:01,804
unconstitutionally
and with an armed Force.

161
00:09:01,841 --> 00:09:06,677
Of this Money, they ought
to make Restitution.

162
00:09:06,713 --> 00:09:11,777
But you, who are a thorough
Courtier, see everything

163
00:09:11,818 --> 00:09:13,980
with Government Eyes.

164
00:09:16,022 --> 00:09:17,888
Narrator:
The Franklins were coming to

165
00:09:17,924 --> 00:09:21,554
different conclusions about
which side was to blame,

166
00:09:21,594 --> 00:09:25,224
but both men still hoped that
a complete split between

167
00:09:25,265 --> 00:09:29,669
Britain and her colonies
might be avoided.

168
00:09:29,702 --> 00:09:31,728
The British government
was never a monolith.

169
00:09:31,771 --> 00:09:35,037
There were always dissenters,
sympathizers with America,

170
00:09:35,075 --> 00:09:37,738
people who thought that
Americans were justified

171
00:09:37,777 --> 00:09:39,746
in their opposition.

172
00:09:39,779 --> 00:09:42,339
There were people, well-placed
within the British Government,

173
00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:44,608
who believed, with Franklin,

174
00:09:44,651 --> 00:09:47,712
that the future of the
British Empire could be great

175
00:09:47,754 --> 00:09:50,246
and could be bright if
the British government

176
00:09:50,290 --> 00:09:53,954
recognized that America could be
this second pillar

177
00:09:53,993 --> 00:09:56,929
of a transatlantic empire.

178
00:09:56,963 --> 00:09:59,194
Narrator: Working
behind the scenes,

179
00:09:59,232 --> 00:10:01,224
because his
public image in England

180
00:10:01,267 --> 00:10:03,793
was now so badly tarnished,

181
00:10:03,837 --> 00:10:06,830
Franklin and sympathetic
members of Parliament

182
00:10:06,873 --> 00:10:09,206
struggled to find
some compromise

183
00:10:09,242 --> 00:10:11,370
that could avert a war.

184
00:10:11,611 --> 00:10:14,137
But nothing came of it.

185
00:10:14,180 --> 00:10:16,672
Brown: Franklin knows exactly
what's going on.

186
00:10:16,716 --> 00:10:20,118
And what's going on
leads him to despair.

187
00:10:20,153 --> 00:10:23,715
I'm not sure there were many
who were more disappointed

188
00:10:23,756 --> 00:10:26,749
by the separation than Franklin.

189
00:10:26,793 --> 00:10:28,170
In part, because I think
he really thought it

190
00:10:28,194 --> 00:10:29,389
was avoidable.

191
00:10:30,864 --> 00:10:31,974
Man as William Franklin:
Gentlemen,

192
00:10:31,998 --> 00:10:34,024
You have now two roads...

193
00:10:34,067 --> 00:10:37,970
One evidently leading to peace,
happiness, and a restoration

194
00:10:38,004 --> 00:10:40,166
of the public tranquility...

195
00:10:40,206 --> 00:10:43,074
The other inevitably
conducting you

196
00:10:43,109 --> 00:10:46,841
to anarchy, misery,
and all the horrors

197
00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,679
of a civil war.

198
00:10:52,152 --> 00:10:54,849
Narrator: In New Jersey,
William had refused to

199
00:10:54,888 --> 00:10:58,222
convene the colonial assembly
in order to prevent them from

200
00:10:58,258 --> 00:11:01,956
sending delegates to
the Continental Congress.

201
00:11:01,995 --> 00:11:05,727
They chose representatives
anyway.

202
00:11:05,765 --> 00:11:08,428
When the Congress met
in Philadelphia

203
00:11:08,668 --> 00:11:12,400
in the fall of 1774,
it had asserted that only

204
00:11:12,438 --> 00:11:16,842
elected colonial legislatures
had the right of taxation

205
00:11:16,876 --> 00:11:18,435
within their borders.

206
00:11:18,678 --> 00:11:21,170
It banned all imports
from Britain

207
00:11:21,214 --> 00:11:24,378
until the Intolerable
Acts were repealed

208
00:11:24,417 --> 00:11:27,979
and set a deadline
for Parliament to do it.

209
00:11:28,021 --> 00:11:32,288
Otherwise, American exports
to England would cease

210
00:11:32,325 --> 00:11:37,195
and a Second Continental
Congress would convene in 1775

211
00:11:37,230 --> 00:11:40,257
to consider further steps.

212
00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:44,328
If only his father had been
there, William wrote, he might

213
00:11:44,370 --> 00:11:47,033
have been able to steer the
Congress toward something

214
00:11:47,073 --> 00:11:49,167
less confrontational.

215
00:11:50,977 --> 00:11:53,155
Man as William Franklin: However
mad you may think the Measures

216
00:11:53,179 --> 00:11:56,479
of the Ministry are, yet I
trust you have Candor enough

217
00:11:56,716 --> 00:12:00,346
to acknowledge that we are no
ways behind hand with them

218
00:12:00,386 --> 00:12:04,323
in Instances of Madness
on this Side of the Water.

219
00:12:07,026 --> 00:12:09,188
Narrator:
Benjamin Franklin now believed

220
00:12:09,229 --> 00:12:13,360
any chances of averting war
were unlikely; but he was

221
00:12:13,399 --> 00:12:16,767
growing more and more worried
that he and William

222
00:12:16,803 --> 00:12:20,137
were ending up
on opposing sides.

223
00:12:20,173 --> 00:12:23,075
He was ready to head for home.

224
00:12:23,109 --> 00:12:26,273
If he couldn't keep the
colonies and England together,

225
00:12:26,312 --> 00:12:30,408
at least he might be
able to keep his son.

226
00:12:32,151 --> 00:12:36,919
On March 21, 1775,
Franklin finally set sail

227
00:12:36,956 --> 00:12:38,891
for Philadelphia.

228
00:12:38,925 --> 00:12:43,226
With him was William's own son,
Temple, who had been born

229
00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:46,927
out of wedlock 15 years
earlier in England

230
00:12:46,966 --> 00:12:51,062
and discreetly given over
to a foster family.

231
00:12:51,104 --> 00:12:54,370
In London, Benjamin had
decided to take custody

232
00:12:54,407 --> 00:12:57,275
of the boy and enrolled him
in school

233
00:12:57,310 --> 00:13:00,872
but did not tell him
he was his grandfather.

234
00:13:00,913 --> 00:13:05,078
Now, he was bringing Temple to
America, where he would meet

235
00:13:05,118 --> 00:13:08,145
the father he had never known.

236
00:13:08,187 --> 00:13:12,488
Isaacson: When Benjamin Franklin
sails home in 1775,

237
00:13:12,525 --> 00:13:14,960
he's estranged from William.

238
00:13:14,994 --> 00:13:16,963
His wife Deborah has died.

239
00:13:16,996 --> 00:13:20,524
He feels this enormous
sense of failure.

240
00:13:20,566 --> 00:13:24,469
His whole mission had been
to try to hold the Colonies

241
00:13:24,504 --> 00:13:26,200
and Britain together.

242
00:13:26,239 --> 00:13:27,935
And that has failed.

243
00:13:31,477 --> 00:13:33,036
Narrator: But being at sea

244
00:13:33,079 --> 00:13:35,878
always revived
Franklin's spirits

245
00:13:35,915 --> 00:13:39,511
and ignited his
scientific curiosity.

246
00:13:39,552 --> 00:13:42,579
Isaacson: He still wants to
chart the Gulf Stream.

247
00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:47,385
He still is curious
about natural phenomenon.

248
00:13:47,427 --> 00:13:50,295
And, so, there's
Temple Franklin helping

249
00:13:50,330 --> 00:13:55,030
his grandfather Benjamin as they
lower barrels into the ocean

250
00:13:55,068 --> 00:13:57,037
to take the temperature
of the water,

251
00:13:57,070 --> 00:14:00,006
to see where
the Gulf Stream could be,

252
00:14:00,039 --> 00:14:02,406
and he's almost replicating
those moments

253
00:14:02,442 --> 00:14:05,378
with William Franklin,
where Ben Franklin and William

254
00:14:05,411 --> 00:14:09,348
flew the kite in the rain
to discover electricity.

255
00:14:09,382 --> 00:14:12,113
Narrator: When he and Temple
arrived in Philadelphia

256
00:14:12,151 --> 00:14:17,385
on May 5, 1775, Franklin
learned startling news.

257
00:14:17,423 --> 00:14:21,861
While he was at sea, the war he
had once hoped to prevent

258
00:14:21,894 --> 00:14:24,887
had already
started in Massachusetts.

259
00:14:27,066 --> 00:14:32,300
On April 19th, 700 British
troops had marched from Boston

260
00:14:32,338 --> 00:14:35,240
to capture munitions
stockpiled in Concord.

261
00:14:35,274 --> 00:14:38,301
A skirmish on the Lexington
town green

262
00:14:38,344 --> 00:14:40,210
left 8 Americans dead...

263
00:14:40,246 --> 00:14:43,273
but a larger fight broke out

264
00:14:43,316 --> 00:14:46,616
at Concord's North Bridge
that sent British redcoats

265
00:14:46,652 --> 00:14:50,419
retreating back toward Boston.

266
00:14:50,456 --> 00:14:56,396
Dunbar: The Revolutionary energy
in Philadelphia was palpable.

267
00:14:56,429 --> 00:15:00,491
Regular people were talking
About "revolution,"

268
00:15:00,533 --> 00:15:04,903
were talking about "power," were
talking about "human rights,"

269
00:15:04,937 --> 00:15:08,669
were talking about
"freedom" and "democracy."

270
00:15:08,908 --> 00:15:12,970
These were the things that
Franklin came home to.

271
00:15:15,047 --> 00:15:17,607
Narrator: A week after
Franklin got back home,

272
00:15:17,650 --> 00:15:21,018
delegates to the Second
Continental Congress were

273
00:15:21,053 --> 00:15:24,581
gathering in Philadelphia,
and the Pennsylvania Assembly

274
00:15:24,624 --> 00:15:29,085
elected him as one of
their representatives.

275
00:15:29,128 --> 00:15:31,306
Man as William Bradford: I can
inform you that some delegates

276
00:15:31,330 --> 00:15:34,698
begin to entertain a great
suspicion that Dr. Franklin

277
00:15:34,934 --> 00:15:38,564
came rather as a spy than as
a friend, and that he means to

278
00:15:38,604 --> 00:15:41,164
discover our weak side.

279
00:15:41,207 --> 00:15:43,642
William Bradford.

280
00:15:43,676 --> 00:15:47,636
Narrator: In the early meetings,
Franklin remained quiet,

281
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,310
so quiet, John Adams
of Massachusetts complained

282
00:15:51,350 --> 00:15:54,479
that he seemed to spend
"a great part of the time

283
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,513
fast asleep in his chair."

284
00:15:57,557 --> 00:16:00,959
In the evenings, while other
delegates congregated

285
00:16:00,993 --> 00:16:03,622
in taverns and debated whether
the Congress

286
00:16:03,663 --> 00:16:06,030
should declare independence,

287
00:16:06,065 --> 00:16:08,625
he preferred
to stay at his new house,

288
00:16:08,668 --> 00:16:12,105
with his daughter
Sally and her family.

289
00:16:12,138 --> 00:16:15,666
By this time, Franklin had
confessed to Temple

290
00:16:15,708 --> 00:16:18,610
that he was the boy's
grandfather.

291
00:16:20,213 --> 00:16:24,082
When Governor William Franklin
visited from New Jersey,

292
00:16:24,116 --> 00:16:28,713
Temple met his
father for the first time.

293
00:16:28,754 --> 00:16:32,589
And later, when Benjamin
and William met privately,

294
00:16:32,625 --> 00:16:37,359
Benjamin made it clear he wanted
his son to join the cause.

295
00:16:37,396 --> 00:16:41,527
William wanted his father
to stay neutral.
He still thought

296
00:16:41,567 --> 00:16:46,267
a reconciliation with
England might be possible.

297
00:16:46,305 --> 00:16:48,399
They argued all night.

298
00:16:48,441 --> 00:16:53,209
At another meeting, neighbors
could hear them shouting.

299
00:16:53,246 --> 00:16:56,774
Father and son went
their separate ways.

300
00:16:57,016 --> 00:16:59,747
William would remain a Loyalist.

301
00:16:59,785 --> 00:17:03,620
Benjamin had become
a fervent revolutionary...

302
00:17:03,656 --> 00:17:07,093
What was called a Patriot.

303
00:17:07,126 --> 00:17:08,560
Wood: Of the major leaders,

304
00:17:08,594 --> 00:17:11,029
he came to the Revolution
very late.

305
00:17:11,063 --> 00:17:13,123
In fact, it's hard to
understand why he even joined

306
00:17:13,165 --> 00:17:14,656
the Revolution, uh...

307
00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:18,137
He was already successful.
He was an old man.

308
00:17:18,170 --> 00:17:20,537
Brands: Revolution is
a young man's game,

309
00:17:20,573 --> 00:17:24,169
but Franklin decided this
is what needs to be done.

310
00:17:25,745 --> 00:17:29,204
Narrator: At age 69, he was
the oldest delegate.

311
00:17:29,248 --> 00:17:33,618
Many of the 62 other delegates
had not even been born when he

312
00:17:33,653 --> 00:17:36,714
first entered political life
40 years earlier

313
00:17:36,756 --> 00:17:40,523
and knew Franklin only by
his reputation.

314
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:43,325
John Adams was 39;

315
00:17:43,362 --> 00:17:47,094
Patrick Henry
and John Hancock, 38;

316
00:17:47,133 --> 00:17:50,763
Virginia's Thomas Jefferson
was only 32...

317
00:17:50,803 --> 00:17:55,104
All younger than Franklin's
son William.

318
00:17:55,141 --> 00:17:58,305
Isaacson: He's the "old" one.
He's the sage one.

319
00:17:58,344 --> 00:18:02,714
And he talks in
parables and metaphors.

320
00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:05,684
And a lot of people don't quite
know what to make of him.

321
00:18:05,718 --> 00:18:08,620
Here's Franklin, coming with
a worldwide reputation,

322
00:18:08,654 --> 00:18:12,147
certainly the most famous
American in the world,

323
00:18:12,191 --> 00:18:15,286
and yet, they're not
fully trusting him.

324
00:18:15,328 --> 00:18:19,424
Who is this guy?
We don't really know him.

325
00:18:19,465 --> 00:18:22,128
Narrator: Franklin had
traveled more extensively than

326
00:18:22,168 --> 00:18:26,105
any of the others... throughout
Europe, but also through most

327
00:18:26,138 --> 00:18:29,165
of the colonies that were
only now beginning to think

328
00:18:29,208 --> 00:18:31,871
of themselves as something
more than individual

329
00:18:32,111 --> 00:18:34,103
English provinces.

330
00:18:34,146 --> 00:18:39,244
It was an idea he had proposed
more than 2 decades before.

331
00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:43,521
The delegates unanimously
elected him

332
00:18:43,556 --> 00:18:45,548
as postmaster general,

333
00:18:45,591 --> 00:18:49,585
and he donated his salary
to help wounded soldiers.

334
00:18:49,629 --> 00:18:53,794
They assigned him to important
committees, creating a system

335
00:18:53,833 --> 00:18:56,735
for paper currency,
raising money for weapons

336
00:18:56,769 --> 00:18:59,238
and manufacturing gunpowder,

337
00:18:59,271 --> 00:19:02,639
and negotiating with Indian
nations in the hope

338
00:19:02,675 --> 00:19:06,544
they would not side
with the British.

339
00:19:06,579 --> 00:19:09,674
Following the battles of
Lexington and Concord,

340
00:19:09,715 --> 00:19:12,810
Franklin heard
from his favorite sister Jane,

341
00:19:12,852 --> 00:19:17,756
who witnessed the chaos in
Boston, the town of his birth.

342
00:19:17,790 --> 00:19:20,225
"The distress it has occasioned

343
00:19:20,259 --> 00:19:22,660
is past my description,"
she wrote.

344
00:19:22,695 --> 00:19:26,462
"The commotion the town was in
after the battle, bringing in

345
00:19:26,499 --> 00:19:30,493
"their wounded men, caused
such an agitation of mind,

346
00:19:30,536 --> 00:19:33,563
I believe none
had much sleep."

347
00:19:33,606 --> 00:19:36,508
Colonial militia had
surrounded the city

348
00:19:36,542 --> 00:19:39,376
and the occupying
British forces there.

349
00:19:39,412 --> 00:19:44,715
12,000 of Boston's 15,000
residents, including Jane,

350
00:19:44,750 --> 00:19:47,310
evacuated in panic.

351
00:19:47,353 --> 00:19:51,484
British soldiers then
ransacked the nearly empty town.

352
00:19:51,524 --> 00:19:53,686
They would use
the pews and pulpit

353
00:19:53,726 --> 00:19:57,254
from the Old South
Meeting House as firewood.

354
00:19:58,864 --> 00:20:02,596
On June 17th, in the Battle
of Bunker Hill,

355
00:20:02,635 --> 00:20:06,902
British forces attacked the
militiamen in nearby Charlestown

356
00:20:06,939 --> 00:20:08,874
and were repulsed twice,

357
00:20:08,908 --> 00:20:12,504
until the defenders'
ammunition ran out.

358
00:20:12,545 --> 00:20:15,276
At the end of the day,
the British had taken

359
00:20:15,314 --> 00:20:19,513
the heights, but suffered
more than 1,000 casualties

360
00:20:19,552 --> 00:20:22,545
to fewer than
half that by the Patriots.

361
00:20:22,588 --> 00:20:25,922
Much of Charlestown had been
burned by the British

362
00:20:25,958 --> 00:20:29,292
to rid it of American snipers.

363
00:20:29,328 --> 00:20:34,596
Jane's son, Josiah, fought
for the Patriots and died.

364
00:20:34,633 --> 00:20:38,365
One of her in-laws died
fighting for the British.

365
00:20:38,404 --> 00:20:41,272
"O how horrible is our
situation," she wrote

366
00:20:41,307 --> 00:20:44,800
to Benjamin, "that relations
seek the destruction

367
00:20:44,844 --> 00:20:46,244
of each other."

368
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,647
Enraged by what the British
had done, Franklin sent

369
00:20:51,684 --> 00:20:53,653
a letter to a friend in England,

370
00:20:53,686 --> 00:20:57,953
intended for publication there.

371
00:20:57,990 --> 00:20:59,982
Man as Franklin:
Britain, at the expense

372
00:21:00,025 --> 00:21:03,018
of three millions,
has killed 150 Americans

373
00:21:03,262 --> 00:21:08,428
this campaign, which is
20,000 pounds a head;

374
00:21:08,467 --> 00:21:13,303
and at Bunker's Hill she
gained a mile of ground.

375
00:21:13,339 --> 00:21:16,275
During the same time
60,000 children have been

376
00:21:16,308 --> 00:21:17,799
born in America.

377
00:21:17,843 --> 00:21:20,711
From these data,
calculate the time and expense

378
00:21:20,746 --> 00:21:22,772
necessary to kill us all,

379
00:21:22,815 --> 00:21:25,649
and conquer our whole territory.

380
00:21:27,286 --> 00:21:29,551
Narrator: And he had written
a second letter

381
00:21:29,588 --> 00:21:32,490
to another English friend,
which he shared

382
00:21:32,525 --> 00:21:36,826
with colleagues in America
but never sent.

383
00:21:36,862 --> 00:21:39,730
Man as Franklin: You
have begun to burn our towns,

384
00:21:39,765 --> 00:21:42,030
and murder our people.

385
00:21:42,067 --> 00:21:44,002
Look upon your hands!

386
00:21:44,036 --> 00:21:47,939
They are stained with the
blood of your relations!

387
00:21:47,973 --> 00:21:53,344
You and I were long friends:
You are now my enemy,

388
00:21:53,379 --> 00:21:54,904
and I am Yours.

389
00:21:56,382 --> 00:21:58,293
Man as Bradford: The
suspicions against Dr. Franklin

390
00:21:58,317 --> 00:22:00,013
have died away.

391
00:22:00,052 --> 00:22:03,580
Whatever was his design at
coming over here, I believe he

392
00:22:03,622 --> 00:22:08,083
has now chosen his side
and favors our cause.

393
00:22:08,327 --> 00:22:09,852
Man as John Adams:
Dr. Franklin

394
00:22:09,895 --> 00:22:13,889
has discovered a disposition
entirely American.

395
00:22:13,933 --> 00:22:17,335
He is a great and good man.

396
00:22:17,369 --> 00:22:19,395
John Adams.

397
00:22:24,043 --> 00:22:26,979
Narrator: In October 1775,

398
00:22:27,012 --> 00:22:29,948
Franklin traveled to
Massachusetts to confer

399
00:22:29,982 --> 00:22:33,043
with General George
Washington, who desperately

400
00:22:33,085 --> 00:22:37,045
needed more money from
Congress to fight the British.

401
00:22:37,089 --> 00:22:40,787
He was trying to cobble
together a Continental Army

402
00:22:40,826 --> 00:22:44,922
that would eventually include
fishermen, frontiersmen

403
00:22:44,964 --> 00:22:48,901
and farm laborers; recent
immigrants, vagrants

404
00:22:48,934 --> 00:22:52,701
and teen-aged boys
with few prospects;

405
00:22:52,738 --> 00:22:56,766
Native Americans,
free African Americans

406
00:22:56,809 --> 00:23:02,009
and enslaved men, hoping to be
freed when the war ended.

407
00:23:02,047 --> 00:23:05,142
Franklin promised
Washington he would do what he

408
00:23:05,384 --> 00:23:07,944
could to help.

409
00:23:07,987 --> 00:23:11,924
On his way back, Franklin
reunited with his sister Jane

410
00:23:11,957 --> 00:23:13,585
in Rhode Island.

411
00:23:13,626 --> 00:23:17,620
She was still a refugee from
occupied Boston.

412
00:23:17,663 --> 00:23:21,623
He persuaded her to come with
him to Philadelphia, and they

413
00:23:21,667 --> 00:23:25,160
stopped briefly in New Jersey,
so she could see her nephew

414
00:23:25,404 --> 00:23:28,533
William at the
governor's mansion.

415
00:23:28,574 --> 00:23:33,103
Franklin hoped her description
of the carnage in Boston might

416
00:23:33,145 --> 00:23:38,083
prompt his son to reconsider
his loyalty to the Crown.

417
00:23:38,117 --> 00:23:40,484
She was unsuccessful.

418
00:23:40,519 --> 00:23:44,422
William would be the last royal
governor trying to carry on

419
00:23:44,456 --> 00:23:47,654
the king's affairs in America.

420
00:23:47,693 --> 00:23:50,527
People always ask, why
were people Loyalists.

421
00:23:50,562 --> 00:23:52,053
And I think the
question to ask is,

422
00:23:52,097 --> 00:23:54,066
"Why were people Patriots?"

423
00:23:54,099 --> 00:23:56,591
Uh, to be loyal
is not to change.

424
00:23:56,635 --> 00:23:59,104
It's simply to go on believing
what you've always believed

425
00:23:59,138 --> 00:24:01,039
your entire life.

426
00:24:01,073 --> 00:24:03,804
His father taught him
to be principled.

427
00:24:03,842 --> 00:24:06,004
He was doing exactly what
his father had always

428
00:24:06,045 --> 00:24:08,037
taught him to do.

429
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:10,572
Man as William Franklin: For
King and Country was the Motto

430
00:24:10,616 --> 00:24:14,075
I assumed when I first commenced
my Political Life,

431
00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,748
and I am resolved to
retain it till Death

432
00:24:16,789 --> 00:24:21,159
shall put an end
to my mortal Existence.

433
00:24:21,193 --> 00:24:23,219
Narrator: William
Franklin had assured his

434
00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:27,797
superiors in London he did
not intend to leave his post.

435
00:24:27,833 --> 00:24:31,201
He had advised his wife
Elizabeth to seek refuge

436
00:24:31,236 --> 00:24:35,173
with relatives in Barbados,
but she insisted on staying

437
00:24:35,207 --> 00:24:38,143
with him in New Jersey.

438
00:24:38,177 --> 00:24:41,739
Benjamin Franklin would
not see his son again

439
00:24:41,780 --> 00:24:43,578
for 10 years.

440
00:24:53,859 --> 00:24:55,657
Man: March!

441
00:24:55,694 --> 00:24:58,493
Narrator: One day in
Philadelphia, Franklin noticed

442
00:24:58,530 --> 00:25:02,194
a drummer who had painted
a rattlesnake on his drum

443
00:25:02,234 --> 00:25:06,638
along with the words
"Don't Tread on Me."

444
00:25:06,672 --> 00:25:08,163
Man as Franklin:
It occurred to me

445
00:25:08,207 --> 00:25:10,108
that the Rattle-Snake is found

446
00:25:10,142 --> 00:25:14,102
in no other quarter of the
world besides America, and may

447
00:25:14,146 --> 00:25:18,208
therefore be chosen, on that
account, to represent her.

448
00:25:18,250 --> 00:25:22,688
She never begins an attack,
nor, when once engaged,

449
00:25:22,721 --> 00:25:24,815
ever surrenders:

450
00:25:24,857 --> 00:25:27,986
I confess
I was wholly at a loss what to

451
00:25:28,027 --> 00:25:31,964
make of the rattles, 'till I
went back and counted them

452
00:25:31,997 --> 00:25:35,627
and found them just thirteen,
exactly the number

453
00:25:35,667 --> 00:25:38,967
of the Colonies united
in America;

454
00:25:39,004 --> 00:25:41,269
One of those rattles singly,

455
00:25:41,306 --> 00:25:44,174
is incapable of producing sound,

456
00:25:44,209 --> 00:25:48,704
but the ringing of thirteen
together, is sufficient to

457
00:25:48,747 --> 00:25:50,943
alarm the boldest man living.

458
00:25:52,751 --> 00:25:54,913
Narrator: A delegate
from South Carolina

459
00:25:54,953 --> 00:25:58,082
created a bright yellow flag,
which was flown from the

460
00:25:58,123 --> 00:26:02,618
flagship of America's first
deployment of Marines.

461
00:26:05,564 --> 00:26:10,593
In March of 1776, Franklin
was on his way overland to

462
00:26:10,636 --> 00:26:14,334
Montreal, to try to convince
the Canadians to join

463
00:26:14,573 --> 00:26:16,701
the colonial cause.

464
00:26:16,742 --> 00:26:19,678
Learning of the mission,
William Franklin wrote

465
00:26:19,711 --> 00:26:22,271
immediately to London,
betraying his

466
00:26:22,314 --> 00:26:24,249
father's movements.

467
00:26:24,283 --> 00:26:27,219
It was an arduous 9-week trip.

468
00:26:27,252 --> 00:26:30,017
Benjamin Franklin's efforts
failed.

469
00:26:30,055 --> 00:26:32,354
Canada would remain loyal.

470
00:26:32,591 --> 00:26:36,084
And when he returned to
Philadelphia, he was so sick

471
00:26:36,128 --> 00:26:40,122
he was unable to attend
the proceedings in Congress.

472
00:26:40,165 --> 00:26:44,125
All he had to show for his
troubles was a soft cap

473
00:26:44,169 --> 00:26:48,163
of marten fur that had
kept his head warm.

474
00:26:51,343 --> 00:26:56,111
In June of 1776,
William was arrested

475
00:26:56,148 --> 00:26:59,949
at the governor's mansion
by Patriot soldiers.

476
00:26:59,985 --> 00:27:02,614
His secret reports
about proceedings

477
00:27:02,654 --> 00:27:06,056
in the Continental Congress
had been intercepted.

478
00:27:06,091 --> 00:27:09,061
He was declared
an "enemy to this country."

479
00:27:09,094 --> 00:27:13,964
Congress voted unanimously that
he be transported under guard

480
00:27:13,999 --> 00:27:16,161
out of New Jersey
to Connecticut.

481
00:27:18,137 --> 00:27:22,302
His father, still housebound
after his trip to Canada,

482
00:27:22,341 --> 00:27:26,938
was spared having to cast
a vote against his son.

483
00:27:33,418 --> 00:27:38,982
On June 21, 1776, a packet
arrived at Franklin's

484
00:27:39,024 --> 00:27:41,016
Market Street home.

485
00:27:41,059 --> 00:27:46,054
It was from Thomas Jefferson,
who with Franklin, John Adams,

486
00:27:46,098 --> 00:27:49,398
and two other delegates,
had been assigned to draft

487
00:27:49,434 --> 00:27:53,269
a declaration of independence.

488
00:27:53,305 --> 00:27:57,106
Working in a rented second-
floor room of a house a few

489
00:27:57,142 --> 00:28:00,738
blocks from Franklin's
and attended by his enslaved

490
00:28:00,779 --> 00:28:02,748
servant Robert Hemings,

491
00:28:02,781 --> 00:28:06,946
Jefferson completed
a first draft.

492
00:28:06,985 --> 00:28:10,854
He asked Franklin to "suggest
such alterations as your

493
00:28:10,889 --> 00:28:14,951
more enlarged view of
the subject will dictate."

494
00:28:14,993 --> 00:28:18,725
The old editor and writer
recognized the elegance

495
00:28:18,764 --> 00:28:22,132
of Jefferson's prose and made
only a few changes

496
00:28:22,167 --> 00:28:24,864
before returning it.

497
00:28:24,903 --> 00:28:27,805
Jenkinson: Franklin sits back
and ponders it a little

498
00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:29,330
and he makes a few

499
00:28:29,374 --> 00:28:32,833
really extraordinary
suggestions to Jefferson.

500
00:28:32,878 --> 00:28:35,871
And one of them is world class.

501
00:28:35,914 --> 00:28:39,351
Jefferson had written,
"We hold these truths to be

502
00:28:39,384 --> 00:28:42,354
sacred and undeniable."

503
00:28:42,387 --> 00:28:44,913
And Franklin said, "No, no.

504
00:28:44,957 --> 00:28:47,791
'We hold these truths to be
self-evident.'"

505
00:28:47,826 --> 00:28:53,060
Just as 2 plus 2 is 4 and
the sun rises in the morning,

506
00:28:53,098 --> 00:28:58,833
it is self-evident that we have
a right to revolution.

507
00:28:58,870 --> 00:29:01,840
Franklin is saying, "We're
trying to create a new type

508
00:29:01,873 --> 00:29:05,173
"of nation in which our
rights come from rationality

509
00:29:05,210 --> 00:29:09,045
"and the consent of the
governed, not the dictates or

510
00:29:09,081 --> 00:29:11,482
dogma of a religion."

511
00:29:11,516 --> 00:29:16,045
Brown: They were doing something
very radical and very scary.

512
00:29:16,088 --> 00:29:18,387
To say something is "self
evident," to say that it's

513
00:29:18,423 --> 00:29:23,452
common sense, is to say that
there is no other way to think

514
00:29:23,495 --> 00:29:28,763
about this, that only an
irrational person, who's not

515
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:34,068
using their mind correctly
could contend with this thing,

516
00:29:34,106 --> 00:29:36,541
which is, in fact,
really contentious.

517
00:29:36,775 --> 00:29:39,836
It's a classic
lawyer's trick to say,

518
00:29:39,878 --> 00:29:42,143
"We all agree to this thing."

519
00:29:42,180 --> 00:29:46,948
Who is "we?"
The "we" is presumptuous.

520
00:29:46,985 --> 00:29:50,422
Bailyn: They were not talking
about liberating women in any

521
00:29:50,455 --> 00:29:54,256
particular way
or certainly not slaves.

522
00:29:54,293 --> 00:29:59,357
But in incremental ways, it
grew and grew because if you

523
00:29:59,398 --> 00:30:04,166
talk about liberty for the
individual, of you and me, uh,

524
00:30:04,202 --> 00:30:07,331
you're talking about a greater
liberty that can be applied

525
00:30:07,372 --> 00:30:09,841
to other people.

526
00:30:09,875 --> 00:30:13,004
Narrator: On July 2,
the Continental Congress

527
00:30:13,045 --> 00:30:16,072
unanimously approved
the central clause

528
00:30:16,114 --> 00:30:18,242
of the declaration, proclaiming

529
00:30:18,283 --> 00:30:21,515
American independence.

530
00:30:21,553 --> 00:30:28,426
Two days later, July 4, 1776,
12 of the 13 former

531
00:30:28,460 --> 00:30:32,556
colonies approved
the entire declaration.

532
00:30:32,597 --> 00:30:37,399
New York would take a few
more days to make up its mind.

533
00:30:37,436 --> 00:30:38,904
Man as Franklin:
And for the support

534
00:30:38,937 --> 00:30:40,838
of this declaration,

535
00:30:40,872 --> 00:30:45,310
we mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes,

536
00:30:45,344 --> 00:30:47,438
and our sacred honor.

537
00:30:48,947 --> 00:30:51,007
Narrator: On the same day
Benjamin Franklin

538
00:30:51,049 --> 00:30:54,952
was voting to approve the
Declaration, his son William

539
00:30:54,986 --> 00:30:58,218
arrived in Connecticut,
where he was told he was now

540
00:30:58,256 --> 00:31:00,987
officially a prisoner of
the brand-new

541
00:31:01,026 --> 00:31:03,461
United States of America.

542
00:31:13,472 --> 00:31:15,941
Brands: At this point,
what are the odds?

543
00:31:15,974 --> 00:31:19,433
If you were making a book on
this, who would you bet on?

544
00:31:19,478 --> 00:31:22,971
There was the greatest
military power in Europe,

545
00:31:23,014 --> 00:31:25,293
arguably the greatest military
power in the world, and then

546
00:31:25,317 --> 00:31:27,252
there are these 13 Colonies.

547
00:31:27,285 --> 00:31:30,483
So, it was a longshot,
to put it mildly.

548
00:31:30,522 --> 00:31:32,889
Brown: And then there are
significant numbers

549
00:31:32,924 --> 00:31:35,325
of enslaved men and women who
were eying the situation,

550
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,194
trying to figure out, is there
some way that this conflict

551
00:31:38,230 --> 00:31:40,961
could serve my
interests personally,

552
00:31:40,999 --> 00:31:44,299
serve people like me
collectively.

553
00:31:44,336 --> 00:31:47,033
And then you have, both within
the Colonies, at the borders

554
00:31:47,072 --> 00:31:50,042
of the Colonies, Native
nations who are trying to

555
00:31:50,075 --> 00:31:55,412
understand what this emerging
divide might mean for control

556
00:31:55,447 --> 00:31:58,281
of their land
or access to trade.

557
00:31:58,316 --> 00:32:00,251
We know how it turned out.

558
00:32:00,285 --> 00:32:02,982
But nobody in 1775 or 1776
has any idea how this is

559
00:32:03,021 --> 00:32:04,614
going to turn out.

560
00:32:04,656 --> 00:32:07,922
And, so, choosing sides
also means choosing fates.

561
00:32:09,528 --> 00:32:11,258
Wood: The Revolution,
as it emerges

562
00:32:11,296 --> 00:32:14,323
and becomes a war,
is a civil war.

563
00:32:14,366 --> 00:32:16,392
Families are divided, uh,

564
00:32:16,435 --> 00:32:19,337
friends are divided,
neighborhoods are divided.

565
00:32:19,371 --> 00:32:22,307
Schiff: Almost everyone involved
in the Revolution has family

566
00:32:22,340 --> 00:32:24,275
members who are on
the other side,

567
00:32:24,309 --> 00:32:26,710
often, very vitriolically
on the other side.

568
00:32:26,945 --> 00:32:30,382
So, this really does
tear families apart.

569
00:32:30,415 --> 00:32:34,352
In Franklin's case, um,
it comes as a complete break

570
00:32:34,386 --> 00:32:36,252
with his son.

571
00:32:36,288 --> 00:32:39,349
Narrator: By now, hundreds
of British ships had arrived

572
00:32:39,391 --> 00:32:43,260
in New York Harbor with
35,000 British soldiers

573
00:32:43,295 --> 00:32:47,062
and sailors and Hessian
mercenaries, the greatest

574
00:32:47,098 --> 00:32:49,260
and best-equipped
expeditionary force

575
00:32:49,301 --> 00:32:51,600
of the 18th century.

576
00:32:51,636 --> 00:32:55,403
Washington's army would be
overmatched and easily routed

577
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:57,341
from Long Island.

578
00:32:57,375 --> 00:33:01,369
British Admiral Lord Richard
Howe sent Franklin a letter

579
00:33:01,413 --> 00:33:05,407
offering a truce, with pardons
for the rebels, and rewards

580
00:33:05,450 --> 00:33:09,012
for any Americans who
helped restore peace.

581
00:33:09,054 --> 00:33:12,252
Franklin and a small
delegation met with Howe

582
00:33:12,290 --> 00:33:16,022
on Staten Island
on September 11.

583
00:33:16,061 --> 00:33:19,327
Howe now suggested that the
colonies might also have

584
00:33:19,364 --> 00:33:22,994
control of their own
legislatures and taxes,

585
00:33:23,034 --> 00:33:26,095
yet still be part of the empire.

586
00:33:26,137 --> 00:33:28,470
The Americans said
it was too late.

587
00:33:28,507 --> 00:33:31,477
He should ask the king for
permission to negotiate

588
00:33:31,510 --> 00:33:34,002
with an independent nation.

589
00:33:34,045 --> 00:33:36,708
Howe urged them to reconsider.

590
00:33:36,748 --> 00:33:40,549
"When an American falls,
England feels it," he said.

591
00:33:40,585 --> 00:33:44,352
And if America were to fall,
he added, "I should feel

592
00:33:44,389 --> 00:33:47,382
and lament it like
the loss of a brother."

593
00:33:47,425 --> 00:33:51,123
"We will do our utmost,"
Franklin responded, "to save

594
00:33:51,162 --> 00:33:54,690
your Lordship
that mortification."

595
00:33:54,733 --> 00:33:58,500
"They met, they talked,
they parted," Howe's secretary

596
00:33:58,537 --> 00:34:00,438
wrote of the 3-hour meeting.

597
00:34:00,472 --> 00:34:04,341
"And now, nothing remains
but to fight it out."

598
00:34:06,111 --> 00:34:09,343
Two weeks after the meeting
with Lord Howe, Congress

599
00:34:09,381 --> 00:34:13,819
secretly chose Franklin to be
one of 3 envoys to France

600
00:34:14,052 --> 00:34:18,547
to seek King Louis XVI's help
in the fight with England.

601
00:34:18,590 --> 00:34:20,252
He is the perfect choice.

602
00:34:20,292 --> 00:34:22,488
First of all, there's no other
person who knows

603
00:34:22,527 --> 00:34:25,554
the, uh, the European world
as Franklin does.

604
00:34:25,597 --> 00:34:28,726
And he is the most
celebrated American in Europe.

605
00:34:28,767 --> 00:34:31,327
And he's a natural for the job.

606
00:34:31,369 --> 00:34:35,363
Narrator: On October 27,
he was on board the "Reprisal,"

607
00:34:35,407 --> 00:34:39,344
a swift but cramped
American 2-masted brig.

608
00:34:39,377 --> 00:34:44,111
With him were two grandsons...
16-year-old Temple

609
00:34:44,149 --> 00:34:47,586
and Sally's 7-year-old
son Benny.

610
00:34:47,619 --> 00:34:50,248
14 years earlier,
when France and Britain

611
00:34:50,288 --> 00:34:53,281
were at war, Franklin had
sailed from England

612
00:34:53,325 --> 00:34:56,261
under the protection
of the Royal Navy.

613
00:34:56,294 --> 00:35:01,130
Now it was imperative he avoid
British ships at all costs.

614
00:35:04,836 --> 00:35:07,806
The rough voyage
across the wintry Atlantic

615
00:35:07,839 --> 00:35:10,172
"almost demolished me,"
he wrote.

616
00:35:10,208 --> 00:35:14,304
The diet on board of salted
beef had ruined his digestion

617
00:35:14,346 --> 00:35:18,545
and caused boils, scabs,
and rashes all over his body,

618
00:35:18,583 --> 00:35:20,643
including his scalp.

619
00:35:20,685 --> 00:35:25,180
They reached the west coast
of France in early December.

620
00:35:25,223 --> 00:35:29,490
A fisherman agreed to row him
and his two grandsons to shore

621
00:35:29,527 --> 00:35:35,228
at the hamlet of Auray in
Brittany, 300 miles from Paris.

622
00:35:35,266 --> 00:35:39,465
Franklin had intended to keep
a low profile, but news of his

623
00:35:39,504 --> 00:35:42,531
arrival spread quickly
and reached the capital

624
00:35:42,574 --> 00:35:44,702
long before he did.

625
00:35:44,743 --> 00:35:49,204
The real purpose of his visit,
securing a formal alliance

626
00:35:49,247 --> 00:35:52,513
with France, remained secret.

627
00:35:52,550 --> 00:35:58,251
But everywhere he went,
he was a sensation.

628
00:35:58,289 --> 00:36:02,920
In 1776,
people in France had never

629
00:36:03,161 --> 00:36:07,394
heard of any American
except for Benjamin Franklin.

630
00:36:07,432 --> 00:36:09,333
Schiff: From the French
point of view,

631
00:36:09,367 --> 00:36:11,802
they have sent the
greatest celebrity on Earth,

632
00:36:11,836 --> 00:36:14,203
this side of Voltaire, to Paris.

633
00:36:14,239 --> 00:36:17,676
He is like Newton or
Galileo reincarnated.

634
00:36:17,709 --> 00:36:21,168
Narrator: The city of Nantes
celebrated the renowned

635
00:36:21,212 --> 00:36:24,842
Docteur Franklin, tamer of
lightning, and crowds

636
00:36:24,883 --> 00:36:28,411
cheered him on his carriage
ride into Paris.

637
00:36:28,453 --> 00:36:31,946
They were fascinated by
his soft hat of marten fur,

638
00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:35,354
which resembled the famous
cap worn by the philosopher

639
00:36:35,393 --> 00:36:38,363
Rousseau, in contrast
to the powdered wigs

640
00:36:38,396 --> 00:36:41,457
of the Parisian elite.

641
00:36:41,499 --> 00:36:45,436
Franklin was wearing it to
keep his head warm and to hide

642
00:36:45,470 --> 00:36:49,339
the unsightly sores
on his balding head.

643
00:36:49,374 --> 00:36:52,867
Chaplin: It's such a great
costume and prop,

644
00:36:52,911 --> 00:36:57,747
immediately announcing himself
as a man of science.

645
00:36:57,782 --> 00:37:00,911
I am the famous
Benjamin Franklin...

646
00:37:00,952 --> 00:37:02,887
The "Prometheus of
the Modern Age,"

647
00:37:02,921 --> 00:37:05,288
don't forget it...
Here on business.

648
00:37:06,758 --> 00:37:09,728
Narrator: French admirers
hung portraits of him over the

649
00:37:09,761 --> 00:37:12,356
mantelpieces in their homes.

650
00:37:12,397 --> 00:37:15,663
Poems were written about
the great American scientist

651
00:37:15,700 --> 00:37:18,795
and philosopher who had
miraculously arrived

652
00:37:18,837 --> 00:37:20,897
in their midst.

653
00:37:20,939 --> 00:37:23,773
A collection of
"Poor Richard's" aphorisms

654
00:37:23,808 --> 00:37:26,300
was translated into French as

655
00:37:26,344 --> 00:37:28,870
"La Science du
Bonhomme Richard."

656
00:37:28,913 --> 00:37:31,644
Franklin loved it.

657
00:37:31,683 --> 00:37:33,242
Man as Franklin: Dear Sally,

658
00:37:33,284 --> 00:37:34,946
The clay medallion of me

659
00:37:34,986 --> 00:37:37,820
was the first of
the kind made in France

660
00:37:37,856 --> 00:37:41,691
and the numbers
sold are incredible.

661
00:37:41,726 --> 00:37:46,255
These, with the pictures,
busts, and prints, of which

662
00:37:46,297 --> 00:37:49,961
copies upon copies are spread
everywhere, have made your

663
00:37:50,001 --> 00:37:54,962
father's face as well known
as that of the moon.

664
00:37:55,006 --> 00:37:57,737
Jenkinson: The King,
Louis XVI, became sort of

665
00:37:57,776 --> 00:38:00,974
slightly annoyed and amused
by the Cult of Franklin.

666
00:38:01,012 --> 00:38:03,948
He had a chamber pot with
an image of Franklin put

667
00:38:03,982 --> 00:38:06,884
on the inside of it just
as a way of saying,

668
00:38:06,918 --> 00:38:08,978
"Enough, already."

669
00:38:09,020 --> 00:38:14,425
Narrator: Franklin had serious
and vital business to attend to.

670
00:38:14,459 --> 00:38:17,918
Without France's money,
supplies, and, ideally,

671
00:38:17,962 --> 00:38:22,627
military assistance, America's
fight for independence might

672
00:38:22,667 --> 00:38:25,796
be lost and lost quickly.

673
00:38:25,837 --> 00:38:28,306
Schiff: There's no question that
someone is going to have to

674
00:38:28,339 --> 00:38:30,968
step in to underwrite
this Revolution.

675
00:38:31,009 --> 00:38:33,945
There is no gunpowder in the
Colonies; there is no materiel;

676
00:38:33,978 --> 00:38:36,345
there are very few guns;
there are no uniforms.

677
00:38:38,917 --> 00:38:43,514
The obvious candidate, um,
for that alliance is France.

678
00:38:43,555 --> 00:38:47,014
Cohn: Franklin had a terribly
difficult assignment.

679
00:38:47,058 --> 00:38:52,463
He had to convince one
monarch to help the Americans

680
00:38:52,497 --> 00:38:55,490
overthrow another monarch.

681
00:38:55,533 --> 00:38:58,401
Brands: The French had reasons
to oppose Britain.

682
00:38:58,436 --> 00:39:00,428
They wanted to weaken Britain.

683
00:39:00,471 --> 00:39:04,636
But, King Louis XVI didn't
want to underwrite this

684
00:39:04,676 --> 00:39:06,941
overthrow of monarchies.

685
00:39:06,978 --> 00:39:10,346
The French people
might get ideas.

686
00:39:10,381 --> 00:39:13,909
Narrator: Persuading France's
king and his ministers to

687
00:39:13,952 --> 00:39:17,719
provide any assistance at
all would require delicacy

688
00:39:17,755 --> 00:39:22,557
and discretion, persistence
and shrewd calculation.

689
00:39:22,594 --> 00:39:25,621
Franklin had taken on the
most momentous chess match

690
00:39:25,663 --> 00:39:27,598
of his life.

691
00:39:27,632 --> 00:39:32,400
And playing it would require
him, on his own, to improvise

692
00:39:32,437 --> 00:39:35,805
his strategy again and again.

693
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:38,605
Jenkinson: Franklin understood
they're not committed

694
00:39:38,643 --> 00:39:41,738
to our people's
republican revolution here.

695
00:39:41,779 --> 00:39:44,044
They want to get back
at the British.

696
00:39:44,082 --> 00:39:47,746
They side with the
colonials and allow us each

697
00:39:47,785 --> 00:39:50,846
to spend ourselves down
in this protracted fight,

698
00:39:50,889 --> 00:39:54,656
that this improves France's
position in the European

699
00:39:54,692 --> 00:39:57,560
balance of power and maybe
gives it a chance to reassert

700
00:39:57,595 --> 00:39:59,791
itself a little bit
in the New World.

701
00:39:59,831 --> 00:40:02,562
And, so, everyone's operating
out of self-interest.

702
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,866
But, Franklin, and Franklin
alone, knows how to negotiate

703
00:40:05,904 --> 00:40:12,640
this slowly, with suavity
and humor and patience.

704
00:40:12,677 --> 00:40:16,478
Narrator: He met frequently
and always surreptitiously

705
00:40:16,514 --> 00:40:19,973
with the Comte de Vergennes,
France's foreign minister,

706
00:40:20,018 --> 00:40:24,046
who found Franklin tactful,
smart, and unassuming.

707
00:40:24,088 --> 00:40:28,549
Vergennes arranged for several
million livres, French pounds,

708
00:40:28,593 --> 00:40:30,858
to be secretly advanced
for the Americans

709
00:40:30,895 --> 00:40:32,830
to purchase supplies.

710
00:40:32,864 --> 00:40:36,596
But he would go no further,
unless the Patriots' military

711
00:40:36,634 --> 00:40:39,001
situation improved.

712
00:40:40,705 --> 00:40:44,437
At the moment,
that didn't appear likely.

713
00:40:44,475 --> 00:40:48,435
George Washington's army had
been chased out of Manhattan,

714
00:40:48,479 --> 00:40:51,813
across New Jersey
and into Pennsylvania.

715
00:40:51,849 --> 00:40:55,445
A large British force
moving south from Canada

716
00:40:55,486 --> 00:40:57,717
had captured Fort Ticonderoga.

717
00:40:57,755 --> 00:40:59,815
Its general, John Burgoyne,

718
00:40:59,857 --> 00:41:04,591
boasted that he would be home
in England by Christmas.

719
00:41:04,629 --> 00:41:08,122
British soldiers also
threatened Philadelphia.

720
00:41:08,166 --> 00:41:12,831
Congress abandoned the city,
as did many of its residents.

721
00:41:12,870 --> 00:41:16,534
Only a few days earlier,
Franklin’s daughter, Sally,

722
00:41:16,574 --> 00:41:18,873
had given birth to a baby girl.

723
00:41:18,910 --> 00:41:22,904
Now the whole family, including
Franklin's sister Jane,

724
00:41:22,947 --> 00:41:25,178
were refugees.

725
00:41:25,216 --> 00:41:29,677
After an American defeat at
Brandywine Creek, Philadelphia

726
00:41:29,721 --> 00:41:31,952
fell without a fight.

727
00:41:31,990 --> 00:41:35,927
A British officer commandeered
Franklin's home and stole his

728
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:39,124
books and papers,
musical instruments,

729
00:41:39,163 --> 00:41:41,792
and scientific equipment.

730
00:41:41,833 --> 00:41:45,600
In France, Franklin strove
to appear upbeat,

731
00:41:45,636 --> 00:41:47,798
despite the setbacks.

732
00:41:47,839 --> 00:41:50,274
The Americans could
hold out for 30 years,

733
00:41:50,508 --> 00:41:52,636
he bravely declared.

734
00:41:52,677 --> 00:41:56,239
Schiff: Franklin is, first and
foremost, a man of the press.

735
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:58,772
And he plays that role
to the hilt

736
00:41:58,816 --> 00:42:00,114
in those first months in France.

737
00:42:00,151 --> 00:42:01,710
He is essentially engaged

738
00:42:01,753 --> 00:42:04,587
in a thorough
disinformation campaign.

739
00:42:04,622 --> 00:42:07,182
Washington's men are almost
without uniforms.

740
00:42:07,225 --> 00:42:09,592
There's a wonderful quote
in which someone says,

741
00:42:09,627 --> 00:42:11,038
"They could have scared
the British away

742
00:42:11,062 --> 00:42:13,725
by their nakedness."
They have nothing.

743
00:42:13,765 --> 00:42:16,132
And Washington, during
this time, is in despair.

744
00:42:16,167 --> 00:42:18,693
While Washington is struggling
all over, Franklin is

745
00:42:18,736 --> 00:42:21,296
in France saying, "It's
victory after victory."

746
00:42:21,539 --> 00:42:25,101
Um..."He, like, he has
an army of 80,000," um...

747
00:42:25,143 --> 00:42:27,221
"Yes, the... the British may
take Philadelphia, but they

748
00:42:27,245 --> 00:42:29,305
"will be trapped there,
the river will freeze,

749
00:42:29,547 --> 00:42:31,147
"they won't be able to reach
their ships.

750
00:42:31,182 --> 00:42:32,775
Washington will
surround them."

751
00:42:32,817 --> 00:42:34,683
He's utterly making this up.

752
00:42:34,719 --> 00:42:37,154
He's promoting a war that
isn't really happening.

753
00:42:37,188 --> 00:42:41,216
And he doesn't, for a moment,
in public, drop that mask.

754
00:42:42,894 --> 00:42:45,989
Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin also
realizes he has to win

755
00:42:46,030 --> 00:42:48,898
the hearts and minds of
the French people.

756
00:42:48,933 --> 00:42:52,597
He knows that within the
French population, there's

757
00:42:52,637 --> 00:42:56,199
welling up this sentiment
for liberty and fraternity

758
00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:58,175
and equality.

759
00:42:58,209 --> 00:43:03,273
And he taps into that by being
a public diplomat, not just

760
00:43:03,314 --> 00:43:05,840
a private diplomat.

761
00:43:05,883 --> 00:43:09,718
Narrator: Franklin moved from
a hotel in crowded Paris to

762
00:43:09,754 --> 00:43:12,690
the village of Passy,
2 miles west, where

763
00:43:12,723 --> 00:43:15,625
a wealthy merchant offered
the use of a wing

764
00:43:15,660 --> 00:43:18,721
of his sprawling
estate rent-free.

765
00:43:18,763 --> 00:43:22,757
Soon, a lightning rod
sprouted from its roof.

766
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,998
Franklin sent his grandson
Benny to a boarding school

767
00:43:26,037 --> 00:43:29,030
in Switzerland and assigned
Temple to help with

768
00:43:29,073 --> 00:43:33,306
the diplomatic paperwork...
There were mountains of it...

769
00:43:33,344 --> 00:43:35,711
And the steady stream
of visitors

770
00:43:35,746 --> 00:43:38,773
who began arriving once
they knew the famous

771
00:43:38,816 --> 00:43:41,945
Doctor Franklin
was living there.

772
00:43:41,986 --> 00:43:43,955
Man as Franklin:
You can have no Conception

773
00:43:43,988 --> 00:43:45,752
how I am harass'd.

774
00:43:45,790 --> 00:43:49,227
The Noise of Every Coach
now that enters my Court

775
00:43:49,260 --> 00:43:51,889
terrifies me.

776
00:43:51,929 --> 00:43:53,864
Narrator:
Besides his constant efforts

777
00:43:53,898 --> 00:43:57,335
to get more money from the
French, much of Franklin's

778
00:43:57,368 --> 00:44:01,100
time was consumed handling
requests from individual

779
00:44:01,139 --> 00:44:07,375
Europeans eager to fight
the hated English in America.

780
00:44:07,411 --> 00:44:10,074
Man as Franklin:
Frequently if a Man has

781
00:44:10,114 --> 00:44:14,210
no useful Talents, is good
for nothing, and burdensome

782
00:44:14,252 --> 00:44:16,050
to his Relations,

783
00:44:16,087 --> 00:44:19,785
they are glad to get rid of
him by sending him to

784
00:44:19,824 --> 00:44:22,692
the other End of the World.

785
00:44:22,727 --> 00:44:25,891
Narrator: They came from every
corner of Europe.

786
00:44:25,930 --> 00:44:29,765
All of them, regardless of
their talents and experience,

787
00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:33,669
expected to be
commissioned as officers.

788
00:44:33,704 --> 00:44:37,800
General Washington finally
begged Franklin not to send

789
00:44:37,842 --> 00:44:40,038
anyone else.

790
00:44:40,077 --> 00:44:43,343
But 3 of the men Franklin
recommended would

791
00:44:43,381 --> 00:44:46,977
prove invaluable to
the Revolution:

792
00:44:47,018 --> 00:44:49,954
Count Casimir Pulaski of Poland

793
00:44:49,987 --> 00:44:52,320
would organize
the American cavalry

794
00:44:52,356 --> 00:44:55,849
and serve with bravery
and distinction before being

795
00:44:55,893 --> 00:44:59,989
killed in action
at Savannah, Georgia.

796
00:45:00,031 --> 00:45:04,127
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von
Steuben would develop a system

797
00:45:04,168 --> 00:45:07,104
of military discipline
and drilling and impressed

798
00:45:07,138 --> 00:45:10,438
the Continental soldiers with
his ability to swear

799
00:45:10,474 --> 00:45:13,034
in multiple languages.

800
00:45:13,077 --> 00:45:16,980
And the Marquis de Lafayette
of France, whose father had

801
00:45:17,014 --> 00:45:20,746
been killed by the British in
the Seven Years' War, believed

802
00:45:20,785 --> 00:45:24,950
that "To injure England is
to serve my country."

803
00:45:24,989 --> 00:45:28,255
Only 19 years old when
he went to America, he would

804
00:45:28,292 --> 00:45:32,024
become a surrogate son to
General Washington and one

805
00:45:32,063 --> 00:45:35,761
of the most ardent champions
of the Revolution.

806
00:45:39,937 --> 00:45:43,897
Early into his diplomatic
mission, Franklin was warned,

807
00:45:43,941 --> 00:45:47,105
"You are surrounded with
spies who watch your every

808
00:45:47,144 --> 00:45:51,775
movement, who you Visit
and by whom you are visited."

809
00:45:51,816 --> 00:45:55,810
He said he didn't care.

810
00:45:55,853 --> 00:45:57,253
Man as Franklin:
As it is impossible

811
00:45:57,288 --> 00:45:59,814
to prevent being
watched by Spies,

812
00:45:59,857 --> 00:46:02,383
I have long observed one Rule:

813
00:46:02,426 --> 00:46:05,453
to be concerned in no affairs
that I should blush to have

814
00:46:05,496 --> 00:46:07,260
made public.

815
00:46:07,298 --> 00:46:10,132
If I was sure, therefore,
that my valet

816
00:46:10,167 --> 00:46:15,037
was a spy, as probably he is,
I think I should probably not

817
00:46:15,072 --> 00:46:19,305
discharge him for that, if in
other respects I liked him.

818
00:46:20,878 --> 00:46:23,404
Narrator: The
chief spy in Franklin's midst

819
00:46:23,447 --> 00:46:25,313
was not his valet.

820
00:46:25,349 --> 00:46:29,343
It was Edward Bancroft,
a Massachusetts-born scientist

821
00:46:29,387 --> 00:46:32,289
now serving as
the secretary to the American

822
00:46:32,323 --> 00:46:36,260
delegation in France,
with access to every document

823
00:46:36,294 --> 00:46:38,354
and letter.

824
00:46:38,396 --> 00:46:42,299
Every week, Bancroft wrote
seemingly personal letters

825
00:46:42,333 --> 00:46:46,168
and then, in invisible ink,
provided his clandestine

826
00:46:46,203 --> 00:46:49,037
reports in the margins.

827
00:46:49,073 --> 00:46:52,566
Each Tuesday night, he dropped
them into the hollow of a tree

828
00:46:52,810 --> 00:46:55,405
in the Tuileries Garden,
where they were retrieved

829
00:46:55,446 --> 00:46:59,383
and taken to
the British embassy in Paris.

830
00:46:59,417 --> 00:47:03,081
For his work as a secret
agent, England paid him

831
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:07,057
£1,000 a year, the same
amount the Americans were

832
00:47:07,091 --> 00:47:10,220
giving him to be
their secretary.

833
00:47:10,261 --> 00:47:13,026
His double-dealing would
not come to light

834
00:47:13,064 --> 00:47:15,124
for a hundred years.

835
00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:18,262
Schiff: Franklin is encircled

836
00:47:18,302 --> 00:47:22,034
by two sets of
extremely effective spies...

837
00:47:22,073 --> 00:47:23,974
A set of French spies,
who are, themselves,

838
00:47:24,008 --> 00:47:26,375
surrounded by a set
of British spies.

839
00:47:26,410 --> 00:47:30,108
And every piece of paper that,
essentially, moves off

840
00:47:30,147 --> 00:47:32,207
of Franklin's desk will
end up in the wrong place,

841
00:47:32,249 --> 00:47:34,377
will end up either at
Versailles or in London,

842
00:47:34,418 --> 00:47:37,183
but very rarely in the colonies.

843
00:47:37,221 --> 00:47:40,385
Franklin was no fool.

844
00:47:40,424 --> 00:47:43,292
He knew what was happening.

845
00:47:43,327 --> 00:47:47,890
He knew the spying that was
going on was to America's

846
00:47:47,932 --> 00:47:53,064
advantage because the Brits
got the sense that America was

847
00:47:53,104 --> 00:47:55,630
really quite close to France.

848
00:47:55,873 --> 00:47:57,364
And, uh, Franklin did nothing.

849
00:47:57,408 --> 00:48:01,209
I mean, he just
sat there and let it happen.

850
00:48:09,286 --> 00:48:13,553
Narrator: On December 4, 1777,
a messenger rode into

851
00:48:13,591 --> 00:48:17,995
Franklin's courtyard at
Passy with startling news.

852
00:48:19,497 --> 00:48:22,990
After two battles near
Saratoga, New York,

853
00:48:23,033 --> 00:48:25,593
British General Burgoyne
had found himself

854
00:48:25,636 --> 00:48:29,038
surrounded by a larger
American force,

855
00:48:29,073 --> 00:48:33,067
and on October 17,
he surrendered, along with

856
00:48:33,110 --> 00:48:38,048
his entire army,
nearly 6,000 troops.

857
00:48:38,082 --> 00:48:39,983
Schiff: Saratoga changes
everything.

858
00:48:40,017 --> 00:48:42,282
This is the moment Franklin
has been waiting for.

859
00:48:42,319 --> 00:48:45,517
There is no reason for
the French to enter into any

860
00:48:45,556 --> 00:48:48,082
serious alliance until the
Americans have proved that

861
00:48:48,125 --> 00:48:50,993
they can actually win this war,
or at least put up a fight.

862
00:48:51,028 --> 00:48:53,497
So, this is the news that he
needs to take to Vergennes,

863
00:48:53,531 --> 00:48:55,432
the French foreign minister,
and to the Court

864
00:48:55,466 --> 00:48:58,129
to be able to say, "OK, now,
will you take us seriously?

865
00:48:58,169 --> 00:49:00,638
Now, will you officially..."
because until this point,

866
00:49:00,671 --> 00:49:03,106
the help has been unofficial...
"Will you officially

867
00:49:03,140 --> 00:49:05,166
underwrite our Revolution?"

868
00:49:05,209 --> 00:49:08,509
Narrator: Franklin sprang
into action, writing reports

869
00:49:08,546 --> 00:49:10,674
of the American victory that
would be spread

870
00:49:10,714 --> 00:49:12,580
throughout Paris,

871
00:49:12,616 --> 00:49:17,020
praising valiant French officers
now serving in America,

872
00:49:17,054 --> 00:49:20,684
like Lafayette, and
leading the British ambassador

873
00:49:20,724 --> 00:49:26,095
to realize he had completely
underestimated Franklin.

874
00:49:26,130 --> 00:49:27,641
Man as Ambassador Lord Stormont:
They play us off

875
00:49:27,665 --> 00:49:29,566
against one another.

876
00:49:29,600 --> 00:49:32,468
Franklin's natural subtlety
gives him a great advantage

877
00:49:32,503 --> 00:49:34,335
in such a game.

878
00:49:34,371 --> 00:49:38,172
It is easy to see that in
such a situation peace between

879
00:49:38,209 --> 00:49:42,010
England and the House of
Bourbon hangs by the slightest

880
00:49:42,046 --> 00:49:43,981
of all threads.

881
00:49:47,351 --> 00:49:51,379
Narrator: On
February 6, 1778, Franklin

882
00:49:51,422 --> 00:49:55,655
met with Vergennes
and signed 2 treaties.

883
00:49:55,693 --> 00:50:00,097
One, a treaty of friendship
and commerce, meant French aid

884
00:50:00,130 --> 00:50:03,259
would flow in greater
quantities and no longer

885
00:50:03,300 --> 00:50:04,996
in secret.

886
00:50:05,035 --> 00:50:08,369
The other, the most
important, was a treaty

887
00:50:08,405 --> 00:50:10,374
of military alliance.

888
00:50:10,407 --> 00:50:15,607
France had officially joined
the American Revolution.

889
00:50:15,646 --> 00:50:18,775
Isaacson: When they signed the
treaty, he wears this old,

890
00:50:19,016 --> 00:50:21,110
frayed suit.

891
00:50:21,151 --> 00:50:25,020
And it's the one he had worn
in the Cockpit, when he had

892
00:50:25,055 --> 00:50:29,459
been berated by the British
lords for what he was doing.

893
00:50:29,493 --> 00:50:32,429
And he was asked why
he wore that coat.

894
00:50:32,463 --> 00:50:35,661
And he said, "To give it
a little revenge."

895
00:50:35,699 --> 00:50:40,433
Narrator: A month later, he was
presented to King Louis XVI

896
00:50:40,471 --> 00:50:42,702
at Versailles.

897
00:50:42,740 --> 00:50:45,175
Schiff: And he meets the king,
who congratulates him

898
00:50:45,209 --> 00:50:46,653
and says, "I hope
this is for the good

899
00:50:46,677 --> 00:50:48,612
of both countries."

900
00:50:48,646 --> 00:50:51,514
And Franklin utters a line,
which is almost astonishing

901
00:50:51,549 --> 00:50:53,780
in its treachery, which is,
basically, he... he says to

902
00:50:53,817 --> 00:50:57,777
the king, um, "If all rulers
ruled with your benevolence,

903
00:50:57,821 --> 00:51:00,450
republics would
never be formed."

904
00:51:00,491 --> 00:51:04,258
Narrator: Franklin,
a French statesman proclaimed,

905
00:51:04,295 --> 00:51:08,096
has "seized the lightning
from the heavens and now

906
00:51:08,132 --> 00:51:10,829
the scepter from the tyrants."

907
00:51:21,779 --> 00:51:23,509
Man as Franklin:
This is the civilest nation

908
00:51:23,547 --> 00:51:25,345
upon Earth.

909
00:51:25,382 --> 00:51:27,248
Your first
Acquaintances endeavour

910
00:51:27,284 --> 00:51:31,085
to find out what you like,
and they tell others.

911
00:51:31,121 --> 00:51:36,424
Somebody, it seems, gave it
out that I lov'd Ladies.

912
00:51:36,460 --> 00:51:40,261
So everybody presented me
their Ladies

913
00:51:40,297 --> 00:51:45,634
or the Ladies presented
themselves to be embraced,

914
00:51:45,669 --> 00:51:47,865
that is to have
their Necks kissed.

915
00:51:48,105 --> 00:51:52,702
For as to kissing of Lips or
Cheeks, it is not the Mode here;

916
00:51:52,743 --> 00:51:56,578
the first, is reckoned rude,
and the other may

917
00:51:56,614 --> 00:51:58,378
rub off the Paint.

918
00:51:58,415 --> 00:52:01,613
'Tis a delightful
People to live with.

919
00:52:02,886 --> 00:52:05,219
Narrator: All
the while he was negotiating

920
00:52:05,255 --> 00:52:08,453
and maneuvering for the
alliance with France, Franklin

921
00:52:08,492 --> 00:52:11,291
immersed himself in
the intellectual circles

922
00:52:11,328 --> 00:52:14,355
and social salons of Paris.

923
00:52:14,398 --> 00:52:20,360
He considered it part of his
diplomacy and very enjoyable.

924
00:52:20,404 --> 00:52:24,808
He had loved London,
but he adored Paris.

925
00:52:24,842 --> 00:52:27,744
In France, you can flirt at
a very high level

926
00:52:27,778 --> 00:52:31,374
of sophistication and it's
all a beautiful game

927
00:52:31,415 --> 00:52:33,145
of sexual ballet.

928
00:52:33,183 --> 00:52:35,448
And it has nothing to do
with carnality, really.

929
00:52:35,486 --> 00:52:38,820
It's more about, nuance
and just the right touch

930
00:52:38,856 --> 00:52:41,155
of flirtation.

931
00:52:41,191 --> 00:52:45,390
He found personal happiness in
France that he had never found

932
00:52:45,429 --> 00:52:47,398
in the course of his life.

933
00:52:47,431 --> 00:52:50,663
Schiff: I don't think you can
find anyone, anyone except his

934
00:52:50,701 --> 00:52:53,261
colleagues, who fails to
fall under the charms

935
00:52:53,303 --> 00:52:54,794
of Benjamin Franklin.

936
00:52:56,340 --> 00:52:59,640
Franklin is everywhere adored
and everywhere cossetted

937
00:52:59,677 --> 00:53:03,444
in Paris, by no one more so,
than by the women of France.

938
00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:06,678
Every word that drops from his
lips, they think is a gem.

939
00:53:06,717 --> 00:53:09,448
And Franklin just adores
the fact that these women are

940
00:53:09,486 --> 00:53:12,479
essentially hanging
about him at all times.

941
00:53:12,523 --> 00:53:15,220
Narrator: Franklin became
particularly enchanted

942
00:53:15,259 --> 00:53:20,254
with a neighbor of his in Passy,
Madame Brillon de Jouy.

943
00:53:20,297 --> 00:53:24,496
She was beautiful and well-
educated and, at age 33,

944
00:53:24,535 --> 00:53:28,404
a year younger than
Franklin's daughter Sally.

945
00:53:28,439 --> 00:53:32,308
He went to her home twice
a week for tea and music;

946
00:53:32,342 --> 00:53:36,541
composed essays in her honor;
and once played a late-night

947
00:53:36,580 --> 00:53:39,345
game of chess while
she watched from her

948
00:53:39,383 --> 00:53:42,285
covered bathtub.

949
00:53:42,319 --> 00:53:45,255
Isaacson: I think that
Franklin's relationships

950
00:53:45,289 --> 00:53:50,318
with women were more in the mind
than in the flesh.

951
00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,990
He loved being flirtatious,
loved being around them,

952
00:53:54,231 --> 00:53:57,793
but I don't think he pursued
a truly passionate romance

953
00:53:57,835 --> 00:54:00,327
with any of them.

954
00:54:00,370 --> 00:54:02,396
Cohn: We'll never know
what happened.

955
00:54:02,439 --> 00:54:05,307
I think Madame Brillon pointed
out to Franklin that she was

956
00:54:05,342 --> 00:54:08,972
a married woman, that any kind
of hanky-panky was simply

957
00:54:09,012 --> 00:54:10,947
out of the question.

958
00:54:10,981 --> 00:54:14,645
I believe Franklin must
have been disappointed,

959
00:54:14,685 --> 00:54:18,986
but he took it very gracefully
and from that point forward,

960
00:54:19,022 --> 00:54:23,687
they agreed that he would
be "Papa" and she would be

961
00:54:23,727 --> 00:54:25,389
his daughter.

962
00:54:27,297 --> 00:54:30,267
Narrator: Franklin's attentions
turned to another woman

963
00:54:30,300 --> 00:54:32,633
a little closer to his own age.

964
00:54:32,669 --> 00:54:37,539
Anne-Catherine Helvétius was
nearly 60, a widow who lived

965
00:54:37,574 --> 00:54:40,043
on a grand estate near Passy.

966
00:54:40,277 --> 00:54:43,770
Eccentric and free-spirited,
she hosted one of the most

967
00:54:43,814 --> 00:54:47,979
renowned salons in France,
attended by intellectuals

968
00:54:48,018 --> 00:54:49,850
and artists.

969
00:54:49,887 --> 00:54:53,790
Franklin became a regular
visitor, sometimes playing his

970
00:54:53,824 --> 00:54:56,953
glass armonica while people
sang his favorite

971
00:54:56,994 --> 00:55:00,692
Scottish ballads in French.

972
00:55:00,731 --> 00:55:04,395
Schiff: She's a philosopher's
widow and very Bohemian.

973
00:55:04,434 --> 00:55:07,893
She had this fleet of
cats whom she would dress

974
00:55:07,938 --> 00:55:11,033
in brocades and silks, and who
would... who would, basically,

975
00:55:11,074 --> 00:55:13,703
wander around her house and
eat their meals off china.

976
00:55:13,744 --> 00:55:18,011
Um, and into that menagerie,
um, walks Benjamin Franklin,

977
00:55:18,048 --> 00:55:19,983
who's immediately smitten.

978
00:55:20,017 --> 00:55:22,384
Man as Franklin: If this lady
is pleased to spend

979
00:55:22,419 --> 00:55:24,752
her days with Monsieur Franklin,

980
00:55:24,788 --> 00:55:30,659
he would be just as pleased
to spend his nights with her.

981
00:55:30,694 --> 00:55:33,858
Narrator: She declined,
but never discouraged him

982
00:55:33,897 --> 00:55:36,526
from showering
her with affection.

983
00:55:36,567 --> 00:55:38,545
Schiff: There is a moment there
where he essentially

984
00:55:38,569 --> 00:55:42,006
says to her, "I would stay in
France, if you would have me."

985
00:55:42,039 --> 00:55:43,871
And she's not interested.

986
00:55:43,907 --> 00:55:46,604
But I would say that that
was probably the most serious

987
00:55:46,643 --> 00:55:50,045
of the relationships with...
With any... with the French women.

988
00:55:50,080 --> 00:55:52,948
Narrator: Meanwhile,
Franklin's social calendar was

989
00:55:52,983 --> 00:55:57,921
always filled with lunches,
teas, and lavish dinners.

990
00:55:57,955 --> 00:56:01,551
Dray: He didn't speak or
understand French all that well.

991
00:56:01,592 --> 00:56:03,823
He wanted to be able to see
the meal in front of him

992
00:56:03,861 --> 00:56:06,387
at a dinner party, but, also, at
the same time, he needed to see

993
00:56:06,430 --> 00:56:09,491
the lips of the people speaking
to him across the table.

994
00:56:09,533 --> 00:56:11,968
So, he became frustrated
that his glasses couldn't do

995
00:56:12,002 --> 00:56:13,664
both things.

996
00:56:13,704 --> 00:56:17,539
This is typical Franklin.
He analyzed the problem.

997
00:56:17,574 --> 00:56:20,669
He sawed his existing glasses
in half, and glued them

998
00:56:20,711 --> 00:56:23,476
together so that one top...
One side did one function,

999
00:56:23,513 --> 00:56:24,879
the other, the other.

1000
00:56:24,915 --> 00:56:27,384
Narrator: He called his
newest invention

1001
00:56:27,417 --> 00:56:31,013
"double-spectacles"... bifocals.

1002
00:56:31,054 --> 00:56:34,616
And Franklin was always
ready for a game of chess

1003
00:56:34,658 --> 00:56:36,684
with anyone.

1004
00:56:36,727 --> 00:56:40,664
Brands: In one case, he was
having this chess match with

1005
00:56:40,697 --> 00:56:44,759
the Duchess of Bourbon and
Franklin professed to forget

1006
00:56:44,801 --> 00:56:48,033
the rules and he
captured the king.

1007
00:56:48,071 --> 00:56:50,836
His opponent, the Duchess
says, "Well, in... in France,

1008
00:56:50,874 --> 00:56:52,467
"we don't capture kings.

1009
00:56:52,509 --> 00:56:54,410
That's not the way
the game is played."

1010
00:56:54,444 --> 00:56:56,811
He said, "Ah, but
in America, we do."

1011
00:57:01,418 --> 00:57:03,819
Man as Adams: It was late
when he breakfasted,

1012
00:57:03,854 --> 00:57:05,823
and as soon as breakfast
was over,

1013
00:57:05,856 --> 00:57:08,849
a crowd of carriages came.

1014
00:57:08,892 --> 00:57:11,828
By far the greater part were
women and children, come to

1015
00:57:11,862 --> 00:57:15,026
have the honor to see the
great Franklin, and to have

1016
00:57:15,065 --> 00:57:17,057
the pleasure of telling
stories about his

1017
00:57:17,100 --> 00:57:20,195
simplicity and his bald head.

1018
00:57:20,437 --> 00:57:23,930
He was invited to dine every day
and never declined

1019
00:57:23,974 --> 00:57:28,605
and it was the only thing
in which he was punctual.

1020
00:57:28,645 --> 00:57:31,012
John Adams.

1021
00:57:31,048 --> 00:57:33,017
Narrator: In April,
while the treaties

1022
00:57:33,050 --> 00:57:34,916
were crossing the Atlantic,

1023
00:57:34,952 --> 00:57:37,649
John Adams arrived in Paris.

1024
00:57:37,688 --> 00:57:40,954
He had been sent by Congress
to push more vigorously

1025
00:57:40,991 --> 00:57:44,621
for a French alliance and was
chagrined to learn that

1026
00:57:44,661 --> 00:57:48,792
Franklin had already
secured two treaties.

1027
00:57:48,832 --> 00:57:52,894
Even more aggravating to him
was how Franklin seemed to be

1028
00:57:52,936 --> 00:57:54,837
conducting himself.

1029
00:57:54,871 --> 00:57:59,104
Adams called it "a scene
of continual dissipation."

1030
00:57:59,142 --> 00:58:02,476
Bailyn: He was
absolutely horrified.

1031
00:58:02,512 --> 00:58:04,105
Franklin's desk was a mess.

1032
00:58:04,147 --> 00:58:06,582
There were papers all over
the place.

1033
00:58:06,616 --> 00:58:09,552
And there was no security.

1034
00:58:09,586 --> 00:58:11,130
Jenkinson: Adams said,
"Where's 'Poor Richard?'"

1035
00:58:11,154 --> 00:58:12,816
"Early to bed, early to rise

1036
00:58:12,856 --> 00:58:14,882
"makes a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise.

1037
00:58:14,925 --> 00:58:16,736
"Where's... where's the...
The Franklin that we're all...

1038
00:58:16,760 --> 00:58:19,059
That's famous
for his discipline?"

1039
00:58:19,096 --> 00:58:23,932
Schiff: It's hard to imagine
2 such talented people, 2 men

1040
00:58:23,967 --> 00:58:26,766
with so much in common,
who are of absolutely

1041
00:58:26,803 --> 00:58:28,772
opposite temperaments.

1042
00:58:28,805 --> 00:58:33,004
One of them is very rigid
and dogmatic and brilliant.

1043
00:58:33,043 --> 00:58:35,706
And the other one is very
flexible and easy-going

1044
00:58:35,746 --> 00:58:37,112
and affable and brilliant.

1045
00:58:37,147 --> 00:58:39,742
And they got on
each other's nerves.

1046
00:58:39,783 --> 00:58:44,278
Isaacson: Adams is quite wary of
the French, quite Puritanical.

1047
00:58:44,521 --> 00:58:48,754
Adams learned French by
memorizing funeral orations,

1048
00:58:48,792 --> 00:58:51,853
and Franklin learned French
by writing poetry

1049
00:58:51,895 --> 00:58:54,091
and letters to women.

1050
00:58:54,131 --> 00:58:56,862
Franklin knew how to be
popular and Adams had no idea

1051
00:58:56,900 --> 00:58:58,300
how to be popular.

1052
00:58:58,535 --> 00:59:00,265
In fact, Adams
per-perceived popularity

1053
00:59:00,303 --> 00:59:02,602
as a sign that he
was not doing the right thing.

1054
00:59:02,639 --> 00:59:06,542
Franklin's popularity
drives Adams to distraction.

1055
00:59:06,576 --> 00:59:08,521
He's... he feels he's being...
He feels that Franklin is being

1056
00:59:08,545 --> 00:59:13,142
ineffective and utterly given
over to Old World luxury,

1057
00:59:13,183 --> 00:59:15,194
and, moreover, people are
throwing themselves at him

1058
00:59:15,218 --> 00:59:17,016
left and right.

1059
00:59:17,054 --> 00:59:18,831
He can't stand these
celebrations of what he sees

1060
00:59:18,855 --> 00:59:21,723
as this utterly
irresponsible colleague.

1061
00:59:21,758 --> 00:59:24,887
Narrator: Shortly after his
arrival, Adams accompanied

1062
00:59:24,928 --> 00:59:28,922
Franklin to the Academy of
Sciences to see Voltaire,

1063
00:59:28,965 --> 00:59:31,662
France's greatest
Enlightenment writer

1064
00:59:31,701 --> 00:59:33,567
and philosopher.

1065
00:59:33,603 --> 00:59:38,906
He was 83 and in poor health,
a month away from dying.

1066
00:59:38,942 --> 00:59:43,175
When the crowd demanded that
the two great men embrace,

1067
00:59:43,213 --> 00:59:47,150
Adams had to watch
from the sidelines.

1068
00:59:47,184 --> 00:59:51,087
Schiff: Adams is an impatient
man, he's a brittle man.

1069
00:59:51,121 --> 00:59:53,955
And he doesn't understand
the channels of diplomacy.

1070
00:59:53,990 --> 00:59:55,334
And he certainly doesn't
understand the way

1071
00:59:55,358 --> 00:59:57,293
the French Court works.

1072
00:59:57,327 --> 01:00:00,991
He doesn't see that the secret
to Franklin's success is,

1073
01:00:01,031 --> 01:00:04,160
in large part, his inactivity,
the fact that he is...

1074
01:00:04,201 --> 01:00:07,137
essentially being
polite and genteel

1075
01:00:07,170 --> 01:00:09,935
and is expressing gratitude
toward these people who are

1076
01:00:09,973 --> 01:00:12,204
underwriting our...
Our Revolution.

1077
01:00:12,242 --> 01:00:14,871
Adams wants to be demanding
things at all times and,

1078
01:00:14,911 --> 01:00:16,322
essentially, makes himself
very unwelcome

1079
01:00:16,346 --> 01:00:18,110
at the French Court.

1080
01:00:18,148 --> 01:00:20,845
Ellis: It's the "good cop"
and the "bad cop."

1081
01:00:20,884 --> 01:00:22,819
And Franklin is the good cop.

1082
01:00:22,853 --> 01:00:25,288
I think they become
an effective team and instead

1083
01:00:25,322 --> 01:00:28,224
of seeing one as right and the
other as wrong, um, it works

1084
01:00:28,258 --> 01:00:30,056
for the American cause.

1085
01:00:30,093 --> 01:00:31,938
This is probably the greatest
assemblage of diplomatic

1086
01:00:31,962 --> 01:00:34,796
talent in American
history... two people.

1087
01:00:34,831 --> 01:00:39,098
But Adams is perceived by the
French, especially Vergennes,

1088
01:00:39,136 --> 01:00:43,836
the French foreign minister,
as this impossible creature.

1089
01:00:43,874 --> 01:00:47,811
Narrator: In February 1779,

1090
01:00:47,844 --> 01:00:51,110
Adams learned that,
at Vergennes' insistence,

1091
01:00:51,148 --> 01:00:53,811
Congress had named
Benjamin Franklin

1092
01:00:53,850 --> 01:00:57,685
the United States'
sole representative in France.

1093
01:00:59,890 --> 01:01:02,826
John Adams left for home.

1094
01:01:17,240 --> 01:01:21,007
Skemp: This was a war that was
not a sectional war.

1095
01:01:21,044 --> 01:01:24,071
This was not North versus South.

1096
01:01:24,114 --> 01:01:27,312
Americans were fighting
against Americans.

1097
01:01:27,350 --> 01:01:31,811
This was a Continental war
where every single person had

1098
01:01:31,855 --> 01:01:35,383
to decide which
side they were on.

1099
01:01:35,425 --> 01:01:37,394
Narrator: After being taken
to Connecticut as

1100
01:01:37,427 --> 01:01:41,455
a prisoner in 1776,
William Franklin had been

1101
01:01:41,698 --> 01:01:44,964
persuaded to sign a paper
promising not to attempt

1102
01:01:45,001 --> 01:01:49,063
an escape or to work against
the Patriots so he could be

1103
01:01:49,105 --> 01:01:52,735
placed under house arrest
in a comfortable home.

1104
01:01:52,776 --> 01:01:56,269
It didn't last long.

1105
01:01:56,313 --> 01:01:59,306
He began secretly
corresponding with British

1106
01:01:59,349 --> 01:02:02,842
officials in New York,
advising them about Loyalists

1107
01:02:02,886 --> 01:02:05,822
in Connecticut and New Jersey.

1108
01:02:05,855 --> 01:02:09,087
Congress learned what William
was doing and ordered him

1109
01:02:09,125 --> 01:02:12,926
taken to the infamous
Litchfield jail.

1110
01:02:12,963 --> 01:02:16,957
He was kept there in solitary
confinement for 8 months,

1111
01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:20,232
with nothing but a chamber
pot and a straw pallet

1112
01:02:20,270 --> 01:02:22,239
on the floor.

1113
01:02:22,272 --> 01:02:27,006
It was, he wrote, as if "I have
been buried alive."

1114
01:02:27,043 --> 01:02:31,003
His wife, Elizabeth, had moved
to British-held New York City,

1115
01:02:31,047 --> 01:02:34,381
where her already
fragile health worsened.

1116
01:02:34,417 --> 01:02:37,819
William appealed to
General Washington, begging

1117
01:02:37,854 --> 01:02:40,756
for permission to see her.

1118
01:02:40,790 --> 01:02:43,089
Man as William Franklin:
I am certain that an indulgence

1119
01:02:43,126 --> 01:02:45,288
in my present request will be

1120
01:02:45,328 --> 01:02:47,854
thankfully acknowledged
by my father,

1121
01:02:47,897 --> 01:02:50,890
for he has great esteem
for my wife,

1122
01:02:50,934 --> 01:02:53,130
and I believe that
though we differ

1123
01:02:53,169 --> 01:02:55,035
in our political sentiments,

1124
01:02:55,071 --> 01:02:58,803
yet it has not lessened his
natural affection for me,

1125
01:02:58,842 --> 01:03:03,007
any more than it
has mine for him.

1126
01:03:03,046 --> 01:03:05,015
Narrator:
Washington passed his request

1127
01:03:05,048 --> 01:03:09,008
on to Congress, which
refused to intervene.

1128
01:03:09,052 --> 01:03:14,286
The same day,
Elizabeth died at age 43.

1129
01:03:14,324 --> 01:03:17,294
In his jail cell,
William's own health

1130
01:03:17,327 --> 01:03:20,786
began deteriorating.

1131
01:03:20,830 --> 01:03:24,062
Man as William Franklin: My Life
has become quite a burden to me.

1132
01:03:24,100 --> 01:03:27,093
In short, I suffer so much

1133
01:03:27,137 --> 01:03:30,301
that I should deem it
a Favour to be immediately

1134
01:03:30,340 --> 01:03:33,037
taken out and shot.

1135
01:03:35,178 --> 01:03:36,976
Narrator:
Franklin's daughter Sally

1136
01:03:37,013 --> 01:03:40,177
and her husband appealed
to Congress to move him.

1137
01:03:40,216 --> 01:03:44,278
So did many of Franklin's
Philadelphia friends.

1138
01:03:44,321 --> 01:03:48,520
In France, Benjamin Franklin
himself did nothing

1139
01:03:48,558 --> 01:03:52,051
on his son's behalf.

1140
01:03:52,095 --> 01:03:56,396
In September of 1778,
Congress approved an exchange

1141
01:03:56,433 --> 01:03:58,265
of prisoners.

1142
01:03:58,301 --> 01:04:02,432
The British released the
Patriot governor of Delaware.

1143
01:04:02,472 --> 01:04:05,465
William Franklin was
taken to New York City.

1144
01:04:05,508 --> 01:04:08,842
It was assumed he
would sail to England.

1145
01:04:08,878 --> 01:04:13,441
Instead, he stayed to help the
British, establishing a network

1146
01:04:13,483 --> 01:04:18,888
of spies that operated behind
American lines and organizing

1147
01:04:18,922 --> 01:04:22,450
guerrilla units that conducted
raids along the coast

1148
01:04:22,492 --> 01:04:26,122
of Connecticut and Rhode
Island and up the Hudson River

1149
01:04:26,162 --> 01:04:28,427
in New York.

1150
01:04:28,465 --> 01:04:31,594
Skemp: He came out of that
jail time experience

1151
01:04:31,634 --> 01:04:35,196
in the same way that Benjamin
came out of the Cockpit.

1152
01:04:35,238 --> 01:04:39,141
He was angry, and he wanted to
do everything that he could

1153
01:04:39,175 --> 01:04:41,076
to defeat the Patriots.

1154
01:04:41,111 --> 01:04:44,445
He became head of something
called the "Associate Board

1155
01:04:44,481 --> 01:04:47,542
of Loyalists," which was
a terrorist organization,

1156
01:04:47,584 --> 01:04:49,314
pure and simple.

1157
01:04:49,352 --> 01:04:52,550
Narrator: In New Jersey,
Patriots were routinely

1158
01:04:52,589 --> 01:04:54,649
murdering Loyalists.

1159
01:04:54,891 --> 01:04:59,454
In response, William's
group issued a warning.

1160
01:04:59,496 --> 01:05:02,295
Man as William Franklin:
A Warning to Rebels:

1161
01:05:02,332 --> 01:05:06,167
If you continue in your murder
and cruelties,

1162
01:05:06,202 --> 01:05:09,639
we Loyalists
do Solemnly Declare that we

1163
01:05:09,672 --> 01:05:13,507
will Hang Six for One,
which shall be Inflicted

1164
01:05:13,543 --> 01:05:16,411
on your Headmen and Leaders.

1165
01:05:20,917 --> 01:05:23,512
Narrator: Word of
the alliance with France had

1166
01:05:23,553 --> 01:05:26,455
prompted the British
to abandon Philadelphia

1167
01:05:26,489 --> 01:05:29,982
and bolster their
defenses in New York.

1168
01:05:30,026 --> 01:05:34,191
Franklin's family moved back
into their Market Street home.

1169
01:05:34,230 --> 01:05:38,167
Sally organized women who went
door-to-door to raise money

1170
01:05:38,201 --> 01:05:41,035
for the Continental Army
and knitted shirts

1171
01:05:41,070 --> 01:05:43,164
for Washington's men.

1172
01:05:43,206 --> 01:05:47,974
But elsewhere in America,
the war was not going well.

1173
01:05:48,011 --> 01:05:51,413
The first joint American-
French military operation,

1174
01:05:51,448 --> 01:05:54,316
in Rhode Island, had failed
to take Newport

1175
01:05:54,350 --> 01:05:56,114
back from the British,

1176
01:05:56,152 --> 01:05:59,645
who opened up their
own offensive in the South.

1177
01:05:59,689 --> 01:06:02,625
They captured Savannah,
Georgia, and later,

1178
01:06:02,659 --> 01:06:07,359
Charleston, South Carolina,
where 5,000 American troops,

1179
01:06:07,397 --> 01:06:12,734
4 ships, and 300 pieces of
artillery were surrendered.

1180
01:06:12,969 --> 01:06:16,963
Soon, a British army, under
General Lord Cornwallis,

1181
01:06:17,006 --> 01:06:20,170
would begin marching
toward Virginia.

1182
01:06:20,210 --> 01:06:25,342
"Our present situation makes one
of two things essential to us,"

1183
01:06:25,381 --> 01:06:27,748
George Washington
wrote to Franklin.

1184
01:06:27,984 --> 01:06:32,046
"A peace or the most
vigorous aid of our allies,

1185
01:06:32,088 --> 01:06:35,354
particularly in
the article of money."

1186
01:06:35,391 --> 01:06:40,989
Lafayette reported to Franklin
how dire things had become.

1187
01:06:41,030 --> 01:06:44,330
Man as Lafayette: My dear
friend, You have no idea

1188
01:06:44,367 --> 01:06:47,064
of the shocking situation
the Army is in.

1189
01:06:47,103 --> 01:06:50,471
We are naked, shockingly
naked, and worse off on that

1190
01:06:50,507 --> 01:06:52,703
respect than we have ever been.

1191
01:06:52,742 --> 01:06:54,267
For God's sake let us have

1192
01:06:54,310 --> 01:06:56,541
fifteen or twenty thousand
uniforms

1193
01:06:56,579 --> 01:06:59,276
and let it be done in such
a way as will insure their

1194
01:06:59,315 --> 01:07:02,308
timely departure from France.

1195
01:07:02,352 --> 01:07:04,685
Narrator: In France,
managing the purchase

1196
01:07:04,721 --> 01:07:09,318
and shipment of supplies
proved frustratingly slow.

1197
01:07:09,359 --> 01:07:13,057
Franklin did what he could
to speed things up, but some

1198
01:07:13,096 --> 01:07:17,227
in Congress blamed him for the
delays anyway and discussed

1199
01:07:17,267 --> 01:07:19,702
having him replaced.

1200
01:07:19,736 --> 01:07:23,104
Vergennes was
angered at the news.

1201
01:07:23,139 --> 01:07:27,474
He approved an outright gift,
not a loan, the largest

1202
01:07:27,510 --> 01:07:31,413
of the war to the United
States, and wrote Congress

1203
01:07:31,447 --> 01:07:34,542
that it had been granted
specifically because

1204
01:07:34,584 --> 01:07:37,816
of Franklin's persistence.

1205
01:07:38,054 --> 01:07:41,115
Franklin, meanwhile,
wrote Congress,

1206
01:07:41,157 --> 01:07:44,093
asking to be replaced.

1207
01:07:44,127 --> 01:07:47,120
Man as Franklin: I have
pass'd my 75th Year.

1208
01:07:47,163 --> 01:07:52,101
I have been engag'd in publick
Affairs, and enjoy'd public

1209
01:07:52,135 --> 01:07:56,368
Confidence in some Shape or
other, during the long Term

1210
01:07:56,406 --> 01:08:00,810
of fifty Years, an Honour
sufficient to satisfy any

1211
01:08:00,843 --> 01:08:05,338
reasonable Ambition, and I
have no other left, but that

1212
01:08:05,381 --> 01:08:10,285
of Repose, which I hope
the Congress will grant me,

1213
01:08:10,320 --> 01:08:15,190
by sending some Person
to supply my Place.

1214
01:08:17,594 --> 01:08:22,658
Narrator: On November 19, 1781,
a young American merchant

1215
01:08:22,699 --> 01:08:26,363
named Elkanah Watson
paid a visit to Passy

1216
01:08:26,402 --> 01:08:29,702
and found the old man
lost in thought.

1217
01:08:29,739 --> 01:08:33,471
Franklin invited him in for
dinner, played a Scottish

1218
01:08:33,509 --> 01:08:37,776
pastoral tune for him on the
armonica, and then they talked

1219
01:08:37,814 --> 01:08:43,583
late into the night about
the state of the war.

1220
01:08:43,620 --> 01:08:46,556
Man as Elkanah Watson: We
weighed probabilities, balanc'd

1221
01:08:46,589 --> 01:08:51,391
vicissitudes, dissected the
best Maps; and finally it

1222
01:08:51,427 --> 01:08:54,556
resulted in a disheartening
foreboding,

1223
01:08:54,597 --> 01:08:56,532
that the English
Fleet wou'd intercept

1224
01:08:56,566 --> 01:09:00,731
and destroy the French Fleet,
Land their Army and brake up

1225
01:09:00,770 --> 01:09:03,296
Washington’s quarters.

1226
01:09:03,339 --> 01:09:07,743
Thus our unhappy Country would
again bleed at every vein

1227
01:09:07,777 --> 01:09:10,212
and the war commence
with fresh vigor

1228
01:09:10,246 --> 01:09:12,909
on the part
of our implacable enemy.

1229
01:09:14,751 --> 01:09:18,415
Cohn: Franklin was
extremely discouraged.

1230
01:09:18,454 --> 01:09:22,824
He was working night and day
to supply the Americans

1231
01:09:22,859 --> 01:09:26,261
with everything they needed.

1232
01:09:26,295 --> 01:09:31,893
But the war was dragging
on and on and on.

1233
01:09:31,934 --> 01:09:37,373
So, when, at midnight,
a courier came galloping into

1234
01:09:37,407 --> 01:09:40,900
Franklin's courtyard with
the news of the victory

1235
01:09:40,943 --> 01:09:45,210
at Yorktown, it transformed him.

1236
01:09:45,248 --> 01:09:47,843
Narrator: A month earlier,
Washington's army

1237
01:09:47,884 --> 01:09:52,481
of 9,000 Americans and nearly
as many French troops

1238
01:09:52,522 --> 01:09:56,220
had trapped British General
Cornwallis at Yorktown

1239
01:09:56,259 --> 01:09:58,251
on the Virginia Peninsula.

1240
01:09:58,294 --> 01:10:01,924
The French fleet offshore
had cut off any chance of his

1241
01:10:01,964 --> 01:10:05,731
being resupplied or reinforced.

1242
01:10:05,768 --> 01:10:09,671
After 9 days of heavy
bombardment, Cornwallis

1243
01:10:09,706 --> 01:10:16,442
surrendered his 8,000 troops
on October 19, 1781.

1244
01:10:16,479 --> 01:10:20,507
Lafayette, a division
commander of American forces,

1245
01:10:20,550 --> 01:10:23,748
was at Washington's side.

1246
01:10:23,786 --> 01:10:26,950
Isaacson: If France had not
supplied the ships,

1247
01:10:26,989 --> 01:10:29,356
if Lafayette hadn't come over,

1248
01:10:29,392 --> 01:10:32,760
if Vergennes and others
hadn't done what they did,

1249
01:10:32,795 --> 01:10:36,288
if we hadn't had
the French Navy helping by

1250
01:10:36,332 --> 01:10:40,428
the time we got to Yorktown,
I do not think that

1251
01:10:40,470 --> 01:10:44,430
the American Colonies would
have won the Revolution.

1252
01:10:44,474 --> 01:10:47,933
I think Benjamin Franklin,
by sealing the alliance

1253
01:10:47,977 --> 01:10:52,677
with France, did as much to
win the Revolution as anybody

1254
01:10:52,715 --> 01:10:55,446
with the possible exception
of George Washington.

1255
01:10:57,019 --> 01:11:00,353
Narrator: The Americans
had won a great victory,

1256
01:11:00,389 --> 01:11:04,622
but the British still had
26,000 troops in North America,

1257
01:11:04,660 --> 01:11:07,789
and the war with
England was not over.

1258
01:11:07,830 --> 01:11:10,823
Neither were Franklin’s duties.

1259
01:11:10,867 --> 01:11:15,771
Congress refused to accept his
resignation and instead gave him

1260
01:11:15,805 --> 01:11:17,706
an additional mission.

1261
01:11:17,740 --> 01:11:20,608
He was now part of
a delegation to begin peace

1262
01:11:20,643 --> 01:11:23,977
negotiations with England.

1263
01:11:24,013 --> 01:11:28,747
Franklin drew up a list of
4 non-negotiable demands

1264
01:11:28,785 --> 01:11:32,313
during informal talks with
the British and rebuffed their

1265
01:11:32,355 --> 01:11:35,325
suggestions that the
Americans cut the French

1266
01:11:35,358 --> 01:11:38,522
out of the deliberations.

1267
01:11:38,561 --> 01:11:42,794
To complicate things, when
two other American negotiators

1268
01:11:42,832 --> 01:11:45,825
arrived in Paris, they had
their own opinions

1269
01:11:45,868 --> 01:11:47,996
on the best way forward.

1270
01:11:48,037 --> 01:11:52,805
One was John Jay,
a brilliant New York lawyer.

1271
01:11:52,842 --> 01:11:56,870
The other was John Adams.

1272
01:11:56,913 --> 01:11:58,609
Man as Adams: That I have
no friendship

1273
01:11:58,648 --> 01:12:00,776
for Franklin, I avow.

1274
01:12:00,817 --> 01:12:03,810
That I am incapable of having
any with a man of his moral

1275
01:12:03,853 --> 01:12:06,618
sentiments, I avow.

1276
01:12:06,656 --> 01:12:09,387
His whole Life has been one
continued Insult

1277
01:12:09,425 --> 01:12:11,860
to good Manners and to Decency.

1278
01:12:11,894 --> 01:12:14,523
I can have no
Dependence on his Word.

1279
01:12:14,564 --> 01:12:18,433
I never know when he speaks
the Truth, and when not.

1280
01:12:18,467 --> 01:12:21,665
I wish with all my Soul he
was out of public Service,

1281
01:12:21,704 --> 01:12:24,731
and in Retirement,
repenting of his past Life,

1282
01:12:24,774 --> 01:12:29,576
and preparing, as he ought
to be, for another World.

1283
01:12:29,612 --> 01:12:32,013
Ellis: Franklin was
the kind of man put on Earth

1284
01:12:32,048 --> 01:12:35,450
to drive a man like
Adams absolutely crazy.

1285
01:12:35,484 --> 01:12:37,817
Franklin, himself, writes back
to the Congress during

1286
01:12:37,854 --> 01:12:40,449
the time they're both Ministers
in France and says,

1287
01:12:40,489 --> 01:12:43,482
"John Adams is an honest man;
sometimes, a great one.

1288
01:12:43,526 --> 01:12:46,428
"But, in some ways and some
things, absolutely out

1289
01:12:46,462 --> 01:12:48,055
of his senses."

1290
01:12:48,097 --> 01:12:50,362
Narrator: Despite their
differences, the Americans

1291
01:12:50,399 --> 01:12:52,095
settled down to work.

1292
01:12:52,134 --> 01:12:53,898
John Jay agreed with Adams,

1293
01:12:53,936 --> 01:12:56,906
that they should not consult
with Vergennes,

1294
01:12:56,939 --> 01:13:00,501
even though the alliance with
France required it.

1295
01:13:00,543 --> 01:13:05,538
For the sake of unanimity,
Franklin reluctantly consented.

1296
01:13:05,581 --> 01:13:10,485
By November of 1782, more
than a year after Yorktown,

1297
01:13:10,519 --> 01:13:14,615
a preliminary agreement
seemed within reach.

1298
01:13:14,657 --> 01:13:18,094
England would recognize
American independence,

1299
01:13:18,127 --> 01:13:20,995
remove its troops
from the United States,

1300
01:13:21,030 --> 01:13:24,728
allow American fishing rights
off the coast of Newfoundland,

1301
01:13:24,767 --> 01:13:29,102
and relinquish any claims
south of the Great Lakes.

1302
01:13:29,138 --> 01:13:31,403
But there was a sticking point.

1303
01:13:31,440 --> 01:13:34,569
The British wanted a provision
that would compensate

1304
01:13:34,610 --> 01:13:38,103
American Loyalists for their
losses during the war.

1305
01:13:38,147 --> 01:13:41,140
Adams and Jay wavered
on the issue.

1306
01:13:41,183 --> 01:13:44,585
Franklin wouldn't budge.

1307
01:13:44,620 --> 01:13:46,145
Jenkinson:
And Franklin got angry.

1308
01:13:46,188 --> 01:13:47,799
He didn't very often
get angry, and he said,

1309
01:13:47,823 --> 01:13:50,952
"Wait a minute.
You ruined our crops.

1310
01:13:50,993 --> 01:13:53,485
"You burned our cities.

1311
01:13:53,529 --> 01:13:56,021
"You took our citizens
across the Atlantic

1312
01:13:56,065 --> 01:13:57,863
"and tortured them.

1313
01:13:57,900 --> 01:14:01,064
"You engaged in state
terror against the citizens

1314
01:14:01,103 --> 01:14:03,129
"of the United States.

1315
01:14:03,172 --> 01:14:05,903
"Don't talk to me about
recompensing Loyalists unless

1316
01:14:05,942 --> 01:14:09,572
"you want to pay for Norfolk
and all the cities you burned

1317
01:14:09,612 --> 01:14:11,590
"and trashed, and the houses
that you ruined, and the lives

1318
01:14:11,614 --> 01:14:13,446
that you shattered."

1319
01:14:13,482 --> 01:14:16,077
Narrator: Even Adams was
struck by Franklin's vehemence

1320
01:14:16,118 --> 01:14:18,019
on the issue.

1321
01:14:18,054 --> 01:14:21,855
His fury came in part from
reports of his son William's

1322
01:14:21,891 --> 01:14:24,793
conduct back in
the United States.

1323
01:14:24,827 --> 01:14:28,594
Intent on keeping the war
going, despite the British

1324
01:14:28,631 --> 01:14:32,762
defeat at Yorktown, William's
group of guerrilla marauders

1325
01:14:32,802 --> 01:14:35,067
had pressed forward
with their raids.

1326
01:14:35,104 --> 01:14:39,508
In one notorious incident,
they hanged a Patriot leader

1327
01:14:39,542 --> 01:14:42,102
in the midst of what was
supposed to be a peaceful

1328
01:14:42,144 --> 01:14:44,204
exchange of prisoners.

1329
01:14:44,246 --> 01:14:47,978
It was an outrage that
threatened to mushroom into

1330
01:14:48,017 --> 01:14:51,613
an international crisis,
complicating Franklin's

1331
01:14:51,654 --> 01:14:55,250
diplomacy in Paris at
precisely the wrong time.

1332
01:14:57,626 --> 01:15:01,222
At the end of 1782,
a preliminary agreement

1333
01:15:01,263 --> 01:15:04,825
of peace was signed and sent
to London and Philadelphia

1334
01:15:04,867 --> 01:15:06,859
for approval.

1335
01:15:06,902 --> 01:15:10,771
It did not require reparations
to Americans who had remained

1336
01:15:10,806 --> 01:15:12,672
loyal to England.

1337
01:15:12,708 --> 01:15:16,577
And France, which had given
so much to the new nation,

1338
01:15:16,612 --> 01:15:19,582
had been excluded altogether.

1339
01:15:19,615 --> 01:15:23,177
Franklin was assigned the
task of smoothing things over

1340
01:15:23,219 --> 01:15:25,120
with Vergennes.

1341
01:15:25,154 --> 01:15:27,232
Jenkinson: Franklin writes one
of the greatest letters

1342
01:15:27,256 --> 01:15:29,020
he ever wrote to Vergennes,

1343
01:15:29,058 --> 01:15:31,823
apologizing for
this in a beautiful way and...

1344
01:15:31,861 --> 01:15:34,524
And really disarming the...
What could have been a huge

1345
01:15:34,563 --> 01:15:38,000
international crisis, that we
had not fulfilled our promise

1346
01:15:38,034 --> 01:15:40,765
to work out the diplomatic
aspects of the end of the war

1347
01:15:40,803 --> 01:15:43,272
with France and not separately.

1348
01:15:43,305 --> 01:15:46,275
But he also, in that same letter
of apology to Vergennes,

1349
01:15:46,308 --> 01:15:48,607
this masterpiece, said,
"And, by the way,

1350
01:15:48,644 --> 01:15:52,172
we need some more money, too,"
and he got it!

1351
01:15:52,214 --> 01:15:56,174
Narrator: Finally,
on September 3, 1783,

1352
01:15:56,218 --> 01:15:59,120
the Treaty of Paris was signed.

1353
01:15:59,155 --> 01:16:02,785
England officially recognized
its former colonies

1354
01:16:02,825 --> 01:16:05,260
as the United States of America.

1355
01:16:05,294 --> 01:16:08,662
The Revolutionary War was over.

1356
01:16:10,032 --> 01:16:12,900
Members of the British
delegation refused to pose

1357
01:16:12,935 --> 01:16:15,769
for the portrait meant to
commemorate the moment.

1358
01:16:15,805 --> 01:16:19,264
In the unfinished painting,
Franklin sits in the middle,

1359
01:16:19,308 --> 01:16:22,767
with his grandson Temple,
the delegation's secretary,

1360
01:16:22,812 --> 01:16:24,940
sitting to his left.

1361
01:16:24,980 --> 01:16:28,917
On Franklin's right sits
John Adams, already worried

1362
01:16:28,951 --> 01:16:33,047
about how history would
remember the Revolution.

1363
01:16:33,089 --> 01:16:35,581
Man as Adams: The history
of our revolution will be

1364
01:16:35,624 --> 01:16:39,652
one continued lie
from one end to the other.

1365
01:16:39,695 --> 01:16:42,722
And the essence of the whole
will be that Dr. Franklin's

1366
01:16:42,765 --> 01:16:46,202
electrical rod smote the Earth,
and out sprang

1367
01:16:46,235 --> 01:16:48,261
General Washington.

1368
01:16:48,304 --> 01:16:52,708
That Franklin electrified him
with his rod and thence forward

1369
01:16:52,741 --> 01:16:55,939
these two conducted
all the policy, negotiations,

1370
01:16:55,978 --> 01:16:58,743
legislation and war.

1371
01:17:04,019 --> 01:17:06,250
Ellis: The Treaty of 1783
is one of the most

1372
01:17:06,288 --> 01:17:09,622
lopsided treaties in
American diplomatic history.

1373
01:17:09,658 --> 01:17:13,117
It's a total victory
for the United States.

1374
01:17:13,162 --> 01:17:15,961
Its independence is recognized
by France and the rest

1375
01:17:15,998 --> 01:17:17,864
of Europe and England.

1376
01:17:17,900 --> 01:17:20,631
And we get a third of
a continent, everything from the

1377
01:17:20,669 --> 01:17:22,814
Mississippi to the Atlantic,
and from the Canadian border

1378
01:17:22,838 --> 01:17:24,704
to Florida.

1379
01:17:24,740 --> 01:17:27,642
We now become a nation
larger than France, England,

1380
01:17:27,676 --> 01:17:29,645
and Spain put together.

1381
01:17:29,678 --> 01:17:33,774
There is a consensus, at the
end, uh, among the negotiators,

1382
01:17:33,816 --> 01:17:36,411
including the Brits,
that we're witnessing

1383
01:17:36,652 --> 01:17:38,780
the creation of
an American empire.

1384
01:17:41,190 --> 01:17:43,716
Cohn: By the end of the war,
France's coffers were

1385
01:17:43,759 --> 01:17:46,194
more or less depleted.

1386
01:17:46,228 --> 01:17:50,689
France had the satisfaction
in triumphing over their

1387
01:17:50,733 --> 01:17:52,998
arch enemy Great Britain,

1388
01:17:53,035 --> 01:17:58,064
but they hadn't counted on
bankrupting, uh, their own

1389
01:17:58,107 --> 01:18:00,303
country in the process.

1390
01:18:00,342 --> 01:18:05,144
So, Franklin extracted,
in a way, the lifeblood

1391
01:18:05,181 --> 01:18:11,678
out of the royal coffers and he
gave in return something

1392
01:18:11,720 --> 01:18:14,315
that the monarchy was not
counting on.

1393
01:18:16,926 --> 01:18:21,022
He lit a fire,
not only in France,

1394
01:18:21,063 --> 01:18:26,058
but in all of Europe,
promoting the democratic ideals

1395
01:18:26,101 --> 01:18:29,162
that the
United States stood for.

1396
01:18:29,205 --> 01:18:34,439
To put down tyranny was
something that all

1397
01:18:34,476 --> 01:18:37,036
the peasants could understand.

1398
01:18:41,884 --> 01:18:46,185
Narrator: For Native Americans,
the treaty was devastating.

1399
01:18:46,222 --> 01:18:49,920
Many Nations had decided that
they would be better off by

1400
01:18:49,959 --> 01:18:53,487
allying with the British, not
the colonists, who for nearly

1401
01:18:53,729 --> 01:18:58,167
2 centuries had been
encroaching on their lands.

1402
01:18:58,200 --> 01:19:00,931
Now the United States
was claiming

1403
01:19:00,970 --> 01:19:03,235
an even vaster territory,

1404
01:19:03,272 --> 01:19:06,936
and as its white citizens
pushed farther west,

1405
01:19:06,976 --> 01:19:10,879
more and more Native people
would be dispossessed,

1406
01:19:10,913 --> 01:19:15,817
regardless of whose side they
had taken during the war.

1407
01:19:23,058 --> 01:19:27,826
In the summer and fall of 1783,
huge balloons suddenly

1408
01:19:27,863 --> 01:19:31,163
appeared in
the skies over Paris.

1409
01:19:31,200 --> 01:19:34,136
Hundreds of thousands of
people turned out to see

1410
01:19:34,169 --> 01:19:38,106
human beings flying for
the first time.

1411
01:19:38,140 --> 01:19:41,304
And Franklin is watching this,
with his usual spirit of,

1412
01:19:41,343 --> 01:19:43,938
you know, what does this
portend and what are

1413
01:19:43,979 --> 01:19:49,008
the applications for war,
for travel, for recreation.

1414
01:19:49,051 --> 01:19:52,249
And a man that was standing
next to him, uh, watched all

1415
01:19:52,288 --> 01:19:57,852
this and said, "Interesting,
but what's the use of it?"

1416
01:19:57,893 --> 01:20:00,556
And Franklin turned
to him and said,

1417
01:20:00,796 --> 01:20:03,231
"What's the use
of a newborn baby?"

1418
01:20:04,800 --> 01:20:08,430
Narrator: In early 1785,
another balloon crossed

1419
01:20:08,470 --> 01:20:11,304
the English Channel
and landed in France.

1420
01:20:11,340 --> 01:20:15,300
It carried the world's first
airmail letter addressed to

1421
01:20:15,344 --> 01:20:19,247
Temple Franklin at Passy.

1422
01:20:19,281 --> 01:20:23,184
It came from his father,
William, who was now in London.

1423
01:20:23,218 --> 01:20:26,347
He had reestablished his
relationship with Temple

1424
01:20:26,388 --> 01:20:30,450
and was hoping to do
the same with his father.

1425
01:20:30,492 --> 01:20:33,394
Man as William Franklin:
Dear and Honoured Father,

1426
01:20:33,429 --> 01:20:35,364
Ever since the termination

1427
01:20:35,397 --> 01:20:39,164
of the unhappy contest between
Great Britain and America,

1428
01:20:39,201 --> 01:20:42,069
I have been
anxious to write to you,

1429
01:20:42,104 --> 01:20:45,165
and to endeavor to revive
that affectionate connection

1430
01:20:45,207 --> 01:20:47,938
which till the commencement
of the late troubles

1431
01:20:47,976 --> 01:20:52,380
had been the pride
and happiness of my life.

1432
01:20:53,549 --> 01:20:57,850
Man as Franklin: Dear Son,
I received your letter.

1433
01:20:57,886 --> 01:21:01,550
Nothing has ever hurt me so
much and affected me with such

1434
01:21:01,590 --> 01:21:07,052
keen sensations as to find
myself deserted in my old age

1435
01:21:07,096 --> 01:21:12,160
by my only son; and not only
deserted, but to find him

1436
01:21:12,201 --> 01:21:14,966
taking up arms against me.

1437
01:21:15,003 --> 01:21:19,373
There are natural duties
which precede political ones,

1438
01:21:19,408 --> 01:21:23,470
and cannot be
extinguished by them.

1439
01:21:23,512 --> 01:21:27,506
You may confide to your son
the family affairs you wished

1440
01:21:27,549 --> 01:21:30,075
to confer upon with me.

1441
01:21:30,119 --> 01:21:34,022
I shall hear from you by him.

1442
01:21:34,056 --> 01:21:35,991
Brands: Benjamin Franklin
was estranged from

1443
01:21:36,024 --> 01:21:39,461
many of his British associates
and friends during the war.

1444
01:21:39,495 --> 01:21:42,954
But after the war, he was
able to repair all those

1445
01:21:42,998 --> 01:21:46,332
relationships,
except with William.

1446
01:21:46,368 --> 01:21:49,463
And I'm not sure
I can say exactly why.

1447
01:21:49,505 --> 01:21:53,567
William is willing to make up,
but Benjamin is not.

1448
01:21:53,609 --> 01:21:56,909
And I just sort of imagine
that William is... is holding out

1449
01:21:56,945 --> 01:22:00,109
his hand to his father and
his father just won't take it.

1450
01:22:00,149 --> 01:22:02,209
I guess the hurt went too deep.

1451
01:22:04,319 --> 01:22:08,279
Narrator: By May of 1785,
Thomas Jefferson had arrived

1452
01:22:08,323 --> 01:22:12,124
as the new ambassador to
France, and Franklin learned

1453
01:22:12,161 --> 01:22:16,360
that Congress had finally
accepted his resignation.

1454
01:22:16,398 --> 01:22:20,301
By July, with his grandsons
Temple and Benny,

1455
01:22:20,335 --> 01:22:23,100
he was ready to leave.

1456
01:22:23,138 --> 01:22:27,234
They crossed the Channel
and lingered for several days

1457
01:22:27,276 --> 01:22:30,542
in the port at Southampton,
where Franklin visited

1458
01:22:30,579 --> 01:22:34,573
with some of his
oldest English friends.

1459
01:22:34,616 --> 01:22:37,518
Then William arrived.

1460
01:22:37,553 --> 01:22:42,014
He and his father had not
seen each other in a decade.

1461
01:22:44,726 --> 01:22:48,959
Whatever expectations
William held for the reunion,

1462
01:22:48,997 --> 01:22:52,559
his father treated it as
a business negotiation.

1463
01:22:52,601 --> 01:22:55,537
He insisted that the deeds
to William's properties

1464
01:22:55,571 --> 01:22:59,201
in America be turned
over to Temple.

1465
01:22:59,241 --> 01:23:04,043
Franklin also made clear that
Temple, William's own son,

1466
01:23:04,079 --> 01:23:08,312
would be returning to
the United States with him.

1467
01:23:08,350 --> 01:23:11,252
Legal documents were drawn up.

1468
01:23:11,286 --> 01:23:15,053
William signed them all.

1469
01:23:15,090 --> 01:23:18,060
They would never see
each other again.

1470
01:23:23,065 --> 01:23:27,059
On July 27, Franklin's
ship set sail

1471
01:23:27,102 --> 01:23:30,402
for his 8th crossing
of the Atlantic.

1472
01:23:30,439 --> 01:23:34,171
On board, he soon immersed
himself in the most sustained

1473
01:23:34,209 --> 01:23:38,044
scientific work since his
experiments with electricity

1474
01:23:38,080 --> 01:23:41,539
back in 1752.

1475
01:23:41,583 --> 01:23:45,520
Most of his time was focused
on observations and theories

1476
01:23:45,554 --> 01:23:50,322
about the ocean and ships...
From more efficient designs

1477
01:23:50,359 --> 01:23:54,091
for hulls and sails, to thoughts
on the outrigger boats

1478
01:23:54,129 --> 01:23:58,726
of Pacific Islanders and the
canoes of Native Americans,

1479
01:23:58,767 --> 01:24:03,205
from proposals for better
anchors to a better soup bowl

1480
01:24:03,238 --> 01:24:07,573
that would be less likely to
spill when the ship tilted.

1481
01:24:07,609 --> 01:24:09,441
And with Temple
and Benny's help,

1482
01:24:09,478 --> 01:24:13,279
he continued gathering details
about the Gulf Stream-

1483
01:24:13,315 --> 01:24:16,046
taking the temperature
of the air and water

1484
01:24:16,084 --> 01:24:20,317
3 times a day for more than
40 days.

1485
01:24:22,324 --> 01:24:26,352
Finally, his ship docked at
the wharf in Philadelphia,

1486
01:24:26,395 --> 01:24:31,129
62 years after his first
arrival as a teenage runaway.

1487
01:24:33,835 --> 01:24:37,397
Back then, no one
had heard of him.

1488
01:24:37,439 --> 01:24:41,171
This time, he was greeted
by booming cannons,

1489
01:24:41,209 --> 01:24:42,768
ringing church bells,

1490
01:24:42,811 --> 01:24:46,771
and the cheers
of his fellow Americans.

1491
01:24:46,815 --> 01:24:49,478
Schiff: He's been away for
8 1/2 years.

1492
01:24:49,518 --> 01:24:51,453
He's about to see
a country that he's created.

1493
01:24:51,486 --> 01:24:53,250
It didn't exist when he'd left.

1494
01:24:53,288 --> 01:24:56,747
It's a really, um, rather
extraordinary return.

1495
01:24:56,792 --> 01:24:59,591
He's greeted at the pier
in Philadelphia by crowds

1496
01:24:59,628 --> 01:25:01,563
and acclamations.

1497
01:25:01,597 --> 01:25:04,567
Narrator: The crowd carried
him to his Market Street home,

1498
01:25:04,600 --> 01:25:07,297
where his daughter Sally
introduced him to

1499
01:25:07,336 --> 01:25:12,240
4 new grandchildren who had been
born while he was away.

1500
01:25:14,309 --> 01:25:17,677
Man as Franklin: I am now
in the Bosom of my Family,

1501
01:25:17,713 --> 01:25:20,877
and find four
new little Prattlers,

1502
01:25:21,116 --> 01:25:22,709
who cling about the Knees

1503
01:25:22,751 --> 01:25:27,883
of their Grand Papa,
and afford me great Pleasure.

1504
01:25:37,132 --> 01:25:40,296
Narrator: In May of 1787,
delegates from

1505
01:25:40,335 --> 01:25:43,737
all the former colonies
began converging again

1506
01:25:43,772 --> 01:25:45,900
on Philadelphia.

1507
01:25:46,141 --> 01:25:49,373
The Articles of Confederation
that had been drawn up after

1508
01:25:49,411 --> 01:25:52,643
the Declaration of Independence
had proved inadequate

1509
01:25:52,681 --> 01:25:56,379
for the new nation
during the Revolution.

1510
01:25:56,418 --> 01:25:58,512
Isaacson: When the
Constitutional Convention

1511
01:25:58,553 --> 01:25:59,885
is called,

1512
01:25:59,921 --> 01:26:01,822
it's really a last chance
for America

1513
01:26:01,857 --> 01:26:03,723
to get its act together.

1514
01:26:03,759 --> 01:26:06,923
The Articles of Confederation
really did not do what

1515
01:26:07,162 --> 01:26:08,653
Franklin had asked for,

1516
01:26:08,697 --> 01:26:13,226
which is unite the Colonies
into one nation.

1517
01:26:13,268 --> 01:26:15,737
Narrator: When George
Washington arrived

1518
01:26:15,771 --> 01:26:18,764
in Philadelphia,
his first stop was to pay

1519
01:26:18,807 --> 01:26:21,367
Franklin a visit.

1520
01:26:21,410 --> 01:26:24,380
Man: At the
Constitutional Convention,

1521
01:26:24,413 --> 01:26:27,872
he was one
of the two great figures.

1522
01:26:27,916 --> 01:26:29,714
There was George Washington
and there was

1523
01:26:29,751 --> 01:26:34,416
Benjamin Franklin,
and nobody else came third.

1524
01:26:34,456 --> 01:26:36,823
Ellis: Up until the end
of the War,

1525
01:26:36,858 --> 01:26:39,453
if you were trying to rate
American leaders,

1526
01:26:39,494 --> 01:26:41,588
Washington would be behind him

1527
01:26:41,630 --> 01:26:43,861
and Franklin would
be at the head.

1528
01:26:43,899 --> 01:26:45,868
Franklin's the great man.

1529
01:26:45,901 --> 01:26:49,565
By the end of the War,
Washington has gone ahead,

1530
01:26:49,604 --> 01:26:53,541
and in his will, Franklin says,
"I leave him my crab-tree

1531
01:26:53,575 --> 01:26:56,977
walking stick for his
stroll towards destiny."

1532
01:26:57,212 --> 01:27:01,274
Narrator: On May 25, 1787,
when the convention

1533
01:27:01,316 --> 01:27:05,686
gathered for its first day,
Washington was unanimously

1534
01:27:05,721 --> 01:27:08,247
elected to preside.

1535
01:27:08,290 --> 01:27:11,886
Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin's
health is starting to fade.

1536
01:27:11,927 --> 01:27:14,590
Prisoners from the Walnut
Street Jail, they have to

1537
01:27:14,629 --> 01:27:17,326
carry him from his home on
Market Street

1538
01:27:17,365 --> 01:27:18,856
for the 2 or 3 blocks

1539
01:27:18,900 --> 01:27:22,530
to get to what is
now called Independence Hall.

1540
01:27:22,571 --> 01:27:26,565
Narrator: Franklin was 81,
nearly crippled by gout

1541
01:27:26,608 --> 01:27:28,474
and kidney stones.

1542
01:27:28,510 --> 01:27:32,743
Still, he would attend
every session but one.

1543
01:27:34,416 --> 01:27:38,376
From the start, it was clear
that the 55 delegates did not

1544
01:27:38,420 --> 01:27:40,582
agree on the details
of how to fix

1545
01:27:40,622 --> 01:27:43,023
the Articles of Confederation.

1546
01:27:43,258 --> 01:27:47,559
Franklin favored a single-body
Congress and a 3-member

1547
01:27:47,596 --> 01:27:51,033
executive council instead
of a president.

1548
01:27:51,266 --> 01:27:54,759
Virginians proposed
2 legislative bodies...

1549
01:27:54,803 --> 01:27:56,465
A House of Representatives

1550
01:27:56,505 --> 01:27:59,498
that would select the members
of an upper body

1551
01:27:59,541 --> 01:28:01,032
to be called the Senate

1552
01:28:01,276 --> 01:28:04,804
and also name the president
and judiciary.

1553
01:28:04,846 --> 01:28:08,476
Alexander Hamilton of New York
thought the president should

1554
01:28:08,517 --> 01:28:11,544
be elected... for life.

1555
01:28:11,586 --> 01:28:15,455
Fierce debates on
all the issues raged for days

1556
01:28:15,490 --> 01:28:18,426
during a sweltering
Philadelphia summer.

1557
01:28:20,929 --> 01:28:22,488
Man as Franklin:
We must not expect

1558
01:28:22,531 --> 01:28:24,864
that a new government
may be formed,

1559
01:28:24,900 --> 01:28:28,996
as a game of chess may
be played, by a skillful hand,

1560
01:28:29,037 --> 01:28:31,666
without a fault.

1561
01:28:31,706 --> 01:28:35,939
We are making
experiments in politics.

1562
01:28:35,977 --> 01:28:40,005
The players of our game
are so many, their ideas

1563
01:28:40,048 --> 01:28:43,450
so different, their
prejudices so strong

1564
01:28:43,485 --> 01:28:45,317
and so various,

1565
01:28:45,353 --> 01:28:49,518
that not a move can be
made that is not contested.

1566
01:28:52,994 --> 01:28:55,930
Narrator: The convention adopted
many provisions

1567
01:28:55,964 --> 01:28:58,866
that Franklin did
not initially support...

1568
01:28:58,900 --> 01:29:04,430
A 2-body legislature, a single
executive who could veto laws...

1569
01:29:04,472 --> 01:29:08,500
And others that he did...
A 4-year presidential term,

1570
01:29:08,543 --> 01:29:11,513
the legislature's power
of impeachment,

1571
01:29:11,546 --> 01:29:14,846
and no requirement of property
ownership for voting

1572
01:29:14,883 --> 01:29:17,478
or holding office.

1573
01:29:17,519 --> 01:29:20,546
One of the thorniest issues
was how Congress

1574
01:29:20,589 --> 01:29:22,421
would be apportioned.

1575
01:29:22,457 --> 01:29:25,825
Under the Articles of
Confederation, each state had

1576
01:29:25,861 --> 01:29:29,923
an equal vote, and delegates
from smaller states demanded

1577
01:29:29,965 --> 01:29:32,025
that it stay that way.

1578
01:29:32,067 --> 01:29:35,936
Larger states, which would be
contributing more in taxes,

1579
01:29:35,971 --> 01:29:39,669
wanted Congress to be
based on population.

1580
01:29:39,708 --> 01:29:42,678
Franklin was placed on
a committee to find

1581
01:29:42,711 --> 01:29:44,976
a workable compromise.

1582
01:29:45,013 --> 01:29:48,973
Isaacson: And, finally, Franklin
gets up and he says,

1583
01:29:49,017 --> 01:29:51,714
"When we were young tradesmen
here in Philadelphia,

1584
01:29:51,753 --> 01:29:54,814
"we had a joint of wood
that didn't quite fit,

1585
01:29:54,856 --> 01:29:57,485
"we'd take a little from one
side and shave from the other

1586
01:29:57,525 --> 01:30:00,757
until we had a joint that would
hold together for centuries."

1587
01:30:00,795 --> 01:30:04,664
And his point was that
compromises may not make

1588
01:30:04,699 --> 01:30:08,033
great heroes, but they do
make great democracies.

1589
01:30:08,069 --> 01:30:11,164
Narrator: As the impasse over
apportionment threatened to

1590
01:30:11,406 --> 01:30:14,467
derail the convention,
Franklin began inviting

1591
01:30:14,509 --> 01:30:17,502
important delegates to
his home, where they could

1592
01:30:17,545 --> 01:30:20,572
socialize in the late
afternoon, under the branches

1593
01:30:20,615 --> 01:30:26,577
of his mulberry tree,
and try to find common ground.

1594
01:30:26,621 --> 01:30:29,557
Isaacson: They discuss science,
they discuss the things

1595
01:30:29,591 --> 01:30:32,186
they're talking about that they
have to compromise on.

1596
01:30:32,427 --> 01:30:35,829
And he helps cool the passions
of that hot summer

1597
01:30:35,864 --> 01:30:38,527
under the shade
of his mulberry tree.

1598
01:30:41,436 --> 01:30:44,736
Narrator: In the end,
a compromise was reached.

1599
01:30:44,773 --> 01:30:48,801
Each state would have the same
number of senators, 2,

1600
01:30:48,843 --> 01:30:51,677
chosen by their legislatures.

1601
01:30:51,713 --> 01:30:54,615
The members of the House
of Representatives would be

1602
01:30:54,649 --> 01:30:59,485
elected by voters, white men
only, and each state's share

1603
01:30:59,521 --> 01:31:02,958
would be based
on its population.

1604
01:31:02,991 --> 01:31:06,621
To mollify the southern
states, their populations

1605
01:31:06,661 --> 01:31:10,462
would include their number
of enslaved people,

1606
01:31:10,498 --> 01:31:13,491
but each of those human beings
would be counted

1607
01:31:13,535 --> 01:31:17,097
as only three-fifths
of a person.

1608
01:31:17,138 --> 01:31:19,450
Ellis: They can't talk about
slavery directly, and the word

1609
01:31:19,474 --> 01:31:24,105
"slavery" is never mentioned
in the document itself.

1610
01:31:24,145 --> 01:31:29,209
The difficult fact to accept
is that the Union is only

1611
01:31:29,250 --> 01:31:32,186
possible if it
includes the South.

1612
01:31:32,220 --> 01:31:36,021
And the states south of the
Chesapeake are committed

1613
01:31:36,057 --> 01:31:39,721
to slavery, especially
Virginia and South Carolina.

1614
01:31:39,761 --> 01:31:45,029
If you did the moral thing in
the summer of 1787 and took

1615
01:31:45,066 --> 01:31:48,867
a clear stand and insisted
on it, the Constitution would

1616
01:31:48,903 --> 01:31:50,599
have never passed.

1617
01:31:52,040 --> 01:31:54,771
Chaplin: It was a tragic
compromise, obviously, for many

1618
01:31:54,809 --> 01:31:57,244
populations in the United
States who had no party

1619
01:31:57,278 --> 01:31:59,042
to this agreement.

1620
01:31:59,080 --> 01:32:00,791
They had never agreed that
they would be represented

1621
01:32:00,815 --> 01:32:02,647
in this way.

1622
01:32:02,684 --> 01:32:05,586
And, so, the compromise
looks especially compromised

1623
01:32:05,620 --> 01:32:07,179
in those terms.

1624
01:32:07,222 --> 01:32:12,286
This is America's original sin,
and they know it.

1625
01:32:12,527 --> 01:32:16,191
Nobody in the Convention
or at that moment

1626
01:32:16,231 --> 01:32:20,134
talks about slavery as anything
other than a necessary evil.

1627
01:32:20,168 --> 01:32:22,603
The original sin of slavery

1628
01:32:22,637 --> 01:32:27,974
was more than just
simply compromising.

1629
01:32:28,009 --> 01:32:30,774
The original
sin of slavery began, at least

1630
01:32:30,812 --> 01:32:34,112
for these colonists,
years before.

1631
01:32:35,683 --> 01:32:40,849
For Franklin, unity and
compromise was the only thing

1632
01:32:40,889 --> 01:32:44,121
that could make this new
nation move forward.

1633
01:32:44,159 --> 01:32:47,994
Without it, it would be
a failed journey.

1634
01:32:48,029 --> 01:32:51,966
American democracy would not
develop without it.

1635
01:32:52,000 --> 01:32:56,335
And for that reason,
Franklin, as well as others,

1636
01:32:56,571 --> 01:32:59,837
sidestepped the issue
of slavery.

1637
01:32:59,874 --> 01:33:04,972
Narrator: On September 17, 1787,
the delegates gathered

1638
01:33:05,013 --> 01:33:08,211
to vote on
the proposed Constitution.

1639
01:33:08,249 --> 01:33:13,085
Benjamin Franklin made
the motion for its adoption.

1640
01:33:13,121 --> 01:33:15,317
Man as Franklin:
I agree to this Constitution

1641
01:33:15,356 --> 01:33:18,326
with all its faults,
if they are such,

1642
01:33:18,359 --> 01:33:23,024
because I think a general
government necessary for us.

1643
01:33:23,064 --> 01:33:26,694
I doubt, too, whether any
other convention we can obtain

1644
01:33:26,734 --> 01:33:30,000
may be able to make
a better Constitution.

1645
01:33:30,038 --> 01:33:32,940
For, when you assemble
a number of men, to have

1646
01:33:32,974 --> 01:33:36,274
the advantage of their joint
wisdom, you inevitably

1647
01:33:36,311 --> 01:33:39,713
assemble with those men
all their prejudices,

1648
01:33:39,747 --> 01:33:42,114
their passions,
their errors of opinion,

1649
01:33:42,150 --> 01:33:45,348
their local interests,
and their selfish views.

1650
01:33:45,386 --> 01:33:48,686
From such an assembly can
a perfect production

1651
01:33:48,723 --> 01:33:51,352
be expected?

1652
01:33:51,392 --> 01:33:55,261
It therefore astonishes me,
sir, to find this system

1653
01:33:55,296 --> 01:33:59,631
approaching so near to
perfection as it does;

1654
01:33:59,667 --> 01:34:03,195
and I think it will astonish our
enemies, who are waiting

1655
01:34:03,238 --> 01:34:06,902
with confidence to hear that
our councils are confounded,

1656
01:34:06,941 --> 01:34:11,003
like those of the builders of
Babel, and that our States are

1657
01:34:11,045 --> 01:34:14,038
on the point of separation,
only to meet hereafter

1658
01:34:14,082 --> 01:34:17,382
for the purpose of cutting
one another's throats.

1659
01:34:17,418 --> 01:34:22,686
Thus I consent, sir, to this
Constitution because I expect

1660
01:34:22,724 --> 01:34:26,752
no better, and because I
am not sure that it is

1661
01:34:26,794 --> 01:34:29,696
not the best.

1662
01:34:34,068 --> 01:34:37,971
Narrator: Franklin's motion
was approved.

1663
01:34:38,006 --> 01:34:42,068
One by one, the delegates
signed the new Constitution,

1664
01:34:42,110 --> 01:34:45,808
so it could be sent to the
states for ratification.

1665
01:34:45,847 --> 01:34:47,782
Skemp: He signed it.

1666
01:34:47,815 --> 01:34:53,755
And I think he was relieved that
it brought Americans together.

1667
01:34:53,788 --> 01:34:56,053
And that was something that
he had wanted ever since

1668
01:34:56,090 --> 01:34:58,025
the Albany Conference.

1669
01:34:58,059 --> 01:35:03,088
He had wanted Americans to
be a part of one grand whole.

1670
01:35:03,131 --> 01:35:04,759
This might not be the best,

1671
01:35:04,799 --> 01:35:06,243
but it was the best
that you could get,

1672
01:35:06,267 --> 01:35:08,031
and he recognized that.

1673
01:35:08,069 --> 01:35:11,233
The Constitution is
the framework for an ongoing

1674
01:35:11,272 --> 01:35:13,707
argument about who we are
as a people

1675
01:35:13,741 --> 01:35:15,403
and where power resides.

1676
01:35:15,443 --> 01:35:18,436
And it's presumed that each
generation will be engaged

1677
01:35:18,479 --> 01:35:21,039
in an argument and take
it in new directions.

1678
01:35:21,082 --> 01:35:23,415
What do we mean by,
"We the people"?

1679
01:35:23,451 --> 01:35:25,162
And certainly,
we mean a lot more people now

1680
01:35:25,186 --> 01:35:27,348
than we did then.

1681
01:35:27,388 --> 01:35:29,254
Narrator: With the work done,

1682
01:35:29,290 --> 01:35:32,852
the doors to Independence Hall
were thrown open.

1683
01:35:32,894 --> 01:35:35,193
Franklin was approached
by one of the city's

1684
01:35:35,230 --> 01:35:39,167
most prominent citizens,
Elizabeth Willing Powel,

1685
01:35:39,200 --> 01:35:42,136
whose own rights had
not been considered.

1686
01:35:42,170 --> 01:35:46,039
She asked him, "Well, Doctor,
what have we got,

1687
01:35:46,074 --> 01:35:49,340
a republic or a monarchy?"

1688
01:35:49,377 --> 01:35:53,906
"A republic," he answered,
"if you can keep it."

1689
01:35:53,948 --> 01:35:57,248
Jenkinson: "A republic,
if you can keep it,"

1690
01:35:57,285 --> 01:35:59,117
which turns out to be

1691
01:35:59,153 --> 01:36:01,884
maybe the most prophetic
sentence of all.

1692
01:36:01,923 --> 01:36:03,755
Everyone who
cares about this country

1693
01:36:03,791 --> 01:36:05,953
has to ask that question
every day.

1694
01:36:05,994 --> 01:36:09,795
"A republic,
if you can keep it."

1695
01:36:12,467 --> 01:36:15,164
Man as Franklin:
Hitherto, this long life

1696
01:36:15,203 --> 01:36:17,468
has been tolerably happy,

1697
01:36:17,505 --> 01:36:21,237
so that if I were allowed to
live it over again, I should

1698
01:36:21,276 --> 01:36:25,372
make no objection, only
wishing for leave to do what

1699
01:36:25,413 --> 01:36:30,283
authors do in a second edition
of their works: correct some

1700
01:36:30,318 --> 01:36:32,378
of my Errata.

1701
01:36:40,261 --> 01:36:43,459
Narrator: By early 1790,
the Constitution

1702
01:36:43,498 --> 01:36:48,095
had been ratified, and Franklin
was now 84 years old.

1703
01:36:48,136 --> 01:36:52,164
His kidney stones put him in
such pain, he took regular

1704
01:36:52,206 --> 01:36:55,074
doses of laudanum,
a tincture of opium,

1705
01:36:55,109 --> 01:36:57,135
to get through the day.

1706
01:36:57,178 --> 01:37:00,376
"I should have died 2 years
ago," he wrote to Washington,

1707
01:37:00,415 --> 01:37:03,385
who had been elected as
the nation's first president,

1708
01:37:03,418 --> 01:37:06,013
"but I am pleased that
I have lived them,

1709
01:37:06,054 --> 01:37:10,924
since they have brought me to
see our present Situation."

1710
01:37:10,958 --> 01:37:13,120
Man as Franklin: Our
grand machine has at length

1711
01:37:13,161 --> 01:37:14,993
begun to work.

1712
01:37:15,029 --> 01:37:19,160
I pray God to bless
and guide its operations.

1713
01:37:19,200 --> 01:37:23,433
If any form of government is
capable of making a nation happy

1714
01:37:23,471 --> 01:37:28,034
ours I think bids fair
for producing that effect.

1715
01:37:28,076 --> 01:37:31,444
But after all, much depends
upon the people

1716
01:37:31,479 --> 01:37:34,039
who are to be governed.

1717
01:37:34,082 --> 01:37:38,178
Our new Constitution is now
established, everything seems

1718
01:37:38,219 --> 01:37:42,953
to promise it will be durable;
but, in this world, nothing is

1719
01:37:42,990 --> 01:37:46,984
certain except death and taxes.

1720
01:37:49,497 --> 01:37:52,365
Narrator: As an Enlightenment
scientist and inventor,

1721
01:37:52,400 --> 01:37:56,269
he considered America's
new democracy an experiment.

1722
01:37:56,304 --> 01:37:58,933
It should be
tested and tinkered with,

1723
01:37:58,973 --> 01:38:01,465
if improvements were needed.

1724
01:38:01,509 --> 01:38:05,071
As a man who had once
constructed an elaborate chart

1725
01:38:05,113 --> 01:38:08,106
and checklist to help him
better himself,

1726
01:38:08,149 --> 01:38:12,018
he still believed in keeping
track of his failings.

1727
01:38:12,053 --> 01:38:15,581
Now Benjamin Franklin felt
there was still one more

1728
01:38:15,623 --> 01:38:21,062
public duty to carry out,
one more of his life's "errata"

1729
01:38:21,095 --> 01:38:23,030
to correct.

1730
01:38:24,365 --> 01:38:26,300
During his time as a delegate

1731
01:38:26,334 --> 01:38:28,496
to the Constitutional
Convention,

1732
01:38:28,536 --> 01:38:31,096
Franklin, a former slave owner,

1733
01:38:31,139 --> 01:38:33,165
had accepted the presidency

1734
01:38:33,207 --> 01:38:36,234
of the Pennsylvania Society
for Promoting

1735
01:38:36,277 --> 01:38:38,212
the Abolition of Slavery,

1736
01:38:38,246 --> 01:38:41,341
a Quaker group in Philadelphia.

1737
01:38:41,382 --> 01:38:45,342
He had considered introducing
a statement of principle

1738
01:38:45,386 --> 01:38:46,979
into the Constitution,

1739
01:38:47,021 --> 01:38:50,116
condemning slavery
and the slave trade,

1740
01:38:50,158 --> 01:38:53,993
but several delegates had
persuaded him to drop it.

1741
01:38:54,028 --> 01:38:58,432
The question of anti-slavery,
pro-slavery, was not

1742
01:38:58,466 --> 01:39:02,301
an important issue for
the vast majority of people

1743
01:39:02,336 --> 01:39:05,465
who wrote or thought about
or argued about

1744
01:39:05,506 --> 01:39:07,372
the American Revolution.

1745
01:39:07,408 --> 01:39:12,142
On the other hand, given the
fact that it is the daily

1746
01:39:12,180 --> 01:39:17,175
reality for enslaved men and
women, in some ways, that was

1747
01:39:17,218 --> 01:39:20,120
the key question every day.

1748
01:39:20,154 --> 01:39:26,719
The gross hypocrisy in
fighting a war for liberty,

1749
01:39:26,961 --> 01:39:32,059
liberty of people,
and not including everybody

1750
01:39:32,099 --> 01:39:34,159
was obvious.

1751
01:39:34,202 --> 01:39:38,298
If you're talking about liberty,
you're talking about liberty.

1752
01:39:38,339 --> 01:39:41,332
Narrator: With the
Constitution in place,

1753
01:39:41,375 --> 01:39:46,143
Franklin felt free to
address the issue head-on.

1754
01:39:46,180 --> 01:39:48,012
Man as Franklin:
To the Senate

1755
01:39:48,049 --> 01:39:51,213
and House of Representatives
of the United States.

1756
01:39:51,252 --> 01:39:53,380
From a persuasion
that equal liberty

1757
01:39:53,421 --> 01:39:55,720
is still the
Birthright of all Men,

1758
01:39:55,756 --> 01:40:00,217
we earnestly entreat your
serious attention to the subject

1759
01:40:00,261 --> 01:40:04,028
of Slavery; that you will be
pleased to countenance

1760
01:40:04,065 --> 01:40:08,230
the Restoration of liberty to
those unhappy Men, who alone

1761
01:40:08,269 --> 01:40:10,295
in this land of Freedom

1762
01:40:10,338 --> 01:40:13,672
are degraded
into perpetual Bondage,

1763
01:40:13,708 --> 01:40:18,373
that you will devise means for
removing this Inconsistency

1764
01:40:18,412 --> 01:40:21,246
from the Character of
the American People.

1765
01:40:22,717 --> 01:40:25,277
Schiff: The first
real act of Franklin's life,

1766
01:40:25,319 --> 01:40:27,083
or the first
public act, I guess,

1767
01:40:27,121 --> 01:40:29,090
is his running away from home.

1768
01:40:29,123 --> 01:40:32,491
So, here you have a young
man in quest of freedom.

1769
01:40:32,527 --> 01:40:35,691
And the last real act of...
The last public act

1770
01:40:35,730 --> 01:40:39,132
of Franklin's life, um,
is a treatise against slavery.

1771
01:40:39,166 --> 01:40:44,070
So, the end... the life is
largely bookended in a way, um,

1772
01:40:44,105 --> 01:40:47,667
by these two, um, endorsements,
in some way, of freedom.

1773
01:40:47,708 --> 01:40:52,112
Benjamin Franklin evolved
as far as his understanding

1774
01:40:52,146 --> 01:40:55,605
of race relations
and slavery were concerned.

1775
01:40:55,650 --> 01:40:57,448
He had owned slaves.

1776
01:40:57,485 --> 01:40:59,647
He didn't see anything
wrong with it

1777
01:40:59,687 --> 01:41:01,519
until very late in the game.

1778
01:41:01,556 --> 01:41:06,085
But in his last years,
he started to change his mind.

1779
01:41:07,495 --> 01:41:11,830
Dunbar: Philadelphia became
a leader in abolition

1780
01:41:12,066 --> 01:41:16,333
and the emancipation of enslaved
people of African descent.

1781
01:41:16,370 --> 01:41:21,274
There were laws on the books
that began the dismantling

1782
01:41:21,309 --> 01:41:23,403
of slavery.

1783
01:41:23,444 --> 01:41:28,178
It was a train that
could not be stopped.

1784
01:41:28,215 --> 01:41:33,745
And, so, we see someone
who understands the tide

1785
01:41:33,788 --> 01:41:36,223
of the city, of the state,

1786
01:41:36,257 --> 01:41:40,786
looks at the laws, understands
that slavery is going to end,

1787
01:41:40,828 --> 01:41:43,559
at least in Pennsylvania,

1788
01:41:43,598 --> 01:41:46,830
and he got on the right side
of that conversation.

1789
01:41:46,867 --> 01:41:49,769
Ellis: If this were a petition
coming from anybody else,

1790
01:41:49,804 --> 01:41:51,830
the Congress would have
never even considered it,

1791
01:41:51,872 --> 01:41:53,738
but because of
Franklin’s signature,

1792
01:41:53,774 --> 01:41:55,766
they're forced to consider it.

1793
01:41:55,810 --> 01:42:00,305
And it's the first outspoken,
in public, debate

1794
01:42:00,348 --> 01:42:02,874
in the American history on...
Under the new nation

1795
01:42:03,117 --> 01:42:04,847
on slavery.

1796
01:42:04,885 --> 01:42:07,480
Narrator: In Congress,
the petition was immediately

1797
01:42:07,521 --> 01:42:09,888
attacked by southerners.

1798
01:42:10,124 --> 01:42:13,788
Representative James Jackson
of Georgia warned that if

1799
01:42:13,828 --> 01:42:17,265
Congress tried to abolish
slavery, it would "light up

1800
01:42:17,298 --> 01:42:20,826
the flame of civil discord"
and the southern states

1801
01:42:20,868 --> 01:42:24,737
"will never suffer themselves to
be divested of their property

1802
01:42:24,772 --> 01:42:26,707
without a struggle."

1803
01:42:26,741 --> 01:42:31,236
Another congressman claimed that
the South's sweltering climate

1804
01:42:31,278 --> 01:42:34,646
prohibited whites
from working the soil.

1805
01:42:34,682 --> 01:42:38,244
For that, he said,
they needed slaves.

1806
01:42:38,285 --> 01:42:42,450
Isaacson: And Franklin goes back
to a device he had used as

1807
01:42:42,490 --> 01:42:46,427
a teenager, which is to
write a parody in the voice

1808
01:42:46,460 --> 01:42:48,395
of somebody else.

1809
01:42:48,429 --> 01:42:53,458
So he writes a sermon that
he pretends has been given by

1810
01:42:53,501 --> 01:42:57,268
a Muslim from North Africa
about why they have to keep

1811
01:42:57,304 --> 01:43:00,297
white Europeans in slavery.

1812
01:43:00,341 --> 01:43:04,870
And it parodies the entire
argument of all those who are

1813
01:43:04,912 --> 01:43:08,815
opposing abolition in
the United States.

1814
01:43:08,849 --> 01:43:11,375
Narrator: "If we forbear
to make slaves

1815
01:43:11,419 --> 01:43:14,878
of the Christians,"
Franklin's character asks,

1816
01:43:14,922 --> 01:43:21,226
who, in this hot climate,
are to cultivate our lands?"

1817
01:43:21,262 --> 01:43:24,198
Man as Franklin: And if
we set our slaves free,

1818
01:43:24,231 --> 01:43:26,826
what is to be done with them?

1819
01:43:26,867 --> 01:43:29,962
For men accustomed to
slavery, will not work

1820
01:43:30,204 --> 01:43:34,801
for a livelihood
when not compelled.

1821
01:43:34,842 --> 01:43:40,679
Here they are brought into a
land where the sun of Islam

1822
01:43:40,715 --> 01:43:43,514
gives forth its light

1823
01:43:43,551 --> 01:43:46,316
and they have an
opportunity of making

1824
01:43:46,353 --> 01:43:51,223
themselves acquainted with
the true doctrine, and thereby

1825
01:43:51,258 --> 01:43:54,956
saving their immortal souls.

1826
01:43:56,497 --> 01:43:58,523
Jenkinson: And, so,
of course, the reader realizes

1827
01:43:58,566 --> 01:44:01,798
that Franklin is using
precisely the same arguments

1828
01:44:01,836 --> 01:44:04,863
of James Jackson of Georgia,
which immediately proves to you,

1829
01:44:04,905 --> 01:44:08,672
without question, the absurdity
of the arguments.

1830
01:44:08,709 --> 01:44:11,577
This is the genius of Franklin,
to... to take something

1831
01:44:11,612 --> 01:44:13,740
and just turn it around,
to switch the lens and say,

1832
01:44:13,781 --> 01:44:15,841
"So, how would you like it
if it looked like that?"

1833
01:44:17,718 --> 01:44:21,416
Narrator: The House of
Representatives voted 29-25

1834
01:44:21,455 --> 01:44:24,482
that "Congress has
no authority to interfere"

1835
01:44:24,525 --> 01:44:26,460
on the issue of slavery.

1836
01:44:26,494 --> 01:44:31,797
In the Senate, the petition
was tabled without discussion.

1837
01:44:31,832 --> 01:44:34,461
Brown: What they agree on,
more than anything else,

1838
01:44:34,502 --> 01:44:36,664
is we're not talking about this.

1839
01:44:36,704 --> 01:44:39,299
The Federal Government is
not talking about this.

1840
01:44:39,340 --> 01:44:41,384
This is not the forum to deal
with the national question

1841
01:44:41,408 --> 01:44:43,900
of slavery, because there is
no national question.

1842
01:44:43,944 --> 01:44:45,970
It's a state question.

1843
01:44:46,013 --> 01:44:49,643
The question of the future
of slavery is really left

1844
01:44:49,683 --> 01:44:51,879
for the individual
States to decide.

1845
01:44:51,919 --> 01:44:55,321
That's how we end up with
the North-South division.

1846
01:44:55,356 --> 01:44:57,587
Bailyn: I would put it
this way.

1847
01:44:57,625 --> 01:45:05,397
Before the Revolution, slavery
was never a major public issue.

1848
01:45:05,432 --> 01:45:08,994
There were people who spoke,
before the Revolution,

1849
01:45:09,036 --> 01:45:14,441
who spoke against it and gave
good reasons to what evil

1850
01:45:14,475 --> 01:45:19,880
it was, but it was not
a major public issue.

1851
01:45:19,914 --> 01:45:26,343
After the Revolution, there
never was a time when it wasn't.

1852
01:45:34,662 --> 01:45:36,858
Man as Franklin:
Here is my creed:

1853
01:45:36,897 --> 01:45:41,665
I believe in one God,
creator of the universe.

1854
01:45:41,702 --> 01:45:44,729
That he governs it
by his providence.

1855
01:45:44,772 --> 01:45:46,707
That he ought to be worshipped.

1856
01:45:46,740 --> 01:45:49,642
That the most acceptable
service we render to him

1857
01:45:49,677 --> 01:45:53,114
is doing good to his
other children.

1858
01:45:53,347 --> 01:45:57,409
That the soul of man is immortal
and will be treated

1859
01:45:57,451 --> 01:46:03,118
with justice in another life
respecting its conduct in this.

1860
01:46:03,357 --> 01:46:06,759
These I take to be the
fundamental principles of all

1861
01:46:06,794 --> 01:46:09,992
sound religion,
and I regard them

1862
01:46:10,030 --> 01:46:12,693
in whatever sect
I meet with them.

1863
01:46:14,668 --> 01:46:18,469
Narrator: Franklin's worsening
health kept him housebound.

1864
01:46:18,505 --> 01:46:21,532
"People who live long,
who will drink from the cup

1865
01:46:21,575 --> 01:46:24,545
of Life to the very bottom,"
he wrote a friend,

1866
01:46:24,578 --> 01:46:28,481
"must expect to meet with some
of the usual dregs."

1867
01:46:30,017 --> 01:46:34,079
In the spring of 1790,
he suffered chest pains

1868
01:46:34,121 --> 01:46:36,852
and a fever that confined him
to his bed,

1869
01:46:36,891 --> 01:46:39,156
surrounded by his family.

1870
01:46:39,393 --> 01:46:42,989
He asked his daughter Sally
to arrange things so he could

1871
01:46:43,030 --> 01:46:45,022
"die in a decent manner."

1872
01:46:45,065 --> 01:46:50,527
She told him everyone hoped
he would live many more years.

1873
01:46:50,571 --> 01:46:53,166
"I hope not," he replied.

1874
01:46:56,110 --> 01:47:02,016
On April 17, 1790,
an abscess in his lung burst,

1875
01:47:02,049 --> 01:47:05,542
and he slipped
into unconsciousness.

1876
01:47:05,586 --> 01:47:10,183
At 11:00 that night,
Benjamin Franklin died.

1877
01:47:10,424 --> 01:47:14,418
He was 84 years old.

1878
01:47:14,461 --> 01:47:16,794
More than 20,000 people,

1879
01:47:16,830 --> 01:47:20,494
the largest crowd Philadelphia
had ever seen,

1880
01:47:20,534 --> 01:47:23,527
turned out for
his funeral procession.

1881
01:47:23,570 --> 01:47:25,732
Leading it from his house
on Market Street

1882
01:47:25,773 --> 01:47:28,675
to the burial ground
at Christ Church

1883
01:47:28,709 --> 01:47:33,704
were the clergy of every church
of every sect in the city,

1884
01:47:33,747 --> 01:47:36,808
walking arm in arm.

1885
01:47:36,850 --> 01:47:39,479
When he was 22 years old,

1886
01:47:39,520 --> 01:47:42,922
Franklin had composed
an epitaph for his grave.

1887
01:47:42,957 --> 01:47:46,052
"The Body of B. Franklin,
Printer,

1888
01:47:46,093 --> 01:47:48,653
"Like the Cover of an old Book,

1889
01:47:48,696 --> 01:47:52,599
"Its contents torn out,
And Stript of its Lettering

1890
01:47:52,633 --> 01:47:57,071
"and Gilding,
"Lies here, Food for Worms.

1891
01:47:57,104 --> 01:48:00,165
"But the Work shall not be
wholly lost,

1892
01:48:00,207 --> 01:48:03,974
"For it will, as he believed,
appear once more,

1893
01:48:04,011 --> 01:48:06,947
"In a new and more perfect Edition

1894
01:48:06,981 --> 01:48:10,543
Corrected and amended
By the Author."

1895
01:48:11,919 --> 01:48:16,653
As he aged, however, the old
printer had, of course,

1896
01:48:16,690 --> 01:48:18,784
edited it down.

1897
01:48:18,826 --> 01:48:21,728
The gravestone's epitaph became,

1898
01:48:21,762 --> 01:48:24,527
"BENJAMIN
And DEBORAH FRANKLIN."

1899
01:48:27,034 --> 01:48:30,562
He had never completed
the autobiography he started

1900
01:48:30,604 --> 01:48:33,870
back in 1771.

1901
01:48:33,907 --> 01:48:38,902
His grandson Temple eventually
published the manuscript.

1902
01:48:38,946 --> 01:48:41,848
The book would go through
hundreds of editions

1903
01:48:41,882 --> 01:48:44,283
in dozens of languages,

1904
01:48:44,518 --> 01:48:48,614
inspiring generations of
ambitious strivers

1905
01:48:48,655 --> 01:48:52,558
wanting to get ahead in life.

1906
01:48:52,593 --> 01:48:54,858
There's nothing dreamy
or romantic about Franklin.

1907
01:48:54,895 --> 01:49:00,527
But in that self-improving,
marvelously protean way,

1908
01:49:00,567 --> 01:49:03,628
there's something about him
that so much becomes what we

1909
01:49:03,670 --> 01:49:06,936
all quest for, what we think
of as the sort of, American

1910
01:49:06,974 --> 01:49:08,943
ingenuity, that American
feeling that we can

1911
01:49:08,976 --> 01:49:10,672
accomplish anything.

1912
01:49:16,083 --> 01:49:19,576
Narrator: In his will, Franklin
left most of his wealth

1913
01:49:19,620 --> 01:49:22,215
and possessions to
members of his family,

1914
01:49:22,256 --> 01:49:24,885
except to his son William.

1915
01:49:26,727 --> 01:49:30,789
But in memory of his start as
a lowly printer's apprentice,

1916
01:49:30,831 --> 01:49:34,893
he created a trust fund,
still active today,

1917
01:49:34,935 --> 01:49:38,235
to help young people with
ambition and talent

1918
01:49:38,272 --> 01:49:44,906
from his two hometowns
of Boston and Philadelphia.

1919
01:49:44,945 --> 01:49:47,107
Man as Franklin:
I begin to be almost sorry

1920
01:49:47,147 --> 01:49:49,116
I was born so soon,

1921
01:49:49,149 --> 01:49:52,779
since I cannot have the
Happiness of knowing what will

1922
01:49:52,820 --> 01:49:55,756
be known 100 Years hence.

1923
01:49:59,059 --> 01:50:02,086
But it is the will of God
and Nature that these mortal

1924
01:50:02,129 --> 01:50:05,031
bodies be laid aside.

1925
01:50:05,065 --> 01:50:08,866
Whether I have been doing
good or mischief is for time

1926
01:50:08,902 --> 01:50:10,632
to discover.

1927
01:50:10,671 --> 01:50:13,368
I only know that
I intended well,

1928
01:50:13,607 --> 01:50:17,669
and I hope all will end well.

1929
01:50:17,711 --> 01:50:19,942
Adieu.

1930
01:50:19,980 --> 01:50:21,380
Benjamin Franklin.

1931
01:50:29,056 --> 01:50:37,056
♪

1932
01:53:08,415 --> 01:53:10,111
Corporate Funding
For "Benjamin Franklin"

1933
01:53:10,150 --> 01:53:14,281
WAS PROVIDED BY BANK OF AMERICA.

1934
01:53:14,321 --> 01:53:15,345
Announcer: Major funding

1935
01:53:15,389 --> 01:53:16,721
for "Benjamin Franklin"

1936
01:53:16,757 --> 01:53:20,194
was provided by David
M. Rubinstein.

1937
01:53:20,227 --> 01:53:21,889
Investing in people
and institutions

1938
01:53:22,129 --> 01:53:23,427
that help us understand the past

1939
01:53:23,463 --> 01:53:25,159
and prepare us for the future.

1940
01:53:25,198 --> 01:53:27,167
By the Pew Charitable Trusts

1941
01:53:27,200 --> 01:53:29,465
and by The Better Angels Society

1942
01:53:29,503 --> 01:53:32,473
and its members,
Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine.

1943
01:53:32,506 --> 01:53:34,475
The University of Pennsylvania.

1944
01:53:34,508 --> 01:53:37,478
Impact through innovation
and inclusion.

1945
01:53:37,511 --> 01:53:39,480
Gilchrist and Amy Berg,

1946
01:53:39,513 --> 01:53:41,482
Perry and Donna Golkin,

1947
01:53:41,515 --> 01:53:43,177
and by these additional

1948
01:53:43,216 --> 01:53:44,650
contributors.

1949
01:53:44,685 --> 01:53:47,348
♪

1950
01:53:47,387 --> 01:53:50,186
By the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting

1951
01:53:50,223 --> 01:53:51,657
and by generous contributions

1952
01:53:51,692 --> 01:53:54,594
to your PBS station
from viewers like you.

1953
01:53:54,628 --> 01:53:57,598
Thank you.