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{\an1}Announcer: Major funding
for "Benjamin Franklin"
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00:00:05,309 --> 00:00:07,285
was provided
by David M. Rubinstein,
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investing in people
and institutions that help us
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understand the past
and prepare us for the future.
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{\an1}By the Pew Charitable Trusts,
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{\an1}a global non-governmental
organization that seeks
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{\an1}to improve public policy,
inform the public,
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00:00:19,376 --> 00:00:21,185
{\an1}and invigorate civic life;
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{\an1}and by The Better Angels Society
and its members:
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{\an1}Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine;
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{\an1}The University of Pennsylvania,
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{\an1}impact through innovation
and inclusion;
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{\an1}Gilchrist and Amy Berg;
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{\an1}Perry and Donna Golkin;
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{\an1}and by these additional
contributors.
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{\an3}♪
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{\an8}By the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting
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{\an7}and by generous contributions
to your PBS station
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{\an7}from viewers like you.
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{\an8}Thank you.
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{\an1}Man as Benjamin Franklin:
Histories of "Lives"
are seldom entertaining,
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{\an1}unless they contain something
either admirable or exemplar.
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{\an1}Know then, "That" I am
an "Enemy to Vice",
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{\an1}and a "Friend to Vertue".
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A mortal "Enemy"
to arbitrary "Government"
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{\an1}and unlimited "Power".
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{\an1}I am naturally very jealous
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{\an1}for the "Rights and Liberties"
of my "Country";
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{\an1}and the least appearance
of an "Incroachment" on those
invaluable "Priviledges",
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{\an1}is apt to make my "Blood"
boil exceedingly.
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[Thunder]
Benjamin Franklin.
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♪
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{\an1}Man: Franklin is, by far,
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the most approachable
of our Founders.
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{\an1}He's not somebody made of stone,
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{\an1}like a George Washington.
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{\an7}Franklin was pretty simple
in his moral code.
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{\an7}He was driven by a desire
to pour forth
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{\an7}benefits for the common good.
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But there's a lot
in Benjamin Franklin
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{\an1}that makes you flinch,
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and we see Franklin
not as a perfect person,
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{\an1}but somebody evolving to see
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{\an1}if he could become more perfect.
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Narrator: He was
a teenage runaway
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who achieved such
remarkable success
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{\an1}that his example would be
handed down for generations
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as the embodiment
of the American dream.
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{\an1}He was a printer, a publisher,
and a writer,
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{\an1}producing everything from
essays on politics and religion
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to biting satires
and words of wisdom
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{\an1}that would endure forever.
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[Thunder]
He was a prolific inventor
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and a scientist whose
pioneering discoveries
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{\an1}would make him the most famous
American in the world.
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{\an1}He was a civic leader,
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{\an1}the founder of a library
and a college,
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who introduced a host
of improvements
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that made the lives
of everyday people better.
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He embraced
the Enlightenment belief
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in the perfectibility
of human beings;
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but no one understood
their foibles and failings,
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including his own,
better than he did.
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♪
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{\an1}He also owned and enslaved
human beings
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and benefited from
the institution of slavery.
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[Gunshot]
He was a reluctant revolutionary
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{\an1}who became an indispensable
founder of a new nation;
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{\an1}helped craft the document
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that declared his
country's independence;
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{\an1}and then did as much as anyone
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to secure the victory
that assured it.
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And he guided
the complicated compromises
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that created his
nation's Constitution,
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then tried to rectify
its central failing.
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Man: He constantly
remade himself
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{\an8}from apprentice,
to printer, to scientist,
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{\an7}to government official, to
revolutionary, to abolitionist.
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He never was
finished with himself.
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{\an1}He always thought that
he was a work in progress.
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{\an1}Narrator: He could be funny
and unforgiving;
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{\an1}folksy and philosophical;
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generous
and shrewdly calculating;
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broadminded, yet
deeply prejudiced;
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{\an1}a family man, who spent years
away from his wife
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{\an1}and let political differences
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{\an1}destroy his relationship
with his son.
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He concealed those
contradictions behind
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a carefully crafted
public image.
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Man: He's a Puritan
who then becomes
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the leading figure
in the Enlightenment.
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{\an1}So that he stands astride
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{\an7}so many contradictions
in his own life,
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{\an7}that he understands them
and they don't become
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{\an7}contradictions for him.
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They become some
seamless web of insight.
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{\an1}Man: He wrote so much.
He wrote so well.
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He's somebody that
we need to know about.
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{\an7}He can put us in touch
with the sensibilities
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{\an7}of the 18th century in a way
that makes it
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{\an1}both accessible and, yet,
captures its remoteness.
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[Thunder]
Woman: Franklin is endlessly,
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{\an1}endlessly interesting.
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{\an8}He is the only
Founding Father who
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{\an7}evidently had a sense of humor,
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{\an7}who was evidently human,
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{\an1}who evidently had a sex life.
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And there's so much
about him that makes him
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seem approachable,
on the one hand,
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and super-human
on the other hand.
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{\an1}Narrator: "Let all men know
thee," Benjamin Franklin said,
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"but no man
know thee thoroughly."
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{\an1}Man as Franklin: I never intend
to wrap my "Talent in a Napkin".
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{\an1}To be brief; I am courteous
and affable, good "humour'd"
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{\an1}unless I am first "provok'd",
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and handsome,
and sometimes witty.
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{\an1}If you would not be forgotten,
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as soon as you are
dead and rotten,
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either write things
worth reading,
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{\an1}or do things worth the writing.
Benjamin Franklin.
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♪
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♪
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{\an1}Narrator: Benjamin Franklin
was born in Boston
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on January 17, 1706,
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{\an1}the youngest son and 15th child
of Josiah Franklin,
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{\an1}who had come from England
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{\an1}to the Massachusetts Bay Colony
in 1683.
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{\an1}Josiah made candles and soap
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{\an1}and became a respected member
of South Church,
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one of the town's 3
congregations of Puritans.
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When his first wife
died in childbirth,
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{\an1}Josiah married Abiah Folger
of Nantucket,
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{\an1}who came from a family
of free-thinkers.
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Benjamin would be
her eighth child.
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{\an1}He grew up in a 4-room house
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{\an1}where the dinner table
was always crowded,
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{\an1}and often included friends his
pious and serious-minded father
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{\an1}invited over for conversation.
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From the start,
the boy was precocious.
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He was reading
the Bible by age 5.
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{\an1}His sister Jane recalled
that he "studied incessantly"
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{\an1}and "was addicted to
all kinds of reading."
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{\an1}But he was also irreverent.
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{\an1}He found the long prayers
before each meal tedious
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{\an1}and suggested his father
simply say grace once
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{\an1}over the entire winter's
supply of food.
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{\an1}"It would be," young Benjamin
said, "a vast saving of time."
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♪
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Narrator: He and his
boyhood friends
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fished and frolicked
in a nearby pond.
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An avid swimmer,
he designed rudimentary fins
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{\an1}to propel himself faster
across the water;
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{\an1}other times, he floated
on his back
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and let himself be
pulled along by a kite.
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{\an1}Josiah initially thought his son
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{\an1}should study for the ministry
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{\an1}and enrolled him at age 8
in the Boston school
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{\an1}that prepared students
for Harvard College.
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{\an1}But the academy proved
too expensive,
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and eager to have
another set of hands,
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{\an1}his father put him to work
in the family's candle shop.
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{\an1}He was 10 years old;
his schooling was over.
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{\an1}Brands: I think it was crucial
to Franklin's success
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{\an1}that he had very little
formal education.
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{\an1}When people go through
formal schools,
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they learn what
you're supposed to know.
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{\an1}They also learn what
you don't have to know.
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{\an7}With Franklin, he never knew
what he didn't have to know,
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{\an8}so, he assumed he had
to know everything.
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♪
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{\an1}Narrator: In 1718, at age 12,
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{\an1}Franklin began the work
that would define
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the rest of his life.
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He signed
a 9-year apprenticeship,
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{\an1}legally indenturing himself
to his older brother James,
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who had opened
a printing shop in Boston.
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{\an8}Printing was
an amazing business if you were
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{\an7}both clever with your hands
and good at thinking.
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{\an1}Printers are setting type
upside-down and backward.
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{\an1}And you have to be really
hyper-literate to understand
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{\an1}how language works that way,
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and to correct things
as you go along,
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and get it right.
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{\an1}Narrator: Handling the heavy
sets of lead type
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{\an1}strengthened and broadened
his shoulders.
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{\an1}Having access to books
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{\an1}strengthened and liberated
his mind.
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Man as Franklin:
Often I sat up in my room
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{\an1}reading the greatest part
of the night,
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{\an1}when the book was borrowed
in the evening and had to be
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{\an1}returned early in the morning
lest it should be missed.
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{\an1}And all the little money
that came into my hands
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{\an1}was ever laid out in books.
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Woman: Here was a kid
who only had
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two years of
formal education, ever.
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{\an8}So, what did he do?
He taught himself how to write.
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{\an1}Narrator: He composed poetry...
Including a ballad
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{\an1}commemorating the recent killing
of Blackbeard the pirate.
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He read articles
from "The Spectator,"
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a London periodical,
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{\an1}and, on paper salvaged
from the print shop,
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attempted to
reproduce them by memory.
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{\an1}He stayed up late at night
and rose early each morning
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{\an1}to continue his reading
before the shop opened.
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{\an1}"I was," Franklin said,
"extremely ambitious."
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{\an1}In 1721, his brother James
decided to publish
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{\an1}his own weekly newspaper,
"The New-England Courant."
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From its inception,
the paper courted controversy.
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00:11:07,709 --> 00:11:10,352
Its first issue
attacked Cotton Mather,
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{\an1}Boston's pre-eminent preacher
and the colony's
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strict and severe
moral authority.
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Mather called
the newspaper wicked,
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{\an1}filled with immorality,
and lies.
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{\an7}What James Franklin does
is he creates
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{\an7}the first real independent
newspaper in America.
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{\an1}His paper, in Boston, is, quote,
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{\an1}"Not published by Authority."
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{\an1}All the others, you were
given a stamp of authority.
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{\an1}Narrator: On April 2, 1722,
an essay appeared
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{\an1}over the name of Silence Dogood,
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00:11:44,909 --> 00:11:48,419
{\an1}who claimed to be a widowed
woman from the countryside,
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and who had lots of
homespun wisdom
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{\an1}and sharp social critiques
to share.
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{\an1}It was an immediate hit.
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No one, including
James Franklin, had any idea
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00:12:00,576 --> 00:12:03,585
that the real author
was a teenage boy,
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00:12:03,609 --> 00:12:07,019
James's 16-year-old
brother Benjamin,
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00:12:07,043 --> 00:12:11,519
{\an1}who had secretly slipped
the essay under the door.
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00:12:11,543 --> 00:12:15,585
{\an1}More of Silence Dogood's
articles began to appear.
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00:12:15,609 --> 00:12:19,152
{\an1}She offered irreverent
advice on funeral eulogies,
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00:12:19,176 --> 00:12:22,352
{\an1}advocated fiercely
for women's education,
232
00:12:22,376 --> 00:12:26,252
and in one dispatch
poked fun at Harvard
233
00:12:26,276 --> 00:12:28,185
{\an1}and the wealthy parents
who dreamed of
234
00:12:28,209 --> 00:12:32,219
{\an1}sending their children
to the elite institution.
235
00:12:32,243 --> 00:12:34,885
{\an1}Man as Franklin: Most of them
consulted their own Purses
236
00:12:34,909 --> 00:12:37,885
instead of their
Childrens Capacities.
237
00:12:37,909 --> 00:12:40,152
At Harvard They learn
little more than
238
00:12:40,176 --> 00:12:42,319
how to
carry themselves handsomely,
239
00:12:42,343 --> 00:12:44,685
{\an1}and enter a Room genteely...
240
00:12:44,709 --> 00:12:46,519
{\an1}and from whence they return,
241
00:12:46,543 --> 00:12:49,119
after Abundance of
Trouble and Charge,
242
00:12:49,143 --> 00:12:51,552
{\an1}as great Blockheads as ever,
243
00:12:51,576 --> 00:12:54,952
only more proud
and self-conceited.
244
00:12:54,976 --> 00:12:57,219
[Horse whinnies]
[Door closes]
245
00:12:57,243 --> 00:12:59,785
{\an1}Narrator: In the summer of 1722,
246
00:12:59,809 --> 00:13:03,552
{\an1}James was jailed for 3 weeks
without trial
247
00:13:03,576 --> 00:13:06,352
{\an1}for questioning the competence
of Cotton Mather
248
00:13:06,376 --> 00:13:09,085
{\an1}and the colony's other leaders.
249
00:13:09,109 --> 00:13:12,552
{\an1}Quoting from an article he had
read in a London newspaper,
250
00:13:12,576 --> 00:13:17,443
{\an1}Benjamin, as Silence Dogood,
came to his brother's defense.
251
00:13:19,076 --> 00:13:20,485
Man as Franklin:
Without Freedom of Thought,
252
00:13:20,509 --> 00:13:23,219
there can be no such
Thing as Wisdom;
253
00:13:23,243 --> 00:13:25,552
and no such Thing
as publick Liberty,
254
00:13:25,576 --> 00:13:27,376
{\an1}without Freedom of Speech.
255
00:13:28,876 --> 00:13:31,419
{\an1}Whoever would overthrow
the Liberty of a Nation,
256
00:13:31,443 --> 00:13:35,143
{\an1}must begin by subduing
the Freeness of Speech.
257
00:13:36,943 --> 00:13:38,719
{\an1}Narrator: When James
was released from jail
258
00:13:38,743 --> 00:13:41,285
{\an1}and resumed putting out
his newspaper,
259
00:13:41,309 --> 00:13:44,619
{\an1}Benjamin confessed publicly
that he, in fact,
260
00:13:44,643 --> 00:13:48,219
was writing
Silence Dogood's essays.
261
00:13:48,243 --> 00:13:50,919
Many cheered him
for his artfulness,
262
00:13:50,943 --> 00:13:53,552
{\an1}but James was jealous.
263
00:13:53,576 --> 00:13:58,185
{\an1}They would argue... and it
sometimes came to blows.
[Slap, shouting]
264
00:13:58,209 --> 00:14:00,452
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I fancy
his harsh and tyrannical
265
00:14:00,476 --> 00:14:02,752
"Treatment" of me,
might be a means of
266
00:14:02,776 --> 00:14:06,252
{\an1}impressing me with that
"Aversion" to arbitrary "Power"
267
00:14:06,276 --> 00:14:09,476
that has stuck to me
"thro'" my whole "Life".
268
00:14:11,243 --> 00:14:13,385
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin decided
to run away,
269
00:14:13,409 --> 00:14:18,285
{\an1}even if it meant breaking his
legal obligation to his brother.
270
00:14:18,309 --> 00:14:21,885
{\an1}After selling some of his books
to pay for his passage,
271
00:14:21,909 --> 00:14:25,252
{\an1}he slipped out of town
on a ship heading south,
272
00:14:25,276 --> 00:14:29,452
{\an1}convincing the captain to keep
quiet under the false pretense
273
00:14:29,476 --> 00:14:34,052
{\an1}that he had gotten a girl
pregnant and needed to leave.
274
00:14:34,076 --> 00:14:36,609
He was 17 years old.
275
00:14:39,476 --> 00:14:45,619
♪
276
00:14:45,643 --> 00:14:49,985
11 days later,
on October 6, 1723,
277
00:14:50,009 --> 00:14:52,652
Franklin arrived at
the Market Street wharf
278
00:14:52,676 --> 00:14:55,285
on the Delaware River
in Philadelphia,
279
00:14:55,309 --> 00:14:59,652
{\an1}the City of Brotherly Love
founded by William Penn,
280
00:14:59,676 --> 00:15:04,219
{\an1}a Quaker for whom the colony of
Pennsylvania was named.
281
00:15:04,243 --> 00:15:07,652
With 6,000 residents,
Philadelphia was now
282
00:15:07,676 --> 00:15:12,619
{\an1}America's third-largest city
after Boston and New York.
283
00:15:12,643 --> 00:15:16,185
{\an1}It was a thriving outpost
of the British Empire...
284
00:15:16,209 --> 00:15:20,619
{\an1}its streets filled with both
newcomers and Native peoples,
285
00:15:20,643 --> 00:15:26,785
{\an1}including the Lenape, on whose
land the city now stood.
286
00:15:26,809 --> 00:15:29,719
{\an1}Isaacson: People are coming
from all sorts of backgrounds.
287
00:15:29,743 --> 00:15:32,019
{\an1}There's Anglicans, there's Jews,
288
00:15:32,043 --> 00:15:34,152
{\an1}there's slaves, freed slaves.
289
00:15:34,176 --> 00:15:36,952
{\an1}There's the Germans coming in
and the Presbyterians
290
00:15:36,976 --> 00:15:39,819
{\an1}and the Native Americans
who were there.
291
00:15:39,843 --> 00:15:43,052
{\an1}And, unlike Puritan Boston,
where you have to follow
292
00:15:43,076 --> 00:15:46,685
the theocratic maxims
of the Mather family,
293
00:15:46,709 --> 00:15:51,919
{\an1}people in Philadelphia
have a certain tolerance.
294
00:15:51,943 --> 00:15:54,919
{\an1}Woman: Colonial Philadelphia
had a different vibe,
295
00:15:54,943 --> 00:15:56,719
a different flavor.
296
00:15:56,743 --> 00:16:01,152
Growing commerce,
saloons and taverns,
297
00:16:01,176 --> 00:16:04,885
{\an7}a sort of hospitable place,
but also a place in which
298
00:16:04,909 --> 00:16:08,385
{\an7}people could find themselves
and create themselves.
299
00:16:08,409 --> 00:16:11,519
Franklin landing in
Philadelphia at this moment
300
00:16:11,543 --> 00:16:14,585
was perfect for him,
in terms of timing.
301
00:16:14,609 --> 00:16:18,685
{\an1}He didn't have to be someone
who came from great wealth
302
00:16:18,709 --> 00:16:21,885
{\an1}in order to find opportunity.
303
00:16:21,909 --> 00:16:24,519
Man: He's just a kid.
304
00:16:24,543 --> 00:16:26,752
{\an8}He's run away from
his apprenticeship,
305
00:16:26,776 --> 00:16:28,685
{\an7}so, he's scared, probably,
that they're going to
306
00:16:28,709 --> 00:16:30,352
track him down.
307
00:16:30,376 --> 00:16:33,685
{\an1}He's not sure what comes next.
308
00:16:33,709 --> 00:16:36,719
{\an1}Narrator: "I was dirty from
my journey," Franklin wrote,
309
00:16:36,743 --> 00:16:40,252
"and I knew no soul
nor where to look for lodging.
310
00:16:40,276 --> 00:16:44,252
{\an1}I was fatigued and very hungry."
311
00:16:44,276 --> 00:16:48,052
{\an1}It was a Sunday, and he saw
a crowd of well-dressed people
312
00:16:48,076 --> 00:16:50,319
{\an1}heading into a church.
313
00:16:50,343 --> 00:16:54,652
{\an1}They were Quakers about to
attend their weekly service,
314
00:16:54,676 --> 00:16:58,443
marked by sitting
in silence together.
315
00:17:00,743 --> 00:17:02,352
Man as Franklin:
I sat down among them,
316
00:17:02,376 --> 00:17:04,452
{\an1}and after looking round awhile
317
00:17:04,476 --> 00:17:06,119
{\an1}and hearing nothing said,
318
00:17:06,143 --> 00:17:09,319
I fell fast asleep,
and continued so
319
00:17:09,343 --> 00:17:14,119
{\an1}till the meeting broke up, when
one was kind enough to rouse me.
320
00:17:14,143 --> 00:17:16,619
[Dog barking]
321
00:17:16,643 --> 00:17:19,085
Narrator: Walking up
Market Street, he passed a house
322
00:17:19,109 --> 00:17:22,085
{\an1}and exchanged glances
with a 15-year-old girl
323
00:17:22,109 --> 00:17:25,452
{\an1}standing in the doorway,
who, he was sure,
324
00:17:25,476 --> 00:17:28,085
"thought I made,
as I certainly did,
325
00:17:28,109 --> 00:17:31,209
a most awkward,
ridiculous appearance."
326
00:17:32,776 --> 00:17:35,752
{\an1}He went to work at one of
the city's print shops
327
00:17:35,776 --> 00:17:38,519
and eventually began
renting a room at the house
328
00:17:38,543 --> 00:17:41,176
he had passed
that first morning.
329
00:17:42,409 --> 00:17:44,819
{\an1}The girl he had seen was
his landlord's daughter...
330
00:17:44,843 --> 00:17:46,785
Deborah Read.
331
00:17:46,809 --> 00:17:48,485
{\an1}They struck up a romance,
332
00:17:48,509 --> 00:17:53,076
{\an1}and by the fall of 1724
were talking of marriage.
333
00:17:55,376 --> 00:17:57,885
Meanwhile, patrons of
the print shop had noticed
334
00:17:57,909 --> 00:18:00,852
{\an1}Franklin's skill and diligence.
335
00:18:00,876 --> 00:18:04,219
{\an1}One of them, Pennsylvania's
governor William Keith,
336
00:18:04,243 --> 00:18:08,852
{\an1}offered what seemed to be
the opportunity of a lifetime.
337
00:18:08,876 --> 00:18:11,219
{\an1}He would send Franklin to London
338
00:18:11,243 --> 00:18:13,885
{\an1}with letters of introduction
and credit
339
00:18:13,909 --> 00:18:15,852
{\an1}to purchase the equipment needed
340
00:18:15,876 --> 00:18:19,443
to start his own
print shop in Philadelphia.
341
00:18:21,343 --> 00:18:23,919
{\an8}Marriage to Deborah
would have to wait.
342
00:18:23,943 --> 00:18:27,352
{\an7}Benjamin was bound for England.
343
00:18:27,376 --> 00:18:34,852
♪
344
00:18:34,876 --> 00:18:36,685
Man as Daniel Defoe:
The great center of England
345
00:18:36,709 --> 00:18:39,352
is the city of London
and parts adjacent.
346
00:18:39,376 --> 00:18:41,585
{\an1}All that vast mass of buildings,
347
00:18:41,609 --> 00:18:44,519
and how much farther
it may spread, who knows?
348
00:18:44,543 --> 00:18:47,552
{\an1}New squares and new streets
rising up every day
349
00:18:47,576 --> 00:18:50,752
{\an1}to such a prodigy of buildings
that nothing in the world
350
00:18:50,776 --> 00:18:55,785
{\an1}does, or ever did, equal it,
except old Rome.
351
00:18:55,809 --> 00:18:57,343
Daniel Defoe.
352
00:18:59,409 --> 00:19:01,785
{\an1}Narrator: With more than
600,000 residents,
353
00:19:01,809 --> 00:19:04,752
100 times the size
of Philadelphia,
354
00:19:04,776 --> 00:19:07,585
{\an1}London was the teeming hub
of an empire
355
00:19:07,609 --> 00:19:12,685
{\an1}that considered its far-flung
colonists with mild disdain.
356
00:19:12,709 --> 00:19:16,985
They viewed Americans
as backwards suppliers
of raw materials
357
00:19:17,009 --> 00:19:20,052
and as purchasers
of manufactured goods
358
00:19:20,076 --> 00:19:23,919
{\an1}only England could provide.
359
00:19:23,943 --> 00:19:25,385
Man: Coming out of
the Provinces,
360
00:19:25,409 --> 00:19:27,752
{\an1}he found a greater world.
361
00:19:27,776 --> 00:19:32,485
{\an8}In England, he was
young and impressionable
362
00:19:32,509 --> 00:19:39,619
{\an7}and able to make his way into
that huge metropolis of London
363
00:19:39,643 --> 00:19:42,652
{\an1}from nothing but his ability.
364
00:19:42,676 --> 00:19:46,119
{\an1}Narrator: Upon his arrival,
Franklin learned too late that
365
00:19:46,143 --> 00:19:50,085
Governor Keith had
a reputation for unreliability.
366
00:19:50,109 --> 00:19:53,585
{\an1}There were no letters of credit
or introduction.
367
00:19:53,609 --> 00:19:56,876
{\an1}Once more, he would have
to fend for himself.
368
00:19:58,443 --> 00:20:00,952
{\an1}For a year and a half,
he made the most of it.
369
00:20:00,976 --> 00:20:03,285
{\an1}London had more print shops
than all of
370
00:20:03,309 --> 00:20:05,819
{\an1}the American colonies combined,
371
00:20:05,843 --> 00:20:07,952
{\an1}and he quickly found work,
372
00:20:07,976 --> 00:20:13,352
{\an1}impressing his employers with
his strength and his sobriety.
373
00:20:13,376 --> 00:20:16,819
{\an1}Unlike all the other workers,
he did not drink
374
00:20:16,843 --> 00:20:21,985
{\an1}a pint of beer 6 different times
during the workday.
375
00:20:22,009 --> 00:20:25,052
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I drank
only "Water"; the other
376
00:20:25,076 --> 00:20:26,585
{\an1}"Workmen" "wonder'd" to see from
this
377
00:20:26,609 --> 00:20:29,719
{\an1}that the "Water-American",
as they "call'd" me,
378
00:20:29,743 --> 00:20:31,809
{\an1}was stronger than themselves.
379
00:20:34,076 --> 00:20:37,219
{\an1}Narrator: He spent his
free time poring through books,
380
00:20:37,243 --> 00:20:41,419
{\an1}especially Enlightenment
treatises by Isaac Newton,
381
00:20:41,443 --> 00:20:45,619
{\an1}René Descartes, John Locke,
and other philosophers
382
00:20:45,643 --> 00:20:48,552
{\an1}who argued that truths
were to be found
383
00:20:48,576 --> 00:20:52,752
{\an1}through the study of how things
work in the natural world.
384
00:20:52,776 --> 00:20:56,185
♪
385
00:20:56,209 --> 00:20:57,685
{\an1}Jenkinson: The Enlightenment.
386
00:20:57,709 --> 00:21:00,819
It's a commitment
to reason and science.
387
00:21:00,843 --> 00:21:02,985
It's a belief that
every problem can be solved
388
00:21:03,009 --> 00:21:06,519
{\an1}and that every institution
can be reformed,
389
00:21:06,543 --> 00:21:07,985
{\an8}that life on Earth
is perfectible,
390
00:21:08,009 --> 00:21:10,852
{\an7}at least up to a point,
391
00:21:10,876 --> 00:21:13,252
{\an8}and maybe altogether.
392
00:21:13,276 --> 00:21:15,519
Narrator: In London,
Franklin also seemed
393
00:21:15,543 --> 00:21:17,352
{\an1}to have forgotten Deborah
394
00:21:17,376 --> 00:21:19,419
{\an1}and indulged in what he called
395
00:21:19,443 --> 00:21:22,552
"foolish intrigues
with low women."
396
00:21:22,576 --> 00:21:25,485
{\an1}He wrote her only one letter.
397
00:21:25,509 --> 00:21:30,319
In his absence,
Deborah married someone else.
398
00:21:30,343 --> 00:21:32,519
[Dog barking]
But when a Quaker merchant
399
00:21:32,543 --> 00:21:34,952
{\an1}offered Franklin a job
as a clerk
400
00:21:34,976 --> 00:21:37,119
selling merchandise
in a general store
401
00:21:37,143 --> 00:21:38,719
back in Philadelphia
402
00:21:38,743 --> 00:21:41,985
and then dangled
a potential partnership,
403
00:21:42,009 --> 00:21:44,043
he headed home.
404
00:21:47,176 --> 00:21:50,552
{\an1}During the 12-week voyage,
Franklin wrote out a plan
405
00:21:50,576 --> 00:21:54,885
for future conduct,
with 4 basic rules:
406
00:21:54,909 --> 00:21:57,252
{\an1}be "extremely frugal,"
407
00:21:57,276 --> 00:22:01,119
{\an1}"endeavour to speak the truth
in every instance,"
408
00:22:01,143 --> 00:22:05,819
{\an1}"apply myself industriously
to whatever business I take,"
409
00:22:05,843 --> 00:22:08,676
and "speak ill of
no man whatever."
410
00:22:11,276 --> 00:22:14,819
{\an1}In Philadelphia, he threw
himself into his new job,
411
00:22:14,843 --> 00:22:18,752
becoming, he said,
an "expert at selling."
412
00:22:18,776 --> 00:22:22,409
{\an1}But that winter, his employer
took ill and died.
413
00:22:23,676 --> 00:22:27,409
{\an1}Franklin decided to return
to his old trade as a printer.
414
00:22:28,776 --> 00:22:31,419
[Bell rings]
In 1728, he opened
415
00:22:31,443 --> 00:22:33,852
{\an1}his own shop on Market Street
416
00:22:33,876 --> 00:22:36,285
with a partner
whose father underwrote
417
00:22:36,309 --> 00:22:39,085
the initial expenses.
418
00:22:39,109 --> 00:22:42,619
{\an1}He had devised a foundry
for casting type,
419
00:22:42,643 --> 00:22:46,552
{\an1}saving the cost of sending to
England for replacements,
420
00:22:46,576 --> 00:22:48,552
{\an1}and won a contract to print
421
00:22:48,576 --> 00:22:51,509
{\an1}the authorized history
of the Quakers.
422
00:22:52,943 --> 00:22:54,785
When his new partner
took to drinking,
423
00:22:54,809 --> 00:22:57,885
{\an1}Franklin found other backers
to buy him out
424
00:22:57,909 --> 00:23:01,352
and continued as
sole proprietor.
425
00:23:01,376 --> 00:23:03,719
{\an1}In his drive to succeed,
he often worked
426
00:23:03,743 --> 00:23:05,785
until 11 at night
427
00:23:05,809 --> 00:23:08,709
{\an1}and was back at his shop
before dawn.
428
00:23:10,243 --> 00:23:12,652
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I took care
not only to be in "Reality"
429
00:23:12,676 --> 00:23:15,219
{\an1}"Industrious" and frugal,
but to avoid
430
00:23:15,243 --> 00:23:18,852
{\an1}all "Appearances of the
Contrary".
431
00:23:18,876 --> 00:23:21,485
{\an1}Narrator: He made sure
people noticed,
432
00:23:21,509 --> 00:23:25,185
{\an1}and his business increased.
433
00:23:25,209 --> 00:23:28,085
{\an1}Chaplin: He was a writer.
You know, writers invent.
434
00:23:28,109 --> 00:23:32,152
He might be
his own best invention.
435
00:23:32,176 --> 00:23:36,119
{\an7}Franklin is so relentless
in learning how to do things,
436
00:23:36,143 --> 00:23:39,752
{\an7}learning how to do things
correctly in a certain way,
437
00:23:39,776 --> 00:23:41,952
{\an1}how to write, how to dress,
how to
438
00:23:41,976 --> 00:23:44,119
{\an1}speak to different kinds
of people.
439
00:23:44,143 --> 00:23:47,319
{\an1}It's sort of impossible
to know what was there
440
00:23:47,343 --> 00:23:50,143
{\an1}before he did all that
and invented himself.
441
00:23:52,843 --> 00:23:55,752
{\an1}Narrator: With 11 other
up-and-coming tradesmen,
442
00:23:55,776 --> 00:23:59,152
{\an1}Franklin formed a club
that met each Friday evening
443
00:23:59,176 --> 00:24:03,919
{\an1}to socialize and forge
business connections.
444
00:24:03,943 --> 00:24:06,419
{\an1}But they also discussed
current events
445
00:24:06,443 --> 00:24:10,352
and politely debated
a variety of topics...
446
00:24:10,376 --> 00:24:14,285
What is wisdom?
What defines good writing?
447
00:24:14,309 --> 00:24:17,885
{\an1}Did importing indentured
and enslaved servants
448
00:24:17,909 --> 00:24:21,176
help or hurt
the colonial economy?
449
00:24:22,676 --> 00:24:26,185
{\an1}The official name of the group
was the Leather Apron Club.
450
00:24:26,209 --> 00:24:29,485
Informally, they
called themselves the Junto,
451
00:24:29,509 --> 00:24:33,085
from the Latin for
"joined together."
452
00:24:33,109 --> 00:24:36,485
At 21, Franklin was
its youngest member,
453
00:24:36,509 --> 00:24:40,752
but unquestionably
its driving force.
454
00:24:40,776 --> 00:24:44,852
{\an1}Isaacson: Franklin believed
that the virtues and values
455
00:24:44,876 --> 00:24:46,885
{\an1}of a working middle class
456
00:24:46,909 --> 00:24:50,352
{\an1}were going to be the backbone
of American society.
457
00:24:50,376 --> 00:24:52,919
{\an1}The artisans, the shopkeepers,
458
00:24:52,943 --> 00:24:55,919
{\an1}the people who put on leather
aprons early in the morning
459
00:24:55,943 --> 00:24:59,152
{\an1}to help serve the public.
460
00:24:59,176 --> 00:25:01,519
Narrator: The Junto
moved its meeting place
461
00:25:01,543 --> 00:25:04,619
from a local tavern
to a rented house,
462
00:25:04,643 --> 00:25:06,619
{\an1}and at Franklin's suggestion,
463
00:25:06,643 --> 00:25:08,452
{\an1}each member brought some books
464
00:25:08,476 --> 00:25:10,576
{\an1}that the other members
could read.
465
00:25:13,643 --> 00:25:15,185
{\an1}Eventually, they broadened
the idea
466
00:25:15,209 --> 00:25:18,519
{\an1}into the Library Company
of Philadelphia,
467
00:25:18,543 --> 00:25:20,952
America's first
subscription library
468
00:25:20,976 --> 00:25:22,519
open to the public,
469
00:25:22,543 --> 00:25:25,352
who paid small dues
for the chance to borrow
470
00:25:25,376 --> 00:25:28,785
{\an1}books imported from Europe.
471
00:25:28,809 --> 00:25:31,319
{\an1}Dunbar: And, every year,
more and more books would be
472
00:25:31,343 --> 00:25:34,652
{\an1}collected and extend knowledge.
473
00:25:34,676 --> 00:25:37,785
{\an7}What was so important
about the Library Company
474
00:25:37,809 --> 00:25:43,719
{\an8}was that it wasn't
just for wealthy, elite men.
475
00:25:43,743 --> 00:25:45,885
Man as Franklin:
This "Library" afforded me
476
00:25:45,909 --> 00:25:49,785
{\an1}the "Means of Improvement"
by constant "Study",
477
00:25:49,809 --> 00:25:52,819
{\an1}for which I set apart
an "Hour" or two each "Day";
478
00:25:52,843 --> 00:25:55,152
{\an1}and thus "repair'd" in some
"Degree"
479
00:25:55,176 --> 00:25:57,485
the "Loss of
the Learned Education"
480
00:25:57,509 --> 00:26:00,176
{\an1}my "Father" once intended for
me.
481
00:26:02,176 --> 00:26:04,185
{\an1}Jenkinson: He always looked
around wherever he was
482
00:26:04,209 --> 00:26:05,719
and said,
"What needs to be done?
483
00:26:05,743 --> 00:26:07,152
"What's missing?
What are the things
484
00:26:07,176 --> 00:26:09,552
{\an1}that a community ought to have?"
485
00:26:09,576 --> 00:26:13,152
{\an7}He had read enough to know
that there was more elsewhere
486
00:26:13,176 --> 00:26:15,585
{\an7}and he wanted to make
those good things happen
487
00:26:15,609 --> 00:26:17,709
{\an8}to the community
of Philadelphia.
488
00:26:19,376 --> 00:26:21,519
{\an1}Isaacson: Self-reliance,
which Franklin loved,
489
00:26:21,543 --> 00:26:24,052
{\an1}and community engagement
may seem like
490
00:26:24,076 --> 00:26:25,752
{\an1}they oppose each other.
491
00:26:25,776 --> 00:26:28,819
{\an1}But as Franklin repeatedly said,
492
00:26:28,843 --> 00:26:30,985
{\an1}the good that we can do together
493
00:26:31,009 --> 00:26:33,909
surpasses the good
we can do alone.
494
00:26:36,809 --> 00:26:39,719
{\an1}Narrator: Over the coming years,
Franklin and his Junto
495
00:26:39,743 --> 00:26:42,119
would turn to other
civic projects
496
00:26:42,143 --> 00:26:44,776
{\an1}to improve life in Philadelphia.
497
00:26:46,476 --> 00:26:48,452
Under their guidance,
the city formed
498
00:26:48,476 --> 00:26:51,119
{\an1}volunteer fire companies.
499
00:26:51,143 --> 00:26:53,319
They advocated
for a police force
500
00:26:53,343 --> 00:26:56,152
{\an1}paid by a property tax.
501
00:26:56,176 --> 00:26:58,319
{\an1}And at one Junto meeting,
502
00:26:58,343 --> 00:27:02,243
{\an1}Franklin raised the idea
of starting a college.
503
00:27:04,376 --> 00:27:06,252
{\an1}When the Public Academy
of Philadelphia
504
00:27:06,276 --> 00:27:09,419
{\an1}finally opened in 1751,
505
00:27:09,443 --> 00:27:13,119
{\an1}Franklin would be elected
president of the board.
506
00:27:13,143 --> 00:27:17,252
{\an1}It was the first non-sectarian
college in America
507
00:27:17,276 --> 00:27:21,609
{\an1}and would later become
the University of Pennsylvania.
508
00:27:23,643 --> 00:27:25,619
{\an1}Expanding on the Junto model,
509
00:27:25,643 --> 00:27:27,585
{\an1}he proposed and organized
510
00:27:27,609 --> 00:27:30,885
the American
Philosophical Society,
511
00:27:30,909 --> 00:27:34,319
{\an1}whose members would be
scientists and intellectuals
512
00:27:34,343 --> 00:27:36,885
{\an1}from throughout the colonies,
513
00:27:36,909 --> 00:27:40,685
who could share ideas
and scholarly papers by mail
514
00:27:40,709 --> 00:27:44,385
if they could not
come to meetings in person.
515
00:27:44,409 --> 00:27:48,476
{\an1}It would become the colonies'
first learned society.
516
00:27:50,376 --> 00:27:53,252
{\an1}And to build a new hospital,
he devised a plan
517
00:27:53,276 --> 00:27:57,885
{\an1}that matched private donations
with public funds,
518
00:27:57,909 --> 00:28:01,685
{\an1}giving people, he said,
"an additional motive to give,
519
00:28:01,709 --> 00:28:05,409
{\an1}since every man's donation
would be doubled."
520
00:28:06,943 --> 00:28:08,485
He always believed
that if you just get a few
521
00:28:08,509 --> 00:28:11,219
{\an1}good and interested men,
always men,
522
00:28:11,243 --> 00:28:14,885
on any civic problem,
you can solve it.
523
00:28:14,909 --> 00:28:20,152
{\an1}Dunbar: Ben Franklin is,
I think, emblematic of what
524
00:28:20,176 --> 00:28:23,885
America wanted to be,
should be, could be.
525
00:28:23,909 --> 00:28:27,285
{\an1}The things that he spoke of,
the things that he wrote about,
526
00:28:27,309 --> 00:28:32,652
{\an1}often missing are other people.
527
00:28:32,676 --> 00:28:35,785
{\an1}Women, people of color,
in particular,
528
00:28:35,809 --> 00:28:38,919
{\an1}enslaved men and women,
never had
529
00:28:38,943 --> 00:28:42,519
{\an1}the opportunities that
a Ben Franklin had.
530
00:28:42,543 --> 00:28:45,509
♪
531
00:28:47,476 --> 00:28:54,152
♪
532
00:28:54,176 --> 00:28:56,585
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin's
print shop was thriving.
533
00:28:56,609 --> 00:28:59,585
{\an1}Pennsylvania's colonial
legislature awarded him
534
00:28:59,609 --> 00:29:03,252
the contract to print
its paper currency.
535
00:29:03,276 --> 00:29:04,885
When he learned that
South Carolina
536
00:29:04,909 --> 00:29:06,552
{\an1}was looking for a printer,
537
00:29:06,576 --> 00:29:08,752
he dispatched
one of his employees
538
00:29:08,776 --> 00:29:11,276
{\an1}to open a shop in Charleston.
539
00:29:13,209 --> 00:29:17,619
{\an1}And on October 2, 1729,
he began publishing
540
00:29:17,643 --> 00:29:22,052
his own newspaper,
"The Pennsylvania Gazette."
541
00:29:22,076 --> 00:29:25,219
{\an1}He filled its pages with
reports from other newspapers
542
00:29:25,243 --> 00:29:27,352
{\an1}in America and England,
543
00:29:27,376 --> 00:29:29,452
{\an1}along with crime stories,
544
00:29:29,476 --> 00:29:32,419
{\an1}notices of fires and deaths,
545
00:29:32,443 --> 00:29:34,419
{\an1}a moral advice column,
546
00:29:34,443 --> 00:29:39,219
{\an1}funny tales he concocted that
flirted with sexual innuendo,
547
00:29:39,243 --> 00:29:43,885
{\an1}and letters from readers,
including some he wrote himself,
548
00:29:43,909 --> 00:29:46,185
under tongue-in-cheek
pseudonyms like
549
00:29:46,209 --> 00:29:50,319
Anthony Afterwit
and Alice Addertongue.
550
00:29:50,343 --> 00:29:53,419
{\an1}"If you would make your
paper a vehicle of scandal,"
551
00:29:53,443 --> 00:29:55,885
Addertongue advised
in one letter,
552
00:29:55,909 --> 00:29:58,943
{\an1}"you would double the number
of your subscribers."
553
00:30:00,676 --> 00:30:02,476
{\an1}The "Gazette" caught on.
554
00:30:03,843 --> 00:30:05,852
Dunbar: Ben Franklin
understood the power
555
00:30:05,876 --> 00:30:08,585
{\an1}of the printing press.
556
00:30:08,609 --> 00:30:12,219
{\an8}He understood that
those who controlled words,
557
00:30:12,243 --> 00:30:16,585
{\an8}those who are able to
disseminate information, um,
558
00:30:16,609 --> 00:30:18,452
{\an7}had a certain amount of power.
559
00:30:18,476 --> 00:30:23,009
{\an1}He could be the arbiter of
what was seen as important.
560
00:30:24,709 --> 00:30:26,952
{\an1}Brands: The idea, first,
was to engage people,
561
00:30:26,976 --> 00:30:28,719
to entertain people.
562
00:30:28,743 --> 00:30:30,419
{\an1}Franklin understood that
if you could get people
563
00:30:30,443 --> 00:30:32,185
to laugh with you,
you're halfway to
564
00:30:32,209 --> 00:30:34,752
{\an1}getting them to agree with you.
565
00:30:34,776 --> 00:30:36,785
Narrator: He also
welcomed essays
566
00:30:36,809 --> 00:30:40,619
{\an1}espousing opinions of all kinds.
567
00:30:40,643 --> 00:30:42,252
{\an1}Man as Franklin: If all
printers were determined
568
00:30:42,276 --> 00:30:44,085
not to print anything
till they were
569
00:30:44,109 --> 00:30:46,219
{\an1}sure it would offend nobody,
570
00:30:46,243 --> 00:30:49,585
there would be
very little printed.
571
00:30:49,609 --> 00:30:51,485
Isaacson: He said
in the end you have to bear
572
00:30:51,509 --> 00:30:56,352
{\an1}some responsibility for the type
of ideas that you put forward.
573
00:30:56,376 --> 00:30:59,052
{\an1}And if they're really odious,
if they're really harmful,
574
00:30:59,076 --> 00:31:02,085
{\an1}you have to curate them out.
575
00:31:02,109 --> 00:31:04,219
Woman: If you made
a mistake, you could,
576
00:31:04,243 --> 00:31:09,319
{\an1}as they always did in those
days, add an errata page.
577
00:31:09,343 --> 00:31:13,776
{\an7}And you could fix anything
with that errata page.
578
00:31:15,276 --> 00:31:17,519
{\an1}Narrator: Local merchants
advertised their goods
579
00:31:17,543 --> 00:31:19,019
in the "Gazette;"
580
00:31:19,043 --> 00:31:22,519
tradesmen advertised
their services.
581
00:31:22,543 --> 00:31:26,285
{\an1}Franklin also published
notices offering rewards
582
00:31:26,309 --> 00:31:28,752
{\an1}for runaway indentured servants,
583
00:31:28,776 --> 00:31:30,752
{\an1}like he had once been,
584
00:31:30,776 --> 00:31:32,909
and slaves for sale.
585
00:31:35,009 --> 00:31:37,819
Man: To be sold
in Lots or singly,
586
00:31:37,843 --> 00:31:40,852
{\an1}a choice parcel of Negroes
lately Imported,
587
00:31:40,876 --> 00:31:43,585
consisting chiefly of
young Men and Girls,
588
00:31:43,609 --> 00:31:45,919
{\an1}bred to Plantation Business;
589
00:31:45,943 --> 00:31:49,152
also Jamaica Rum,
Sugar of sundry Sorts,
590
00:31:49,176 --> 00:31:51,876
{\an1}Molasses, Cotton, and Pimento.
591
00:31:54,443 --> 00:31:58,119
{\an1}Run away from the subscriber,
a Negroe lad called Ned,
592
00:31:58,143 --> 00:32:02,119
{\an1}about 18 years of age,
5 feet 7 inches high,
593
00:32:02,143 --> 00:32:04,485
{\an1}speaks pretty good English,
but thick,
594
00:32:04,509 --> 00:32:07,943
{\an1}has very thick lips, and is much
pitted with the small-pox;
595
00:32:10,209 --> 00:32:13,885
{\an1}TO BE SOLD, A LIKELY young
breeding Negroe Woman,
596
00:32:13,909 --> 00:32:17,085
speaks good English,
understands her Needle
597
00:32:17,109 --> 00:32:19,419
{\an1}and any sort of Household Work,
598
00:32:19,443 --> 00:32:21,243
{\an1}and has had the Small-Pox.
599
00:32:22,909 --> 00:32:24,443
{\an1}Enquire of the Printer.
600
00:32:28,776 --> 00:32:31,585
♪
601
00:32:31,609 --> 00:32:32,885
{\an1}Narrator: When Benjamin Franklin
602
00:32:32,909 --> 00:32:34,985
{\an1}had returned from England,
603
00:32:35,009 --> 00:32:37,752
{\an1}he had fallen back into
some of the habits
604
00:32:37,776 --> 00:32:40,485
{\an1}he had acquired in London.
605
00:32:40,509 --> 00:32:43,319
{\an1}Man as Franklin: That hard-to-
be-govern'd Passion of Youth
606
00:32:43,343 --> 00:32:46,485
{\an1}hurried me frequently into
Intrigues with low Women
607
00:32:46,509 --> 00:32:48,152
that fell in my Way,
608
00:32:48,176 --> 00:32:50,885
which were attended
with some Expence.
609
00:32:50,909 --> 00:32:54,719
{\an1}Besides a continual Risque
to my Health by a Distemper
610
00:32:54,743 --> 00:32:56,719
{\an1}which of all Things I dreaded,
611
00:32:56,743 --> 00:32:59,709
{\an1}tho' by great good Luck
I escaped it.
612
00:33:01,476 --> 00:33:04,685
{\an1}Narrator: Now, as he became
a successful businessman,
613
00:33:04,709 --> 00:33:08,576
{\an1}he decided he needed to
settle down and get married.
614
00:33:10,043 --> 00:33:13,185
{\an1}Meanwhile, his former fiancée
Deborah Read
615
00:33:13,209 --> 00:33:16,219
had seen her marriage
fall apart.
616
00:33:16,243 --> 00:33:20,785
{\an1}Her husband had abandoned her
and fled to the West Indies.
617
00:33:20,809 --> 00:33:24,419
{\an1}Reports came back that he
had died there in a brawl,
618
00:33:24,443 --> 00:33:26,509
{\an1}but they were unconfirmed.
619
00:33:28,076 --> 00:33:31,785
{\an1}In Quaker Pennsylvania,
Deborah was in a legal limbo.
620
00:33:31,809 --> 00:33:35,619
{\an1}If she remarried and it
turned out he wasn't dead,
621
00:33:35,643 --> 00:33:39,652
{\an1}she would be guilty of bigamy,
punishable at the time
622
00:33:39,676 --> 00:33:43,509
by 39 lashes
and life imprisonment.
623
00:33:45,243 --> 00:33:47,252
She now lived with
her widowed mother,
624
00:33:47,276 --> 00:33:50,552
{\an1}who sold homemade remedies
to support them both
625
00:33:50,576 --> 00:33:53,719
{\an1}in their house on Market Street.
626
00:33:53,743 --> 00:33:55,952
Franklin felt
some responsibility
627
00:33:55,976 --> 00:33:58,885
{\an1}for Deborah's unhappiness,
and he said,
628
00:33:58,909 --> 00:34:03,019
"our mutual affection
was revived."
629
00:34:03,043 --> 00:34:08,185
On September 1, 1730,
forgoing a legal wedding,
630
00:34:08,209 --> 00:34:10,185
{\an1}they simply moved in together
631
00:34:10,209 --> 00:34:13,119
and entered into
a common-law marriage,
632
00:34:13,143 --> 00:34:16,376
a practice not
all that uncommon.
633
00:34:17,809 --> 00:34:20,119
{\an1}Man as Franklin: She "prov'd"
a good and faithful "Helpmate".
634
00:34:20,143 --> 00:34:22,952
Assisted me much
by attending the "Shop".
635
00:34:22,976 --> 00:34:26,385
{\an1}We "throve" together, and have
ever mutually "endeavour'd"
636
00:34:26,409 --> 00:34:29,152
{\an1}to make each other happy.
637
00:34:29,176 --> 00:34:31,719
{\an1}Cohn: I think he loved her.
638
00:34:31,743 --> 00:34:34,619
{\an1}I think they rubbed on
together beautifully,
639
00:34:34,643 --> 00:34:37,219
{\an1}as he would have said.
640
00:34:37,243 --> 00:34:38,885
{\an7}I think during the time
that Franklin was
641
00:34:38,909 --> 00:34:41,285
{\an7}an up-and-coming tradesman,
642
00:34:41,309 --> 00:34:44,519
{\an7}it was a perfect union.
643
00:34:44,543 --> 00:34:48,719
{\an1}Skemp: She was an excellent
choice for a wife.
644
00:34:48,743 --> 00:34:52,652
{\an1}She was well connected;
she belonged to Christ Church,
645
00:34:52,676 --> 00:34:55,285
{\an1}which was the church in town.
646
00:34:55,309 --> 00:34:58,252
{\an1}It was less of a romantic
relationship than it was
647
00:34:58,276 --> 00:35:02,109
a good, strong,
business-like partnership.
648
00:35:03,709 --> 00:35:05,552
{\an1}Narrator: But there was
a complication.
649
00:35:05,576 --> 00:35:10,485
{\an1}Franklin had recently fathered
a son with another woman.
650
00:35:10,509 --> 00:35:12,652
He never revealed
the mother's identity,
651
00:35:12,676 --> 00:35:16,385
{\an1}but Franklin wanted to take
custody of the child.
652
00:35:16,409 --> 00:35:19,319
{\an1}Deborah agreed the boy
could live with them.
653
00:35:19,343 --> 00:35:22,219
He was named William.
654
00:35:22,243 --> 00:35:24,285
{\an8}She takes in his son,
who is not her son,
655
00:35:24,309 --> 00:35:26,685
{\an8}and raises him,
not always happily.
656
00:35:26,709 --> 00:35:28,385
[Door opens]
[Bell rings]
657
00:35:28,409 --> 00:35:29,885
{\an1}Narrator: Benjamin and Deborah
658
00:35:29,909 --> 00:35:31,785
{\an1}expanded the print shop
to include
659
00:35:31,809 --> 00:35:34,252
{\an1}sales of her mother's ointments,
660
00:35:34,276 --> 00:35:38,119
{\an1}fine soap from Franklin's family
back in Boston,
661
00:35:38,143 --> 00:35:42,519
{\an1}coffee, tea, chocolate,
and other items.
662
00:35:42,543 --> 00:35:45,452
{\an1}Deborah purchased rags,
which mills throughout
663
00:35:45,476 --> 00:35:47,719
{\an1}the colonies turned into paper,
664
00:35:47,743 --> 00:35:50,619
{\an1}creating another profit center.
665
00:35:50,643 --> 00:35:53,219
{\an1}She also managed the household,
666
00:35:53,243 --> 00:35:56,776
{\an1}and at night bound books
by candlelight.
667
00:35:59,043 --> 00:36:02,619
{\an1}Narrator: Two years into
their union, in 1732,
668
00:36:02,643 --> 00:36:05,752
they had a child
of their own, Francis.
669
00:36:05,776 --> 00:36:09,676
His proud and doting
father called him Franky.
670
00:36:10,976 --> 00:36:13,219
But just after
his fourth birthday,
671
00:36:13,243 --> 00:36:18,152
{\an1}Franky came down with smallpox
and died.
672
00:36:18,176 --> 00:36:20,819
{\an1}The huge tragedy of their lives
673
00:36:20,843 --> 00:36:23,819
{\an1}was the death of Franky.
674
00:36:23,843 --> 00:36:26,985
{\an1}Franklin was one of the few
people in the Colonies
675
00:36:27,009 --> 00:36:30,985
{\an1}who was 100% behind inoculation.
676
00:36:31,009 --> 00:36:34,185
But it was thought
that because Franky
677
00:36:34,209 --> 00:36:36,652
{\an1}had a very bad cold at the time,
678
00:36:36,676 --> 00:36:40,185
they should hold off
until he recovered enough
679
00:36:40,209 --> 00:36:43,019
{\an1}to be able to withstand
the assault on his system
680
00:36:43,043 --> 00:36:45,819
{\an1}that inoculation would provide.
681
00:36:45,843 --> 00:36:48,519
{\an1}He never was inoculated.
682
00:36:48,543 --> 00:36:50,843
{\an1}Franklin never forgave himself.
683
00:36:54,343 --> 00:37:01,685
♪
684
00:37:01,709 --> 00:37:03,519
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin's exposure
to the writings of
685
00:37:03,543 --> 00:37:05,652
{\an1}Europe's Enlightenment thinkers
686
00:37:05,676 --> 00:37:09,119
{\an1}had led him to reject most of
the Puritan teachings
687
00:37:09,143 --> 00:37:11,985
{\an1}of his family's church
in Boston.
688
00:37:12,009 --> 00:37:15,119
{\an1}He no longer worshipped
a God intimately connected
689
00:37:15,143 --> 00:37:17,152
{\an1}with a person's daily life
690
00:37:17,176 --> 00:37:21,509
{\an1}who answered private prayers
or sent down punishments.
691
00:37:23,376 --> 00:37:25,985
{\an1}But he still believed in
a Supreme Being
692
00:37:26,009 --> 00:37:29,319
{\an1}who had created the world.
693
00:37:29,343 --> 00:37:30,985
Man as Franklin:
I believe He is pleased
694
00:37:31,009 --> 00:37:32,885
{\an1}and delights in the happiness
695
00:37:32,909 --> 00:37:34,819
{\an1}of those He has created;
696
00:37:34,843 --> 00:37:39,352
{\an1}and since without virtue man can
have no happiness in this world,
697
00:37:39,376 --> 00:37:44,319
I firmly believe He
delights to see me virtuous.
698
00:37:44,343 --> 00:37:46,852
A virtuous heretick
shall be saved
699
00:37:46,876 --> 00:37:49,276
{\an1}before a wicked Christian.
700
00:37:50,943 --> 00:37:53,152
{\an1}Narrator: No one feared
for Benjamin's soul
701
00:37:53,176 --> 00:37:57,019
{\an1}more than his pious parents
back in Boston,
702
00:37:57,043 --> 00:38:00,452
{\an1}whose Calvinist Puritanism
espoused that salvation
703
00:38:00,476 --> 00:38:03,085
{\an1}came solely through God's grace
704
00:38:03,109 --> 00:38:05,185
{\an1}rather than good works
705
00:38:05,209 --> 00:38:07,852
{\an1}and anyone who strayed
from that doctrine
706
00:38:07,876 --> 00:38:10,476
{\an1}would be eternally damned.
707
00:38:11,976 --> 00:38:14,285
{\an1}Benjamin, for whom tolerance
was becoming
708
00:38:14,309 --> 00:38:17,285
{\an1}central to his evolving beliefs,
709
00:38:17,309 --> 00:38:20,119
{\an1}tried to explain himself.
710
00:38:20,143 --> 00:38:23,219
{\an1}Man as Franklin: "Honored
Father and Mother", I imagine
711
00:38:23,243 --> 00:38:25,885
{\an1}a "Man" must have a good deal
of "Vanity" who believes
712
00:38:25,909 --> 00:38:28,852
{\an1}that all the "Doctrines"
he holds, are true;
713
00:38:28,876 --> 00:38:31,609
{\an1}and all he rejects, are false.
714
00:38:33,643 --> 00:38:36,585
{\an1}I think vital "Religion"
has always "suffer'd",
715
00:38:36,609 --> 00:38:40,819
{\an1}when "Orthodoxy" is more
regarded than "Virtue".
716
00:38:40,843 --> 00:38:44,619
{\an1}And the "Scripture" assures me,
that at the last "Day",
717
00:38:44,643 --> 00:38:47,919
{\an1}we shall not be "examin'd"
by what we thought,
718
00:38:47,943 --> 00:38:49,609
but what we did.
719
00:38:54,143 --> 00:38:56,485
Schiff: He's a man of
omnivorous curiosity, um,
720
00:38:56,509 --> 00:38:59,085
of endless invention,
of endless self-invention.
721
00:38:59,109 --> 00:39:01,285
He's so bent on
self-improvement,
722
00:39:01,309 --> 00:39:03,819
on teaching himself
how to write properly,
723
00:39:03,843 --> 00:39:06,452
or cleansing himself
of his moral sins.
724
00:39:06,476 --> 00:39:08,919
He gives us this idea
that human nature
725
00:39:08,943 --> 00:39:10,619
{\an1}may be flawed in some ways,
726
00:39:10,643 --> 00:39:12,909
{\an1}but anything can be improved.
727
00:39:15,209 --> 00:39:17,985
{\an1}Narrator: In his constant
effort for self-improvement,
728
00:39:18,009 --> 00:39:20,952
Franklin made a list
of 12 virtues
729
00:39:20,976 --> 00:39:25,785
{\an1}that could lead him to what
he called "moral perfection":
730
00:39:25,809 --> 00:39:32,252
{\an1}temperance, silence, order,
731
00:39:32,276 --> 00:39:38,152
{\an1}resolution, frugality, industry,
732
00:39:38,176 --> 00:39:46,176
sincerity, justice,
moderation, cleanliness,
733
00:39:47,009 --> 00:39:50,343
{\an1}tranquility, and chastity.
734
00:39:52,143 --> 00:39:54,152
Then he made a chart
with 7 columns
735
00:39:54,176 --> 00:39:56,152
{\an1}for each day of the week
736
00:39:56,176 --> 00:39:59,185
and rows labeled
with each virtue
737
00:39:59,209 --> 00:40:01,519
and went to work
on his progress,
738
00:40:01,543 --> 00:40:05,919
{\an1}marking any infraction
with a black spot.
739
00:40:05,943 --> 00:40:09,952
{\an1}"I was surprised," he said,
"to find myself much fuller
740
00:40:09,976 --> 00:40:12,843
{\an1}of faults than I had imagined."
741
00:40:14,309 --> 00:40:17,685
{\an1}Isaacson: Every week, Franklin
would make a chart and check,
742
00:40:17,709 --> 00:40:19,819
{\an1}did he master the virtue?
743
00:40:19,843 --> 00:40:22,852
{\an1}At one point, he said,
"I've mastered all the 12
744
00:40:22,876 --> 00:40:24,419
"virtues I had.
745
00:40:24,443 --> 00:40:27,185
{\an1}"And I showed it around
with great pride.
746
00:40:27,209 --> 00:40:30,119
{\an1}"And one of my friends said,
'Franklin, you're missing
747
00:40:30,143 --> 00:40:31,619
{\an1}a virtue you might want
to try.'"
748
00:40:31,643 --> 00:40:33,352
And Franklin says,
"What's that?"
749
00:40:33,376 --> 00:40:35,219
{\an1}And the friend says, "Humility.
750
00:40:35,243 --> 00:40:38,785
You might want to add
that one to your list."
751
00:40:38,809 --> 00:40:41,552
{\an1}Man as Franklin: In reality,
there is perhaps no one of our
752
00:40:41,576 --> 00:40:45,985
{\an1}natural "Passions" so hard
to subdue as "Pride".
753
00:40:46,009 --> 00:40:49,152
{\an1}Disguise it, struggle with it,
beat it down, stifle it,
754
00:40:49,176 --> 00:40:53,185
{\an1}mortify it as much as one
pleases, it is still alive,
755
00:40:53,209 --> 00:40:57,119
{\an1}and will every now and then
peep out and show itself.
756
00:40:57,143 --> 00:41:00,952
{\an1}Even if I could conceive that
I had completely overcome it,
757
00:41:00,976 --> 00:41:05,109
I should probably be
proud of my "Humility".
758
00:41:07,176 --> 00:41:09,319
[Baby crying]
759
00:41:09,343 --> 00:41:12,719
{\an1}Narrator: 7 years after the
death of their son Franky,
760
00:41:12,743 --> 00:41:17,585
{\an1}Deborah gave birth to another
child, a daughter named Sarah.
761
00:41:17,609 --> 00:41:19,609
{\an1}They called her Sally.
762
00:41:21,176 --> 00:41:24,019
{\an1}Franklin's son William
was now a teenager,
763
00:41:24,043 --> 00:41:27,719
{\an1}as restless as his father
had been at that age.
764
00:41:27,743 --> 00:41:31,019
Deborah treated him
with occasional coldness,
765
00:41:31,043 --> 00:41:34,152
{\an1}but Franklin was indulgent
as a father,
766
00:41:34,176 --> 00:41:37,185
making sure the boy
got the formal education
767
00:41:37,209 --> 00:41:40,143
Franklin himself
had been denied.
768
00:41:41,909 --> 00:41:44,852
{\an1}At age 16, William enlisted
to fight against
769
00:41:44,876 --> 00:41:47,285
the French and their
Indian allies
770
00:41:47,309 --> 00:41:50,419
in what was called
King George's War,
771
00:41:50,443 --> 00:41:53,185
and quickly rose
to the rank of captain,
772
00:41:53,209 --> 00:41:57,019
{\an1}tracking down deserters
in Pennsylvania.
773
00:41:57,043 --> 00:41:59,752
[Gunshot]
When he returned
to Philadelphia,
774
00:41:59,776 --> 00:42:02,419
his father began
to envision William
775
00:42:02,443 --> 00:42:05,352
rising in the ranks
of the British Empire
776
00:42:05,376 --> 00:42:09,843
{\an1}and made plans for him
to study the law in England.
777
00:42:13,643 --> 00:42:17,276
{\an1}Dunbar: Franklin had started
to acquire some wealth.
778
00:42:18,509 --> 00:42:21,385
Like many other
Colonial Pennsylvanians,
779
00:42:21,409 --> 00:42:24,252
he held a number
of enslaved people,
780
00:42:24,276 --> 00:42:26,752
{\an1}up to 5 or 6, in his home,
781
00:42:26,776 --> 00:42:30,585
{\an1}including a married couple,
Peter and Jemima.
782
00:42:30,609 --> 00:42:33,719
{\an1}He was committed to slave labor.
783
00:42:33,743 --> 00:42:38,652
{\an7}He used it alongside of
his business ventures
784
00:42:38,676 --> 00:42:41,252
{\an7}in order to gain more wealth.
785
00:42:41,276 --> 00:42:42,952
[Horse nickers]
Narrator: At the time,
786
00:42:42,976 --> 00:42:45,485
nearly a tenth of
Philadelphia's residents
787
00:42:45,509 --> 00:42:46,919
were enslaved,
788
00:42:46,943 --> 00:42:50,519
{\an1}toiling in homes and businesses.
789
00:42:50,543 --> 00:42:53,085
{\an1}Brown: We tend to associate
slavery with
790
00:42:53,109 --> 00:42:55,585
{\an1}plantation labor in the South.
791
00:42:55,609 --> 00:42:58,119
{\an1}But there were slaves all up
and down the Eastern Seaboard,
792
00:42:58,143 --> 00:43:00,719
{\an1}every one of the 13 Colonies.
793
00:43:00,743 --> 00:43:02,652
{\an7}And they did everything.
They served as
domestic servants;
794
00:43:02,676 --> 00:43:06,085
{\an8}they served as cooks;
um, they served as nursemaids;
795
00:43:06,109 --> 00:43:10,719
{\an1}they served as dock workers;
they served as hired hands.
796
00:43:10,743 --> 00:43:14,785
{\an1}The advantage was that
Africans couldn't leave.
797
00:43:14,809 --> 00:43:18,285
Indentured servants
filled out their time.
798
00:43:18,309 --> 00:43:20,743
{\an1}Africans, you had for life.
799
00:43:22,209 --> 00:43:24,119
{\an1}Narrator: Many of Franklin's
Quaker friends
800
00:43:24,143 --> 00:43:27,819
{\an1}considered slavery a sin
that threatened to corrode
801
00:43:27,843 --> 00:43:31,652
the moral fiber of
the community at large.
802
00:43:31,676 --> 00:43:35,385
{\an1}Franklin published some of
their anti-slavery tracts...
803
00:43:35,409 --> 00:43:38,819
{\an1}though he intentionally
kept his own name as printer
804
00:43:38,843 --> 00:43:41,519
off the title page.
805
00:43:41,543 --> 00:43:44,552
{\an1}Dunbar: Franklin lived in
a moment in which slavery was
806
00:43:44,576 --> 00:43:49,185
{\an1}being challenged, pretty
constantly, in Philadelphia.
807
00:43:49,209 --> 00:43:52,885
{\an1}He was very aware that this
was happening, yet he still
808
00:43:52,909 --> 00:43:56,552
made the decision to
hold onto his men and woman
809
00:43:56,576 --> 00:43:58,519
who were enslaved.
810
00:43:58,543 --> 00:44:00,276
He made a choice.
811
00:44:08,776 --> 00:44:10,419
{\an8}Narrator: Franklin's
publishing empire was
812
00:44:10,443 --> 00:44:13,619
{\an8}expanding and making more money.
813
00:44:13,643 --> 00:44:15,785
{\an8}He was named
clerk of Pennsylvania's
814
00:44:15,809 --> 00:44:19,085
{\an8}colonial assembly,
which didn't pay well,
815
00:44:19,109 --> 00:44:22,352
{\an1}but had won the contract
to print their proceedings,
816
00:44:22,376 --> 00:44:24,519
which did.
817
00:44:24,543 --> 00:44:27,952
{\an1}He made even more profits
printing the paper currency
818
00:44:27,976 --> 00:44:32,185
{\an1}for Pennsylvania, Delaware,
and New Jersey.
819
00:44:32,209 --> 00:44:34,885
{\an1}With former employees,
he would establish
820
00:44:34,909 --> 00:44:38,352
{\an1}printing partnerships in
Newport, Rhode Island;
821
00:44:38,376 --> 00:44:42,252
{\an1}New York City; and Antigua
in the West Indies;
822
00:44:42,276 --> 00:44:46,552
as well as the one in
Charleston, South Carolina.
823
00:44:46,576 --> 00:44:49,885
He published Bibles,
and Samuel Richardson's
824
00:44:49,909 --> 00:44:53,452
{\an1}"Pamela," the first novel
printed in America,
825
00:44:53,476 --> 00:44:57,319
{\an1}along with treaties with
Native peoples that were used
826
00:44:57,343 --> 00:45:02,485
{\an1}to systematically dispossess
them of their lands.
827
00:45:02,509 --> 00:45:07,519
{\an1}In 1737, he was appointed
Philadelphia's postmaster,
828
00:45:07,543 --> 00:45:10,352
{\an1}giving him access to news
from Europe
829
00:45:10,376 --> 00:45:15,152
{\an1}and the rest of the Colonies
before his competitors.
830
00:45:15,176 --> 00:45:17,152
One of the advantages
of being a printer is that
831
00:45:17,176 --> 00:45:20,285
he is totally tuned
into the news.
832
00:45:20,309 --> 00:45:22,285
{\an1}He's totally tuned into
everything that's
833
00:45:22,309 --> 00:45:24,285
{\an1}going on in North America.
834
00:45:24,309 --> 00:45:28,785
{\an1}His vision is broader than
most of his neighbors.
835
00:45:28,809 --> 00:45:33,252
{\an1}He had a kind of public opinion
embedded in his brain.
836
00:45:33,276 --> 00:45:36,419
{\an1}And he knew that opinion
in the end was what would
837
00:45:36,443 --> 00:45:39,319
{\an1}decide where power resided.
838
00:45:39,343 --> 00:45:42,352
♪
839
00:45:42,376 --> 00:45:44,785
{\an1}Man as Franklin: Early to "Bed",
and early to rise,
840
00:45:44,809 --> 00:45:48,443
{\an1}makes a "Man" healthy,
wealthy and wise.
841
00:45:50,243 --> 00:45:52,319
Narrator: By now,
thousands of readers
842
00:45:52,343 --> 00:45:54,685
{\an1}from South Carolina to New York
843
00:45:54,709 --> 00:45:58,319
{\an1}were buying Franklin's
"Poor Richard's Almanack,"
844
00:45:58,343 --> 00:46:02,252
{\an1}which he had launched in 1733.
845
00:46:02,276 --> 00:46:05,085
Many printers
published almanacs.
846
00:46:05,109 --> 00:46:09,452
{\an1}They outsold everything
in the colonies except Bibles
847
00:46:09,476 --> 00:46:11,719
and had the advantage
of requiring people
848
00:46:11,743 --> 00:46:15,419
{\an1}to buy a new one each year.
849
00:46:15,443 --> 00:46:17,552
{\an1}But Franklin's stood out.
850
00:46:17,576 --> 00:46:19,719
In addition to
weather predictions,
851
00:46:19,743 --> 00:46:23,885
{\an1}astronomical, astrological,
and other observations,
852
00:46:23,909 --> 00:46:28,585
{\an1}he included aphorisms that
combined wisdom with humor,
853
00:46:28,609 --> 00:46:31,719
{\an1}philosophy with word play.
854
00:46:31,743 --> 00:46:33,752
{\an1}All of it was ostensibly written
855
00:46:33,776 --> 00:46:36,252
{\an1}by the hapless Richard Saunders,
856
00:46:36,276 --> 00:46:38,552
who claimed he was
writing his almanac
857
00:46:38,576 --> 00:46:41,985
{\an1}simply because his wife
threatened to burn his books
858
00:46:42,009 --> 00:46:45,485
{\an1}if he didn't earn something
from them.
859
00:46:45,509 --> 00:46:47,252
{\an1}Jenkinson: Franklin got
this from his reading
860
00:46:47,276 --> 00:46:48,852
of Jonathan Swift.
861
00:46:48,876 --> 00:46:50,519
Swift had produced
the "Bickerstaff Papers,"
862
00:46:50,543 --> 00:46:53,419
which was a parody
of the almanac.
863
00:46:53,443 --> 00:46:57,585
And Franklin decides
to incorporate this style
864
00:46:57,609 --> 00:46:59,585
{\an1}into Richard Saunders.
865
00:46:59,609 --> 00:47:01,819
And it was genius.
866
00:47:01,843 --> 00:47:03,619
{\an7}People go to almanacs for
all sorts of important things...
867
00:47:03,643 --> 00:47:05,319
{\an7}when to plant potatoes or peas;
868
00:47:05,343 --> 00:47:08,019
{\an7}when... what's the best time
to harvest...
869
00:47:08,043 --> 00:47:10,919
But they stayed
because these fillers were
870
00:47:10,943 --> 00:47:14,085
{\an1}funny, witty, and useful.
871
00:47:14,109 --> 00:47:17,085
{\an1}Narrator: "Fish and visitors,"
Poor Richard wrote,
872
00:47:17,109 --> 00:47:19,752
"stink in 3 days."
873
00:47:19,776 --> 00:47:25,285
{\an1}"He that lies down with dogs,
shall rise up with fleas."
874
00:47:25,309 --> 00:47:28,585
"God helps them
that help themselves."
875
00:47:28,609 --> 00:47:31,552
{\an1}"Haste," he said, "makes waste."
876
00:47:31,576 --> 00:47:35,009
And "lost time is
never found again."
877
00:47:36,576 --> 00:47:40,485
{\an1}Man as Franklin: God heals,
and the doctor takes the fees.
878
00:47:40,509 --> 00:47:43,219
{\an1}A countryman between two lawyers
879
00:47:43,243 --> 00:47:46,443
{\an1}is like a fish between two cats.
880
00:47:47,943 --> 00:47:50,785
The greatest monarch
on the proudest throne,
881
00:47:50,809 --> 00:47:53,976
{\an1}is obliged to sit upon
his own arse.
882
00:47:55,176 --> 00:47:58,419
Schiff: Franklin
is endlessly quotable.
883
00:47:58,443 --> 00:48:01,252
{\an1}You could live your life,
I think, in Franklin aphorisms,
884
00:48:01,276 --> 00:48:03,852
{\an1}most of which, we should say,
are stolen from other people
885
00:48:03,876 --> 00:48:05,752
{\an1}but slightly reworked,
so in Franklin's version,
886
00:48:05,776 --> 00:48:07,985
{\an1}they're in a better form.
887
00:48:08,009 --> 00:48:10,743
{\an1}"Three can keep a secret,
if two of them are dead."
888
00:48:13,009 --> 00:48:15,752
{\an1}Isaacson: I think one of
Franklin's great inventions is
889
00:48:15,776 --> 00:48:19,485
{\an1}that American style of
homespun humor,
890
00:48:19,509 --> 00:48:23,352
{\an1}somebody who's pricking at
the pretensions of the elite,
891
00:48:23,376 --> 00:48:26,319
{\an1}somebody who has sort of a
cracker barrel sensibility.
892
00:48:26,343 --> 00:48:29,852
{\an1}This new style of humor
where people are poking fun
893
00:48:29,876 --> 00:48:32,019
{\an1}at themselves indirectly.
894
00:48:32,043 --> 00:48:36,152
{\an1}You see it in Mark Twain
and Will Rogers and others.
895
00:48:36,176 --> 00:48:37,909
I think it started
with Franklin.
896
00:48:41,009 --> 00:48:48,219
♪
897
00:48:48,243 --> 00:48:50,319
{\an1}Narrator: The man who had
arrived in Philadelphia
898
00:48:50,343 --> 00:48:53,219
{\an1}virtually penniless at age 17
899
00:48:53,243 --> 00:48:55,985
was now the city's
largest bookseller,
900
00:48:56,009 --> 00:48:59,352
its most successful
printer and publisher,
901
00:48:59,376 --> 00:49:03,785
{\an1}and the biggest paper merchant
in all the colonies.
902
00:49:03,809 --> 00:49:07,219
He considered himself
prosperous enough to retire
903
00:49:07,243 --> 00:49:11,819
{\an1}from the day-to-day running
of his businesses in 1748,
904
00:49:11,843 --> 00:49:14,385
at age 42.
905
00:49:14,409 --> 00:49:17,952
{\an1}"I would rather have it said,
'He lived usefully, '"
906
00:49:17,976 --> 00:49:22,785
{\an1}Franklin wrote his mother,
"than 'He died rich.'"
907
00:49:22,809 --> 00:49:24,785
Man as Franklin:
I am in a fair "Way" of having
908
00:49:24,809 --> 00:49:29,052
{\an1}no other "Tasks" than such as I
shall like to give my "Self",
909
00:49:29,076 --> 00:49:33,619
{\an1}and of enjoying what I look upon
as a great "Happiness",
910
00:49:33,643 --> 00:49:37,119
"Leisure" to read,
make "Experiments",
911
00:49:37,143 --> 00:49:41,252
{\an1}and converse at large with such
ingenious and worthy "Men"
912
00:49:41,276 --> 00:49:42,919
{\an1}as are "pleas'd" to honour me
913
00:49:42,943 --> 00:49:45,519
with their friendship
and "Acquaintance",
914
00:49:45,543 --> 00:49:47,585
{\an1}on such points as may produce
915
00:49:47,609 --> 00:49:51,852
something for
the common benefit of mankind,
916
00:49:51,876 --> 00:49:55,385
uninterrupted by the
little cares and fatigues
917
00:49:55,409 --> 00:49:56,776
of business.
918
00:49:58,509 --> 00:49:59,552
{\an1}Brands: There was something
in Franklin that always
919
00:49:59,576 --> 00:50:01,385
{\an1}wanted a little bit more.
920
00:50:01,409 --> 00:50:03,319
{\an7}He wanted to learn more.
He wanted to go
921
00:50:03,343 --> 00:50:05,052
{\an7}to more interesting places.
922
00:50:05,076 --> 00:50:07,652
{\an8}He wanted to have
a broader influence.
923
00:50:07,676 --> 00:50:10,219
{\an1}Narrator: Despite his lack of
a formal education,
924
00:50:10,243 --> 00:50:12,219
{\an1}Franklin had turned himself
925
00:50:12,243 --> 00:50:15,485
into an influential
writer and thinker.
926
00:50:15,509 --> 00:50:17,585
{\an1}Now, with more time to pursue
927
00:50:17,609 --> 00:50:20,952
{\an1}whatever intrigued his
restless imagination,
928
00:50:20,976 --> 00:50:25,009
{\an1}he would become better known
as a scientist and inventor.
929
00:50:28,076 --> 00:50:30,119
{\an1}He studied the earth's rotation;
930
00:50:30,143 --> 00:50:33,352
conducted experiments
showing that dark cloths
931
00:50:33,376 --> 00:50:36,185
absorb more heat
than bright fabrics;
932
00:50:36,209 --> 00:50:39,185
and became fascinated
by the human body's
933
00:50:39,209 --> 00:50:41,552
circulatory system.
934
00:50:41,576 --> 00:50:45,052
{\an1}Isaacson: He loved anatomy,
he loved botany,
935
00:50:45,076 --> 00:50:48,185
he loved the way
leaves had veins.
936
00:50:48,209 --> 00:50:51,552
{\an1}He was most curious to know
everything you can know about
937
00:50:51,576 --> 00:50:53,885
everything that was
possibly knowable.
938
00:50:53,909 --> 00:50:58,619
{\an1}Wanting to know everything
is a key to his creativity.
939
00:50:58,643 --> 00:51:00,719
Narrator: He observed
weather patterns
940
00:51:00,743 --> 00:51:03,885
and correctly deduced
that the coastal storms
941
00:51:03,909 --> 00:51:05,985
{\an1}now called Nor'easters
942
00:51:06,009 --> 00:51:09,352
actually moved in
from the south.
943
00:51:09,376 --> 00:51:11,519
{\an1}For an ailing brother,
he fashioned
944
00:51:11,543 --> 00:51:14,352
{\an1}a more comfortable catheter.
945
00:51:14,376 --> 00:51:18,985
{\an1}And he designed a metal stove
to fit into a hearth,
946
00:51:19,009 --> 00:51:23,119
{\an1}improving on the ones many
German immigrants were using.
947
00:51:23,143 --> 00:51:26,685
{\an1}Franklin's radiated more heat
out into the room
948
00:51:26,709 --> 00:51:29,552
{\an1}and had an opening for those
who still wished
949
00:51:29,576 --> 00:51:32,619
{\an1}to bask in the fire's glow.
950
00:51:32,643 --> 00:51:35,452
An ironworker who was
a fellow Junto member
951
00:51:35,476 --> 00:51:39,985
{\an1}began manufacturing them,
and they sold for 5 pounds each
952
00:51:40,009 --> 00:51:42,652
{\an1}throughout the northeast.
953
00:51:42,676 --> 00:51:44,952
{\an1}When Franklin was urged
to take out
954
00:51:44,976 --> 00:51:50,985
{\an1}a potentially lucrative patent
on his invention, he declined.
955
00:51:51,009 --> 00:51:53,019
Man as Franklin:
As we enjoy great advantages
956
00:51:53,043 --> 00:51:55,119
{\an1}from the invention of others,
957
00:51:55,143 --> 00:51:58,519
we should be glad of
an opportunity to serve others
958
00:51:58,543 --> 00:52:00,652
{\an1}by an invention of ours,
959
00:52:00,676 --> 00:52:05,009
and this we should do
freely and generously.
960
00:52:07,443 --> 00:52:09,752
{\an1}Narrator: But nothing he did
as a scientist
961
00:52:09,776 --> 00:52:12,252
would do more to serve others,
962
00:52:12,276 --> 00:52:14,185
{\an1}and bring him more fame,
963
00:52:14,209 --> 00:52:18,585
{\an1}than his work in the fledgling
field of electricity.
964
00:52:18,609 --> 00:52:22,852
{\an1}"I never was before engaged
in any study," Franklin wrote,
965
00:52:22,876 --> 00:52:27,576
{\an1}"that so totally engrossed
my attention and my time."
966
00:52:29,043 --> 00:52:31,719
{\an1}Jenkinson: Franklin had become
interested in electricity,
967
00:52:31,743 --> 00:52:34,585
which, at the time,
was certainly not understood,
968
00:52:34,609 --> 00:52:36,652
but it was also
sort of a parlor trick.
969
00:52:36,676 --> 00:52:38,652
People would come in
with a... with a glass rod
970
00:52:38,676 --> 00:52:41,852
{\an1}and some silk and shock
each other and lift
971
00:52:41,876 --> 00:52:43,485
pieces of paper.
972
00:52:43,509 --> 00:52:45,252
Narrator: He and his
Junto friends
973
00:52:45,276 --> 00:52:47,919
{\an1}staged electricity parties
974
00:52:47,943 --> 00:52:51,485
{\an1}in which they used a charge
to ring bells
975
00:52:51,509 --> 00:52:56,585
{\an1}and make a toy he called an
electrical spider jump around.
976
00:52:56,609 --> 00:53:00,752
{\an1}Men and women exchanged
electrical kisses.
977
00:53:00,776 --> 00:53:02,752
{\an1}Franklin also electrified
978
00:53:02,776 --> 00:53:06,852
{\an1}a gilt-edged portrait of
King George II that created
979
00:53:06,876 --> 00:53:09,519
what he called
a high-treason shock
980
00:53:09,543 --> 00:53:13,785
{\an1}if someone touched his crown.
[Zap]
981
00:53:13,809 --> 00:53:17,352
{\an1}He used a more powerful shock
to kill a turkey and reported
982
00:53:17,376 --> 00:53:20,085
that it seemed uncommonly tender
983
00:53:20,109 --> 00:53:23,985
{\an1}compared to one slaughtered
the conventional way.
984
00:53:24,009 --> 00:53:27,152
{\an1}Isaacson: He kept saying,
"We have to find useful things
985
00:53:27,176 --> 00:53:29,985
{\an1}to do with this electricity."
986
00:53:30,009 --> 00:53:32,019
{\an1}He said one of the only useful
things in his first year
987
00:53:32,043 --> 00:53:34,785
{\an1}of experiments was that
he would get shocked
988
00:53:34,809 --> 00:53:37,885
{\an1}and knock him down; and he said,
"Electricity was useful
989
00:53:37,909 --> 00:53:40,652
for making
a vain person humble."
990
00:53:40,676 --> 00:53:43,419
{\an1}Narrator: As his studies
turned more serious,
991
00:53:43,443 --> 00:53:46,619
{\an1}and he began documenting
his observations,
[Zap]
992
00:53:46,643 --> 00:53:48,885
{\an1}he came up with new terms
to describe
993
00:53:48,909 --> 00:53:51,419
{\an1}electricity's mysterious
properties.
994
00:53:51,443 --> 00:53:53,319
[Zap]
995
00:53:53,343 --> 00:53:55,419
{\an1}It had two charges, he wrote,
996
00:53:55,443 --> 00:53:57,385
{\an1}positive and negative,
997
00:53:57,409 --> 00:54:02,352
{\an1}and it could travel by what
he called a conductor.
998
00:54:02,376 --> 00:54:05,819
{\an1}He grouped a collection of
glass containers together,
999
00:54:05,843 --> 00:54:08,085
each possessing
an electrical charge,
1000
00:54:08,109 --> 00:54:12,519
{\an1}and named it a battery,
using the military term
1001
00:54:12,543 --> 00:54:15,552
{\an1}for an array of cannons.
1002
00:54:15,576 --> 00:54:17,585
{\an1}Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin
comes up with the most
1003
00:54:17,609 --> 00:54:20,252
{\an1}important theory of the era,
which is
1004
00:54:20,276 --> 00:54:22,685
{\an1}the Single Fluid Theory
of Electricity,
1005
00:54:22,709 --> 00:54:26,185
{\an1}which is that it's not
some substance,
1006
00:54:26,209 --> 00:54:27,719
but it's a positive
and a negative.
1007
00:54:27,743 --> 00:54:31,085
And it flows from
positive to negative.
1008
00:54:31,109 --> 00:54:34,252
{\an1}Narrator: But pure science
had less appeal to Franklin
1009
00:54:34,276 --> 00:54:36,519
than putting it
to practical use.
1010
00:54:36,543 --> 00:54:38,619
[Thunder]
1011
00:54:38,643 --> 00:54:41,852
{\an1}Man: Lightning was seen as being
Divine Retribution.
1012
00:54:41,876 --> 00:54:44,385
{\an7}Of course, the irony was that
most of the buildings
1013
00:54:44,409 --> 00:54:46,652
{\an7}that were destroyed by lightning
were churches
1014
00:54:46,676 --> 00:54:48,885
{\an1}'cause in a lot of communities
in the 18th century,
1015
00:54:48,909 --> 00:54:50,219
{\an1}they were the highest structure.
1016
00:54:50,243 --> 00:54:52,152
[Thunder]
1017
00:54:52,176 --> 00:54:54,952
Isaacson: Franklin is
convinced that lightning
1018
00:54:54,976 --> 00:54:59,019
bears a similarity
to an electrical spark.
1019
00:54:59,043 --> 00:55:00,952
{\an1}He's looking at electric sparks,
1020
00:55:00,976 --> 00:55:03,752
{\an1}he's looking at lightning,
and he puts in his notebook
1021
00:55:03,776 --> 00:55:07,385
all the similarities
and at the end of the page,
1022
00:55:07,409 --> 00:55:09,952
{\an1}he says, "Let the experiment
be made."
1023
00:55:09,976 --> 00:55:12,319
[Thunder]
1024
00:55:12,343 --> 00:55:13,952
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin detailed
his theory
1025
00:55:13,976 --> 00:55:16,285
{\an1}that lightning was electricity
1026
00:55:16,309 --> 00:55:20,119
{\an1}and that metal objects
could draw off a charge.
1027
00:55:20,143 --> 00:55:23,952
{\an1}He proposed an experiment
that involved placing a person
1028
00:55:23,976 --> 00:55:26,285
{\an1}in what he called a sentry box
1029
00:55:26,309 --> 00:55:28,752
{\an1}on a high tower or hilltop
1030
00:55:28,776 --> 00:55:31,585
{\an1}and raising a sharply pointed
iron rod
1031
00:55:31,609 --> 00:55:34,419
{\an1}when storm clouds approached.
1032
00:55:34,443 --> 00:55:37,619
{\an1}He shared his observations
with a London scientist,
1033
00:55:37,643 --> 00:55:41,085
{\an1}Peter Collinson, who had
supplied him with equipment
1034
00:55:41,109 --> 00:55:43,852
{\an1}for his electrical studies.
1035
00:55:43,876 --> 00:55:46,619
Franklin was planning
to conduct the experiment
1036
00:55:46,643 --> 00:55:50,119
on the new steeple of
Christ Church off Market Street
1037
00:55:50,143 --> 00:55:53,285
as soon as its
construction was completed.
1038
00:55:53,309 --> 00:55:58,085
{\an1}But the work went slowly
and Franklin grew impatient.
1039
00:55:58,109 --> 00:56:00,152
He then came up with
an alternative way
1040
00:56:00,176 --> 00:56:02,185
to test his theory.
1041
00:56:02,209 --> 00:56:04,352
He was less confident
in this method
1042
00:56:04,376 --> 00:56:06,785
{\an1}and decided to do it in secret,
1043
00:56:06,809 --> 00:56:10,343
{\an1}trusting only his son William
to take part.
1044
00:56:11,976 --> 00:56:16,285
In June of 1752,
with storm clouds threatening,
1045
00:56:16,309 --> 00:56:19,552
{\an1}he and William went to a field
with a silk kite,
1046
00:56:19,576 --> 00:56:23,409
{\an1}to which Franklin had attached
a sharp-pointed wire.
1047
00:56:24,776 --> 00:56:27,785
{\an1}Dangling at the end of
the kite's long twine string
1048
00:56:27,809 --> 00:56:30,352
was a metal key.
1049
00:56:30,376 --> 00:56:34,119
{\an1}They got the kite aloft
and Franklin maneuvered it
1050
00:56:34,143 --> 00:56:37,185
{\an1}toward the approaching clouds.
1051
00:56:37,209 --> 00:56:39,119
{\an1}Dray: What he was showing
was that the atmosphere
1052
00:56:39,143 --> 00:56:41,385
became electrified, [Thunder]
1053
00:56:41,409 --> 00:56:44,352
{\an1}not that the kite had to be
struck by a lightning bolt,
1054
00:56:44,376 --> 00:56:47,585
{\an1}which is often the way it's
depicted in illustrations.
1055
00:56:47,609 --> 00:56:49,152
Narrator:
Franklin suddenly noticed
1056
00:56:49,176 --> 00:56:51,119
{\an1}the individual strands of hemp
1057
00:56:51,143 --> 00:56:52,619
{\an1}along the kite's string
1058
00:56:52,643 --> 00:56:55,419
{\an1}stiffening and standing on end.
1059
00:56:55,443 --> 00:56:57,952
{\an1}He moved his free hand
toward the key
1060
00:56:57,976 --> 00:57:01,252
and felt a mild shock
on his knuckle.
1061
00:57:01,276 --> 00:57:03,252
{\an1}When the rain began, and water
1062
00:57:03,276 --> 00:57:05,819
started streaming
down the twine,
1063
00:57:05,843 --> 00:57:08,419
{\an1}sparks flew off the key.
[Zapping]
1064
00:57:08,443 --> 00:57:10,985
{\an1}Franklin was exultant.
1065
00:57:11,009 --> 00:57:13,885
"Thereby," he wrote
of his experiment,
1066
00:57:13,909 --> 00:57:17,419
{\an1}"the sameness of electrical
matter with that of lightning
1067
00:57:17,443 --> 00:57:19,976
has been
completely demonstrated."
1068
00:57:22,543 --> 00:57:24,585
[Thunder]
Meanwhile, the theories
1069
00:57:24,609 --> 00:57:26,585
{\an1}he had shared with Collinson
1070
00:57:26,609 --> 00:57:28,085
had been published,
1071
00:57:28,109 --> 00:57:30,885
{\an1}and unbeknownst to him,
other scientists
1072
00:57:30,909 --> 00:57:34,419
were already
testing and verifying them.
1073
00:57:34,443 --> 00:57:38,185
{\an1}Experiments using his original
sentry box proposal
1074
00:57:38,209 --> 00:57:43,019
had been taking place
all over England and Europe.
1075
00:57:43,043 --> 00:57:46,485
{\an1}"Monsieur Franklin's idea,"
a French physicist wrote,
1076
00:57:46,509 --> 00:57:48,485
{\an1}"has ceased to be a conjecture;
1077
00:57:48,509 --> 00:57:52,219
{\an1}here it has become a reality."
1078
00:57:52,243 --> 00:57:54,485
{\an1}Dray: The kite experiment,
that really was
1079
00:57:54,509 --> 00:57:57,385
{\an1}the symbol of his breakthrough.
1080
00:57:57,409 --> 00:58:00,985
[Thunder]
It showed that the atmosphere
was electrified,
1081
00:58:01,009 --> 00:58:04,885
{\an1}that thus thunder and lightning
were electrical forces.
1082
00:58:04,909 --> 00:58:07,985
And it overthrew
centuries of superstition
1083
00:58:08,009 --> 00:58:11,209
{\an1}and scientific confusion about
what this might be.
1084
00:58:12,776 --> 00:58:14,319
Man: He made a really
fundamental contribution
1085
00:58:14,343 --> 00:58:16,352
to basic science.
1086
00:58:16,376 --> 00:58:19,152
{\an8}And the fact that
he did it as an American,
1087
00:58:19,176 --> 00:58:21,919
{\an7}coming out of the wilds
of, uh, of America,
1088
00:58:21,943 --> 00:58:26,752
{\an7}in the European eyes, made him,
uh, instantly world famous.
1089
00:58:26,776 --> 00:58:29,619
Chaplin: There's
a hilarious little piece
1090
00:58:29,643 --> 00:58:31,685
{\an1}in the "Gentleman's Magazine"
in London
1091
00:58:31,709 --> 00:58:34,019
{\an1}where this commentator
says that "Now we know
1092
00:58:34,043 --> 00:58:35,985
"that Mr. Franklin's
theories about
1093
00:58:36,009 --> 00:58:38,852
{\an1}"emptying the clouds of
electricity are actually true;
1094
00:58:38,876 --> 00:58:41,285
{\an1}"whereas, once upon a time,
we didn't even think there was
1095
00:58:41,309 --> 00:58:43,685
{\an1}such a person as Mr. Franklin."
1096
00:58:43,709 --> 00:58:45,619
'Cause it does seem
incredibly improbable
1097
00:58:45,643 --> 00:58:48,119
{\an7}that the reigning expert on
1098
00:58:48,143 --> 00:58:50,952
{\an7}an enormous attribute of Nature
1099
00:58:50,976 --> 00:58:53,709
{\an1}would come from Philadelphia,
wherever the hell that was.
1100
00:58:55,343 --> 00:58:57,052
{\an1}Narrator: Benjamin Franklin
had unlocked
1101
00:58:57,076 --> 00:58:58,952
{\an1}the mystery of electricity,
1102
00:58:58,976 --> 00:59:03,185
but he still wanted
to put his discovery to work.
1103
00:59:03,209 --> 00:59:05,785
In Germany during
the mid-century,
1104
00:59:05,809 --> 00:59:09,719
386 churches had been
struck by lightning
1105
00:59:09,743 --> 00:59:13,352
and more than 100
bell ringers killed.
[Thunder]
1106
00:59:13,376 --> 00:59:16,385
{\an1}In Italy, hundreds more
people perished
1107
00:59:16,409 --> 00:59:21,085
{\an1}when a bolt hit a building that
had gunpowder stored in it.
1108
00:59:21,109 --> 00:59:23,719
[Thunder]
Franklin concluded
that lightning
1109
00:59:23,743 --> 00:59:26,085
seeks the path
of least resistance
1110
00:59:26,109 --> 00:59:28,085
{\an1}to connect with the ground.
1111
00:59:28,109 --> 00:59:29,852
{\an1}Providing a better conductor
1112
00:59:29,876 --> 00:59:33,419
{\an1}might safely divert the charge.
1113
00:59:33,443 --> 00:59:36,585
He then arranged for
what he called lightning rods
1114
00:59:36,609 --> 00:59:39,685
to be placed atop
Pennsylvania's State House
1115
00:59:39,709 --> 00:59:41,752
{\an1}and his college building...
1116
00:59:41,776 --> 00:59:46,652
{\an1}the first such devices
ever erected in the world.
1117
00:59:46,676 --> 00:59:48,952
[Thunder]
Isaacson: Lightning bolts
aren't there
1118
00:59:48,976 --> 00:59:50,852
sent by an angry god.
1119
00:59:50,876 --> 00:59:52,819
{\an1}It's not something you can just
1120
00:59:52,843 --> 00:59:55,852
{\an1}try to pray and it goes away.
1121
00:59:55,876 --> 00:59:58,952
{\an1}You have to find practical,
scientific solutions
1122
00:59:58,976 --> 01:00:02,519
{\an1}that help us understand
our cosmos.
1123
01:00:02,543 --> 01:00:04,819
[Thunder]
Jenkinson: The lightning rod
changes the world.
1124
01:00:04,843 --> 01:00:06,652
It's one of the most
important inventions
1125
01:00:06,676 --> 01:00:08,119
of the Enlightenment
and, of course,
1126
01:00:08,143 --> 01:00:09,652
he won't patent it.
1127
01:00:09,676 --> 01:00:11,152
{\an1}He believes a good idea
1128
01:00:11,176 --> 01:00:12,719
belongs to humankind.
1129
01:00:12,743 --> 01:00:15,019
{\an1}Narrator: Some religious
leaders objected
1130
01:00:15,043 --> 01:00:17,819
that Franklin was
attempting to interfere
1131
01:00:17,843 --> 01:00:23,219
{\an1}with one of God's most effective
methods of punishing sinners.
1132
01:00:23,243 --> 01:00:25,319
{\an1}Man as Franklin: Surely the
"Thunder of Heaven" is no more
1133
01:00:25,343 --> 01:00:29,919
{\an1}supernatural than the "Rain,
Hail or Sunshine of Heaven",
1134
01:00:29,943 --> 01:00:32,852
{\an1}against the "Inconvenience"
of which we guard
1135
01:00:32,876 --> 01:00:35,485
by "Roofs & Shades"
without "Scruple".
1136
01:00:35,509 --> 01:00:37,252
[Thunder]
1137
01:00:37,276 --> 01:00:39,985
Narrator: Scientists
in America and Europe
1138
01:00:40,009 --> 01:00:43,519
{\an1}were hailing him for his
achievements in electricity.
1139
01:00:43,543 --> 01:00:47,852
{\an1}Harvard, Yale, and the College
of William and Mary in Virginia
1140
01:00:47,876 --> 01:00:50,752
{\an1}gave him honorary degrees.
1141
01:00:50,776 --> 01:00:54,285
{\an1}London's Royal Society
made him the first person
1142
01:00:54,309 --> 01:00:56,619
{\an1}living outside of Britain
to receive
1143
01:00:56,643 --> 01:00:59,952
{\an1}its prestigious Copley Medal.
1144
01:00:59,976 --> 01:01:02,685
{\an1}And one English scientist
called his work
1145
01:01:02,709 --> 01:01:05,419
{\an1}"the greatest discovery
that has been made
1146
01:01:05,443 --> 01:01:08,852
since the time
of Sir Isaac Newton."
1147
01:01:08,876 --> 01:01:13,619
{\an1}In Germany, the Enlightenment
philosopher Immanuel Kant said
1148
01:01:13,643 --> 01:01:18,052
{\an1}Franklin had stolen the fire
of heaven and called him
1149
01:01:18,076 --> 01:01:19,952
{\an1}the "modern Prometheus."
1150
01:01:19,976 --> 01:01:22,009
[Thunder]
1151
01:01:24,676 --> 01:01:30,285
♪
1152
01:01:30,309 --> 01:01:32,785
Man as Franklin:
By the collision
of different sentiments,
1153
01:01:32,809 --> 01:01:35,219
{\an1}sparks of truth are struck,
1154
01:01:35,243 --> 01:01:38,209
{\an1}and political light is obtained.
1155
01:01:39,643 --> 01:01:41,752
{\an1}Brands: He had a kind of
social intelligence
1156
01:01:41,776 --> 01:01:45,285
that matched his
book learning intelligence.
1157
01:01:45,309 --> 01:01:48,485
{\an7}He really was an American
genius, but part of his genius
1158
01:01:48,509 --> 01:01:52,285
{\an8}lay in his ability
to get people to work with him
1159
01:01:52,309 --> 01:01:53,719
and to move things
in a direction
1160
01:01:53,743 --> 01:01:55,619
he wanted them to go.
1161
01:01:55,643 --> 01:01:58,219
Narrator: Franklin's
involvement in civic affairs
1162
01:01:58,243 --> 01:02:01,519
{\an1}took a new political turn
when he was elected to
1163
01:02:01,543 --> 01:02:06,685
{\an1}Pennsylvania's colonial
Assembly in 1751.
1164
01:02:06,709 --> 01:02:09,019
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I conceived
my becoming a member
1165
01:02:09,043 --> 01:02:12,319
{\an1}would enlarge my power
of doing good.
1166
01:02:12,343 --> 01:02:15,285
{\an1}I would not however insinuate
that my ambition was not
1167
01:02:15,309 --> 01:02:17,919
flattered by
all these promotions.
1168
01:02:17,943 --> 01:02:19,985
It certainly was.
1169
01:02:20,009 --> 01:02:22,152
{\an1}For considering my low beginning
1170
01:02:22,176 --> 01:02:24,309
{\an1}they were great things to me.
1171
01:02:27,743 --> 01:02:30,285
{\an1}Narrator: He worked on
everything from regulations
1172
01:02:30,309 --> 01:02:32,552
{\an1}on the size of bread loaves
1173
01:02:32,576 --> 01:02:35,019
to a tax on dogs;
1174
01:02:35,043 --> 01:02:37,519
pushed through a plan
to pave Market Street
1175
01:02:37,543 --> 01:02:40,052
{\an1}and keep it swept of dust;
1176
01:02:40,076 --> 01:02:42,852
then gained approval
to install newly designed
1177
01:02:42,876 --> 01:02:44,719
{\an1}street lamps in the city
1178
01:02:44,743 --> 01:02:47,552
{\an1}with 4 replaceable glass panes
1179
01:02:47,576 --> 01:02:50,209
{\an1}that made them easier to repair.
1180
01:02:51,809 --> 01:02:55,019
In 1752, the British
government appointed
1181
01:02:55,043 --> 01:02:57,152
{\an1}the 46-year-old Franklin
1182
01:02:57,176 --> 01:03:00,319
to the top postal job
in America,
1183
01:03:00,343 --> 01:03:02,885
sharing the title
of deputy postmaster
1184
01:03:02,909 --> 01:03:05,385
{\an1}with a man from the South.
1185
01:03:05,409 --> 01:03:08,085
{\an1}Franklin immediately started
making the colonies'
1186
01:03:08,109 --> 01:03:11,085
{\an1}mail service more efficient.
1187
01:03:11,109 --> 01:03:14,185
{\an1}He established the first
home-delivery system
1188
01:03:14,209 --> 01:03:16,819
{\an1}and cut the time it took
for a letter to get from
1189
01:03:16,843 --> 01:03:21,385
{\an1}Philadelphia to New York City
to one day.
1190
01:03:21,409 --> 01:03:23,685
On an inspection tour
that took him through
1191
01:03:23,709 --> 01:03:26,785
Delaware, Maryland,
and Virginia,
1192
01:03:26,809 --> 01:03:31,452
{\an1}he learned more about the
colonies south of Pennsylvania.
1193
01:03:31,476 --> 01:03:34,519
{\an1}Isaacson: The American
identity begins to form
1194
01:03:34,543 --> 01:03:38,085
{\an1}when Franklin creates a Postal
System that allows people
1195
01:03:38,109 --> 01:03:41,252
to communicate
up and down the coast.
1196
01:03:41,276 --> 01:03:43,052
Most of the Colonies
thought of themselves
1197
01:03:43,076 --> 01:03:44,785
closer to London.
1198
01:03:44,809 --> 01:03:47,352
{\an1}Even letters would go,
from Charleston,
1199
01:03:47,376 --> 01:03:49,585
{\an1}if it had to go to Boston,
it would go to London,
1200
01:03:49,609 --> 01:03:52,085
{\an1}and then back to Boston.
1201
01:03:52,109 --> 01:03:54,619
{\an1}So, by doing a Postal Road
up and down the coast,
1202
01:03:54,643 --> 01:03:58,985
{\an1}he helps knit the American
Colonies together.
1203
01:03:59,009 --> 01:04:01,652
Narrator: The future
prosperity of
the British Empire,
1204
01:04:01,676 --> 01:04:03,652
{\an1}Franklin wrote in one essay,
1205
01:04:03,676 --> 01:04:06,985
{\an1}lay in the American colonies.
1206
01:04:07,009 --> 01:04:09,385
{\an1}Because of the abundance
of land,
1207
01:04:09,409 --> 01:04:12,152
{\an1}he predicted the white
population would double
1208
01:04:12,176 --> 01:04:15,085
every 20 years,
and within a century
1209
01:04:15,109 --> 01:04:18,085
{\an1}would even surpass England's.
1210
01:04:18,109 --> 01:04:22,219
{\an1}All of this disregarded the
sovereignty of Native peoples,
1211
01:04:22,243 --> 01:04:25,143
{\an1}whose land it had been
for millennia.
1212
01:04:27,343 --> 01:04:29,119
{\an1}In the same essay, he argued,
1213
01:04:29,143 --> 01:04:31,485
{\an1}strictly on economic grounds,
1214
01:04:31,509 --> 01:04:36,419
{\an1}that the importation of black
slaves diminished a nation
1215
01:04:36,443 --> 01:04:38,485
because "The Whites
who have Slaves"
1216
01:04:38,509 --> 01:04:43,152
are "enfeebled" by
not working themselves.
1217
01:04:43,176 --> 01:04:45,752
{\an1}Brown: He is combining racism
1218
01:04:45,776 --> 01:04:49,419
and opposition to the
slave trade, simultaneously.
1219
01:04:49,443 --> 01:04:51,952
{\an7}Some of the initial efforts
1220
01:04:51,976 --> 01:04:56,785
{\an7}to stop the slave trade
to North America
1221
01:04:56,809 --> 01:04:57,985
originated in concern
that there were
1222
01:04:58,009 --> 01:05:00,285
{\an1}too many black people there.
1223
01:05:00,309 --> 01:05:04,343
{\an1}It was an immigration problem,
rather than a moral problem.
1224
01:05:06,343 --> 01:05:09,119
{\an1}Narrator: He also worried
about the influx of immigrants
1225
01:05:09,143 --> 01:05:12,785
{\an1}he described as having
"a swarthy complexion,"
1226
01:05:12,809 --> 01:05:16,019
{\an1}including Spaniards, Italians,
1227
01:05:16,043 --> 01:05:19,819
{\an1}French, Russians, and Swedes...
1228
01:05:19,843 --> 01:05:22,185
Even the Germans,
who now represented
1229
01:05:22,209 --> 01:05:25,219
{\an1}a third of his own colony.
1230
01:05:25,243 --> 01:05:27,885
"Why," he wrote,
"should Pennsylvania,
1231
01:05:27,909 --> 01:05:32,352
{\an1}"founded by the English,
become a Colony of Aliens,
1232
01:05:32,376 --> 01:05:36,585
{\an1}"who will shortly be so numerous
as to Germanize us
1233
01:05:36,609 --> 01:05:40,152
{\an1}instead of our Anglifying them."
1234
01:05:40,176 --> 01:05:41,819
[Dog barking]
1235
01:05:41,843 --> 01:05:44,219
{\an1}Man as Franklin: We have
so fair an "Opportunity",
1236
01:05:44,243 --> 01:05:46,685
{\an1}by excluding all "Blacks
and Tawneys",
1237
01:05:46,709 --> 01:05:50,252
{\an1}of increasing the lovely
"White and Red".
1238
01:05:50,276 --> 01:05:54,152
{\an1}But perhaps I am partial to
the "Complexion of my Country",
1239
01:05:54,176 --> 01:05:58,543
{\an1}for such "Kind of Partiality"
is natural to "Mankind".
1240
01:05:59,876 --> 01:06:02,552
{\an1}Brown: In the middle decades
of the 18th century,
1241
01:06:02,576 --> 01:06:06,385
{\an1}notions of racial inferiority
were so deeply embedded
1242
01:06:06,409 --> 01:06:09,952
that the unusual fact
of this document, actually,
1243
01:06:09,976 --> 01:06:13,685
{\an1}is how he says, at the end,
"Or maybe I'm just biased
1244
01:06:13,709 --> 01:06:17,019
{\an1}in favor of people like myself."
1245
01:06:17,043 --> 01:06:20,852
{\an1}Franklin doesn't deserve
particular praise for that.
1246
01:06:20,876 --> 01:06:25,352
But it is unusual
in the sense of
1247
01:06:25,376 --> 01:06:28,752
{\an1}he's being self-reflective
about his own prejudices.
1248
01:06:28,776 --> 01:06:31,685
{\an1}It's the self-reflective part
which is slightly unusual.
1249
01:06:31,709 --> 01:06:33,785
{\an1}The prejudices are not.
1250
01:06:33,809 --> 01:06:35,843
{\an8}[Birds singing]
1251
01:06:37,976 --> 01:06:41,419
{\an8}Narrator: In 1754,
increased white settlement
1252
01:06:41,443 --> 01:06:43,285
{\an1}in the Ohio River Valley
1253
01:06:43,309 --> 01:06:45,919
{\an1}ignited another struggle
with France
1254
01:06:45,943 --> 01:06:48,252
{\an1}for control of Native lands...
1255
01:06:48,276 --> 01:06:52,985
{\an1}what would come to be called
the French and Indian War.
1256
01:06:53,009 --> 01:06:56,652
{\an1}Franklin was chosen as one of
4 Pennsylvania delegates
1257
01:06:56,676 --> 01:07:00,219
{\an1}to meet with representatives
from 6 other colonies
1258
01:07:00,243 --> 01:07:04,352
{\an1}in Albany, New York, to
negotiate with Native Americans
1259
01:07:04,376 --> 01:07:08,785
{\an1}they hoped would side with
England in the conflict.
1260
01:07:08,809 --> 01:07:11,352
He was familiar with
the way the Iroquois nations
1261
01:07:11,376 --> 01:07:15,019
{\an1}had formed a confederation,
the Haudenosaunee,
1262
01:07:15,043 --> 01:07:16,952
{\an1}more than a century earlier
1263
01:07:16,976 --> 01:07:19,685
that promoted
unity through consensus
1264
01:07:19,709 --> 01:07:22,585
on matters that
affected them all.
1265
01:07:22,609 --> 01:07:25,985
It gave him an idea.
1266
01:07:26,009 --> 01:07:28,019
{\an1}Man as Franklin: It would be
a very strange thing,
1267
01:07:28,043 --> 01:07:30,652
{\an1}if 6 nations of ignorant
savages should be
1268
01:07:30,676 --> 01:07:33,752
{\an1}capable of forming a scheme
for such a union,
1269
01:07:33,776 --> 01:07:35,985
{\an1}and be able to execute it
in such a manner
1270
01:07:36,009 --> 01:07:38,819
as that it has
subsisted for ages,
1271
01:07:38,843 --> 01:07:41,719
{\an1}and appears indissoluble;
1272
01:07:41,743 --> 01:07:45,385
{\an1}and yet that a like union
should be impracticable
1273
01:07:45,409 --> 01:07:48,485
for 10 or a dozen
English colonies,
1274
01:07:48,509 --> 01:07:51,485
{\an1}to whom it is more necessary,
1275
01:07:51,509 --> 01:07:54,109
{\an1}and must be more advantageous.
1276
01:07:55,543 --> 01:07:57,452
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin urged
his fellow delegates
1277
01:07:57,476 --> 01:08:00,352
to consider creating
their own charter
1278
01:08:00,376 --> 01:08:03,752
{\an1}to encourage the colonies
to work together.
1279
01:08:03,776 --> 01:08:07,852
{\an1}He and Thomas Hutchinson,
an ally from Massachusetts,
1280
01:08:07,876 --> 01:08:10,985
{\an1}spearheaded a committee
that drew up what was called
1281
01:08:11,009 --> 01:08:14,319
{\an1}the Albany Plan of Union.
1282
01:08:14,343 --> 01:08:17,852
{\an1}It proposed a Grand Council
for the Colonies,
1283
01:08:17,876 --> 01:08:20,685
{\an1}empowered to make treaties
with Indians,
1284
01:08:20,709 --> 01:08:25,585
{\an1}regulate trade, oversee
land sales on the frontier,
1285
01:08:25,609 --> 01:08:29,219
{\an1}build forts and raise troops
for common defense,
1286
01:08:29,243 --> 01:08:32,185
and enact whatever
taxes and duties
1287
01:08:32,209 --> 01:08:34,485
{\an1}were needed for it all.
1288
01:08:34,509 --> 01:08:37,519
{\an1}Individual colonies would
keep their own authority
1289
01:08:37,543 --> 01:08:42,285
over everything else
under their own constitutions.
1290
01:08:42,309 --> 01:08:44,919
In an article in
the "Gazette," he attached
1291
01:08:44,943 --> 01:08:47,919
a drawing showing
a dismembered snake
1292
01:08:47,943 --> 01:08:50,085
{\an1}representing the colonies.
1293
01:08:50,109 --> 01:08:53,752
{\an8}At the bottom
was a dire warning.
1294
01:08:53,776 --> 01:08:56,519
{\an8}Isaacson: It says,
"Join or die."
1295
01:08:56,543 --> 01:09:00,519
{\an7}And it's his way of saying
that we have to come together
1296
01:09:00,543 --> 01:09:03,819
{\an8}to have one
national sensibility.
1297
01:09:03,843 --> 01:09:05,519
{\an7}So, he's the great visionary
1298
01:09:05,543 --> 01:09:07,185
{\an7}that sees that we have to
1299
01:09:07,209 --> 01:09:10,052
{\an7}knit the Colonies together,
1300
01:09:10,076 --> 01:09:12,619
{\an1}rather than have each of
the Colonies think of themselves
1301
01:09:12,643 --> 01:09:16,385
{\an1}as sort of a separate entity
reporting back to London.
1302
01:09:16,409 --> 01:09:18,985
{\an1}Narrator: On both sides
of the Atlantic,
1303
01:09:19,009 --> 01:09:23,552
the Albany Plan
was considered too radical.
1304
01:09:23,576 --> 01:09:25,419
Man as Franklin:
Its "Fate" was singular.
1305
01:09:25,443 --> 01:09:27,385
{\an1}The "Assemblies" did not adopt
it, as they
1306
01:09:27,409 --> 01:09:30,585
{\an1}all thought there was too much
"Prerogative" in it; and in
1307
01:09:30,609 --> 01:09:35,619
{\an1}England it was "judg'd" to have
too much of the democratic.
1308
01:09:35,643 --> 01:09:37,219
Despite all
the failure, and it was
1309
01:09:37,243 --> 01:09:39,885
{\an7}a total failure, [Laughs]
1310
01:09:39,909 --> 01:09:43,652
{\an8}it did possibly plant
some kind of seed
1311
01:09:43,676 --> 01:09:48,119
{\an1}for future organization
among the "Colonies".
1312
01:09:48,143 --> 01:09:51,485
♪
1313
01:09:51,509 --> 01:09:54,252
Narrator: In 1755,
Franklin met with
1314
01:09:54,276 --> 01:09:56,585
{\an1}Major General Edward Braddock,
1315
01:09:56,609 --> 01:09:59,085
who had
arrived in America boasting
1316
01:09:59,109 --> 01:10:02,785
{\an1}that he and his British redcoats
would have little trouble
1317
01:10:02,809 --> 01:10:06,652
{\an1}defeating the French and their
Native American allies.
1318
01:10:06,676 --> 01:10:10,619
{\an1}Franklin warned the general
against overconfidence.
1319
01:10:10,643 --> 01:10:14,152
[Gunfire]
On July 9, 1755,
1320
01:10:14,176 --> 01:10:16,485
{\an1}8 miles from Fort Duquesne,
1321
01:10:16,509 --> 01:10:19,385
where the Monongahela
and Allegheny rivers
1322
01:10:19,409 --> 01:10:21,785
{\an1}join to form the Ohio,
1323
01:10:21,809 --> 01:10:24,485
Braddock's forces
stumbled into an ambush
1324
01:10:24,509 --> 01:10:29,052
and were routed by
French and Indian soldiers.
1325
01:10:29,076 --> 01:10:32,652
{\an1}Nearly 1,000 of the British
were killed or wounded;
1326
01:10:32,676 --> 01:10:37,485
{\an1}most of the officers died,
including Braddock.
1327
01:10:37,509 --> 01:10:41,285
{\an1}In the battle, two horses
were shot out from underneath
1328
01:10:41,309 --> 01:10:42,919
{\an1}a young lieutenant colonel
1329
01:10:42,943 --> 01:10:45,652
and land speculator
from Virginia,
1330
01:10:45,676 --> 01:10:48,585
{\an1}and 4 bullets pierced his coat.
1331
01:10:48,609 --> 01:10:54,243
{\an1}But somehow, 23-year-old
George Washington survived.
1332
01:10:55,976 --> 01:10:57,785
The French
and Indians soon pushed
1333
01:10:57,809 --> 01:10:59,819
{\an1}farther into Pennsylvania,
1334
01:10:59,843 --> 01:11:03,819
burning houses,
killing and capturing settlers,
1335
01:11:03,843 --> 01:11:06,385
spreading panic
across the colony.
1336
01:11:06,409 --> 01:11:10,052
In Philadelphia,
the Assembly seemed paralyzed.
1337
01:11:10,076 --> 01:11:14,776
{\an1}Dominated by Quaker pacifists,
it resisted raising an army.
1338
01:11:16,209 --> 01:11:17,952
{\an1}Meanwhile, the governor,
appointed by
1339
01:11:17,976 --> 01:11:20,352
{\an1}William Penn's sons in England,
1340
01:11:20,376 --> 01:11:22,685
{\an1}steadfastly rejected any tax
1341
01:11:22,709 --> 01:11:25,452
on the family's lands
in Pennsylvania
1342
01:11:25,476 --> 01:11:28,652
{\an1}to help defend the colony.
1343
01:11:28,676 --> 01:11:31,319
{\an1}Man as Franklin: Vassals
fight at their lord's expense;
1344
01:11:31,343 --> 01:11:33,619
{\an1}but our lord would have us
defend his estate
1345
01:11:33,643 --> 01:11:35,785
at our own expense!
1346
01:11:35,809 --> 01:11:38,876
{\an1}It is even more slavish
than slavery itself.
1347
01:11:40,576 --> 01:11:42,319
{\an1}Narrator: When a raiding party
struck a settlement
1348
01:11:42,343 --> 01:11:45,585
only 75 miles north
of Philadelphia,
1349
01:11:45,609 --> 01:11:48,085
Franklin led a force
of militiamen,
1350
01:11:48,109 --> 01:11:52,519
{\an1}including his son William,
over rough terrain to the scene,
1351
01:11:52,543 --> 01:11:53,985
{\an1}where they buried the dead
1352
01:11:54,009 --> 01:11:55,552
and began to build
1353
01:11:55,576 --> 01:11:57,043
a series of forts.
1354
01:11:58,609 --> 01:12:01,085
{\an1}The winter weather was
cold and wet.
1355
01:12:01,109 --> 01:12:03,619
{\an1}Franklin spent his 50th birthday
1356
01:12:03,643 --> 01:12:06,143
{\an1}encamped at Lehigh Gap.
1357
01:12:08,476 --> 01:12:11,552
{\an1}But the immediate crisis
had been met.
1358
01:12:11,576 --> 01:12:16,085
In Philadelphia,
Franklin was hailed as a hero.
1359
01:12:16,109 --> 01:12:20,009
{\an1}"The people," he wrote
a friend, "happen to love me."
1360
01:12:23,909 --> 01:12:27,352
{\an1}Narrator: In June of 1757,
Franklin once more
1361
01:12:27,376 --> 01:12:31,019
{\an1}found himself on a ship
bound for England.
1362
01:12:31,043 --> 01:12:34,785
{\an1}The Assembly had sent him on
a mission to try to negotiate
1363
01:12:34,809 --> 01:12:37,119
{\an1}with the Penn family in person
1364
01:12:37,143 --> 01:12:39,943
{\an1}about their refusal to be taxed.
1365
01:12:41,409 --> 01:12:44,252
{\an1}He brought his son William
along as his assistant,
1366
01:12:44,276 --> 01:12:47,719
but Deborah and Sally
stayed behind.
1367
01:12:47,743 --> 01:12:49,785
Deborah worried that
her husband's ship
1368
01:12:49,809 --> 01:12:51,952
{\an1}might be attacked by the French
1369
01:12:51,976 --> 01:12:55,776
{\an1}or go down in the dangerous
waters of the North Atlantic.
1370
01:12:57,676 --> 01:12:59,119
{\an1}Woman as Deborah Franklin:
I have been in much pain
1371
01:12:59,143 --> 01:13:02,152
{\an1}for some days on account
of my Husband,
1372
01:13:02,176 --> 01:13:05,152
{\an1}for by this time he is,
as I suppose,
1373
01:13:05,176 --> 01:13:08,152
{\an1}near the Land's End of England,
1374
01:13:08,176 --> 01:13:10,952
{\an1}and of course in danger of
being taken,
1375
01:13:10,976 --> 01:13:14,385
{\an1}which I pray God prevent.
1376
01:13:14,409 --> 01:13:17,485
I am not able to bear
the least thing in the world
1377
01:13:17,509 --> 01:13:20,809
and I find myself
very weak indeed.
1378
01:13:23,876 --> 01:13:25,419
Narrator: Approaching
the coast of England,
1379
01:13:25,443 --> 01:13:27,752
{\an1}Franklin's ship was nearly
1380
01:13:27,776 --> 01:13:28,919
wrecked on the rocks,
1381
01:13:28,943 --> 01:13:31,085
{\an1}just as his wife had feared,
1382
01:13:31,109 --> 01:13:34,785
{\an1}but finally landed safely.
1383
01:13:34,809 --> 01:13:37,652
{\an1}"Were I a Roman Catholic,"
he wrote Deborah,
1384
01:13:37,676 --> 01:13:40,452
"perhaps I should
on this occasion
1385
01:13:40,476 --> 01:13:43,452
{\an1}"vow to build a chapel
to some saint;
1386
01:13:43,476 --> 01:13:47,019
"but as I am not,
if I were to vow at all,
1387
01:13:47,043 --> 01:13:49,409
it should be to build
a lighthouse."
1388
01:13:51,343 --> 01:13:55,319
{\an1}In London, he found lodging
at a home on Craven Street,
1389
01:13:55,343 --> 01:13:58,052
a short walk from
the British government offices
1390
01:13:58,076 --> 01:14:00,219
at Whitehall.
1391
01:14:00,243 --> 01:14:02,219
{\an1}Isaacson: When he gets to
London, Franklin tries to
1392
01:14:02,243 --> 01:14:05,119
{\an1}recreate his family life.
1393
01:14:05,143 --> 01:14:07,619
{\an1}And, so, he finds a landlady
who's quite like
1394
01:14:07,643 --> 01:14:10,752
Deborah Franklin,
named Margaret Stevenson,
1395
01:14:10,776 --> 01:14:12,852
{\an1}who has a daughter named Polly.
1396
01:14:12,876 --> 01:14:15,785
And they set up
on Craven Street a replica
1397
01:14:15,809 --> 01:14:18,309
of what he had
back in Philadelphia.
1398
01:14:20,976 --> 01:14:22,985
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin and William
had brought along
1399
01:14:23,009 --> 01:14:29,852
{\an1}two enslaved men, known only as
Peter and King, as servants.
1400
01:14:29,876 --> 01:14:32,485
{\an1}"Peter behaves very well
to me in general,"
1401
01:14:32,509 --> 01:14:34,652
{\an1}Franklin wrote home to Deborah,
1402
01:14:34,676 --> 01:14:39,819
{\an1}"and begins to know the town so
as to go anywhere on errands."
1403
01:14:39,843 --> 01:14:42,919
But King, sensing
an opportunity for freedom
1404
01:14:42,943 --> 01:14:47,252
{\an1}in his new surroundings,
ran away.
1405
01:14:47,276 --> 01:14:49,885
Dunbar: What we know
about these men
1406
01:14:49,909 --> 01:14:52,019
is relatively little.
1407
01:14:52,043 --> 01:14:56,019
{\an1}What we do know is that,
while Ben Franklin's
1408
01:14:56,043 --> 01:14:58,952
feelings or opinions
about slavery
1409
01:14:58,976 --> 01:15:01,852
{\an1}may have changed over time,
1410
01:15:01,876 --> 01:15:08,185
he doesn't set his
slaves free, ever.
1411
01:15:08,209 --> 01:15:11,152
{\an7}They run off and he doesn't
necessarily pursue them,
1412
01:15:11,176 --> 01:15:14,652
{\an8}perhaps, with as much
vigor as he might have.
1413
01:15:14,676 --> 01:15:16,619
And they die off.
1414
01:15:16,643 --> 01:15:20,519
{\an1}But at no moment do we really
see Franklin step out front
1415
01:15:20,543 --> 01:15:23,185
{\an1}and say, "I am setting
an example
1416
01:15:23,209 --> 01:15:25,176
{\an1}by setting my slaves free."
1417
01:15:27,776 --> 01:15:29,885
{\an1}Narrator: When Franklin
met with the Penn family,
1418
01:15:29,909 --> 01:15:32,885
{\an1}they categorically dismissed
the notion that they should
1419
01:15:32,909 --> 01:15:35,452
pay any taxes at all.
1420
01:15:35,476 --> 01:15:37,385
{\an1}They saw the colony solely as
1421
01:15:37,409 --> 01:15:40,652
{\an1}a source of wealth and power
for them,
1422
01:15:40,676 --> 01:15:43,976
and declared Franklin
a malicious villain.
1423
01:15:45,276 --> 01:15:47,952
Franklin decided
to change tactics.
1424
01:15:47,976 --> 01:15:49,985
{\an1}He thought he might be
able to persuade
1425
01:15:50,009 --> 01:15:52,719
{\an1}King George II and his ministers
1426
01:15:52,743 --> 01:15:56,452
{\an1}to declare Pennsylvania
a Crown colony,
1427
01:15:56,476 --> 01:15:58,785
{\an1}like most of the others
in America,
1428
01:15:58,809 --> 01:16:02,143
{\an1}where governors were appointed
by the King.
1429
01:16:04,176 --> 01:16:07,052
{\an1}He let Deborah know he would
not be returning as quickly
1430
01:16:07,076 --> 01:16:09,552
{\an1}as the two of them had planned.
1431
01:16:09,576 --> 01:16:13,085
{\an1}Franklin was enjoying London.
1432
01:16:13,109 --> 01:16:16,819
♪
1433
01:16:16,843 --> 01:16:19,019
Isaacson: London was
the greatest city in the world
1434
01:16:19,043 --> 01:16:20,352
at the time.
1435
01:16:20,376 --> 01:16:22,085
{\an1}It was filled with coffee shops
1436
01:16:22,109 --> 01:16:26,852
and had a thriving
intellectual middle class.
1437
01:16:26,876 --> 01:16:28,785
{\an1}And Franklin goes around
with his friends,
1438
01:16:28,809 --> 01:16:30,819
{\an1}mainly scientists and writers,
1439
01:16:30,843 --> 01:16:33,519
{\an1}and they spend their afternoons
in the coffee shops
1440
01:16:33,543 --> 01:16:35,452
discussing new ideas.
1441
01:16:35,476 --> 01:16:37,785
{\an8}That glittering,
sophisticated world
1442
01:16:37,809 --> 01:16:39,819
{\an7}was made for Ben Franklin.
1443
01:16:39,843 --> 01:16:42,985
{\an7}He was made for a dinner party
and conversation.
1444
01:16:43,009 --> 01:16:45,352
{\an1}Philadelphia might have
been extraordinary
1445
01:16:45,376 --> 01:16:48,352
for the New World,
but it couldn't compare
1446
01:16:48,376 --> 01:16:53,285
{\an1}to the absolute sophistication
of the Old World.
1447
01:16:53,309 --> 01:16:56,385
{\an1}Brands: There were people who
shared his views on science;
1448
01:16:56,409 --> 01:16:58,585
{\an1}there were people who shared
his broadminded view
1449
01:16:58,609 --> 01:17:01,585
of all sorts of
human institutions.
1450
01:17:01,609 --> 01:17:04,585
{\an1}He made friends very easily.
1451
01:17:04,609 --> 01:17:07,119
{\an8}In fact, if Debbie
1452
01:17:07,143 --> 01:17:11,952
{\an7}had been willing to relocate
from Philadelphia to London,
1453
01:17:11,976 --> 01:17:13,619
{\an1}Franklin might very well
1454
01:17:13,643 --> 01:17:16,385
{\an1}have become a permanent
resident of London.
1455
01:17:16,409 --> 01:17:19,385
Narrator: In England,
as he had in America,
1456
01:17:19,409 --> 01:17:23,219
{\an1}Franklin forged intellectual
and affectionate relationships
1457
01:17:23,243 --> 01:17:25,085
{\an1}with a number of young women
1458
01:17:25,109 --> 01:17:27,719
whose intelligence
he appreciated...
1459
01:17:27,743 --> 01:17:30,919
Exchanging letters,
providing advice,
1460
01:17:30,943 --> 01:17:33,585
{\an1}and encouraging their ambitions;
1461
01:17:33,609 --> 01:17:35,952
the kind of attention
he neglected to give
1462
01:17:35,976 --> 01:17:37,976
{\an1}his own daughter Sally.
1463
01:17:39,909 --> 01:17:43,085
Skemp: Sally was born
at a bad time, I think,
1464
01:17:43,109 --> 01:17:46,419
{\an1}just as Benjamin Franklin
became involved in politics
1465
01:17:46,443 --> 01:17:48,519
{\an1}and was away most of the time.
1466
01:17:48,543 --> 01:17:49,785
{\an1}And, so, I don't think
she ever really
1467
01:17:49,809 --> 01:17:51,585
{\an1}got to know her father.
1468
01:17:51,609 --> 01:17:53,885
And her father didn't
seem particularly interested
1469
01:17:53,909 --> 01:17:57,185
{\an1}in knowing her in those days.
1470
01:17:57,209 --> 01:17:58,719
{\an7}She wanted the education
that her brother had
1471
01:17:58,743 --> 01:18:00,185
{\an8}and never got it.
1472
01:18:00,209 --> 01:18:01,619
{\an8}She wanted to go
to England with him;
1473
01:18:01,643 --> 01:18:03,652
{\an8}that never happened.
1474
01:18:03,676 --> 01:18:05,452
{\an1}Narrator: With William
by his side,
1475
01:18:05,476 --> 01:18:09,385
{\an1}Franklin traveled beyond London
whenever possible.
1476
01:18:09,409 --> 01:18:11,719
A friend reported
to Deborah that
1477
01:18:11,743 --> 01:18:15,019
"William is daily
in the company of his father,
1478
01:18:15,043 --> 01:18:19,019
{\an1}"who is at the same time
his friend, his brother,
1479
01:18:19,043 --> 01:18:22,043
his intimate,
and easy companion."
1480
01:18:23,576 --> 01:18:25,552
[Church bell rings]
1481
01:18:25,576 --> 01:18:27,685
In Edinburgh,
they socialized with
1482
01:18:27,709 --> 01:18:30,519
{\an1}two of the Enlightenment's
leading thinkers,
1483
01:18:30,543 --> 01:18:36,019
{\an1}the economist Adam Smith
and the philosopher David Hume.
1484
01:18:36,043 --> 01:18:38,619
At St. Andrews,
the university placed
1485
01:18:38,643 --> 01:18:41,952
{\an1}a crimson and white robe
over Franklin's shoulder
1486
01:18:41,976 --> 01:18:43,985
{\an1}and presented him, a man with
1487
01:18:44,009 --> 01:18:46,719
only two years
of formal education,
1488
01:18:46,743 --> 01:18:49,452
{\an1}with an honorary doctorate.
1489
01:18:49,476 --> 01:18:52,952
From that moment on,
most people referred to him
1490
01:18:52,976 --> 01:18:55,043
as Doctor Franklin.
1491
01:18:58,976 --> 01:19:01,119
One evening
in Cambridge, he attended
1492
01:19:01,143 --> 01:19:02,919
a concert of sorts,
1493
01:19:02,943 --> 01:19:05,052
{\an1}where the rims of wine glasses
1494
01:19:05,076 --> 01:19:08,143
{\an1}were rubbed to produce
musical notes.
1495
01:19:09,876 --> 01:19:11,552
{\an1}Cohn: Franklin looked at that
and he thought,
1496
01:19:11,576 --> 01:19:15,485
{\an1}"Now, that's just inefficient."
1497
01:19:15,509 --> 01:19:19,552
{\an8}Why move your arms
to that degree?
1498
01:19:19,576 --> 01:19:22,552
{\an7}Why not take the glasses
and have them move
1499
01:19:22,576 --> 01:19:25,352
{\an1}and your hand stay still?
1500
01:19:25,376 --> 01:19:27,719
{\an1}Narrator: He hired a London
glassblower to create
1501
01:19:27,743 --> 01:19:34,109
{\an1}a series of 36 glass bowls, to
specific thicknesses and sizes.
1502
01:19:36,709 --> 01:19:39,519
Cohn: And rather than
having your fingers
1503
01:19:39,543 --> 01:19:41,219
{\an1}move around the glass,
1504
01:19:41,243 --> 01:19:42,985
the glasses rotated,
1505
01:19:43,009 --> 01:19:44,885
{\an1}and he wet his fingers
1506
01:19:44,909 --> 01:19:46,152
{\an1}and played it like a keyboard.
1507
01:19:46,176 --> 01:19:48,209
[Music playing]
1508
01:19:53,743 --> 01:19:56,385
{\an1}Narrator: He named his
new invention the armonica,
1509
01:19:56,409 --> 01:19:59,252
{\an1}after the Italian word
for harmony,
1510
01:19:59,276 --> 01:20:02,885
and charmed visitors
with performances on it.
1511
01:20:02,909 --> 01:20:05,219
{\an1}Soon, more of the instruments
were being
1512
01:20:05,243 --> 01:20:09,085
{\an1}manufactured and sold,
though Franklin again refused
1513
01:20:09,109 --> 01:20:12,143
to patent or profit
from his invention.
1514
01:20:14,143 --> 01:20:15,719
{\an1}What pleased him most was that,
1515
01:20:15,743 --> 01:20:17,785
{\an1}in musical circles throughout
1516
01:20:17,809 --> 01:20:19,352
England and Europe,
1517
01:20:19,376 --> 01:20:20,519
the armonica
1518
01:20:20,543 --> 01:20:22,176
created a sensation.
1519
01:20:25,309 --> 01:20:27,219
{\an1}In Austria, Franklin's invention
1520
01:20:27,243 --> 01:20:30,219
provided the music
for a royal wedding.
1521
01:20:30,243 --> 01:20:32,419
{\an1}Even Mozart and Beethoven
1522
01:20:32,443 --> 01:20:35,609
{\an1}would compose chamber pieces
for it.
1523
01:20:37,609 --> 01:20:41,619
{\an1}Cohn: The sound it made
was described as
1524
01:20:41,643 --> 01:20:44,052
celestial ravishment.
1525
01:20:44,076 --> 01:20:46,109
[Music playing]
1526
01:20:52,043 --> 01:20:54,076
[Thunder]
[Birds singing]
1527
01:20:58,709 --> 01:21:00,352
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I have long
been of the opinion
1528
01:21:00,376 --> 01:21:01,852
{\an1}that the foundations of
1529
01:21:01,876 --> 01:21:03,785
the future
grandeur and stability
1530
01:21:03,809 --> 01:21:07,552
of the British Empire
lie in America,
1531
01:21:07,576 --> 01:21:11,085
{\an1}broad and strong enough
to support the greatest
1532
01:21:11,109 --> 01:21:15,152
political structure
human wisdom ever yet erected.
1533
01:21:15,176 --> 01:21:18,419
[Thunder]
[Explosions]
1534
01:21:18,443 --> 01:21:23,285
{\an1}Narrator: By 1761, the French
and Indian War had exploded
1535
01:21:23,309 --> 01:21:27,319
{\an1}into a global conflict
called the Seven Years' War,
1536
01:21:27,343 --> 01:21:30,585
involving all
the European powers.
1537
01:21:30,609 --> 01:21:34,419
{\an1}In North America, England
had won a decisive victory
1538
01:21:34,443 --> 01:21:37,776
against the French
by capturing Quebec.
1539
01:21:39,143 --> 01:21:41,652
{\an1}Man as Franklin: No one
can rejoice more sincerely
1540
01:21:41,676 --> 01:21:45,719
{\an1}than I do on the possible
addition of Canada;
1541
01:21:45,743 --> 01:21:48,485
and this not
merely as I am a colonist,
1542
01:21:48,509 --> 01:21:52,109
but as I am a Briton.
1543
01:21:53,843 --> 01:21:55,919
{\an1}Brown: Franklin is one of
the earliest to say,
1544
01:21:55,943 --> 01:21:58,819
"Look, the weight of
the British world
1545
01:21:58,843 --> 01:22:01,785
is going to be
in North America."
1546
01:22:01,809 --> 01:22:05,119
And he put himself
at the center of it.
1547
01:22:05,143 --> 01:22:09,585
{\an1}He imagined himself as being
the kind of linchpin between
1548
01:22:09,609 --> 01:22:13,919
{\an1}these... this emerging empire
in North America
1549
01:22:13,943 --> 01:22:16,919
{\an1}and the seat of power in London.
1550
01:22:16,943 --> 01:22:20,352
{\an1}Narrator: By this time,
William Franklin had completed
1551
01:22:20,376 --> 01:22:22,019
his legal studies
1552
01:22:22,043 --> 01:22:24,185
{\an1}and enjoyed socializing with
1553
01:22:24,209 --> 01:22:27,485
wealthy friends
in the upper class.
1554
01:22:27,509 --> 01:22:29,752
{\an1}William also took up with
1555
01:22:29,776 --> 01:22:32,852
women from London's
high society,
1556
01:22:32,876 --> 01:22:37,185
and others with
less sterling reputations.
1557
01:22:37,209 --> 01:22:41,585
{\an1}Just like his own father,
he sired a son out of wedlock.
1558
01:22:41,609 --> 01:22:45,252
{\an1}Unlike his father, William
arranged for the baby boy
1559
01:22:45,276 --> 01:22:49,319
to be secretly placed
in a foster home.
1560
01:22:49,343 --> 01:22:52,319
♪
1561
01:22:52,343 --> 01:22:55,319
{\an1}On September 22, 1761,
1562
01:22:55,343 --> 01:22:59,052
hundreds of England's
well-born and well-connected
1563
01:22:59,076 --> 01:23:00,885
{\an1}gathered in Westminster Hall
1564
01:23:00,909 --> 01:23:03,552
for the coronation of
a new monarch:
1565
01:23:03,576 --> 01:23:06,419
King George III.
[Church bell rings]
1566
01:23:06,443 --> 01:23:08,719
Among those present
for the occasion
1567
01:23:08,743 --> 01:23:12,119
{\an1}were two staunch defenders
of the Empire...
1568
01:23:12,143 --> 01:23:14,609
{\an1}Benjamin and William Franklin.
1569
01:23:16,209 --> 01:23:19,843
{\an1}From the balcony, Benjamin
watched the lavish ritual.
1570
01:23:21,109 --> 01:23:23,585
On the hall's floor,
his son William
1571
01:23:23,609 --> 01:23:25,552
stood with a more
privileged crowd
1572
01:23:25,576 --> 01:23:28,309
{\an1}of nobles and high officials.
1573
01:23:30,076 --> 01:23:32,352
Then William marched
in a small procession
1574
01:23:32,376 --> 01:23:34,752
{\an1}into Westminster Abbey,
where the crown
1575
01:23:34,776 --> 01:23:38,185
was to be placed
on George's head.
1576
01:23:38,209 --> 01:23:45,885
♪
1577
01:23:45,909 --> 01:23:48,519
Benjamin, not part of
that select group,
1578
01:23:48,543 --> 01:23:51,743
walked back to
Craven Street alone.
1579
01:23:54,576 --> 01:23:57,119
Franklin's efforts to
elevate his son's station
1580
01:23:57,143 --> 01:23:59,185
were paying off.
1581
01:23:59,209 --> 01:24:01,419
William had caught
the attention of ministers
1582
01:24:01,443 --> 01:24:03,419
{\an1}in the new king's government
1583
01:24:03,443 --> 01:24:07,085
{\an1}who decided that he, though
barely into his early thirties,
1584
01:24:07,109 --> 01:24:09,619
was a natural leader.
1585
01:24:09,643 --> 01:24:11,852
With their support,
William Franklin
1586
01:24:11,876 --> 01:24:16,819
{\an1}was chosen to be the next
royal governor of New Jersey.
1587
01:24:16,843 --> 01:24:19,219
{\an1}And there was other good news.
1588
01:24:19,243 --> 01:24:22,552
{\an1}William had fallen in love
with Elizabeth Downes,
1589
01:24:22,576 --> 01:24:24,385
{\an1}the daughter of a wealthy
owner of
1590
01:24:24,409 --> 01:24:26,852
{\an1}sugar plantations in Barbados,
1591
01:24:26,876 --> 01:24:29,852
{\an1}and they were now engaged.
1592
01:24:29,876 --> 01:24:32,852
{\an1}Benjamin Franklin had been
gone from Philadelphia
1593
01:24:32,876 --> 01:24:34,652
for 5 years.
1594
01:24:34,676 --> 01:24:41,052
{\an1}He was now 56, and still
captivated by life in England.
1595
01:24:41,076 --> 01:24:42,985
Man as Franklin:
Why should this island,
1596
01:24:43,009 --> 01:24:45,519
{\an1}which compared to America
is but like
1597
01:24:45,543 --> 01:24:47,852
{\an1}a stepping stone in a brook,
1598
01:24:47,876 --> 01:24:50,885
enjoy in almost
every neighborhood
1599
01:24:50,909 --> 01:24:55,185
{\an1}more sensible, virtuous,
and elegant minds
1600
01:24:55,209 --> 01:25:01,443
{\an1}than we can collect in ranging
100 leagues of our vast forests?
1601
01:25:03,109 --> 01:25:05,352
{\an1}Narrator: In the summer of 1762,
1602
01:25:05,376 --> 01:25:08,085
he booked passage
for Philadelphia,
1603
01:25:08,109 --> 01:25:11,285
{\an1}determined to convince Deborah
to come back with him,
1604
01:25:11,309 --> 01:25:13,352
and promising his
English friends
1605
01:25:13,376 --> 01:25:17,276
he intended to return
to London permanently.
1606
01:25:18,876 --> 01:25:20,585
Man as Franklin:
In two "Years" at farthest
1607
01:25:20,609 --> 01:25:23,852
{\an1}I hope to settle all my
"Affairs" in such a "Manner",
1608
01:25:23,876 --> 01:25:27,585
{\an1}as that I may then conveniently
remove to England, provided
1609
01:25:27,609 --> 01:25:31,819
{\an1}we can persuade the good "Woman"
to cross the "Seas".
1610
01:25:31,843 --> 01:25:34,243
That will be
the great "Difficulty".
1611
01:25:35,943 --> 01:25:37,085
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin would
be at sea
1612
01:25:37,109 --> 01:25:38,685
{\an1}when William was married
1613
01:25:38,709 --> 01:25:41,752
{\an1}in St. George's Church
in London,
1614
01:25:41,776 --> 01:25:43,852
{\an1}and when he bowed to George III
1615
01:25:43,876 --> 01:25:45,985
{\an1}in St. James's Palace,
1616
01:25:46,009 --> 01:25:48,385
{\an1}kissed the new king's ring,
1617
01:25:48,409 --> 01:25:52,776
{\an1}and swore his eternal allegiance
to the crown.
1618
01:25:55,609 --> 01:25:58,519
♪
1619
01:25:58,543 --> 01:26:01,219
{\an1}Narrator: On November 1, 1762,
1620
01:26:01,243 --> 01:26:05,052
{\an1}Benjamin Franklin arrived
back in Philadelphia.
1621
01:26:05,076 --> 01:26:07,752
It wasn't a teeming
metropolis like London,
1622
01:26:07,776 --> 01:26:11,219
but with a population
of nearly 25,000,
1623
01:26:11,243 --> 01:26:13,952
it had surpassed
Boston and New York
1624
01:26:13,976 --> 01:26:17,552
as the largest city
in the American colonies.
1625
01:26:17,576 --> 01:26:22,252
{\an1}Deborah and 19-year-old Sally
welcomed him home.
1626
01:26:22,276 --> 01:26:25,152
A few months later,
William arrived from England
1627
01:26:25,176 --> 01:26:27,319
{\an1}with his new wife Elizabeth,
1628
01:26:27,343 --> 01:26:30,585
{\an1}and Franklin accompanied them
across the Delaware River
1629
01:26:30,609 --> 01:26:33,852
{\an1}to New Jersey, where Benjamin
watched proudly
1630
01:26:33,876 --> 01:26:37,543
{\an1}as his son became that colony's
ninth governor.
1631
01:26:39,776 --> 01:26:41,852
As deputy postmaster
of His Majesty's
1632
01:26:41,876 --> 01:26:43,852
{\an1}colonies in North America,
1633
01:26:43,876 --> 01:26:47,019
{\an1}Franklin embarked on another
inspection tour
1634
01:26:47,043 --> 01:26:49,585
that took him through
6 colonies,
1635
01:26:49,609 --> 01:26:52,085
{\an1}all the way to New Hampshire.
1636
01:26:52,109 --> 01:26:56,252
{\an1}The trip lasted 5 months.
[Horse whinnies]
1637
01:26:56,276 --> 01:26:58,485
{\an1}Jenkinson: Franklin sees
the many different
1638
01:26:58,509 --> 01:27:00,652
American styles.
1639
01:27:00,676 --> 01:27:02,319
{\an1}There's a Northern community;
1640
01:27:02,343 --> 01:27:03,552
{\an1}there's a New England community;
1641
01:27:03,576 --> 01:27:04,885
{\an1}there are the Middle Colonies;
1642
01:27:04,909 --> 01:27:06,852
the Upper South;
the Lower South.
1643
01:27:06,876 --> 01:27:10,352
{\an1}He begins to understand
the vast complexity
1644
01:27:10,376 --> 01:27:11,752
{\an1}of the Colonial situation.
1645
01:27:11,776 --> 01:27:13,419
And nobody else did.
1646
01:27:13,443 --> 01:27:16,885
{\an1}He was the best-informed
person in the New World
1647
01:27:16,909 --> 01:27:19,885
{\an1}about the diversity of
geography, of economy,
1648
01:27:19,909 --> 01:27:25,019
{\an1}of social structure, and he
also saw discontentments.
1649
01:27:25,043 --> 01:27:27,985
There was concern
about representation;
1650
01:27:28,009 --> 01:27:31,552
[Rooster clucks]
there was concern about
arbitrary economic tariffs
1651
01:27:31,576 --> 01:27:33,852
{\an1}that were being imposed
by Britain,
1652
01:27:33,876 --> 01:27:35,785
{\an1}and the increasing sense
that the British
1653
01:27:35,809 --> 01:27:38,819
{\an1}don't really understand us
1654
01:27:38,843 --> 01:27:42,552
{\an1}and they're also using us
as an extraction machine
1655
01:27:42,576 --> 01:27:43,952
for British wealth.
1656
01:27:43,976 --> 01:27:45,485
{\an1}And, even though they will
1657
01:27:45,509 --> 01:27:47,185
{\an1}say we're British citizens,
1658
01:27:47,209 --> 01:27:49,519
{\an1}they're not treating us
with full respect
1659
01:27:49,543 --> 01:27:52,019
{\an1}that an Englishman deserves.
1660
01:27:52,043 --> 01:27:55,819
♪
1661
01:27:55,843 --> 01:27:58,776
{\an1}Woman as Deborah Franklin:
I went to hear the Negro
children at Church.
1662
01:28:00,009 --> 01:28:04,052
{\an1}There were 17 that answered
very prettily indeed,
1663
01:28:04,076 --> 01:28:10,285
{\an1}and 5 or 6 that were too little,
but all behaved very decently.
1664
01:28:10,309 --> 01:28:13,919
{\an1}It gave me a great deal of
Pleasure, and I shall send
1665
01:28:13,943 --> 01:28:15,643
{\an1}Othello to the School.
1666
01:28:17,076 --> 01:28:19,585
{\an1}Narrator: Deborah Franklin
had enrolled Othello,
1667
01:28:19,609 --> 01:28:22,552
an enslaved child
in the Franklin household,
1668
01:28:22,576 --> 01:28:25,219
{\an1}in a new school in Philadelphia,
1669
01:28:25,243 --> 01:28:29,085
{\an1}part of an effort to educate
Black children in North America
1670
01:28:29,109 --> 01:28:32,452
{\an1}that Benjamin Franklin
had endorsed.
1671
01:28:32,476 --> 01:28:34,885
{\an1}At Deborah's urging, her husband
1672
01:28:34,909 --> 01:28:38,252
made a personal visit
to the school.
1673
01:28:38,276 --> 01:28:41,052
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I was
on the whole much "pleas'd",
1674
01:28:41,076 --> 01:28:44,452
{\an1}and from what I then saw, have
"conceiv'd" a higher "Opinion"
1675
01:28:44,476 --> 01:28:47,552
{\an1}of the natural "Capacities"
of the black "Race",
1676
01:28:47,576 --> 01:28:50,585
than I had
ever before entertained.
1677
01:28:50,609 --> 01:28:55,085
{\an1}Their "Apprehension" seems as
quick, their "Memory" as strong,
1678
01:28:55,109 --> 01:28:57,619
and their "Docility"
in every "Respect"
1679
01:28:57,643 --> 01:29:00,676
{\an1}equal to that of white
"Children".
1680
01:29:02,409 --> 01:29:06,319
{\an1}You will wonder perhaps
that I should ever doubt it,
1681
01:29:06,343 --> 01:29:10,019
{\an1}and I will not undertake
to justify all my "Prejudices",
1682
01:29:10,043 --> 01:29:12,009
{\an1}nor to account for them.
1683
01:29:13,376 --> 01:29:16,285
Cohn: I think a major
turning point in Franklin's life
1684
01:29:16,309 --> 01:29:21,352
was when he visited
that classroom.
1685
01:29:21,376 --> 01:29:25,185
{\an1}He did not like Black people
when he was a young man.
1686
01:29:25,209 --> 01:29:26,852
There's no way of
getting around that.
1687
01:29:26,876 --> 01:29:31,352
It's very distasteful
to say, but it's true.
1688
01:29:31,376 --> 01:29:37,119
{\an1}He had once written that the
hardest thing for a man to do
1689
01:29:37,143 --> 01:29:42,585
{\an1}is to change long-standing
prejudices of belief.
1690
01:29:42,609 --> 01:29:47,309
{\an1}But to succeed in doing it
is a test of one's humanity.
1691
01:29:52,343 --> 01:29:58,952
♪
1692
01:29:58,976 --> 01:30:01,785
{\an1}Man as Franklin: If an Indian
injures me, does it follow
1693
01:30:01,809 --> 01:30:06,652
{\an1}that I may revenge that
injury on all Indians?
1694
01:30:06,676 --> 01:30:10,452
{\an1}These poor "People" have
been always our "Friends".
1695
01:30:10,476 --> 01:30:13,585
{\an1}Their "Fathers" received ours,
when "Strangers" here,
1696
01:30:13,609 --> 01:30:16,652
{\an1}with "Kindness and Hospitality".
1697
01:30:16,676 --> 01:30:19,209
Behold the "Return"
we have made them!
1698
01:30:20,676 --> 01:30:22,019
[Bird cries]
Narrator: Native Americans
1699
01:30:22,043 --> 01:30:23,919
{\an1}had been completely left out
1700
01:30:23,943 --> 01:30:27,452
{\an1}of the treaty negotiations
between France and Britain
1701
01:30:27,476 --> 01:30:30,352
{\an1}that ended the Seven Years' War.
1702
01:30:30,376 --> 01:30:34,352
{\an1}As white settlements continued
to push onto their homelands,
1703
01:30:34,376 --> 01:30:37,719
{\an1}Indians from the Great Lakes
to Western Pennsylvania
1704
01:30:37,743 --> 01:30:39,452
fought back.
1705
01:30:39,476 --> 01:30:44,685
On December 14, 1763,
50 frontiersmen
1706
01:30:44,709 --> 01:30:47,352
from the town of
Paxton, Pennsylvania
1707
01:30:47,376 --> 01:30:50,685
{\an1}swarmed into the small village
of Conestoga
1708
01:30:50,709 --> 01:30:52,552
{\an1}and slaughtered the 6 unarmed
1709
01:30:52,576 --> 01:30:56,019
Susquehannock Indians
they found there.
1710
01:30:56,043 --> 01:30:59,985
{\an1}The mob moved on to Lancaster,
where they murdered 14 more
1711
01:31:00,009 --> 01:31:03,409
{\an1}defenseless men, women,
and children.
1712
01:31:05,076 --> 01:31:07,619
{\an1}Though the Susquehannocks
were known to be friendly,
1713
01:31:07,643 --> 01:31:12,085
{\an1}the so-called Paxton Boys
had killed them anyway.
1714
01:31:12,109 --> 01:31:15,285
Public opinion about
the massacre was split...
1715
01:31:15,309 --> 01:31:18,252
{\an1}between the Quakers, guided by
William Penn's advice
1716
01:31:18,276 --> 01:31:21,052
{\an1}to be friends of the Indians,
1717
01:31:21,076 --> 01:31:22,752
{\an1}and the newer immigrants, mostly
1718
01:31:22,776 --> 01:31:25,852
{\an1}Scots-Irish and Germans
from the backcountry,
1719
01:31:25,876 --> 01:31:28,252
who accused
the Quaker-led assembly
1720
01:31:28,276 --> 01:31:31,385
{\an1}of coddling native peoples.
1721
01:31:31,409 --> 01:31:34,052
Benjamin Franklin
called the perpetrators
1722
01:31:34,076 --> 01:31:35,652
"barbarous Men"
1723
01:31:35,676 --> 01:31:37,919
who had brought
"eternal disgrace"
1724
01:31:37,943 --> 01:31:40,109
{\an1}to their race and religion.
1725
01:31:41,743 --> 01:31:44,719
{\an1}The Paxton Boys then marched
on Philadelphia,
1726
01:31:44,743 --> 01:31:49,385
{\an1}where more than 100 Indians had
been brought for their safety.
1727
01:31:49,409 --> 01:31:52,319
Franklin helped
raise a militia to stop them
1728
01:31:52,343 --> 01:31:55,885
and negotiated
an end to the crisis.
1729
01:31:55,909 --> 01:31:58,885
But his outspokenness
created a backlash,
1730
01:31:58,909 --> 01:32:01,985
{\an1}especially among the settlers
of the backcountry,
1731
01:32:02,009 --> 01:32:05,419
{\an1}which the Penn family exploited.
1732
01:32:05,443 --> 01:32:09,252
{\an1}They slandered Franklin's
son William as illegitimate,
1733
01:32:09,276 --> 01:32:11,319
falsely claiming that
his birth mother
1734
01:32:11,343 --> 01:32:14,119
had starved to death,
and that Benjamin
1735
01:32:14,143 --> 01:32:17,609
had hidden her body
in an unmarked grave.
1736
01:32:19,476 --> 01:32:20,619
{\an1}In all the controversy,
1737
01:32:20,643 --> 01:32:23,085
{\an1}Franklin lost his Assembly seat.
1738
01:32:23,109 --> 01:32:26,219
{\an1}But the legislature now
adopted his position
1739
01:32:26,243 --> 01:32:29,385
{\an1}that Pennsylvania should be
a Crown colony
1740
01:32:29,409 --> 01:32:33,785
and reappointed him
as their agent in London.
1741
01:32:33,809 --> 01:32:36,785
After only two years
in Philadelphia,
1742
01:32:36,809 --> 01:32:39,543
{\an1}Franklin was going back
to England.
1743
01:32:40,976 --> 01:32:43,952
{\an1}Deborah had made it clear
she intended to stay;
1744
01:32:43,976 --> 01:32:47,985
{\an1}they were building a new home
just off Market Street.
1745
01:32:48,009 --> 01:32:51,176
He promised
he wouldn't be gone long.
1746
01:32:53,543 --> 01:32:58,785
{\an8}♪
1747
01:32:58,809 --> 01:33:00,752
{\an8}Wood: Coming out of
the Seven Years' War,
1748
01:33:00,776 --> 01:33:04,319
{\an7}Britain is on top of the world.
1749
01:33:04,343 --> 01:33:06,085
{\an1}They had acquired a huge
amount of territory,
1750
01:33:06,109 --> 01:33:09,719
{\an1}all the territory up to
the Mississippi River.
1751
01:33:09,743 --> 01:33:11,085
{\an1}It was expensive to maintain
1752
01:33:11,109 --> 01:33:13,085
{\an1}and, so, you needed to tax it.
1753
01:33:13,109 --> 01:33:14,919
Franklin certainly
went along with it.
1754
01:33:14,943 --> 01:33:17,385
And he said,
"Well, empires cost money."
1755
01:33:17,409 --> 01:33:19,385
{\an7}And, much to his chagrin,
1756
01:33:19,409 --> 01:33:21,819
{\an8}he found himself
going the wrong way,
1757
01:33:21,843 --> 01:33:24,652
out of touch with
American public opinion.
1758
01:33:24,676 --> 01:33:26,819
{\an1}[Men shout indistinctly]
Narrator: The recent war
with France
1759
01:33:26,843 --> 01:33:31,476
{\an1}had expanded England's empire,
but left its treasury depleted.
1760
01:33:32,843 --> 01:33:35,052
{\an1}In the spring of 1765,
1761
01:33:35,076 --> 01:33:37,485
the king's ministers
and Parliament
1762
01:33:37,509 --> 01:33:39,885
came up with
a new way to raise more money
1763
01:33:39,909 --> 01:33:42,043
{\an1}from the American colonies.
1764
01:33:44,143 --> 01:33:49,619
{\an1}Now all legal documents,
newspapers, books, almanacs,
1765
01:33:49,643 --> 01:33:54,385
{\an1}even decks of playing cards,
would need official stamps,
1766
01:33:54,409 --> 01:33:56,952
{\an1}purchased from the government.
1767
01:33:56,976 --> 01:33:59,952
{\an1}In Virginia, Patrick Henry
denounced the act
1768
01:33:59,976 --> 01:34:03,919
as taxation
without representation.
1769
01:34:03,943 --> 01:34:07,752
{\an1}Riots broke out in New York;
New London, Connecticut;
1770
01:34:07,776 --> 01:34:10,019
Annapolis, Maryland.
1771
01:34:10,043 --> 01:34:13,952
{\an1}In Boston, a group calling
themselves the Sons of Liberty
1772
01:34:13,976 --> 01:34:18,752
{\an1}hanged and burned the stamp
commissioner in effigy.
1773
01:34:18,776 --> 01:34:20,785
Then the mob
destroyed the mansion
1774
01:34:20,809 --> 01:34:23,352
{\an1}of Lieutenant Governor
Thomas Hutchinson,
1775
01:34:23,376 --> 01:34:27,619
{\an1}who had worked with Franklin
back in 1754
1776
01:34:27,643 --> 01:34:30,885
to propose
the Albany Plan of Union.
1777
01:34:30,909 --> 01:34:34,219
{\an1}The leaders of the protests
had appropriated the motto
1778
01:34:34,243 --> 01:34:36,552
{\an1}Franklin had used at the time
1779
01:34:36,576 --> 01:34:42,252
{\an1}to encourage the colonies to act
together: "join or die."
1780
01:34:42,276 --> 01:34:45,485
Franklin didn't like
the Stamp Act either,
1781
01:34:45,509 --> 01:34:48,385
but from London
advised Pennsylvanians
1782
01:34:48,409 --> 01:34:50,676
{\an1}against over-reacting.
1783
01:34:53,476 --> 01:34:57,385
{\an1}His political enemies back home
now spread false rumors
1784
01:34:57,409 --> 01:34:59,819
that he helped write
the Stamp Act
1785
01:34:59,843 --> 01:35:05,185
{\an1}and had been bribed by promises
of a higher royal appointment.
1786
01:35:05,209 --> 01:35:07,119
{\an1}When a mob threatened to attack
1787
01:35:07,143 --> 01:35:09,719
the Franklin home
in Philadelphia,
1788
01:35:09,743 --> 01:35:12,076
{\an1}Deborah wouldn't budge.
1789
01:35:13,676 --> 01:35:14,852
{\an1}Woman as Deborah Franklin:
I said when I was advised
1790
01:35:14,876 --> 01:35:17,019
{\an1}to remove that I was very sure
1791
01:35:17,043 --> 01:35:19,719
you had done nothing
to hurt anybody,
1792
01:35:19,743 --> 01:35:23,952
{\an1}and I had not given any offence
to any person at all.
1793
01:35:23,976 --> 01:35:29,152
{\an1}I sent to ask my brother
to come and bring his gun.
1794
01:35:29,176 --> 01:35:31,552
{\an1}If any one came to disturb me,
1795
01:35:31,576 --> 01:35:34,343
I would show
a proper resentment.
1796
01:35:35,909 --> 01:35:39,285
{\an1}Narrator: Shocked at the reports
of mob violence in the colonies,
1797
01:35:39,309 --> 01:35:41,485
{\an1}Franklin wrote William
that unless
1798
01:35:41,509 --> 01:35:43,519
{\an1}some compromise could be found
1799
01:35:43,543 --> 01:35:45,452
to ease the tensions,
1800
01:35:45,476 --> 01:35:47,585
events were
"laying the Foundation
1801
01:35:47,609 --> 01:35:51,185
{\an1}of a future total Separation."
1802
01:35:51,209 --> 01:35:53,652
{\an1}He flooded London newspapers
with letters
1803
01:35:53,676 --> 01:35:56,819
{\an1}arguing that the Stamp Act
was unfair,
1804
01:35:56,843 --> 01:35:59,352
that the recent riots
did not represent
1805
01:35:59,376 --> 01:36:03,052
the attitude of
a majority of the colonists.
1806
01:36:03,076 --> 01:36:06,652
{\an1}He circulated a political
cartoon illustrating that,
1807
01:36:06,676 --> 01:36:08,719
{\an1}if the crisis escalated,
1808
01:36:08,743 --> 01:36:12,385
{\an1}the Empire would be dismembered.
1809
01:36:12,409 --> 01:36:18,219
{\an1}On February 13, 1766, Franklin
appeared before Parliament,
1810
01:36:18,243 --> 01:36:22,752
{\an1}patiently answering questions
posed by its members.
1811
01:36:22,776 --> 01:36:25,185
Could an army make
the colonists comply,
1812
01:36:25,209 --> 01:36:27,819
he was asked.
[Man shouts indistinctly]
1813
01:36:27,843 --> 01:36:29,085
Man as Franklin:
Suppose a military force
1814
01:36:29,109 --> 01:36:31,352
is sent into America.
1815
01:36:31,376 --> 01:36:33,652
{\an1}What are they then to do?
1816
01:36:33,676 --> 01:36:35,919
{\an1}They cannot force a man
to take stamps
1817
01:36:35,943 --> 01:36:38,752
{\an1}who chooses to do without them.
1818
01:36:38,776 --> 01:36:41,419
{\an1}They will not find a rebellion;
1819
01:36:41,443 --> 01:36:43,643
{\an1}they may indeed make one.
1820
01:36:45,609 --> 01:36:48,052
{\an1}Narrator: The Stamp Act
was repealed.
1821
01:36:48,076 --> 01:36:51,285
{\an1}But the Privy Council,
the King's top advisors,
1822
01:36:51,309 --> 01:36:54,019
had refused to act on
Franklin's petition
1823
01:36:54,043 --> 01:36:58,252
to make Pennsylvania
a Crown colony.
1824
01:36:58,276 --> 01:37:02,119
{\an1}Franklin decided to remain
in England anyway.
1825
01:37:02,143 --> 01:37:05,085
{\an1}There were hints that he might
be in line for a high post
1826
01:37:05,109 --> 01:37:09,919
{\an1}in the ministry responsible
for the American provinces.
1827
01:37:09,943 --> 01:37:12,452
{\an1}And he used his connections
to begin lobbying
1828
01:37:12,476 --> 01:37:15,852
on behalf of William
and a group of speculators
1829
01:37:15,876 --> 01:37:19,185
{\an1}to acquire millions of acres
of Indian land
1830
01:37:19,209 --> 01:37:21,452
along the Ohio River,
1831
01:37:21,476 --> 01:37:26,352
{\an1}then sell it in small parcels to
settlers for an immense profit...
1832
01:37:26,376 --> 01:37:28,519
{\an1}and create a new colony.
1833
01:37:28,543 --> 01:37:30,685
[Horse whinnies]
1834
01:37:30,709 --> 01:37:33,852
{\an1}Meanwhile, Franklin put his
scientific skills
1835
01:37:33,876 --> 01:37:36,085
{\an1}to work for the empire.
1836
01:37:36,109 --> 01:37:37,919
{\an1}He helped install lightning rods
1837
01:37:37,943 --> 01:37:40,352
{\an1}on St. Paul's Cathedral;
1838
01:37:40,376 --> 01:37:42,752
{\an1}came up with a hot-water
piping system
1839
01:37:42,776 --> 01:37:45,985
to keep
the House of Commons warm;
1840
01:37:46,009 --> 01:37:47,719
{\an1}and, working with a cousin,
1841
01:37:47,743 --> 01:37:50,152
a whaling captain
from Nantucket,
1842
01:37:50,176 --> 01:37:52,052
{\an1}he created the first chart
1843
01:37:52,076 --> 01:37:55,052
of what was called
the Gulph Stream,
1844
01:37:55,076 --> 01:37:59,119
{\an1}which helped explain why ships
going from London to America
1845
01:37:59,143 --> 01:38:02,409
{\an1}took longer than those
going the other way.
1846
01:38:05,876 --> 01:38:06,952
{\an1}Woman as Deborah Franklin:
Yesterday I had the pleasure
1847
01:38:06,976 --> 01:38:08,819
{\an1}to receive your letter.
1848
01:38:08,843 --> 01:38:11,119
I had not heard
one word about you
1849
01:38:11,143 --> 01:38:13,552
{\an1}since the latter end of August,
1850
01:38:13,576 --> 01:38:16,885
{\an1}which was near 5 months,
1851
01:38:16,909 --> 01:38:19,943
{\an1}but I shall not dwell on that
at this time.
1852
01:38:22,576 --> 01:38:24,152
Narrator: Back in
Philadelphia, as she had
1853
01:38:24,176 --> 01:38:27,685
always done during
Benjamin's long absences,
1854
01:38:27,709 --> 01:38:30,985
{\an1}Deborah Franklin took care
of everything.
1855
01:38:31,009 --> 01:38:34,485
{\an1}She managed her husband's
many business enterprises
1856
01:38:34,509 --> 01:38:36,819
and supervised
the myriad details
1857
01:38:36,843 --> 01:38:39,352
of the new home
they were building.
1858
01:38:39,376 --> 01:38:43,176
{\an1}All the while, she waited
for his promised return.
1859
01:38:45,076 --> 01:38:48,885
In the fall of 1767,
their daughter Sally married
1860
01:38:48,909 --> 01:38:52,152
{\an1}a Philadelphia merchant,
Richard Bache,
1861
01:38:52,176 --> 01:38:56,585
{\an1}and in 1769 she gave birth
to a baby boy,
1862
01:38:56,609 --> 01:38:59,985
whom she named
after his grandfather.
1863
01:39:00,009 --> 01:39:02,343
{\an1}They called him Benny.
1864
01:39:04,243 --> 01:39:06,919
That same year,
Deborah suffered a stroke
1865
01:39:06,943 --> 01:39:10,485
{\an1}that left her incapacitated
for months.
1866
01:39:10,509 --> 01:39:13,085
As she recovered,
she wrote her husband
1867
01:39:13,109 --> 01:39:15,319
{\an1}that her worries about him
1868
01:39:15,343 --> 01:39:18,343
had been at least
partly responsible.
1869
01:39:20,309 --> 01:39:23,452
{\an1}Woman as Deborah Franklin:
I often tell my friends
I was not sick,
1870
01:39:23,476 --> 01:39:26,119
it was only more
than I could bear.
1871
01:39:26,143 --> 01:39:30,785
And so I fell down
and could not get up again.
1872
01:39:30,809 --> 01:39:32,752
{\an1}But I had taken up a resolution
1873
01:39:32,776 --> 01:39:34,785
never to make
any complaint to you
1874
01:39:34,809 --> 01:39:37,552
{\an1}or give you any disquiet.
1875
01:39:37,576 --> 01:39:41,585
♪
1876
01:39:41,609 --> 01:39:44,119
{\an1}Narrator: Even though the
Stamp Act had been repealed,
1877
01:39:44,143 --> 01:39:45,752
{\an1}the colonies were still expected
1878
01:39:45,776 --> 01:39:48,785
{\an1}to help pay off war debts;
1879
01:39:48,809 --> 01:39:51,219
{\an1}Parliament now imposed
import duties
1880
01:39:51,243 --> 01:39:56,452
on glass and china,
paint and tea.
1881
01:39:56,476 --> 01:39:59,419
{\an1}When the Massachusetts
Assembly passed a resolution
1882
01:39:59,443 --> 01:40:01,552
{\an1}objecting to the new measures...
1883
01:40:01,576 --> 01:40:05,919
{\an1}and called on other colonial
legislatures to do the same...
1884
01:40:05,943 --> 01:40:11,252
{\an1}Britain sent 15 warships
and 1,000 troops to Boston.
1885
01:40:11,276 --> 01:40:13,852
Their presence,
Franklin wrote from London,
1886
01:40:13,876 --> 01:40:16,852
{\an1}"seems like setting up
a blacksmith's forge
1887
01:40:16,876 --> 01:40:19,852
{\an1}in a magazine of gunpowder."
1888
01:40:19,876 --> 01:40:23,085
{\an1}He redoubled his efforts
to find a compromise between
1889
01:40:23,109 --> 01:40:27,719
the hard-liners on
both sides of the Atlantic.
1890
01:40:27,743 --> 01:40:31,685
{\an1}Brown: He sees the issue
as one of respect.
1891
01:40:31,709 --> 01:40:37,019
{\an7}What holds an empire together
is a sense of common feeling.
1892
01:40:37,043 --> 01:40:39,219
{\an8}Right? Of common
economic interest,
1893
01:40:39,243 --> 01:40:43,219
of interdependence,
of identification.
1894
01:40:43,243 --> 01:40:45,385
{\an1}The power doesn't reside
in the capacity
1895
01:40:45,409 --> 01:40:48,409
{\an1}to make people do what
you want them to do.
1896
01:40:51,176 --> 01:40:53,085
{\an1}Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin
keeps trying to hold
1897
01:40:53,109 --> 01:40:54,919
{\an1}the British Empire together.
1898
01:40:54,943 --> 01:40:57,585
Trying to figure out
some middle ground
1899
01:40:57,609 --> 01:41:00,552
in which the Colonies
get to control themselves
1900
01:41:00,576 --> 01:41:03,385
through their own
assemblies and legislatures,
1901
01:41:03,409 --> 01:41:06,819
but still loyal to
the Crown of England.
1902
01:41:06,843 --> 01:41:09,285
{\an1}And that was Franklin's hope,
that somehow
1903
01:41:09,309 --> 01:41:11,285
{\an1}he could keep together
what he called
1904
01:41:11,309 --> 01:41:14,285
{\an1}this "fragile, noble vase."
1905
01:41:14,309 --> 01:41:16,385
'Cause he said,
"Once it gets broken,
1906
01:41:16,409 --> 01:41:19,119
{\an1}you're not going to put it
back together."
1907
01:41:19,143 --> 01:41:20,185
Man as Franklin:
Being born and bred
1908
01:41:20,209 --> 01:41:22,052
{\an1}in one of the countries,
1909
01:41:22,076 --> 01:41:24,452
and having lived long
in the other,
1910
01:41:24,476 --> 01:41:27,652
{\an1}I wish all prosperity to both.
1911
01:41:27,676 --> 01:41:29,552
But I do not find
that I have gained
1912
01:41:29,576 --> 01:41:32,319
{\an1}any point in either country,
1913
01:41:32,343 --> 01:41:37,019
{\an1}except that of rendering myself
suspected by my impartiality:
1914
01:41:37,043 --> 01:41:39,885
in England of being
too much an American,
1915
01:41:39,909 --> 01:41:44,009
{\an1}and in America of being
too much an Englishman.
1916
01:41:45,876 --> 01:41:48,552
{\an1}Narrator: As the political
crisis continued to build,
1917
01:41:48,576 --> 01:41:53,019
{\an1}Franklin spent part of
the summer of 1771
1918
01:41:53,043 --> 01:41:55,709
at a friend's estate
southwest of London.
1919
01:41:57,343 --> 01:42:00,185
He was 65 years old
and decided to make
1920
01:42:00,209 --> 01:42:02,319
{\an1}an accounting of his life,
1921
01:42:02,343 --> 01:42:06,443
something, he wrote,
"my posterity may like to know."
1922
01:42:07,776 --> 01:42:10,652
{\an1}It was filled with stories
of how, in his words,
1923
01:42:10,676 --> 01:42:13,485
"I emerged from
the poverty and obscurity
1924
01:42:13,509 --> 01:42:15,719
{\an1}"in which I was born and bred,
1925
01:42:15,743 --> 01:42:18,685
{\an1}"to a state of affluence
and some degree
1926
01:42:18,709 --> 01:42:21,076
{\an1}of reputation in the world."
1927
01:42:22,776 --> 01:42:24,752
It was the beginning
of what would become
1928
01:42:24,776 --> 01:42:27,352
one of the most-read
and influential
1929
01:42:27,376 --> 01:42:30,819
{\an1}autobiographies ever written.
1930
01:42:30,843 --> 01:42:33,552
{\an1}Isaacson: He begins with
two very interesting words:
1931
01:42:33,576 --> 01:42:36,485
"Dear Son."
1932
01:42:36,509 --> 01:42:38,685
{\an1}And he's addressing it
to William, or at least
1933
01:42:38,709 --> 01:42:40,852
pretending he's
addressing it to William.
1934
01:42:40,876 --> 01:42:44,385
{\an1}'Cause he's trying to say,
"Remember where we come from.
1935
01:42:44,409 --> 01:42:46,519
"We're working class
and middle class.
1936
01:42:46,543 --> 01:42:50,052
We're not trying
to be aristocratic."
1937
01:42:50,076 --> 01:42:53,085
{\an1}Narrator: But he soon put
his memoir aside;
1938
01:42:53,109 --> 01:42:56,952
{\an1}world affairs were overtaking
both Benjamin Franklin...
1939
01:42:56,976 --> 01:43:02,152
{\an1}now the agent representing
several colonies in England...
1940
01:43:02,176 --> 01:43:06,143
{\an1}and William Franklin... the royal
governor of New Jersey.
1941
01:43:07,976 --> 01:43:09,352
Man as Franklin:
It is very uncertain what "Turn"
1942
01:43:09,376 --> 01:43:12,119
{\an1}"American Affairs" will take
here.
1943
01:43:12,143 --> 01:43:16,785
{\an1}The "Friends of both Countries"
wish a reconciliation;
1944
01:43:16,809 --> 01:43:20,652
{\an1}the "Enemies" of either,
endeavor to widen the "Breach";
1945
01:43:20,676 --> 01:43:22,919
{\an1}God knows how it will end.
1946
01:43:22,943 --> 01:43:29,019
♪
1947
01:43:29,043 --> 01:43:30,519
{\an7}He was never thinking,
1948
01:43:30,543 --> 01:43:32,952
{\an7}we need to be independent.
1949
01:43:32,976 --> 01:43:35,319
{\an7}He was always thinking,
if we can just
1950
01:43:35,343 --> 01:43:37,752
work out a few
fundamental problems
1951
01:43:37,776 --> 01:43:40,019
between us
and the British Ministry,
1952
01:43:40,043 --> 01:43:41,952
that things are
going to be fine.
1953
01:43:41,976 --> 01:43:44,952
{\an1}He probably could have been
won over to the British side
1954
01:43:44,976 --> 01:43:46,619
{\an1}as a Loyalist, like his son,
1955
01:43:46,643 --> 01:43:49,585
if things had gone
slightly differently.
1956
01:43:49,609 --> 01:43:52,852
Narrator:
Tensions between England
and the colonies worsened,
1957
01:43:52,876 --> 01:43:55,752
especially after
British soldiers fired on
1958
01:43:55,776 --> 01:43:58,719
{\an1}a Massachusetts mob in 1770,
1959
01:43:58,743 --> 01:44:02,843
killing 5 Americans...
The Boston Massacre.
1960
01:44:04,243 --> 01:44:07,985
{\an1}Franklin's position was becoming
increasingly untenable.
1961
01:44:08,009 --> 01:44:11,152
{\an1}He was trying to represent
the interests of Massachusetts,
1962
01:44:11,176 --> 01:44:16,052
{\an1}New Jersey, and Georgia,
in addition to Pennsylvania.
1963
01:44:16,076 --> 01:44:20,685
{\an1}In 1772, Franklin was shown
confidential letters
1964
01:44:20,709 --> 01:44:23,852
{\an1}written by his old ally
Thomas Hutchinson,
1965
01:44:23,876 --> 01:44:26,785
now the governor
of Massachusetts.
1966
01:44:26,809 --> 01:44:29,552
The only way to quell
colonial unrest,
1967
01:44:29,576 --> 01:44:31,785
{\an1}Hutchinson had advised London,
1968
01:44:31,809 --> 01:44:35,552
{\an1}was through harsher measures,
including, he suggested,
1969
01:44:35,576 --> 01:44:38,619
{\an1}"an abridgment of liberties."
1970
01:44:38,643 --> 01:44:41,885
{\an1}Franklin surreptitiously
sent copies of the letters
1971
01:44:41,909 --> 01:44:45,152
to the leaders of
the Massachusetts Assembly.
1972
01:44:45,176 --> 01:44:47,619
He hoped that
the firebrands in Boston
1973
01:44:47,643 --> 01:44:51,119
{\an1}would turn their anger from
Parliament to Hutchinson,
1974
01:44:51,143 --> 01:44:54,319
{\an1}blaming his bad advice
for the crisis with Britain,
1975
01:44:54,343 --> 01:44:59,185
{\an1}making room for cooler heads
to broker a reconciliation.
1976
01:44:59,209 --> 01:45:02,976
Instead, it only
inflamed passions.
1977
01:45:04,676 --> 01:45:07,052
{\an1}The letters were leaked
to newspapers,
1978
01:45:07,076 --> 01:45:11,252
sparking an uproar
throughout the colonies.
1979
01:45:11,276 --> 01:45:12,885
The Massachusetts
Assembly drafted
1980
01:45:12,909 --> 01:45:15,152
{\an1}an angry petition to the king,
1981
01:45:15,176 --> 01:45:18,885
{\an1}demanding that Hutchinson
be removed.
1982
01:45:18,909 --> 01:45:21,819
{\an1}As the Assembly's agent,
Franklin would have to be
1983
01:45:21,843 --> 01:45:23,952
{\an1}the one to present that petition
1984
01:45:23,976 --> 01:45:26,719
{\an1}before the King's Privy Council.
1985
01:45:26,743 --> 01:45:29,619
{\an1}To make matters worse,
Franklin had felt
1986
01:45:29,643 --> 01:45:32,385
obligated to admit
that he was the one
1987
01:45:32,409 --> 01:45:36,619
{\an1}who had originally shared
Hutchinson's letters.
1988
01:45:36,643 --> 01:45:39,485
And, so, Franklin was
seen as this person who
1989
01:45:39,509 --> 01:45:42,285
{\an1}stole other people's mail,
1990
01:45:42,309 --> 01:45:45,119
which was quite
an egregious offense
1991
01:45:45,143 --> 01:45:47,443
for someone
who was a postmaster.
1992
01:45:49,309 --> 01:45:51,719
{\an1}Narrator: Just a few days
before Franklin was scheduled
1993
01:45:51,743 --> 01:45:56,885
{\an1}to appear before the Privy
Council in January of 1774,
1994
01:45:56,909 --> 01:46:00,743
{\an1}news arrived from America
that changed everything.
1995
01:46:02,176 --> 01:46:04,685
The Sons of Liberty,
dressed as Indians,
1996
01:46:04,709 --> 01:46:07,585
had boarded 3 ships
in Boston Harbor
1997
01:46:07,609 --> 01:46:12,019
and dumped 46 tons...
342 crates...
1998
01:46:12,043 --> 01:46:14,743
{\an1}of English tea into the sea.
1999
01:46:16,009 --> 01:46:18,019
Officials in London
were still seething
2000
01:46:18,043 --> 01:46:20,085
{\an1}at that act of defiance
2001
01:46:20,109 --> 01:46:23,519
when, on January 29,
Franklin entered
2002
01:46:23,543 --> 01:46:27,252
{\an1}a meeting room at Whitehall
called the Cockpit,
2003
01:46:27,276 --> 01:46:31,619
{\an1}where Henry VIII had once
staged cockfights.
2004
01:46:31,643 --> 01:46:34,785
To the Privy Council,
and the crowd of spectators
2005
01:46:34,809 --> 01:46:37,785
{\an1}gathered there, Franklin was
now the face
2006
01:46:37,809 --> 01:46:40,452
of an insolent
American uprising,
2007
01:46:40,476 --> 01:46:43,652
{\an1}although Franklin considered
the Boston Tea Party
2008
01:46:43,676 --> 01:46:47,152
{\an1}an "act of violent injustice
on our part"...
2009
01:46:47,176 --> 01:46:51,409
{\an1}the very kind of provocation
he had always counseled against.
2010
01:46:53,443 --> 01:46:56,152
Alexander Wedderburn,
the sharp-tongued
2011
01:46:56,176 --> 01:46:58,585
{\an1}and politically ambitious
solicitor general,
2012
01:46:58,609 --> 01:47:02,252
{\an1}who considered the recent
events in Boston treasonous,
2013
01:47:02,276 --> 01:47:04,952
{\an1}made clear from the start
that the hearing
2014
01:47:04,976 --> 01:47:08,109
would be an attack
on Franklin's character.
2015
01:47:09,443 --> 01:47:11,352
Man as Wedderburn:
Your Lordships will not wonder
2016
01:47:11,376 --> 01:47:14,952
{\an1}that I consider Dr. Franklin not
so much in the light of an agent
2017
01:47:14,976 --> 01:47:19,052
{\an1}for the Assembly's purpose,
as in that of a first mover
2018
01:47:19,076 --> 01:47:22,752
{\an1}and prime conductor of it
for his own as the actor...
2019
01:47:22,776 --> 01:47:25,185
{\an1}Narrator: Wedderburn spoke
for a solid hour,
2020
01:47:25,209 --> 01:47:28,552
{\an1}sometimes pounding on the table
as he berated Franklin
2021
01:47:28,576 --> 01:47:32,285
with one denunciation
after another,
2022
01:47:32,309 --> 01:47:35,285
{\an1}sometimes using sarcasm
that prompted
2023
01:47:35,309 --> 01:47:37,585
the nobles and high
officials in the audience
2024
01:47:37,609 --> 01:47:41,685
to snicker and jeer
as they urged him on.
2025
01:47:41,709 --> 01:47:44,885
Throughout it all,
Franklin stood stock still,
2026
01:47:44,909 --> 01:47:47,185
{\an1}refusing to show any emotion.
2027
01:47:47,209 --> 01:47:49,219
Man as Wedderburn:
answerable to the law.
2028
01:47:49,243 --> 01:47:51,419
{\an1}The good men of Boston have
lately held their meetings...
2029
01:47:51,443 --> 01:47:53,685
{\an1}Isaacson: They're accusing
Benjamin Franklin of
2030
01:47:53,709 --> 01:47:57,252
{\an1}fomenting this Revolution
2031
01:47:57,276 --> 01:47:59,785
{\an1}and he just stays there, silent,
2032
01:47:59,809 --> 01:48:02,819
and treats them
with silent contempt.
2033
01:48:02,843 --> 01:48:05,952
{\an1}Narrator: When Wedderburn
finally finished his diatribe,
2034
01:48:05,976 --> 01:48:08,585
{\an1}he asked if Franklin had
a statement to make
2035
01:48:08,609 --> 01:48:10,719
{\an1}or would take questions.
2036
01:48:10,743 --> 01:48:12,985
Franklin refused.
2037
01:48:13,009 --> 01:48:14,952
The hearing was over.
2038
01:48:14,976 --> 01:48:22,485
♪
2039
01:48:22,509 --> 01:48:25,552
London newspapers now
referred to Franklin as
2040
01:48:25,576 --> 01:48:29,419
"old Doubleface,"
a "grand incendiary,"
2041
01:48:29,443 --> 01:48:32,919
{\an1}and a "grey-headed traitor."
2042
01:48:32,943 --> 01:48:36,619
{\an1}Americans, the essayist
Samuel Johnson wrote,
2043
01:48:36,643 --> 01:48:39,919
"have been taught by
some master of mischief
2044
01:48:39,943 --> 01:48:44,776
{\an1}how to put in motion the engine
of political electricity."
2045
01:48:46,943 --> 01:48:49,919
{\an1}Two days after his humiliation
in the Cockpit,
2046
01:48:49,943 --> 01:48:53,119
Franklin was informed
that he had been dismissed
2047
01:48:53,143 --> 01:48:57,052
as deputy postmaster
for North America.
2048
01:48:57,076 --> 01:49:01,119
Any hopes he had for
a higher post also evaporated,
2049
01:49:01,143 --> 01:49:06,519
{\an1}as did his dreams for the vast
land scheme along the Ohio.
2050
01:49:06,543 --> 01:49:09,619
Franklin walked into
the Cockpit an Englishman
2051
01:49:09,643 --> 01:49:12,319
{\an1}and walked out of the Cockpit
an American
2052
01:49:12,343 --> 01:49:15,352
because it became
very clear to Franklin
2053
01:49:15,376 --> 01:49:18,919
{\an1}that he, as an American,
would never receive
2054
01:49:18,943 --> 01:49:22,385
the respect that
he believed he was due.
2055
01:49:22,409 --> 01:49:25,385
{\an1}At that point, Franklin
realized there is no future
2056
01:49:25,409 --> 01:49:29,409
{\an1}for me or for people like me
within the British Empire.
2057
01:49:33,109 --> 01:49:36,052
{\an1}Narrator: On December 14, 1774,
2058
01:49:36,076 --> 01:49:38,685
Deborah Franklin
had another stroke,
2059
01:49:38,709 --> 01:49:42,352
more massive than
the one 5 years earlier.
2060
01:49:42,376 --> 01:49:44,752
{\an1}She lingered on for a few days,
2061
01:49:44,776 --> 01:49:47,019
{\an1}then died on the 19th,
2062
01:49:47,043 --> 01:49:49,152
{\an1}still waiting for her husband,
2063
01:49:49,176 --> 01:49:52,852
{\an1}who had been away for 15
of the last 17 years,
2064
01:49:52,876 --> 01:49:56,419
{\an1}to return to her and the new
house on Market Street
2065
01:49:56,443 --> 01:49:58,376
he had never seen.
2066
01:49:59,576 --> 01:50:01,852
{\an1}Schiff: He's away from Deborah
for the last
10 years of her life.
2067
01:50:01,876 --> 01:50:03,252
He knows she's ill.
2068
01:50:03,276 --> 01:50:05,685
{\an1}And he doesn't come back.
2069
01:50:05,709 --> 01:50:07,585
If Franklin gets
failing grades in any subject,
2070
01:50:07,609 --> 01:50:10,585
{\an1}it's the family relations,
both in terms of the marriage
2071
01:50:10,609 --> 01:50:12,376
{\an1}and in terms of his son.
2072
01:50:15,376 --> 01:50:19,819
{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
Philadelphia, December 24, 1774.
2073
01:50:19,843 --> 01:50:24,019
Honoured Father,
I came here on Thursday last
2074
01:50:24,043 --> 01:50:28,119
to attend the Funeral
of my poor old Mother.
2075
01:50:28,143 --> 01:50:29,952
{\an1}I heartily wish you had
happened to have
2076
01:50:29,976 --> 01:50:31,652
{\an1}come over in the Fall,
2077
01:50:31,676 --> 01:50:33,785
{\an1}as I think her Disappointment
in that respect
2078
01:50:33,809 --> 01:50:36,743
preyed a good deal
on her Spirits.
2079
01:50:38,876 --> 01:50:41,219
I cannot help being
concerned to find that
2080
01:50:41,243 --> 01:50:44,576
you postpone your
Return to your Family.
2081
01:50:46,176 --> 01:50:48,285
{\an1}You have had by this Time
pretty strong Proofs
2082
01:50:48,309 --> 01:50:51,785
{\an1}that you are look'd upon with
an evil Eye in that Country.
2083
01:50:51,809 --> 01:50:53,519
{\an1}You had certainly better return
2084
01:50:53,543 --> 01:50:56,119
to a Country where
the People revere you,
2085
01:50:56,143 --> 01:51:00,619
{\an1}and are inclined to pay
a Deference to your Opinions.
2086
01:51:00,643 --> 01:51:06,409
{\an1}I am ever, Honoured Sir,
Your dutiful Son William.
2087
01:51:08,476 --> 01:51:10,952
{\an1}Narrator: For Franklin,
his breach with England
2088
01:51:10,976 --> 01:51:12,619
was complete.
2089
01:51:12,643 --> 01:51:15,552
Now a political rift
seemed to be growing
2090
01:51:15,576 --> 01:51:18,109
{\an1}between him and his son.
2091
01:51:20,476 --> 01:51:24,652
In the coming year,
a revolution would begin,
2092
01:51:24,676 --> 01:51:27,552
unlikely alliances
would be forged,
2093
01:51:27,576 --> 01:51:30,119
{\an1}loyalties would be tested,
2094
01:51:30,143 --> 01:51:33,152
{\an1}families would be torn apart,
2095
01:51:33,176 --> 01:51:38,319
{\an1}and Benjamin Franklin would be
in the middle of it all.
2096
01:51:38,343 --> 01:51:45,609
♪
2097
01:51:49,143 --> 01:51:57,143
♪
2098
01:52:40,009 --> 01:52:42,619
{\an1}Announcer: Next time on
"Benjamin Franklin"...
2099
01:52:42,643 --> 01:52:45,352
{\an1}Patinkin as Franklin: We
pledge our lives, our
fortunes,
2100
01:52:45,376 --> 01:52:47,852
and our sacred honor.
Announcer: revolution...
2101
01:52:47,876 --> 01:52:49,752
{\an1}Man: Nobody has any idea
how this is going to turn out.
2102
01:52:49,776 --> 01:52:51,785
Choosing sides
means choosing fates.
2103
01:52:51,809 --> 01:52:53,119
{\an1}Announcer: diplomacy...
2104
01:52:53,143 --> 01:52:55,652
Woman: Franklin had
to convince one monarch
2105
01:52:55,676 --> 01:52:59,285
to help the Americans
overthrow another monarch.
2106
01:52:59,309 --> 01:53:00,852
{\an1}Announcer: and a final cause.
2107
01:53:00,876 --> 01:53:03,352
{\an1}Second man: And it's the first
outspoken debate
2108
01:53:03,376 --> 01:53:05,952
{\an1}in American history on slavery.
2109
01:53:05,976 --> 01:53:07,252
Announcer: Don't miss
the conclusion
2110
01:53:07,276 --> 01:53:09,919
{\an1}of "Benjamin Franklin,"
next time.
2111
01:53:09,943 --> 01:53:12,419
{\an1}Stream the full series,
2112
01:53:12,443 --> 01:53:13,819
go behind the scenes,
2113
01:53:13,843 --> 01:53:15,019
{\an1}and learn how to bring
2114
01:53:15,043 --> 01:53:16,219
Benjamin Franklin
2115
01:53:16,243 --> 01:53:18,185
{\an1}into the classroom by visiting
2116
01:53:18,209 --> 01:53:21,219
pbs.org/benfranklin
2117
01:53:21,243 --> 01:53:23,352
or the PBS video app.
2118
01:53:23,376 --> 01:53:24,819
♪
2119
01:53:24,843 --> 01:53:26,385
{\an1}To order "Benjamin Franklin"
2120
01:53:26,409 --> 01:53:28,385
on DVD or Blu-ray,
2121
01:53:28,409 --> 01:53:30,052
visit shopPBS
2122
01:53:30,076 --> 01:53:33,152
{\an1}or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
2123
01:53:33,176 --> 01:53:36,185
"Benjamin Franklin"
is also available
2124
01:53:36,209 --> 01:53:38,085
with PBS Passport
2125
01:53:38,109 --> 01:53:40,752
{\an1}and on Amazon Prime Video.
2126
01:53:40,776 --> 01:53:48,776
♪
2127
01:54:29,509 --> 01:54:31,509
♪
2128
01:54:34,676 --> 01:54:37,419
{\an1}Announcer: Major funding
for "Benjamin Franklin"
2129
01:54:37,443 --> 01:54:39,419
was provided
by David M. Rubinstein,
2130
01:54:39,443 --> 01:54:41,419
investing in people
and institutions that help us
2131
01:54:41,443 --> 01:54:43,419
understand the past
and prepare us for the future.
2132
01:54:43,443 --> 01:54:45,619
{\an1}By the Pew Charitable Trusts,
2133
01:54:45,643 --> 01:54:48,419
{\an1}a global non-governmental
organization that seeks
2134
01:54:48,443 --> 01:54:51,485
{\an1}to improve public policy,
inform the public,
2135
01:54:51,509 --> 01:54:53,319
{\an1}and invigorate civic life;
2136
01:54:53,343 --> 01:54:56,519
{\an1}and by The Better Angels Society
and its members:
2137
01:54:56,543 --> 01:54:58,519
{\an1}Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine;
2138
01:54:58,543 --> 01:55:00,585
{\an1}The University of Pennsylvania,
2139
01:55:00,609 --> 01:55:03,419
{\an1}impact through innovation
and inclusion;
2140
01:55:03,443 --> 01:55:05,652
{\an1}Gilchrist and Amy Berg;
2141
01:55:05,676 --> 01:55:07,652
{\an1}Perry and Donna Golkin;
2142
01:55:07,676 --> 01:55:10,285
{\an1}and by these additional
contributors.
2143
01:55:10,309 --> 01:55:14,385
{\an3}♪
2144
01:55:14,409 --> 01:55:17,385
{\an8}By the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting
2145
01:55:17,409 --> 01:55:21,452
{\an7}and by generous contributions
to your PBS station
2146
01:55:21,476 --> 01:55:23,485
{\an7}from viewers like you.
2147
01:55:23,509 --> 01:55:25,043
{\an8}Thank you.
170517
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