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{\an1}Announcer: Major funding
for "Benjamin Franklin"
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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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{\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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♪
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{\an1}Man as Benjamin Franklin:
Being now in my last "Act",
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I begin to cast about
for something fit to end with.
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{\an1}Or if mine be more properly
"compar'd" to an "Epigram",
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I am very desirous of concluding
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{\an1}with a bright "Point".
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Benjamin Franklin.
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Schiff: The thing
about Franklin is,
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{\an1}whatever you say about him,
on the one hand,
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you can always say
the opposite, as well.
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{\an1}I mean, this is a man who is
very much pro-temperance
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and he writes
bawdy drinking songs.
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{\an1}He founds a fire company,
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and he founds a fire
insurance company.
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{\an1}He does play all sides.
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{\an7}But during those British
years, he very much plays
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{\an7}the British gentleman.
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{\an7}He has a... a crest on the
door of his carriage.
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{\an1}And, yet, by the time he
becomes an American rebel,
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so to speak, he is
entirely an American.
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{\an1}Narrator: In January of 1775,
Benjamin Franklin turned 69.
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{\an1}He had already achieved
extraordinary success
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{\an1}as a printer and publisher
in his adopted hometown
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{\an1}of Philadelphia, where
a library, a college,
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and countless civic improvements
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{\an1}testified to his belief
that his highest calling
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{\an1}lay not in making money,
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but in improving
the lives of everyday people.
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[Thunder]
And his revolutionary
breakthroughs
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in unraveling
the mysteries of electricity
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{\an1}had made him the most famous
American in the world.
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{\an1}Ellis: He is every man,
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but he's a very
extraordinary every man.
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{\an7}He was a Nobel Prize-winning
caliber scientist,
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{\an7}probably the great... greatest
prose stylist of his generation,
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and he's probably
the greatest diplomat
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in American history.
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{\an1}Narrator: Franklin had been in
England for the last decade,
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{\an1}trying desperately to bridge
the growing gulf
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between Parliament
and the American colonies.
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Only a year earlier,
the future he had envisioned
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{\an1}for himself and his family
seemed bright and tethered
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inextricably to
the British Empire.
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{\an1}Now that dream was in ruins.
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{\an1}During his long absence
from home,
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{\an1}he had missed his wife
Deborah's death and funeral.
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{\an1}In London, in a government
chamber called the Cockpit,
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he had been publicly humiliated,
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{\an1}accused of inciting the colonial
crisis he had, in fact,
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{\an1}worked so hard to prevent.
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And as that crisis
intensified, his son William,
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{\an1}now the royal governor
of New Jersey,
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seemed to be choosing
the wrong side.
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{\an1}Skemp: The longer William
stayed in New Jersey,
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the more corrupt
and rebellious and selfish
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{\an1}the colonies started to
look to him
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{\an1}and the more wonderful and
inspiring the Crown looked.
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{\an7}I think that the longer that
Benjamin Franklin stayed
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{\an7}in England, the more he
idealized the colonies and saw
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{\an1}the corruption and venality
around him in England.
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And so, they began to see things
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kind of as a mirror
image of one another.
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Narrator: For years,
Franklin had reveled
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in the intellectual
life of Britain.
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{\an1}But increasingly, he dwelled
more on the differences
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between the Old World
and the New,
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rather than what they
shared in common.
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Man as Franklin:
In America,
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{\an1}People do not enquire,
concerning a stranger,
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"What is he?"
but "What can he do?"
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[Tapping]
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{\an1}The people have a saying,
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{\an1}that God Almighty is himself
a mechanic,
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the greatest in the universe;
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{\an1}and he is respected more
for the variety, ingenuity,
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and utility of his handiworks
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{\an1}than for the antiquity
of his family.
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{\an1}Narrator: "Life," he once said,
"is like chess."
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{\an1}And in the turbulent years
ahead, as his country and his
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{\an1}family would be challenged as
never before, Benjamin Franklin
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{\an1}would need every skill
the game had taught him.
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Man as Franklin:
The game of chess
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is not merely an idle amusement.
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By playing at chess,
we may learn, "Foresight,
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Circumspection, Caution".
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{\an1}The habit of not being
discouraged by present
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{\an1}bad appearances in the state
of our affairs,
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{\an1}the habit of hoping for
a favorable change,
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and that of persevering.
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{\an8}He's different from
the other Founders,
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{\an8}from a Washington,
from a Jefferson.
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{\an8}He's older.
And so he brought a past,
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{\an1}a past in which he created
himself as a man.
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{\an7}He brought his wisdom,
his experience,
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{\an7}his travel abroad to make,
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{\an8}I think, a much more
cosmopolitan and urbane
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{\an8}understanding of what
America could be.
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{\an1}Brands: Franklin was born an
Englishman, like everybody else
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{\an1}in the American Colonies
of his generation.
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He died an American.
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{\an7}He is made to realize that he
will never be allowed to be
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{\an7}sort of a... a fully recognized,
respected Briton.
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And, for that reason,
he decides he has to
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become an American.
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{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
Dear Father,
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{\an1}The "Measure of Sending
Troops" to Boston
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is putting a "Stop
to the Riots".
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{\an1}The same "Spirit" however,
still prevails
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{\an1}in the "Colonies", and nothing
can make them acknowledge
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{\an1}the "Right of the Parliament"
to tax them.
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Your dutiful son, William.
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[Shouting, glass breaking]
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{\an1}Narrator: The repercussions of
the Boston Tea Party
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{\an1}had created a tinderbox
in the American colonies.
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{\an1}King George III ordered
a crackdown
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{\an1}on the American upstarts.
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{\an1}"The New England governments
are in a state of rebellion,"
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he declared.
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{\an1}"Blows must decide whether
they are to be subject
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to this country
or independent."
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{\an1}Parliament quickly passed
a flurry of new laws.
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{\an1}Until the East India Company was
compensated for its lost tea,
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Boston Harbor was to be closed.
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{\an1}[Shouting, glass breaking]
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{\an1}Massachusetts was placed
under martial law,
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the colonial charter
was suspended,
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{\an1}the elected assembly outlawed,
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{\an1}and most public meetings banned.
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{\an1}Communities were required
to provide quarters
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for British troops.
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00:08:08,443 --> 00:08:13,152
{\an1}Americans called the new
laws the Intolerable Acts.
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Protests sprang up
in every colony.
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{\an1}Committees of correspondence
were established.
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{\an1}They urged colonists "not to
purchase any goods which shall
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be imported from
Great Britain."
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Each colony was asked
to send delegates
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{\an1}to a Continental Congress
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that could propose
a united response.
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{\an1}In New Jersey, Governor
William Franklin wrote to his
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superiors in London.
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{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
My Lord,
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His Majesty
may be assured that I shall
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{\an1}omit nothing in my "Power" to
keep this "Province" quiet,
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{\an1}no "Attachments or Connexions"
shall ever make me swerve
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{\an1}from the "Duty of my Station".
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{\an1}Your Lordship's most obedient
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00:09:00,043 --> 00:09:02,685
and humble "Servant".
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{\an1}Narrator: For more than
a decade, William Franklin
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had managed better
than other colonial governors
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{\an1}to work with his assembly
and steer it toward a more
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moderate course.
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{\an1}"The most despotic and worst
of all Tyrannies," he told them,
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{\an1}is "the Tyranny of the Mob,
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"which must at length
involve us all
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in one common ruin."
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{\an1}William wrote to his father
in London suggesting that
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{\an1}the necessary first step was for
Boston to "do justice" and pay
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{\an1}for the tons of tea that
had been destroyed.
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{\an1}Man as Franklin: Dear Son,
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{\an1}As to "doing Justice,"
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that should have been
thought of by Parliament
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{\an1}before they demanded it
of the Bostonians.
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{\an1}They have extorted many
"Thousand Pounds" from America
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unconstitutionally
and with an armed "Force".
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{\an1}Of this "Money", they ought
to make "Restitution".
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{\an1}But you, who are a thorough
"Courtier", see everything
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{\an1}with "Government Eyes".
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Narrator:
The Franklins were coming to
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{\an1}different conclusions about
which side was to blame,
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{\an1}but both men still hoped that
a complete split between
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{\an1}Britain and her colonies
might be avoided.
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{\an7}The British government
was never a monolith.
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{\an7}There were always dissenters,
sympathizers with America,
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{\an1}people who thought that
Americans were justified
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in their opposition.
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{\an1}There were people, well-placed
within the British Government,
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{\an1}who believed, with Franklin,
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{\an1}that the future of the
British Empire could be great
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{\an1}and could be bright if
the British government
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{\an1}recognized that America could be
this second pillar
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{\an1}of a transatlantic empire.
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Narrator: Working
behind the scenes,
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because his
public image in England
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{\an1}was now so badly tarnished,
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{\an1}Franklin and sympathetic
members of Parliament
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struggled to find
some compromise
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{\an1}that could avert a war.
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{\an1}But nothing came of it.
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{\an1}Brown: Franklin knows exactly
what's going on.
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And what's going on
leads him to despair.
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{\an7}I'm not sure there were many
who were more disappointed
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{\an8}by the separation than Franklin.
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{\an1}In part, because I think
he really thought it
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was avoidable.
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{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
Gentlemen,
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{\an1}You have now two roads...
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{\an1}one evidently leading to peace,
happiness, and a restoration
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{\an1}of the public tranquility...
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00:11:34,009 --> 00:11:36,885
The other inevitably
conducting you
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to anarchy, misery,
and all the horrors
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of a civil war.
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{\an1}Narrator: In New Jersey,
William had refused to
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{\an1}convene the colonial assembly
in order to prevent them from
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sending delegates to
the Continental Congress.
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{\an1}They chose representatives
anyway.
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When the Congress met
in Philadelphia
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00:12:02,376 --> 00:12:06,319
in the fall of 1774,
it had asserted that only
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00:12:06,343 --> 00:12:10,619
{\an1}elected colonial legislatures
had the right of taxation
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00:12:10,643 --> 00:12:12,352
within their borders.
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It banned all imports
from Britain
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until the Intolerable
Acts were repealed
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and set a deadline
for Parliament to do it.
233
00:12:21,809 --> 00:12:26,152
{\an1}Otherwise, American exports
to England would cease
234
00:12:26,176 --> 00:12:31,019
{\an1}and a Second Continental
Congress would convene in 1775
235
00:12:31,043 --> 00:12:34,119
{\an1}to consider further steps.
236
00:12:34,143 --> 00:12:38,185
{\an1}If only his father had been
there, William wrote, he might
237
00:12:38,209 --> 00:12:40,819
{\an1}have been able to steer the
Congress toward something
238
00:12:40,843 --> 00:12:43,009
less confrontational.
239
00:12:44,709 --> 00:12:46,952
{\an1}Man as William Franklin: However
mad you may think the "Measures
240
00:12:46,976 --> 00:12:50,352
{\an1}of the Ministry" are, yet I
trust you have "Candor" enough
241
00:12:50,376 --> 00:12:54,185
{\an1}to acknowledge that we are no
ways behind hand with them
242
00:12:54,209 --> 00:12:58,176
{\an1}in "Instances of Madness"
on this "Side of the Water".
243
00:13:00,809 --> 00:13:03,052
Narrator:
Benjamin Franklin now believed
244
00:13:03,076 --> 00:13:07,252
{\an1}any chances of averting war
were unlikely; but he was
245
00:13:07,276 --> 00:13:10,519
{\an1}growing more and more worried
that he and William
246
00:13:10,543 --> 00:13:13,985
were ending up
on opposing sides.
247
00:13:14,009 --> 00:13:16,885
{\an1}He was ready to head for home.
248
00:13:16,909 --> 00:13:20,152
{\an1}If he couldn't keep the
colonies and England together,
249
00:13:20,176 --> 00:13:24,319
at least he might be
able to keep his son.
250
00:13:24,343 --> 00:13:25,919
[Seagulls crying]
251
00:13:25,943 --> 00:13:30,685
On March 21, 1775,
Franklin finally set sail
252
00:13:30,709 --> 00:13:32,652
for Philadelphia.
253
00:13:32,676 --> 00:13:37,052
{\an1}With him was William's own son,
Temple, who had been born
254
00:13:37,076 --> 00:13:40,685
{\an1}out of wedlock 15 years
earlier in England
255
00:13:40,709 --> 00:13:44,852
{\an1}and discreetly given over
to a foster family.
256
00:13:44,876 --> 00:13:48,219
{\an1}In London, Benjamin had
decided to take custody
257
00:13:48,243 --> 00:13:51,085
{\an1}of the boy and enrolled him
in school
258
00:13:51,109 --> 00:13:54,585
but did not tell him
he was his grandfather.
259
00:13:54,609 --> 00:13:58,852
{\an1}Now, he was bringing Temple to
America, where he would meet
260
00:13:58,876 --> 00:14:01,985
{\an1}the father he had never known.
261
00:14:02,009 --> 00:14:06,419
{\an1}Isaacson: When Benjamin Franklin
sails home in 1775,
262
00:14:06,443 --> 00:14:08,752
he's estranged from William.
263
00:14:08,776 --> 00:14:10,752
{\an1}His wife Deborah has died.
264
00:14:10,776 --> 00:14:14,452
{\an1}He feels this enormous
sense of failure.
265
00:14:14,476 --> 00:14:18,385
{\an1}His whole mission had been
to try to hold the Colonies
266
00:14:18,409 --> 00:14:20,052
and Britain together.
267
00:14:20,076 --> 00:14:21,709
And that has failed.
268
00:14:25,343 --> 00:14:26,819
{\an1}Narrator: But being at sea
269
00:14:26,843 --> 00:14:29,619
always revived
Franklin's spirits
270
00:14:29,643 --> 00:14:33,419
and ignited his
scientific curiosity.
271
00:14:33,443 --> 00:14:36,485
{\an1}Isaacson: He still wants to
chart the Gulf Stream.
272
00:14:36,509 --> 00:14:41,252
He still is curious
about natural phenomenon.
273
00:14:41,276 --> 00:14:44,119
And, so, there's
Temple Franklin helping
274
00:14:44,143 --> 00:14:48,785
{\an1}his grandfather Benjamin as they
lower barrels into the ocean
275
00:14:48,809 --> 00:14:50,785
{\an1}to take the temperature
of the water,
276
00:14:50,809 --> 00:14:53,752
to see where
the Gulf Stream could be,
277
00:14:53,776 --> 00:14:56,252
{\an7}and he's almost replicating
those moments
278
00:14:56,276 --> 00:14:59,185
{\an7}with William Franklin,
where Ben Franklin and William
279
00:14:59,209 --> 00:15:03,219
{\an7}flew the kite in the rain
to discover electricity.
280
00:15:03,243 --> 00:15:05,919
{\an1}Narrator: When he and Temple
arrived in Philadelphia
281
00:15:05,943 --> 00:15:11,285
{\an1}on May 5, 1775, Franklin
learned startling news.
282
00:15:11,309 --> 00:15:15,619
{\an1}While he was at sea, the war he
had once hoped to prevent
283
00:15:15,643 --> 00:15:18,652
had already
started in Massachusetts.
284
00:15:18,676 --> 00:15:20,819
[Drums beating rhythmically]
285
00:15:20,843 --> 00:15:26,152
{\an1}On April 19th, 700 British
troops had marched from Boston
286
00:15:26,176 --> 00:15:29,052
to capture munitions
stockpiled in Concord.
287
00:15:29,076 --> 00:15:32,152
[Gunfire]
A skirmish on the Lexington
town green
288
00:15:32,176 --> 00:15:34,019
{\an1}left 8 Americans dead...
289
00:15:34,043 --> 00:15:37,119
[Shouting, gunfire]
but a larger fight broke out
290
00:15:37,143 --> 00:15:40,519
{\an1}at Concord's North Bridge
that sent British redcoats
291
00:15:40,543 --> 00:15:44,252
retreating back toward Boston.
292
00:15:44,276 --> 00:15:50,219
{\an1}Dunbar: The Revolutionary energy
in Philadelphia was palpable.
293
00:15:50,243 --> 00:15:54,352
{\an7}Regular people were talking
about "revolution,"
294
00:15:54,376 --> 00:15:58,585
{\an7}were talking about "power," were
talking about "human rights,"
295
00:15:58,609 --> 00:16:02,619
were talking about
"freedom" and "democracy."
296
00:16:02,643 --> 00:16:06,776
{\an1}These were the things that
Franklin came home to.
297
00:16:08,809 --> 00:16:11,552
{\an1}Narrator: A week after
Franklin got back home,
298
00:16:11,576 --> 00:16:14,785
{\an1}delegates to the Second
Continental Congress were
299
00:16:14,809 --> 00:16:18,519
{\an1}gathering in Philadelphia,
and the Pennsylvania Assembly
300
00:16:18,543 --> 00:16:22,885
elected him as one of
their representatives.
301
00:16:22,909 --> 00:16:25,119
{\an1}Man as William Bradford: I can
inform you that some delegates
302
00:16:25,143 --> 00:16:28,619
{\an1}begin to entertain a great
suspicion that Dr. Franklin
303
00:16:28,643 --> 00:16:32,452
{\an1}came rather as a spy than as
a friend, and that he means to
304
00:16:32,476 --> 00:16:34,952
{\an1}discover our weak side.
305
00:16:34,976 --> 00:16:37,552
William Bradford.
306
00:16:37,576 --> 00:16:41,552
{\an1}Narrator: In the early meetings,
Franklin remained quiet,
307
00:16:41,576 --> 00:16:45,119
so quiet, John Adams
of Massachusetts complained
308
00:16:45,143 --> 00:16:48,319
{\an1}that he seemed to spend
"a great part of the time
309
00:16:48,343 --> 00:16:51,385
{\an1}fast asleep in his chair."
310
00:16:51,409 --> 00:16:54,652
{\an1}In the evenings, while other
delegates congregated
311
00:16:54,676 --> 00:16:57,485
{\an1}in taverns and debated whether
the Congress
312
00:16:57,509 --> 00:16:59,752
{\an1}should declare independence,
313
00:16:59,776 --> 00:17:02,552
he preferred
to stay at his new house,
314
00:17:02,576 --> 00:17:05,885
with his daughter
Sally and her family.
315
00:17:05,909 --> 00:17:09,619
{\an1}By this time, Franklin had
confessed to Temple
316
00:17:09,643 --> 00:17:12,543
that he was the boy's
grandfather.
317
00:17:14,009 --> 00:17:17,852
{\an1}When Governor William Franklin
visited from New Jersey,
318
00:17:17,876 --> 00:17:22,652
Temple met his
father for the first time.
319
00:17:22,676 --> 00:17:26,485
{\an1}And later, when Benjamin
and William met privately,
320
00:17:26,509 --> 00:17:31,185
{\an1}Benjamin made it clear he wanted
his son to join the cause.
321
00:17:31,209 --> 00:17:35,419
{\an1}William wanted his father
to stay neutral.
He still thought
322
00:17:35,443 --> 00:17:40,085
a reconciliation with
England might be possible.
323
00:17:40,109 --> 00:17:42,252
{\an1}They argued all night.
324
00:17:42,276 --> 00:17:46,985
{\an1}At another meeting, neighbors
could hear them shouting.
325
00:17:47,009 --> 00:17:50,685
Father and son went
their separate ways.
326
00:17:50,709 --> 00:17:53,652
William would remain a Loyalist.
327
00:17:53,676 --> 00:17:57,485
Benjamin had become
a fervent revolutionary...
328
00:17:57,509 --> 00:18:00,885
{\an1}what was called a Patriot.
329
00:18:00,909 --> 00:18:02,452
{\an1}Wood: Of the major leaders,
330
00:18:02,476 --> 00:18:04,785
{\an1}he came to the Revolution
very late.
331
00:18:04,809 --> 00:18:06,919
{\an8}In fact, it's hard to
understand why he even joined
332
00:18:06,943 --> 00:18:08,585
{\an8}the Revolution, uh...
333
00:18:08,609 --> 00:18:11,919
{\an7}He was already successful.
He was an old man.
334
00:18:11,943 --> 00:18:14,419
Brands: Revolution is
a young man's game,
335
00:18:14,443 --> 00:18:17,743
{\an1}but Franklin decided this
is what needs to be done.
336
00:18:19,676 --> 00:18:23,019
{\an1}Narrator: At age 69, he was
the oldest delegate.
337
00:18:23,043 --> 00:18:27,519
{\an1}Many of the 62 other delegates
had not even been born when he
338
00:18:27,543 --> 00:18:30,652
{\an1}first entered political life
40 years earlier
339
00:18:30,676 --> 00:18:34,385
{\an1}and knew Franklin only by
his reputation.
340
00:18:34,409 --> 00:18:37,152
John Adams was 39;
341
00:18:37,176 --> 00:18:40,852
Patrick Henry
and John Hancock, 38;
342
00:18:40,876 --> 00:18:44,685
{\an1}Virginia's Thomas Jefferson
was only 32...
343
00:18:44,709 --> 00:18:48,852
{\an1}all younger than Franklin's
son William.
344
00:18:48,876 --> 00:18:52,085
{\an1}Isaacson: He's the "old" one.
He's the sage one.
345
00:18:52,109 --> 00:18:56,585
{\an8}And he talks in
parables and metaphors.
346
00:18:56,609 --> 00:18:59,552
{\an7}And a lot of people don't quite
know what to make of him.
347
00:18:59,576 --> 00:19:02,519
{\an1}Here's Franklin, coming with
a worldwide reputation,
348
00:19:02,543 --> 00:19:05,952
{\an1}certainly the most famous
American in the world,
349
00:19:05,976 --> 00:19:09,119
and yet, they're not
fully trusting him.
350
00:19:09,143 --> 00:19:13,285
Who is this guy?
We don't really know him.
351
00:19:13,309 --> 00:19:15,919
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin had
traveled more extensively than
352
00:19:15,943 --> 00:19:19,885
{\an1}any of the others... throughout
Europe, but also through most
353
00:19:19,909 --> 00:19:22,952
{\an1}of the colonies that were
only now beginning to think
354
00:19:22,976 --> 00:19:25,819
{\an1}of themselves as something
more than individual
355
00:19:25,843 --> 00:19:27,885
English provinces.
356
00:19:27,909 --> 00:19:32,809
{\an1}It was an idea he had proposed
more than 2 decades before.
357
00:19:34,843 --> 00:19:37,385
{\an1}The delegates unanimously
elected him
358
00:19:37,409 --> 00:19:39,419
{\an1}as postmaster general,
359
00:19:39,443 --> 00:19:43,452
{\an1}and he donated his salary
to help wounded soldiers.
360
00:19:43,476 --> 00:19:47,719
{\an1}They assigned him to important
committees, creating a system
361
00:19:47,743 --> 00:19:50,619
for paper currency,
raising money for weapons
362
00:19:50,643 --> 00:19:52,985
{\an1}and manufacturing gunpowder,
363
00:19:53,009 --> 00:19:56,485
{\an1}and negotiating with Indian
nations in the hope
364
00:19:56,509 --> 00:20:00,352
they would not side
with the British.
365
00:20:00,376 --> 00:20:03,519
{\an1}Following the battles of
Lexington and Concord,
366
00:20:03,543 --> 00:20:06,685
Franklin heard
from his favorite sister Jane,
367
00:20:06,709 --> 00:20:11,619
{\an1}who witnessed the chaos in
Boston, the town of his birth.
368
00:20:11,643 --> 00:20:13,952
"The distress it has occasioned
369
00:20:13,976 --> 00:20:16,485
{\an1}is past my description,"
she wrote.
370
00:20:16,509 --> 00:20:20,252
{\an1}"The commotion the town was in
after the battle, bringing in
371
00:20:20,276 --> 00:20:24,285
{\an1}"their wounded men, caused
such an agitation of mind,
372
00:20:24,309 --> 00:20:27,385
I believe none
had much sleep."
373
00:20:27,409 --> 00:20:30,285
Colonial militia had
surrounded the city
374
00:20:30,309 --> 00:20:33,119
and the occupying
British forces there.
375
00:20:33,143 --> 00:20:38,552
{\an1}12,000 of Boston's 15,000
residents, including Jane,
376
00:20:38,576 --> 00:20:41,052
evacuated in panic.
377
00:20:41,076 --> 00:20:45,252
British soldiers then
ransacked the nearly empty town.
378
00:20:45,276 --> 00:20:47,485
They would use
the pews and pulpit
379
00:20:47,509 --> 00:20:50,952
from the Old South
Meeting House as firewood.
380
00:20:50,976 --> 00:20:52,652
[Gunfire]
381
00:20:52,676 --> 00:20:56,352
{\an1}On June 17th, in the Battle
of Bunker Hill,
382
00:20:56,376 --> 00:21:00,819
{\an1}British forces attacked the
militiamen in nearby Charlestown
383
00:21:00,843 --> 00:21:02,752
{\an1}and were repulsed twice,
384
00:21:02,776 --> 00:21:06,319
until the defenders'
ammunition ran out.
385
00:21:06,343 --> 00:21:09,019
{\an1}At the end of the day,
the British had taken
386
00:21:09,043 --> 00:21:13,319
{\an1}the heights, but suffered
more than 1,000 casualties
387
00:21:13,343 --> 00:21:16,352
to fewer than
half that by the Patriots.
388
00:21:16,376 --> 00:21:19,819
{\an1}Much of Charlestown had been
burned by the British
389
00:21:19,843 --> 00:21:23,019
{\an1}to rid it of American snipers.
390
00:21:23,043 --> 00:21:28,385
{\an1}Jane's son, Josiah, fought
for the Patriots and died.
391
00:21:28,409 --> 00:21:32,119
{\an1}One of her in-laws died
fighting for the British.
392
00:21:32,143 --> 00:21:34,985
{\an1}"O how horrible is our
situation," she wrote
393
00:21:35,009 --> 00:21:38,652
{\an1}to Benjamin, "that relations
seek the destruction
394
00:21:38,676 --> 00:21:39,943
of each other."
395
00:21:41,709 --> 00:21:45,452
{\an1}Enraged by what the British
had done, Franklin sent
396
00:21:45,476 --> 00:21:47,452
a letter to a friend in England,
397
00:21:47,476 --> 00:21:51,819
{\an1}intended for publication there.
398
00:21:51,843 --> 00:21:53,852
Man as Franklin:
Britain, at the expense
399
00:21:53,876 --> 00:21:56,885
of three millions,
has killed 150 Americans
400
00:21:56,909 --> 00:22:02,219
{\an1}this campaign, which is
20,000 pounds a head;
401
00:22:02,243 --> 00:22:07,052
{\an1}and at Bunker's Hill she
gained a mile of ground.
402
00:22:07,076 --> 00:22:09,985
During the same time
60,000 children have been
403
00:22:10,009 --> 00:22:11,652
born in America.
404
00:22:11,676 --> 00:22:14,552
From these data,
calculate the time and expense
405
00:22:14,576 --> 00:22:16,619
{\an1}necessary to kill us all,
406
00:22:16,643 --> 00:22:19,476
and conquer our whole territory.
407
00:22:20,976 --> 00:22:23,319
{\an1}Narrator: And he had written
a second letter
408
00:22:23,343 --> 00:22:26,252
{\an1}to another English friend,
which he shared
409
00:22:26,276 --> 00:22:30,685
{\an1}with colleagues in America
but never sent.
410
00:22:30,709 --> 00:22:33,552
Man as Franklin: You
have begun to burn our towns,
411
00:22:33,576 --> 00:22:35,919
{\an1}and murder our people.
412
00:22:35,943 --> 00:22:37,885
Look upon your hands!
413
00:22:37,909 --> 00:22:41,785
{\an1}They are stained with the
blood of your relations!
414
00:22:41,809 --> 00:22:47,052
{\an1}You and I were long friends:
You are now my enemy,
415
00:22:47,076 --> 00:22:48,743
and I am "Yours".
416
00:22:50,076 --> 00:22:51,952
Man as Bradford: The
suspicions against Dr. Franklin
417
00:22:51,976 --> 00:22:53,885
have died away.
418
00:22:53,909 --> 00:22:57,319
{\an1}Whatever was his design at
coming over here, I believe he
419
00:22:57,343 --> 00:23:02,019
{\an1}has now chosen his side
and favors our cause.
420
00:23:02,043 --> 00:23:03,719
{\an8}Man as John Adams:
Dr. Franklin
421
00:23:03,743 --> 00:23:07,785
{\an7}has discovered a disposition
entirely American.
422
00:23:07,809 --> 00:23:11,052
{\an7}He is a great and good man.
423
00:23:11,076 --> 00:23:12,909
John Adams.
424
00:23:15,343 --> 00:23:17,885
[Horse nickers]
425
00:23:17,909 --> 00:23:20,852
{\an1}Narrator: In October 1775,
426
00:23:20,876 --> 00:23:23,819
Franklin traveled to
Massachusetts to confer
427
00:23:23,843 --> 00:23:26,952
with General George
Washington, who desperately
428
00:23:26,976 --> 00:23:30,952
{\an1}needed more money from
Congress to fight the British.
429
00:23:30,976 --> 00:23:34,619
{\an1}He was trying to cobble
together a Continental Army
430
00:23:34,643 --> 00:23:38,785
{\an1}that would eventually include
fishermen, frontiersmen
431
00:23:38,809 --> 00:23:42,752
{\an1}and farm laborers; recent
immigrants, vagrants
432
00:23:42,776 --> 00:23:46,485
and teen-aged boys
with few prospects;
433
00:23:46,509 --> 00:23:50,585
Native Americans,
free African Americans
434
00:23:50,609 --> 00:23:55,852
{\an1}and enslaved men, hoping to be
freed when the war ended.
435
00:23:55,876 --> 00:23:59,019
Franklin promised
Washington he would do what he
436
00:23:59,043 --> 00:24:01,852
could to help.
437
00:24:01,876 --> 00:24:05,785
{\an1}On his way back, Franklin
reunited with his sister Jane
438
00:24:05,809 --> 00:24:07,385
in Rhode Island.
439
00:24:07,409 --> 00:24:11,419
{\an1}She was still a refugee from
occupied Boston.
440
00:24:11,443 --> 00:24:15,419
{\an1}He persuaded her to come with
him to Philadelphia, and they
441
00:24:15,443 --> 00:24:19,085
{\an1}stopped briefly in New Jersey,
so she could see her nephew
442
00:24:19,109 --> 00:24:22,285
William at the
governor's mansion.
443
00:24:22,309 --> 00:24:27,019
{\an1}Franklin hoped her description
of the carnage in Boston might
444
00:24:27,043 --> 00:24:31,985
{\an1}prompt his son to reconsider
his loyalty to the Crown.
445
00:24:32,009 --> 00:24:34,219
She was unsuccessful.
446
00:24:34,243 --> 00:24:38,152
{\an1}William would be the last royal
governor trying to carry on
447
00:24:38,176 --> 00:24:41,419
the king's affairs in America.
448
00:24:41,443 --> 00:24:44,252
{\an7}People always ask, why
were people Loyalists.
449
00:24:44,276 --> 00:24:45,919
{\an8}And I think the
question to ask is,
450
00:24:45,943 --> 00:24:47,919
{\an7}"Why were people Patriots?"
451
00:24:47,943 --> 00:24:50,352
Uh, to be loyal
is not to change.
452
00:24:50,376 --> 00:24:52,985
{\an1}It's simply to go on believing
what you've always believed
453
00:24:53,009 --> 00:24:54,885
your entire life.
454
00:24:54,909 --> 00:24:57,585
His father taught him
to be principled.
455
00:24:57,609 --> 00:24:59,852
{\an1}He was doing exactly what
his father had always
456
00:24:59,876 --> 00:25:01,952
taught him to do.
457
00:25:01,976 --> 00:25:04,352
{\an1}Man as William Franklin: For
"King and Country" was the
458
00:25:04,376 --> 00:25:07,985
{\an1}"Motto" I assumed when I first
commenced my "Political Life",
459
00:25:08,009 --> 00:25:10,585
and I am resolved to
retain it till "Death"
460
00:25:10,609 --> 00:25:15,085
shall put an end
to my mortal "Existence".
461
00:25:15,109 --> 00:25:17,152
Narrator: William
Franklin had assured his
462
00:25:17,176 --> 00:25:21,619
{\an1}superiors in London he did
not intend to leave his post.
463
00:25:21,643 --> 00:25:25,119
{\an1}He had advised his wife
Elizabeth to seek refuge
464
00:25:25,143 --> 00:25:29,085
{\an1}with relatives in Barbados,
but she insisted on staying
465
00:25:29,109 --> 00:25:32,052
{\an1}with him in New Jersey.
466
00:25:32,076 --> 00:25:35,552
{\an1}Benjamin Franklin would
not see his son again
467
00:25:35,576 --> 00:25:37,343
for 10 years.
468
00:25:42,976 --> 00:25:45,376
{\an1}[Drums beating rhythmically]
469
00:25:47,643 --> 00:25:49,419
Man: March!
[Flutes playing tune]
470
00:25:49,443 --> 00:25:52,219
Narrator: One day in
Philadelphia, Franklin noticed
471
00:25:52,243 --> 00:25:56,085
{\an1}a drummer who had painted
a rattlesnake on his drum
472
00:25:56,109 --> 00:26:00,452
along with the words
"Don't Tread on Me."
473
00:26:00,476 --> 00:26:02,119
Man as Franklin:
It occurred to me
474
00:26:02,143 --> 00:26:04,019
that the Rattle-Snake is found
475
00:26:04,043 --> 00:26:08,019
{\an1}in no other quarter of the
world besides America, and may
476
00:26:08,043 --> 00:26:12,152
{\an1}therefore be chosen, on that
account, to represent her.
477
00:26:12,176 --> 00:26:16,485
{\an1}She never begins an attack,
nor, when once engaged,
478
00:26:16,509 --> 00:26:18,652
ever surrenders:
479
00:26:18,676 --> 00:26:21,852
I confess
I was wholly at a loss what to
480
00:26:21,876 --> 00:26:25,819
{\an1}make of the rattles, 'till I
went back and counted them
481
00:26:25,843 --> 00:26:29,385
{\an1}and found them just thirteen,
exactly the number
482
00:26:29,409 --> 00:26:32,819
{\an1}of the "Colonies" united
in America;
483
00:26:32,843 --> 00:26:35,185
{\an1}One of those rattles singly,
484
00:26:35,209 --> 00:26:38,052
is incapable of producing sound,
485
00:26:38,076 --> 00:26:42,485
{\an1}but the ringing of thirteen
together, is sufficient to
486
00:26:42,509 --> 00:26:44,785
{\an1}alarm the boldest man living.
487
00:26:44,809 --> 00:26:46,485
[Rattling]
488
00:26:46,509 --> 00:26:48,719
Narrator: A delegate
from South Carolina
489
00:26:48,743 --> 00:26:51,952
{\an1}created a bright yellow flag,
which was flown from the
490
00:26:51,976 --> 00:26:56,109
{\an1}flagship of America's first
deployment of Marines.
491
00:26:59,243 --> 00:27:04,385
{\an1}In March of 1776, Franklin
was on his way overland to
492
00:27:04,409 --> 00:27:08,285
{\an1}Montreal, to try to convince
the Canadians to join
493
00:27:08,309 --> 00:27:10,485
the colonial cause.
494
00:27:10,509 --> 00:27:13,452
{\an1}Learning of the mission,
William Franklin wrote
495
00:27:13,476 --> 00:27:16,219
{\an1}immediately to London,
betraying his
496
00:27:16,243 --> 00:27:18,152
father's movements.
497
00:27:18,176 --> 00:27:21,119
It was an arduous 9-week trip.
498
00:27:21,143 --> 00:27:23,885
{\an1}Benjamin Franklin's efforts
failed.
499
00:27:23,909 --> 00:27:26,285
{\an1}Canada would remain loyal.
500
00:27:26,309 --> 00:27:29,952
{\an1}And when he returned to
Philadelphia, he was so sick
501
00:27:29,976 --> 00:27:33,985
{\an1}he was unable to attend
the proceedings in Congress.
502
00:27:34,009 --> 00:27:38,019
{\an1}All he had to show for his
troubles was a soft cap
503
00:27:38,043 --> 00:27:42,076
{\an1}of marten fur that had
kept his head warm.
504
00:27:45,243 --> 00:27:49,952
In June of 1776,
William was arrested
505
00:27:49,976 --> 00:27:53,752
{\an1}at the governor's mansion
by Patriot soldiers.
506
00:27:53,776 --> 00:27:56,352
His secret reports
about proceedings
507
00:27:56,376 --> 00:27:59,885
{\an1}in the Continental Congress
had been intercepted.
508
00:27:59,909 --> 00:28:02,952
He was declared
an "enemy to this country."
509
00:28:02,976 --> 00:28:07,819
{\an1}Congress voted unanimously that
he be transported under guard
510
00:28:07,843 --> 00:28:10,076
out of New Jersey
to Connecticut.
511
00:28:12,009 --> 00:28:16,219
{\an1}His father, still housebound
after his trip to Canada,
512
00:28:16,243 --> 00:28:20,776
{\an1}was spared having to cast
a vote against his son.
513
00:28:27,343 --> 00:28:32,819
{\an1}On June 21, 1776, a packet
arrived at Franklin's
514
00:28:32,843 --> 00:28:34,852
Market Street home.
515
00:28:34,876 --> 00:28:39,919
{\an1}It was from Thomas Jefferson,
who with Franklin, John Adams,
516
00:28:39,943 --> 00:28:43,319
{\an1}and two other delegates,
had been assigned to draft
517
00:28:43,343 --> 00:28:47,152
{\an1}a declaration of independence.
518
00:28:47,176 --> 00:28:50,952
{\an1}Working in a rented second-
floor room of a house a few
519
00:28:50,976 --> 00:28:54,485
{\an1}blocks from Franklin's
and attended by his enslaved
520
00:28:54,509 --> 00:28:56,485
{\an1}servant Robert Hemings,
521
00:28:56,509 --> 00:29:00,819
Jefferson completed
a first draft.
522
00:29:00,843 --> 00:29:04,685
{\an1}He asked Franklin to "suggest
such alterations as your
523
00:29:04,709 --> 00:29:08,819
more enlarged view of
the subject will dictate."
524
00:29:08,843 --> 00:29:12,519
{\an1}The old editor and writer
recognized the elegance
525
00:29:12,543 --> 00:29:16,019
{\an1}of Jefferson's prose and made
only a few changes
526
00:29:16,043 --> 00:29:18,685
before returning it.
527
00:29:18,709 --> 00:29:21,585
{\an1}Jenkinson: Franklin sits back
and ponders it a little
528
00:29:21,609 --> 00:29:23,252
and he makes a few
529
00:29:23,276 --> 00:29:26,619
really extraordinary
suggestions to Jefferson.
530
00:29:26,643 --> 00:29:29,685
{\an8}And one of them is world class.
531
00:29:29,709 --> 00:29:33,252
{\an7}Jefferson had written,
"We hold these truths to be
532
00:29:33,276 --> 00:29:36,252
{\an7}sacred and undeniable."
533
00:29:36,276 --> 00:29:38,719
And Franklin said, "No, no.
534
00:29:38,743 --> 00:29:41,552
{\an1}'We hold these truths to be
self-evident.'"
535
00:29:41,576 --> 00:29:46,885
{\an1}Just as 2 plus 2 is 4 and
the sun rises in the morning,
536
00:29:46,909 --> 00:29:52,585
{\an1}it is self-evident that we have
a right to revolution.
537
00:29:52,609 --> 00:29:55,585
{\an1}Franklin is saying, "We're
trying to create a new type
538
00:29:55,609 --> 00:29:59,019
{\an1}"of nation in which our
rights come from rationality
539
00:29:59,043 --> 00:30:02,852
{\an1}"and the consent of the
governed, not the dictates or
540
00:30:02,876 --> 00:30:05,385
dogma of a religion."
541
00:30:05,409 --> 00:30:09,852
{\an1}Brown: They were doing something
very radical and very scary.
542
00:30:09,876 --> 00:30:12,252
{\an1}To say something is "self
evident," to say that it's
543
00:30:12,276 --> 00:30:17,352
{\an7}common sense, is to say that
there is no other way to think
544
00:30:17,376 --> 00:30:22,452
{\an7}about this, that only an
irrational person, who's not
545
00:30:22,476 --> 00:30:27,852
{\an1}using their mind correctly
could contend with this thing,
546
00:30:27,876 --> 00:30:30,419
which is, in fact,
really contentious.
547
00:30:30,443 --> 00:30:33,552
It's a classic
lawyer's trick to say,
548
00:30:33,576 --> 00:30:35,919
{\an1}"We all agree to this thing."
549
00:30:35,943 --> 00:30:40,685
Who is "we?"
The "we" is presumptuous.
550
00:30:40,709 --> 00:30:44,252
{\an1}Bailyn: They were not talking
about liberating women in any
551
00:30:44,276 --> 00:30:48,052
particular way
or certainly not slaves.
552
00:30:48,076 --> 00:30:53,185
{\an1}But in incremental ways, it
grew and grew because if you
553
00:30:53,209 --> 00:30:57,919
{\an7}talk about liberty for the
individual, of you and me, uh,
554
00:30:57,943 --> 00:31:01,219
{\an7}you're talking about a greater
liberty that can be applied
555
00:31:01,243 --> 00:31:03,585
to other people.
556
00:31:03,609 --> 00:31:06,785
Narrator: On July 2,
the Continental Congress
557
00:31:06,809 --> 00:31:09,885
unanimously approved
the central clause
558
00:31:09,909 --> 00:31:12,085
of the declaration, proclaiming
559
00:31:12,109 --> 00:31:15,419
{\an1}American independence.
560
00:31:15,443 --> 00:31:22,285
{\an1}Two days later, July 4, 1776,
12 of the 13 former
561
00:31:22,309 --> 00:31:26,452
colonies approved
the entire declaration.
562
00:31:26,476 --> 00:31:31,252
{\an1}New York would take a few
more days to make up its mind.
563
00:31:31,276 --> 00:31:32,619
Man as Franklin:
And for the support
564
00:31:32,643 --> 00:31:34,519
of this declaration,
565
00:31:34,543 --> 00:31:39,119
{\an1}we mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes,
566
00:31:39,143 --> 00:31:41,309
and our sacred honor.
567
00:31:42,643 --> 00:31:44,752
{\an1}Narrator: On the same day
Benjamin Franklin
568
00:31:44,776 --> 00:31:48,652
{\an1}was voting to approve the
Declaration, his son William
569
00:31:48,676 --> 00:31:51,985
{\an1}arrived in Connecticut,
where he was told he was now
570
00:31:52,009 --> 00:31:54,719
{\an1}officially a prisoner of
the brand-new
571
00:31:54,743 --> 00:31:57,309
{\an1}United States of America.
572
00:32:07,343 --> 00:32:09,685
{\an1}Brands: At this point,
what are the odds?
573
00:32:09,709 --> 00:32:13,319
{\an1}If you were making a book on
this, who would you bet on?
574
00:32:13,343 --> 00:32:16,719
{\an1}There was the greatest
military power in Europe,
575
00:32:16,743 --> 00:32:19,085
{\an1}arguably the greatest military
power in the world, and then
576
00:32:19,109 --> 00:32:21,052
{\an1}there are these 13 Colonies.
577
00:32:21,076 --> 00:32:24,352
{\an1}So, it was a longshot,
to put it mildly.
578
00:32:24,376 --> 00:32:26,585
{\an1}Brown: And then there are
significant numbers
579
00:32:26,609 --> 00:32:29,152
{\an1}of enslaved men and women who
were eying the situation,
580
00:32:29,176 --> 00:32:31,985
{\an1}trying to figure out, is there
some way that this conflict
581
00:32:32,009 --> 00:32:34,685
could serve my
interests personally,
582
00:32:34,709 --> 00:32:38,085
serve people like me
collectively.
583
00:32:38,109 --> 00:32:40,752
{\an1}And then you have, both within
the Colonies, at the borders
584
00:32:40,776 --> 00:32:43,752
{\an1}of the Colonies, Native
nations who are trying to
585
00:32:43,776 --> 00:32:49,219
{\an1}understand what this emerging
divide might mean for control
586
00:32:49,243 --> 00:32:52,052
of their land
or access to trade.
587
00:32:52,076 --> 00:32:54,019
{\an1}We know how it turned out.
588
00:32:54,043 --> 00:32:56,685
{\an1}But nobody in 1775 or 1776
has any idea how this is
589
00:32:56,709 --> 00:32:58,485
going to turn out.
590
00:32:58,509 --> 00:33:01,685
{\an1}And, so, choosing sides
also means choosing fates.
591
00:33:01,709 --> 00:33:03,385
[Gunfire]
592
00:33:03,409 --> 00:33:05,085
Wood: The Revolution,
as it emerges
593
00:33:05,109 --> 00:33:08,185
and becomes a war,
is a civil war.
594
00:33:08,209 --> 00:33:10,252
{\an8}Families are divided, uh,
595
00:33:10,276 --> 00:33:13,185
{\an8}friends are divided,
neighborhoods are divided.
596
00:33:13,209 --> 00:33:16,119
{\an1}Schiff: Almost everyone involved
in the Revolution has family
597
00:33:16,143 --> 00:33:18,085
members who are on
the other side,
598
00:33:18,109 --> 00:33:20,619
{\an1}often, very vitriolically
on the other side.
599
00:33:20,643 --> 00:33:24,219
So, this really does
tear families apart.
600
00:33:24,243 --> 00:33:28,152
{\an7}In Franklin's case, um,
it comes as a complete break
601
00:33:28,176 --> 00:33:30,052
{\an8}with his son.
602
00:33:30,076 --> 00:33:33,152
{\an1}Narrator: By now, hundreds
of British ships had arrived
603
00:33:33,176 --> 00:33:37,052
{\an1}in New York Harbor with
35,000 British soldiers
604
00:33:37,076 --> 00:33:40,785
{\an1}and sailors and Hessian
mercenaries, the greatest
605
00:33:40,809 --> 00:33:43,052
and best-equipped
expeditionary force
606
00:33:43,076 --> 00:33:45,452
of the 18th century.
607
00:33:45,476 --> 00:33:49,219
{\an1}Washington's army would be
overmatched and easily routed
608
00:33:49,243 --> 00:33:51,119
from Long Island.
609
00:33:51,143 --> 00:33:55,185
{\an1}British Admiral Lord Richard
Howe sent Franklin a letter
610
00:33:55,209 --> 00:33:59,219
{\an1}offering a truce, with pardons
for the rebels, and rewards
611
00:33:59,243 --> 00:34:02,785
for any Americans who
helped restore peace.
612
00:34:02,809 --> 00:34:06,085
Franklin and a small
delegation met with Howe
613
00:34:06,109 --> 00:34:09,785
on Staten Island
on September 11.
614
00:34:09,809 --> 00:34:13,152
{\an1}Howe now suggested that the
colonies might also have
615
00:34:13,176 --> 00:34:16,752
control of their own
legislatures and taxes,
616
00:34:16,776 --> 00:34:19,852
yet still be part of the empire.
617
00:34:19,876 --> 00:34:22,319
The Americans said
it was too late.
618
00:34:22,343 --> 00:34:25,319
{\an1}He should ask the king for
permission to negotiate
619
00:34:25,343 --> 00:34:27,719
{\an1}with an independent nation.
620
00:34:27,743 --> 00:34:30,619
{\an1}Howe urged them to reconsider.
621
00:34:30,643 --> 00:34:34,385
{\an1}"When an American falls,
England feels it," he said.
622
00:34:34,409 --> 00:34:38,152
{\an1}And if America were to fall,
he added, "I should feel
623
00:34:38,176 --> 00:34:41,185
and lament it like
the loss of a brother."
624
00:34:41,209 --> 00:34:44,852
{\an1}"We will do our utmost,"
Franklin responded, "to save
625
00:34:44,876 --> 00:34:48,552
your Lordship
that mortification."
626
00:34:48,576 --> 00:34:52,319
{\an1}"They met, they talked,
they parted," Howe's secretary
627
00:34:52,343 --> 00:34:54,252
{\an1}wrote of the 3-hour meeting.
628
00:34:54,276 --> 00:34:58,143
{\an1}"And now, nothing remains
but to fight it out."
629
00:34:59,809 --> 00:35:03,185
{\an1}Two weeks after the meeting
with Lord Howe, Congress
630
00:35:03,209 --> 00:35:07,752
{\an1}secretly chose Franklin to be
one of 3 envoys to France
631
00:35:07,776 --> 00:35:12,419
{\an1}to seek King Louis XVI's help
in the fight with England.
632
00:35:12,443 --> 00:35:14,052
{\an1}He is the perfect choice.
633
00:35:14,076 --> 00:35:16,352
{\an1}First of all, there's no other
person who knows
634
00:35:16,376 --> 00:35:19,419
{\an1}the, uh, the European world
as Franklin does.
635
00:35:19,443 --> 00:35:22,652
And he is the most
celebrated American in Europe.
636
00:35:22,676 --> 00:35:25,119
And he's a natural for the job.
637
00:35:25,143 --> 00:35:29,185
{\an1}Narrator: On October 27,
he was on board the "Reprisal,"
638
00:35:29,209 --> 00:35:33,119
a swift but cramped
American 2-masted brig.
639
00:35:33,143 --> 00:35:37,852
{\an1}With him were two grandsons...
16-year-old Temple
640
00:35:37,876 --> 00:35:41,419
{\an1}and Sally's 7-year-old
son Benny.
641
00:35:41,443 --> 00:35:44,019
14 years earlier,
when France and Britain
642
00:35:44,043 --> 00:35:47,052
{\an1}were at war, Franklin had
sailed from England
643
00:35:47,076 --> 00:35:50,019
under the protection
of the Royal Navy.
644
00:35:50,043 --> 00:35:54,876
{\an1}Now it was imperative he avoid
British ships at all costs.
645
00:35:58,709 --> 00:36:01,752
The rough voyage
across the wintry Atlantic
646
00:36:01,776 --> 00:36:03,952
{\an1}"almost demolished me,"
he wrote.
647
00:36:03,976 --> 00:36:08,119
{\an1}The diet on board of salted
beef had ruined his digestion
648
00:36:08,143 --> 00:36:12,419
{\an1}and caused boils, scabs,
and rashes all over his body,
649
00:36:12,443 --> 00:36:14,552
including his scalp.
650
00:36:14,576 --> 00:36:18,952
{\an1}They reached the west coast
of France in early December.
651
00:36:18,976 --> 00:36:23,319
{\an1}A fisherman agreed to row him
and his two grandsons to shore
652
00:36:23,343 --> 00:36:28,985
{\an1}at the hamlet of Auray in
Brittany, 300 miles from Paris.
653
00:36:29,009 --> 00:36:33,285
{\an1}Franklin had intended to keep
a low profile, but news of his
654
00:36:33,309 --> 00:36:36,352
{\an1}arrival spread quickly
and reached the capital
655
00:36:36,376 --> 00:36:38,585
long before he did.
656
00:36:38,609 --> 00:36:42,952
{\an1}The real purpose of his visit,
securing a formal alliance
657
00:36:42,976 --> 00:36:46,319
{\an1}with France, remained secret.
658
00:36:46,343 --> 00:36:51,985
{\an1}But everywhere he went,
he was a sensation.
659
00:36:52,009 --> 00:36:56,819
In 1776,
people in France had never
660
00:36:56,843 --> 00:37:01,219
heard of any American
except for Benjamin Franklin.
661
00:37:01,243 --> 00:37:03,152
{\an1}Schiff: From the French
point of view,
662
00:37:03,176 --> 00:37:05,719
they have sent the
greatest celebrity on Earth,
663
00:37:05,743 --> 00:37:07,985
{\an1}this side of Voltaire, to Paris.
664
00:37:08,009 --> 00:37:11,552
He is like Newton or
Galileo reincarnated.
665
00:37:11,576 --> 00:37:14,952
{\an1}Narrator: The city of Nantes
celebrated the renowned
666
00:37:14,976 --> 00:37:18,785
{\an1}Docteur Franklin, tamer of
lightning, and crowds
667
00:37:18,809 --> 00:37:22,219
{\an1}cheered him on his carriage
ride into Paris.
668
00:37:22,243 --> 00:37:25,885
{\an1}They were fascinated by
his soft hat of marten fur,
669
00:37:25,909 --> 00:37:29,152
{\an1}which resembled the famous
cap worn by the philosopher
670
00:37:29,176 --> 00:37:32,152
Rousseau, in contrast
to the powdered wigs
671
00:37:32,176 --> 00:37:35,252
{\an1}of the Parisian elite.
672
00:37:35,276 --> 00:37:39,219
{\an1}Franklin was wearing it to
keep his head warm and to hide
673
00:37:39,243 --> 00:37:43,085
the unsightly sores
on his balding head.
674
00:37:43,109 --> 00:37:46,752
{\an1}Chaplin: It's such a great
costume and prop,
675
00:37:46,776 --> 00:37:51,585
{\an1}immediately announcing himself
as a man of science.
676
00:37:51,609 --> 00:37:54,819
{\an8}I am the famous
Benjamin Franklin...
677
00:37:54,843 --> 00:37:56,752
{\an8}the "Prometheus of
the Modern Age,"
678
00:37:56,776 --> 00:37:58,776
don't forget it...
Here on business.
679
00:38:00,643 --> 00:38:03,619
{\an1}Narrator: French admirers
hung portraits of him over the
680
00:38:03,643 --> 00:38:06,185
{\an1}mantelpieces in their homes.
681
00:38:06,209 --> 00:38:09,552
{\an1}Poems were written about
the great American scientist
682
00:38:09,576 --> 00:38:12,719
{\an1}and philosopher who had
miraculously arrived
683
00:38:12,743 --> 00:38:14,852
in their midst.
684
00:38:14,876 --> 00:38:17,685
A collection of
"Poor Richard's" aphorisms
685
00:38:17,709 --> 00:38:20,085
{\an1}was translated into French as
686
00:38:20,109 --> 00:38:22,785
"La Science du
Bonhomme Richard."
687
00:38:22,809 --> 00:38:25,519
Franklin loved it.
688
00:38:25,543 --> 00:38:27,019
{\an1}Man as Franklin: Dear Sally,
689
00:38:27,043 --> 00:38:28,885
{\an1}The clay medallion of me
690
00:38:28,909 --> 00:38:31,719
was the first of
the kind made in France
691
00:38:31,743 --> 00:38:35,552
and the numbers
sold are incredible.
692
00:38:35,576 --> 00:38:39,985
{\an1}These, with the pictures,
busts, and prints, of which
693
00:38:40,009 --> 00:38:43,885
{\an1}copies upon copies are spread
everywhere, have made your
694
00:38:43,909 --> 00:38:48,885
{\an1}father's face as well known
as that of the moon.
695
00:38:48,909 --> 00:38:51,585
Jenkinson: The King,
Louis XVI, became sort of
696
00:38:51,609 --> 00:38:54,885
{\an1}slightly annoyed and amused
by the Cult of Franklin.
697
00:38:54,909 --> 00:38:57,819
{\an7}He had a chamber pot with
an image of Franklin put
698
00:38:57,843 --> 00:39:00,819
{\an7}on the inside of it just
as a way of saying,
699
00:39:00,843 --> 00:39:02,952
"Enough, already."
700
00:39:02,976 --> 00:39:08,252
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin had serious
and vital business to attend to.
701
00:39:08,276 --> 00:39:11,852
{\an1}Without France's money,
supplies, and, ideally,
702
00:39:11,876 --> 00:39:16,485
{\an1}military assistance, America's
fight for independence might
703
00:39:16,509 --> 00:39:19,685
{\an1}be lost and lost quickly.
704
00:39:19,709 --> 00:39:22,085
{\an1}Schiff: There's no question that
someone is going to have to
705
00:39:22,109 --> 00:39:24,919
step in to underwrite
this Revolution.
706
00:39:24,943 --> 00:39:27,852
{\an1}There is no gunpowder in the
Colonies; there is no materiel;
707
00:39:27,876 --> 00:39:30,119
{\an1}there are very few guns;
there are no uniforms.
708
00:39:30,143 --> 00:39:32,785
There's very little
common purpose, in fact.
709
00:39:32,809 --> 00:39:37,319
{\an1}The obvious candidate, um,
for that alliance is France.
710
00:39:37,343 --> 00:39:40,952
{\an1}Cohn: Franklin had a terribly
difficult assignment.
711
00:39:40,976 --> 00:39:46,219
{\an7}He had to convince one
monarch to help the Americans
712
00:39:46,243 --> 00:39:49,285
{\an7}overthrow another monarch.
713
00:39:49,309 --> 00:39:52,152
{\an1}Brands: The French had reasons
to oppose Britain.
714
00:39:52,176 --> 00:39:54,185
{\an1}They wanted to weaken Britain.
715
00:39:54,209 --> 00:39:58,452
{\an1}But, King Louis XVI didn't
want to underwrite this
716
00:39:58,476 --> 00:40:00,819
{\an1}overthrow of monarchies.
717
00:40:00,843 --> 00:40:04,052
The French people
might get ideas.
718
00:40:04,076 --> 00:40:07,785
{\an1}Narrator: Persuading France's
king and his ministers to
719
00:40:07,809 --> 00:40:11,519
{\an1}provide any assistance at
all would require delicacy
720
00:40:11,543 --> 00:40:16,319
{\an1}and discretion, persistence
and shrewd calculation.
721
00:40:16,343 --> 00:40:19,419
{\an1}Franklin had taken on the
most momentous chess match
722
00:40:19,443 --> 00:40:21,352
of his life.
723
00:40:21,376 --> 00:40:26,119
{\an1}And playing it would require
him, on his own, to improvise
724
00:40:26,143 --> 00:40:29,619
{\an1}his strategy again and again.
725
00:40:29,643 --> 00:40:32,352
{\an1}Jenkinson: Franklin understood
they're not committed
726
00:40:32,376 --> 00:40:35,519
to our people's
republican revolution here.
727
00:40:35,543 --> 00:40:37,885
They want to get back
at the British.
728
00:40:37,909 --> 00:40:41,519
They side with the
colonials and allow us each
729
00:40:41,543 --> 00:40:44,652
{\an1}to spend ourselves down
in this protracted fight,
730
00:40:44,676 --> 00:40:48,385
{\an1}that this improves France's
position in the European
731
00:40:48,409 --> 00:40:51,285
{\an1}balance of power and maybe
gives it a chance to reassert
732
00:40:51,309 --> 00:40:53,552
itself a little bit
in the New World.
733
00:40:53,576 --> 00:40:56,285
{\an1}And, so, everyone's operating
out of self-interest.
734
00:40:56,309 --> 00:40:59,652
{\an1}But, Franklin, and Franklin
alone, knows how to negotiate
735
00:40:59,676 --> 00:41:06,419
{\an1}this slowly, with suavity
and humor and patience.
736
00:41:06,443 --> 00:41:10,219
{\an1}Narrator: He met frequently
and always surreptitiously
737
00:41:10,243 --> 00:41:13,852
{\an1}with the Comte de Vergennes,
France's foreign minister,
738
00:41:13,876 --> 00:41:17,919
{\an1}who found Franklin tactful,
smart, and unassuming.
739
00:41:17,943 --> 00:41:22,319
{\an1}Vergennes arranged for several
million livres, French pounds,
740
00:41:22,343 --> 00:41:24,685
{\an1}to be secretly advanced
for the Americans
741
00:41:24,709 --> 00:41:26,652
to purchase supplies.
742
00:41:26,676 --> 00:41:30,352
{\an1}But he would go no further,
unless the Patriots' military
743
00:41:30,376 --> 00:41:32,876
situation improved.
744
00:41:34,443 --> 00:41:38,119
At the moment,
that didn't appear likely.
745
00:41:38,143 --> 00:41:42,119
{\an1}George Washington's army had
been chased out of Manhattan,
746
00:41:42,143 --> 00:41:45,585
across New Jersey
and into Pennsylvania.
747
00:41:45,609 --> 00:41:49,119
A large British force
moving south from Canada
748
00:41:49,143 --> 00:41:51,452
{\an1}had captured Fort Ticonderoga.
749
00:41:51,476 --> 00:41:53,585
{\an1}Its general, John Burgoyne,
750
00:41:53,609 --> 00:41:58,285
{\an1}boasted that he would be home
in England by Christmas.
751
00:41:58,309 --> 00:42:02,019
British soldiers also
threatened Philadelphia.
752
00:42:02,043 --> 00:42:06,652
{\an1}Congress abandoned the city,
as did many of its residents.
753
00:42:06,676 --> 00:42:10,285
{\an1}Only a few days earlier,
Franklin's daughter, Sally,
754
00:42:10,309 --> 00:42:12,719
had given birth to a baby girl.
755
00:42:12,743 --> 00:42:16,752
{\an1}Now the whole family, including
Franklin's sister Jane,
756
00:42:16,776 --> 00:42:19,085
were refugees.
757
00:42:19,109 --> 00:42:23,452
{\an1}After an American defeat at
Brandywine Creek, Philadelphia
758
00:42:23,476 --> 00:42:25,785
fell without a fight.
759
00:42:25,809 --> 00:42:29,752
{\an1}A British officer commandeered
Franklin's home and stole his
760
00:42:29,776 --> 00:42:32,985
books and papers,
musical instruments,
761
00:42:33,009 --> 00:42:35,585
{\an1}and scientific equipment.
762
00:42:35,609 --> 00:42:39,319
{\an1}In France, Franklin strove
to appear upbeat,
763
00:42:39,343 --> 00:42:41,585
despite the setbacks.
764
00:42:41,609 --> 00:42:44,152
The Americans could
hold out for 30 years,
765
00:42:44,176 --> 00:42:46,352
he bravely declared.
766
00:42:46,376 --> 00:42:50,119
{\an1}Schiff: Franklin is, first and
foremost, a man of the press.
767
00:42:50,143 --> 00:42:52,519
{\an1}And he plays that role
to the hilt
768
00:42:52,543 --> 00:42:53,952
in those first months in France.
769
00:42:53,976 --> 00:42:55,452
{\an1}He is essentially engaged
770
00:42:55,476 --> 00:42:58,285
in a thorough
disinformation campaign.
771
00:42:58,309 --> 00:43:01,085
{\an1}Washington's men are almost
without uniforms.
772
00:43:01,109 --> 00:43:03,352
{\an1}There's a wonderful quote
in which someone says,
773
00:43:03,376 --> 00:43:04,885
{\an1}"They could have scared
the British away
774
00:43:04,909 --> 00:43:07,519
by their nakedness."
They have nothing.
775
00:43:07,543 --> 00:43:10,019
{\an1}And Washington, during
this time, is in despair.
776
00:43:10,043 --> 00:43:12,485
{\an1}While Washington is struggling
all over, Franklin is
777
00:43:12,509 --> 00:43:15,219
{\an1}in France saying, "It's
victory after victory."
778
00:43:15,243 --> 00:43:18,985
{\an1}Um..."He, like, he has
an army of 80,000," um...
779
00:43:19,009 --> 00:43:21,119
{\an1}"Yes, the... the British may
take Philadelphia, but they
780
00:43:21,143 --> 00:43:23,219
{\an1}"will be trapped there,
the river will freeze,
781
00:43:23,243 --> 00:43:25,019
{\an1}"they won't be able to reach
their ships.
782
00:43:25,043 --> 00:43:26,552
Washington will
surround them."
783
00:43:26,576 --> 00:43:28,452
{\an1}He's utterly making this up.
784
00:43:28,476 --> 00:43:31,019
{\an1}He's promoting a war that
isn't really happening.
785
00:43:31,043 --> 00:43:35,109
{\an1}And he doesn't, for a moment,
in public, drop that mask.
786
00:43:36,676 --> 00:43:39,819
{\an1}Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin also
realizes he has to win
787
00:43:39,843 --> 00:43:42,685
{\an1}the hearts and minds of
the French people.
788
00:43:42,709 --> 00:43:46,319
{\an1}He knows that within the
French population, there's
789
00:43:46,343 --> 00:43:50,052
{\an1}welling up this sentiment
for liberty and fraternity
790
00:43:50,076 --> 00:43:52,019
and equality.
791
00:43:52,043 --> 00:43:57,152
{\an1}And he taps into that by being
a public diplomat, not just
792
00:43:57,176 --> 00:43:59,585
a private diplomat.
793
00:43:59,609 --> 00:44:03,485
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin moved from
a hotel in crowded Paris to
794
00:44:03,509 --> 00:44:06,452
the village of Passy,
2 miles west, where
795
00:44:06,476 --> 00:44:09,385
{\an1}a wealthy merchant offered
the use of a wing
796
00:44:09,409 --> 00:44:12,485
of his sprawling
estate rent-free.
797
00:44:12,509 --> 00:44:16,552
Soon, a lightning rod
sprouted from its roof.
798
00:44:16,576 --> 00:44:19,852
{\an1}Franklin sent his grandson
Benny to a boarding school
799
00:44:19,876 --> 00:44:22,885
{\an1}in Switzerland and assigned
Temple to help with
800
00:44:22,909 --> 00:44:27,219
{\an1}the diplomatic paperwork...
There were mountains of it...
801
00:44:27,243 --> 00:44:29,452
And the steady stream
of visitors
802
00:44:29,476 --> 00:44:32,552
{\an1}who began arriving once
they knew the famous
803
00:44:32,576 --> 00:44:35,752
Doctor Franklin
was living there.
804
00:44:35,776 --> 00:44:37,752
Man as Franklin:
You can have no "Conception"
805
00:44:37,776 --> 00:44:39,519
how I am "harass'd".
806
00:44:39,543 --> 00:44:43,085
{\an1}The "Noise of Every Coach"
now that enters my "Court"
807
00:44:43,109 --> 00:44:45,652
terrifies me.
808
00:44:45,676 --> 00:44:47,619
Narrator:
Besides his constant efforts
809
00:44:47,643 --> 00:44:51,219
{\an1}to get more money from the
French, much of Franklin's
810
00:44:51,243 --> 00:44:54,919
{\an1}time was consumed handling
requests from individual
811
00:44:54,943 --> 00:45:01,319
{\an1}Europeans eager to fight
the hated English in America.
812
00:45:01,343 --> 00:45:03,952
Man as Franklin:
Frequently if a "Man" has
813
00:45:03,976 --> 00:45:08,119
{\an1}no useful "Talents", is good
for nothing, and burdensome
814
00:45:08,143 --> 00:45:09,885
to his "Relations",
815
00:45:09,909 --> 00:45:13,552
{\an1}they are glad to get rid of
him by sending him to
816
00:45:13,576 --> 00:45:16,452
{\an1}the other "End of the World".
817
00:45:16,476 --> 00:45:19,685
{\an1}Narrator: They came from every
corner of Europe.
818
00:45:19,709 --> 00:45:23,519
{\an1}All of them, regardless of
their talents and experience,
819
00:45:23,543 --> 00:45:27,419
expected to be
commissioned as officers.
820
00:45:27,443 --> 00:45:31,585
{\an1}General Washington finally
begged Franklin not to send
821
00:45:31,609 --> 00:45:33,852
anyone else.
822
00:45:33,876 --> 00:45:37,252
{\an1}But 3 of the men Franklin
recommended would
823
00:45:37,276 --> 00:45:40,785
prove invaluable to
the Revolution:
824
00:45:40,809 --> 00:45:43,752
Count Casimir Pulaski of Poland
825
00:45:43,776 --> 00:45:46,185
would organize
the American cavalry
826
00:45:46,209 --> 00:45:49,619
{\an1}and serve with bravery
and distinction before being
827
00:45:49,643 --> 00:45:53,785
killed in action
at Savannah, Georgia.
828
00:45:53,809 --> 00:45:57,952
{\an1}Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von
Steuben would develop a system
829
00:45:57,976 --> 00:46:00,952
{\an1}of military discipline
and drilling and impressed
830
00:46:00,976 --> 00:46:04,385
{\an1}the Continental soldiers with
his ability to swear
831
00:46:04,409 --> 00:46:06,885
{\an1}in multiple languages.
832
00:46:06,909 --> 00:46:10,785
{\an1}And the Marquis de Lafayette
of France, whose father had
833
00:46:10,809 --> 00:46:14,519
{\an1}been killed by the British in
the Seven Years' War, believed
834
00:46:14,543 --> 00:46:18,752
{\an1}that "To injure England is
to serve my country."
835
00:46:18,776 --> 00:46:22,152
{\an1}Only 19 years old when
he went to America, he would
836
00:46:22,176 --> 00:46:25,852
{\an1}become a surrogate son to
General Washington and one
837
00:46:25,876 --> 00:46:29,543
{\an7}of the most ardent champions
of the Revolution.
838
00:46:33,709 --> 00:46:37,685
{\an1}Early into his diplomatic
mission, Franklin was warned,
839
00:46:37,709 --> 00:46:40,919
{\an1}"You are surrounded with
spies who watch your every
840
00:46:40,943 --> 00:46:45,519
{\an1}movement, who you Visit
and by whom you are visited."
841
00:46:45,543 --> 00:46:49,552
{\an1}He said he didn't care.
842
00:46:49,576 --> 00:46:51,085
Man as Franklin:
As it is impossible
843
00:46:51,109 --> 00:46:53,552
to prevent being
watched by "Spies",
844
00:46:53,576 --> 00:46:56,252
I have long observed one "Rule":
845
00:46:56,276 --> 00:46:59,352
{\an1}to be concerned in no affairs
that I should blush to have
846
00:46:59,376 --> 00:47:01,152
made public.
847
00:47:01,176 --> 00:47:03,985
{\an1}If I was sure, therefore,
that my valet
848
00:47:04,009 --> 00:47:08,852
{\an1}was a spy, as probably he is,
I think I should probably not
849
00:47:08,876 --> 00:47:13,209
{\an1}discharge him for that, if in
other respects I liked him.
850
00:47:14,643 --> 00:47:17,319
Narrator: The
chief spy in Franklin's midst
851
00:47:17,343 --> 00:47:19,185
was not his valet.
852
00:47:19,209 --> 00:47:23,252
{\an1}It was Edward Bancroft,
a Massachusetts-born scientist
853
00:47:23,276 --> 00:47:26,152
now serving as
the secretary to the American
854
00:47:26,176 --> 00:47:30,119
delegation in France,
with access to every document
855
00:47:30,143 --> 00:47:32,252
and letter.
856
00:47:32,276 --> 00:47:36,152
{\an1}Every week, Bancroft wrote
seemingly personal letters
857
00:47:36,176 --> 00:47:39,985
{\an1}and then, in invisible ink,
provided his clandestine
858
00:47:40,009 --> 00:47:42,819
{\an1}reports in the margins.
859
00:47:42,843 --> 00:47:46,485
{\an1}Each Tuesday night, he dropped
them into the hollow of a tree
860
00:47:46,509 --> 00:47:49,285
{\an1}in the Tuileries Garden,
where they were retrieved
861
00:47:49,309 --> 00:47:53,252
and taken to
the British embassy in Paris.
862
00:47:53,276 --> 00:47:56,852
{\an1}For his work as a secret
agent, England paid him
863
00:47:56,876 --> 00:48:00,885
{\an1}£1,000 a year, the same
amount the Americans were
864
00:48:00,909 --> 00:48:04,085
giving him to be
their secretary.
865
00:48:04,109 --> 00:48:06,852
{\an1}His double-dealing would
not come to light
866
00:48:06,876 --> 00:48:08,976
for a hundred years.
867
00:48:10,543 --> 00:48:12,152
{\an1}Schiff: Franklin is encircled
868
00:48:12,176 --> 00:48:15,852
by two sets of
extremely effective spies...
869
00:48:15,876 --> 00:48:17,752
{\an1}a set of French spies,
who are, themselves,
870
00:48:17,776 --> 00:48:20,252
surrounded by a set
of British spies.
871
00:48:20,276 --> 00:48:23,952
{\an1}And every piece of paper that,
essentially, moves off
872
00:48:23,976 --> 00:48:26,052
{\an1}of Franklin's desk will
end up in the wrong place,
873
00:48:26,076 --> 00:48:28,285
will end up either at
Versailles or in London,
874
00:48:28,309 --> 00:48:31,019
but very rarely in the colonies.
875
00:48:31,043 --> 00:48:34,285
{\an8}Franklin was no fool.
876
00:48:34,309 --> 00:48:37,152
{\an7}He knew what was happening.
877
00:48:37,176 --> 00:48:41,652
{\an1}He knew the spying that was
going on was to America's
878
00:48:41,676 --> 00:48:46,852
{\an1}advantage because the Brits
got the sense that America was
879
00:48:46,876 --> 00:48:49,552
{\an1}really quite close to France.
880
00:48:49,576 --> 00:48:51,219
{\an1}And, uh, Franklin did nothing.
881
00:48:51,243 --> 00:48:55,043
I mean, he just
sat there and let it happen.
882
00:48:58,909 --> 00:49:00,719
[Galloping hoofbeats]
883
00:49:00,743 --> 00:49:03,119
[Horse nickers]
884
00:49:03,143 --> 00:49:07,485
{\an1}Narrator: On December 4, 1777,
a messenger rode into
885
00:49:07,509 --> 00:49:11,543
{\an1}Franklin's courtyard at
Passy with startling news.
886
00:49:13,409 --> 00:49:16,785
{\an1}After two battles near
Saratoga, New York,
887
00:49:16,809 --> 00:49:19,552
{\an1}British General Burgoyne
had found himself
888
00:49:19,576 --> 00:49:22,819
{\an1}surrounded by a larger
American force,
889
00:49:22,843 --> 00:49:26,885
and on October 17,
he surrendered, along with
890
00:49:26,909 --> 00:49:31,852
his entire army,
nearly 6,000 troops.
891
00:49:31,876 --> 00:49:33,752
{\an1}Schiff: Saratoga changes
everything.
892
00:49:33,776 --> 00:49:36,119
{\an1}This is the moment Franklin
has been waiting for.
893
00:49:36,143 --> 00:49:39,419
{\an1}There is no reason for
the French to enter into any
894
00:49:39,443 --> 00:49:41,885
{\an1}serious alliance until the
Americans have proved that
895
00:49:41,909 --> 00:49:44,752
{\an1}they can actually win this war,
or at least put up a fight.
896
00:49:44,776 --> 00:49:47,385
{\an1}So, this is the news that he
needs to take to Vergennes,
897
00:49:47,409 --> 00:49:49,285
{\an1}the French foreign minister,
and to the Court
898
00:49:49,309 --> 00:49:51,919
{\an1}to be able to say, "OK, now,
will you take us seriously?
899
00:49:51,943 --> 00:49:54,552
{\an1}Now, will you officially..."
because until this point,
900
00:49:54,576 --> 00:49:56,885
{\an1}the help has been unofficial...
"Will you officially
901
00:49:56,909 --> 00:49:58,952
{\an1}underwrite our Revolution?"
902
00:49:58,976 --> 00:50:02,385
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin sprang
into action, writing reports
903
00:50:02,409 --> 00:50:04,585
{\an1}of the American victory that
would be spread
904
00:50:04,609 --> 00:50:06,452
throughout Paris,
905
00:50:06,476 --> 00:50:10,752
{\an1}praising valiant French officers
now serving in America,
906
00:50:10,776 --> 00:50:14,585
like Lafayette, and
leading the British ambassador
907
00:50:14,609 --> 00:50:19,819
{\an1}to realize he had completely
underestimated Franklin.
908
00:50:19,843 --> 00:50:21,485
{\an1}Man as Ambassador Lord Stormont:
They play us off
909
00:50:21,509 --> 00:50:23,419
against one another.
910
00:50:23,443 --> 00:50:26,285
{\an1}Franklin's natural subtlety
gives him a great advantage
911
00:50:26,309 --> 00:50:28,119
in such a game.
912
00:50:28,143 --> 00:50:31,919
{\an1}It is easy to see that in
such a situation peace between
913
00:50:31,943 --> 00:50:35,719
{\an1}England and the House of
Bourbon hangs by the slightest
914
00:50:35,743 --> 00:50:37,676
of all threads.
915
00:50:39,243 --> 00:50:41,085
[Cheering]
916
00:50:41,109 --> 00:50:45,185
Narrator: On
February 6, 1778, Franklin
917
00:50:45,209 --> 00:50:49,519
met with Vergennes
and signed 2 treaties.
918
00:50:49,543 --> 00:50:53,785
{\an1}One, a treaty of friendship
and commerce, meant French aid
919
00:50:53,809 --> 00:50:57,019
would flow in greater
quantities and no longer
920
00:50:57,043 --> 00:50:58,652
in secret.
921
00:50:58,676 --> 00:51:02,185
The other, the most
important, was a treaty
922
00:51:02,209 --> 00:51:04,185
of military alliance.
923
00:51:04,209 --> 00:51:09,485
{\an1}France had officially joined
the American Revolution.
924
00:51:09,509 --> 00:51:12,685
{\an1}Isaacson: When they signed the
treaty, he wears this old,
925
00:51:12,709 --> 00:51:14,852
frayed suit.
926
00:51:14,876 --> 00:51:18,719
{\an1}And it's the one he had worn
in the Cockpit, when he had
927
00:51:18,743 --> 00:51:23,285
{\an1}been berated by the British
lords for what he was doing.
928
00:51:23,309 --> 00:51:26,219
And he was asked why
he wore that coat.
929
00:51:26,243 --> 00:51:29,519
{\an1}And he said, "To give it
a little revenge."
930
00:51:29,543 --> 00:51:34,252
{\an1}Narrator: A month later, he was
presented to King Louis XVI
931
00:51:34,276 --> 00:51:36,585
at Versailles.
932
00:51:36,609 --> 00:51:38,919
{\an1}Schiff: And he meets the king,
who congratulates him
933
00:51:38,943 --> 00:51:40,485
and says, "I hope
this is for the good
934
00:51:40,509 --> 00:51:42,452
of both countries."
935
00:51:42,476 --> 00:51:45,319
{\an1}And Franklin utters a line,
which is almost astonishing
936
00:51:45,343 --> 00:51:47,652
{\an1}in its treachery, which is,
basically, he... he says to
937
00:51:47,676 --> 00:51:51,652
{\an1}the king, um, "If all rulers
ruled with your benevolence,
938
00:51:51,676 --> 00:51:54,252
republics would
never be formed."
939
00:51:54,276 --> 00:51:57,985
Narrator: Franklin,
a French statesman proclaimed,
940
00:51:58,009 --> 00:52:01,852
{\an1}has "seized the lightning
from the heavens and now
941
00:52:01,876 --> 00:52:04,776
{\an1}the scepter from the tyrants."
942
00:52:09,443 --> 00:52:15,619
[Waltz playing]
943
00:52:15,643 --> 00:52:17,352
Man as Franklin:
This is the civilest nation
944
00:52:17,376 --> 00:52:19,119
upon Earth.
945
00:52:19,143 --> 00:52:21,019
Your first
"Acquaintances" endeavour
946
00:52:21,043 --> 00:52:24,785
{\an1}to find out what you like,
and they tell others.
947
00:52:24,809 --> 00:52:30,219
{\an1}Somebody, it seems, gave it
out that I lov'd "Ladies".
948
00:52:30,243 --> 00:52:34,019
{\an1}So everybody presented me
their "Ladies"
949
00:52:34,043 --> 00:52:39,485
{\an1}or the "Ladies" presented
themselves to be embraced,
950
00:52:39,509 --> 00:52:41,752
that is to have
their "Necks" kissed.
951
00:52:41,776 --> 00:52:46,552
{\an1}For as to kissing of "Lips or
Cheeks", it is not the "Mode"
952
00:52:46,576 --> 00:52:50,385
{\an1}here; the first, is reckoned
rude, and the other may
953
00:52:50,409 --> 00:52:52,152
rub off the "Paint".
954
00:52:52,176 --> 00:52:55,443
'Tis a delightful
"People" to live with.
955
00:52:56,743 --> 00:52:58,919
Narrator: All
the while he was negotiating
956
00:52:58,943 --> 00:53:02,285
{\an1}and maneuvering for the
alliance with France, Franklin
957
00:53:02,309 --> 00:53:05,085
immersed himself in
the intellectual circles
958
00:53:05,109 --> 00:53:08,152
{\an1}and social salons of Paris.
959
00:53:08,176 --> 00:53:14,152
{\an1}He considered it part of his
diplomacy and very enjoyable.
960
00:53:14,176 --> 00:53:18,685
He had loved London,
but he adored Paris.
961
00:53:18,709 --> 00:53:21,619
{\an1}In France, you can flirt at
a very high level
962
00:53:21,643 --> 00:53:25,152
{\an1}of sophistication and it's
all a beautiful game
963
00:53:25,176 --> 00:53:26,852
of sexual ballet.
964
00:53:26,876 --> 00:53:29,252
{\an1}And it has nothing to do
with carnality, really.
965
00:53:29,276 --> 00:53:32,685
{\an1}It's more about, nuance
and just the right touch
966
00:53:32,709 --> 00:53:34,885
of flirtation.
967
00:53:34,909 --> 00:53:39,152
{\an1}he found personal happiness in
France that he had never found
968
00:53:39,176 --> 00:53:41,152
{\an1}in the course of his life.
969
00:53:41,176 --> 00:53:44,485
{\an1}Schiff: I don't think you can
find anyone, anyone except his
970
00:53:44,509 --> 00:53:46,985
{\an1}colleagues, who fails to
fall under the charms
971
00:53:47,009 --> 00:53:48,676
of Benjamin Franklin.
972
00:53:50,076 --> 00:53:53,452
{\an1}Franklin is everywhere adored
and everywhere cossetted
973
00:53:53,476 --> 00:53:57,219
{\an1}in Paris, by no one more so,
than by the women of France.
974
00:53:57,243 --> 00:54:00,552
{\an1}Every word that drops from his
lips, they think is a gem.
975
00:54:00,576 --> 00:54:03,285
{\an1}And Franklin just adores
the fact that these women are
976
00:54:03,309 --> 00:54:06,319
essentially hanging
about him at all times.
977
00:54:06,343 --> 00:54:08,985
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin became
particularly enchanted
978
00:54:09,009 --> 00:54:14,019
{\an1}with a neighbor of his in Passy,
Madame Brillon de Jouy.
979
00:54:14,043 --> 00:54:18,319
{\an1}She was beautiful and well-
educated and, at age 33,
980
00:54:18,343 --> 00:54:22,185
a year younger than
Franklin's daughter Sally.
981
00:54:22,209 --> 00:54:26,052
{\an1}He went to her home twice
a week for tea and music;
982
00:54:26,076 --> 00:54:30,352
{\an1}composed essays in her honor;
and once played a late-night
983
00:54:30,376 --> 00:54:33,085
game of chess while
she watched from her
984
00:54:33,109 --> 00:54:36,019
covered bathtub.
985
00:54:36,043 --> 00:54:38,985
{\an1}Isaacson: I think that
Franklin's relationships
986
00:54:39,009 --> 00:54:44,052
{\an1}with women were more in the mind
than in the flesh.
987
00:54:44,076 --> 00:54:47,885
{\an1}He loved being flirtatious,
loved being around them,
988
00:54:47,909 --> 00:54:51,652
{\an1}but I don't think he pursued
a truly passionate romance
989
00:54:51,676 --> 00:54:54,052
with any of them.
990
00:54:54,076 --> 00:54:56,152
{\an1}Cohn: We'll never know
what happened.
991
00:54:56,176 --> 00:54:59,019
{\an1}I think Madame Brillon pointed
out to Franklin that she was
992
00:54:59,043 --> 00:55:02,919
{\an1}a married woman, that any kind
of hanky-panky was simply
993
00:55:02,943 --> 00:55:04,885
out of the question.
994
00:55:04,909 --> 00:55:08,485
{\an7}I believe Franklin must
have been disappointed,
995
00:55:08,509 --> 00:55:12,919
{\an7}but he took it very gracefully
and from that point forward,
996
00:55:12,943 --> 00:55:17,552
{\an1}they agreed that he would
be "Papa" and she would be
997
00:55:17,576 --> 00:55:19,176
his daughter.
998
00:55:21,009 --> 00:55:23,985
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin's attentions
turned to another woman
999
00:55:24,009 --> 00:55:26,452
a little closer to his own age.
1000
00:55:26,476 --> 00:55:31,319
{\an1}Anne-Catherine Helvétius was
nearly 60, a widow who lived
1001
00:55:31,343 --> 00:55:33,952
{\an1}on a grand estate near Passy.
1002
00:55:33,976 --> 00:55:37,619
{\an1}Eccentric and free-spirited,
she hosted one of the most
1003
00:55:37,643 --> 00:55:41,885
{\an1}renowned salons in France,
attended by intellectuals
1004
00:55:41,909 --> 00:55:43,719
and artists.
1005
00:55:43,743 --> 00:55:47,619
{\an1}Franklin became a regular
visitor, sometimes playing his
1006
00:55:47,643 --> 00:55:50,852
{\an1}glass armonica while people
sang his favorite
1007
00:55:50,876 --> 00:55:54,519
{\an1}Scottish ballads in French.
1008
00:55:54,543 --> 00:55:58,119
{\an1}Schiff: She's a philosopher's
widow and very Bohemian.
1009
00:55:58,143 --> 00:56:01,819
She had this fleet of
cats whom she would dress
1010
00:56:01,843 --> 00:56:04,985
{\an1}in brocades and silks, and who
would... who would, basically,
1011
00:56:05,009 --> 00:56:07,585
{\an1}wander around her house and
eat their meals off china.
1012
00:56:07,609 --> 00:56:11,952
{\an1}Um, and into that menagerie,
um, walks Benjamin Franklin,
1013
00:56:11,976 --> 00:56:13,885
{\an1}who's immediately smitten.
1014
00:56:13,909 --> 00:56:16,152
{\an1}Man as Franklin: If this lady
is pleased to spend
1015
00:56:16,176 --> 00:56:18,619
her days with Monsieur Franklin,
1016
00:56:18,643 --> 00:56:24,485
{\an1}he would be just as pleased
to spend his nights with her.
1017
00:56:24,509 --> 00:56:27,719
{\an1}Narrator: She declined,
but never discouraged him
1018
00:56:27,743 --> 00:56:30,319
from showering
her with affection.
1019
00:56:30,343 --> 00:56:32,319
{\an1}Schiff: There is a moment there
where he essentially
1020
00:56:32,343 --> 00:56:35,885
{\an1}says to her, "I would stay in
France, if you would have me."
1021
00:56:35,909 --> 00:56:37,719
{\an1}And she's not interested.
1022
00:56:37,743 --> 00:56:40,385
{\an1}But I would say that that
was probably the most serious
1023
00:56:40,409 --> 00:56:43,952
{\an1}of the relationships with...
With any... with the French women.
1024
00:56:43,976 --> 00:56:46,819
Narrator: Meanwhile,
Franklin's social calendar was
1025
00:56:46,843 --> 00:56:51,785
{\an1}always filled with lunches,
teas, and lavish dinners.
1026
00:56:51,809 --> 00:56:55,319
{\an1}Dray: He didn't speak or
understand French all that well.
1027
00:56:55,343 --> 00:56:57,652
{\an1}He wanted to be able to see
the meal in front of him
1028
00:56:57,676 --> 00:57:00,185
{\an1}at a dinner party, but, also, at
the same time, he needed to see
1029
00:57:00,209 --> 00:57:03,319
{\an1}the lips of the people speaking
to him across the table.
1030
00:57:03,343 --> 00:57:05,885
{\an1}So, he became frustrated
that his glasses couldn't do
1031
00:57:05,909 --> 00:57:07,519
both things.
1032
00:57:07,543 --> 00:57:11,352
{\an7}This is typical Franklin.
He analyzed the problem.
1033
00:57:11,376 --> 00:57:14,519
{\an7}He sawed his existing glasses
in half, and glued them
1034
00:57:14,543 --> 00:57:17,252
{\an7}together so that one top...
One side did one function,
1035
00:57:17,276 --> 00:57:18,752
the other, the other.
1036
00:57:18,776 --> 00:57:21,119
{\an1}Narrator: He called his
newest invention
1037
00:57:21,143 --> 00:57:24,919
"double-spectacles"... bifocals.
1038
00:57:24,943 --> 00:57:28,419
{\an1}And Franklin was always
ready for a game of chess
1039
00:57:28,443 --> 00:57:30,519
with anyone.
1040
00:57:30,543 --> 00:57:34,452
{\an1}Brands: In one case, he was
having this chess match with
1041
00:57:34,476 --> 00:57:38,585
{\an1}the Duchess of Bourbon and
Franklin professed to forget
1042
00:57:38,609 --> 00:57:41,919
the rules and he
captured the king.
1043
00:57:41,943 --> 00:57:44,685
{\an1}His opponent, the Duchess
says, "Well, in... in France,
1044
00:57:44,709 --> 00:57:46,219
{\an1}"we don't capture kings.
1045
00:57:46,243 --> 00:57:48,152
That's not the way
the game is played."
1046
00:57:48,176 --> 00:57:50,643
He said, "Ah, but
in America, we do."
1047
00:57:52,676 --> 00:57:55,085
[Hoofbeats]
1048
00:57:55,109 --> 00:57:57,652
{\an1}Man as Adams: It was late
when he breakfasted,
1049
00:57:57,676 --> 00:57:59,652
{\an1}and as soon as breakfast
was over,
1050
00:57:59,676 --> 00:58:02,752
{\an1}a crowd of carriages came.
1051
00:58:02,776 --> 00:58:05,719
{\an1}By far the greater part were
women and children, come to
1052
00:58:05,743 --> 00:58:08,952
{\an1}have the honor to see the
great Franklin, and to have
1053
00:58:08,976 --> 00:58:10,985
{\an1}the pleasure of telling
stories about his
1054
00:58:11,009 --> 00:58:14,152
{\an1}simplicity and his bald head.
1055
00:58:14,176 --> 00:58:17,819
{\an1}He was invited to dine every day
and never declined
1056
00:58:17,843 --> 00:58:22,419
{\an1}and it was the only thing
in which he was punctual.
1057
00:58:22,443 --> 00:58:24,919
John Adams.
1058
00:58:24,943 --> 00:58:26,919
Narrator: In April,
while the treaties
1059
00:58:26,943 --> 00:58:28,785
{\an1}were crossing the Atlantic,
1060
00:58:28,809 --> 00:58:31,452
{\an1}John Adams arrived in Paris.
1061
00:58:31,476 --> 00:58:34,819
{\an1}He had been sent by Congress
to push more vigorously
1062
00:58:34,843 --> 00:58:38,419
{\an1}for a French alliance and was
chagrined to learn that
1063
00:58:38,443 --> 00:58:42,619
Franklin had already
secured two treaties.
1064
00:58:42,643 --> 00:58:46,752
{\an1}Even more aggravating to him
was how Franklin seemed to be
1065
00:58:46,776 --> 00:58:48,652
conducting himself.
1066
00:58:48,676 --> 00:58:52,985
{\an1}Adams called it "a scene
of continual dissipation."
1067
00:58:53,009 --> 00:58:56,219
Bailyn: He was
absolutely horrified.
1068
00:58:56,243 --> 00:58:57,985
{\an7}Franklin's desk was a mess.
1069
00:58:58,009 --> 00:59:00,385
{\an7}There were papers all over
the place.
1070
00:59:00,409 --> 00:59:03,352
{\an7}And there was no security.
1071
00:59:03,376 --> 00:59:05,052
{\an1}Jenkinson: Adams said,
"Where's 'Poor Richard?'"
1072
00:59:05,076 --> 00:59:06,685
"Early to bed, early to rise
1073
00:59:06,709 --> 00:59:08,785
"makes a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise.
1074
00:59:08,809 --> 00:59:10,552
{\an1}"Where's... where's the...
The Franklin that we're all...
1075
00:59:10,576 --> 00:59:12,985
That's famous
for his discipline?"
1076
00:59:13,009 --> 00:59:17,819
{\an1}Schiff: It's hard to imagine
2 such talented people, 2 men
1077
00:59:17,843 --> 00:59:20,585
{\an1}with so much in common,
who are of absolutely
1078
00:59:20,609 --> 00:59:22,585
{\an1}opposite temperaments.
1079
00:59:22,609 --> 00:59:26,885
{\an1}One of them is very rigid
and dogmatic and brilliant.
1080
00:59:26,909 --> 00:59:29,519
{\an1}And the other one is very
flexible and easy-going
1081
00:59:29,543 --> 00:59:31,019
{\an1}and affable and brilliant.
1082
00:59:31,043 --> 00:59:33,552
And they got on
each other's nerves.
1083
00:59:33,576 --> 00:59:38,219
{\an1}Isaacson: Adams is quite wary of
the French, quite Puritanical.
1084
00:59:38,243 --> 00:59:42,552
{\an1}Adams learned French by
memorizing funeral orations,
1085
00:59:42,576 --> 00:59:45,685
{\an1}and Franklin learned French
by writing poetry
1086
00:59:45,709 --> 00:59:47,985
and letters to women.
1087
00:59:48,009 --> 00:59:50,685
{\an7}Franklin knew how to be
popular and Adams had no idea
1088
00:59:50,709 --> 00:59:52,219
{\an8}how to be popular.
1089
00:59:52,243 --> 00:59:54,185
{\an8}In fact, Adams
per-perceived popularity
1090
00:59:54,209 --> 00:59:56,352
as a sign that he
was not doing the right thing.
1091
00:59:56,376 --> 01:00:00,285
Franklin's popularity
drives Adams to distraction.
1092
01:00:00,309 --> 01:00:02,219
{\an1}He's... he feels he's being...
He feels that Franklin is being
1093
01:00:02,243 --> 01:00:07,019
{\an1}ineffective and utterly given
over to Old World luxury,
1094
01:00:07,043 --> 01:00:09,052
{\an1}and, moreover, people are
throwing themselves at him
1095
01:00:09,076 --> 01:00:10,852
left and right.
1096
01:00:10,876 --> 01:00:12,619
He can't stand these
celebrations of what he sees
1097
01:00:12,643 --> 01:00:15,485
as this utterly
irresponsible colleague.
1098
01:00:15,509 --> 01:00:18,685
{\an1}Narrator: Shortly after his
arrival, Adams accompanied
1099
01:00:18,709 --> 01:00:22,719
{\an1}Franklin to the Academy of
Sciences to see Voltaire,
1100
01:00:22,743 --> 01:00:25,385
France's greatest
Enlightenment writer
1101
01:00:25,409 --> 01:00:27,252
and philosopher.
1102
01:00:27,276 --> 01:00:32,685
{\an1}He was 83 and in poor health,
a month away from dying.
1103
01:00:32,709 --> 01:00:37,019
{\an1}When the crowd demanded that
the two great men embrace,
1104
01:00:37,043 --> 01:00:40,985
Adams had to watch
from the sidelines.
1105
01:00:41,009 --> 01:00:44,885
{\an1}Schiff: Adams is an impatient
man, he's a brittle man.
1106
01:00:44,909 --> 01:00:47,719
{\an1}And he doesn't understand
the channels of diplomacy.
1107
01:00:47,743 --> 01:00:49,185
{\an1}And he certainly doesn't
understand the way
1108
01:00:49,209 --> 01:00:51,152
{\an1}the French Court works.
1109
01:00:51,176 --> 01:00:54,785
{\an1}He doesn't see that the secret
to Franklin's success is,
1110
01:00:54,809 --> 01:00:57,985
{\an1}in large part, his inactivity,
the fact that he is...
1111
01:00:58,009 --> 01:01:01,019
essentially being
polite and genteel
1112
01:01:01,043 --> 01:01:03,752
{\an1}and is expressing gratitude
toward these people who are
1113
01:01:03,776 --> 01:01:06,085
underwriting our...
Our Revolution.
1114
01:01:06,109 --> 01:01:08,685
{\an1}Adams wants to be demanding
things at all times and,
1115
01:01:08,709 --> 01:01:10,219
{\an1}essentially, makes himself
very unwelcome
1116
01:01:10,243 --> 01:01:11,952
at the French Court.
1117
01:01:11,976 --> 01:01:14,619
{\an1}Ellis: It's the "good cop"
and the "bad cop."
1118
01:01:14,643 --> 01:01:16,585
{\an1}And Franklin is the good cop.
1119
01:01:16,609 --> 01:01:19,185
I think they become
an effective team and instead
1120
01:01:19,209 --> 01:01:22,085
{\an1}of seeing one as right and the
other as wrong, um, it works
1121
01:01:22,109 --> 01:01:23,885
{\an1}for the American cause.
1122
01:01:23,909 --> 01:01:25,719
{\an1}This is probably the greatest
assemblage of diplomatic
1123
01:01:25,743 --> 01:01:28,552
talent in American
history... two people.
1124
01:01:28,576 --> 01:01:32,919
{\an1}But Adams is perceived by the
French, especially Vergennes,
1125
01:01:32,943 --> 01:01:37,585
{\an1}the French foreign minister,
as this impossible creature.
1126
01:01:37,609 --> 01:01:41,552
[Ship's bell clangs]
Narrator: In February 1779,
1127
01:01:41,576 --> 01:01:44,919
{\an8}Adams learned that,
at Vergennes' insistence,
1128
01:01:44,943 --> 01:01:47,552
{\an8}Congress had named
Benjamin Franklin
1129
01:01:47,576 --> 01:01:51,376
{\an8}the United States'
sole representative in France.
1130
01:01:53,609 --> 01:01:56,576
{\an1}John Adams left for home.
1131
01:02:00,876 --> 01:02:02,176
[Gunfire]
1132
01:02:11,109 --> 01:02:14,819
{\an1}Skemp: This was a war that was
not a sectional war.
1133
01:02:14,843 --> 01:02:17,919
This was not North versus South.
1134
01:02:17,943 --> 01:02:21,185
{\an1}Americans were fighting
against Americans.
1135
01:02:21,209 --> 01:02:25,552
{\an7}This was a Continental war
where every single person had
1136
01:02:25,576 --> 01:02:29,285
{\an8}to decide which
side they were on.
1137
01:02:29,309 --> 01:02:31,285
{\an1}Narrator: After being taken
to Connecticut as
1138
01:02:31,309 --> 01:02:35,352
a prisoner in 1776,
William Franklin had been
1139
01:02:35,376 --> 01:02:38,719
{\an1}persuaded to sign a paper
promising not to attempt
1140
01:02:38,743 --> 01:02:42,852
{\an1}an escape or to work against
the Patriots so he could be
1141
01:02:42,876 --> 01:02:46,452
{\an1}placed under house arrest
in a comfortable home.
1142
01:02:46,476 --> 01:02:50,119
It didn't last long.
1143
01:02:50,143 --> 01:02:53,152
He began secretly
corresponding with British
1144
01:02:53,176 --> 01:02:56,585
{\an1}officials in New York,
advising them about Loyalists
1145
01:02:56,609 --> 01:02:59,519
{\an1}in Connecticut and New Jersey.
1146
01:02:59,543 --> 01:03:02,919
{\an1}Congress learned what William
was doing and ordered him
1147
01:03:02,943 --> 01:03:06,719
taken to the infamous
Litchfield jail.
1148
01:03:06,743 --> 01:03:10,752
{\an1}He was kept there in solitary
confinement for 8 months,
1149
01:03:10,776 --> 01:03:14,085
{\an1}with nothing but a chamber
pot and a straw pallet
1150
01:03:14,109 --> 01:03:16,085
on the floor.
1151
01:03:16,109 --> 01:03:20,819
{\an1}It was, he wrote, as if "I have
been buried alive."
1152
01:03:20,843 --> 01:03:24,819
{\an1}His wife, Elizabeth, had moved
to British-held New York City,
1153
01:03:24,843 --> 01:03:28,252
where her already
fragile health worsened.
1154
01:03:28,276 --> 01:03:31,552
William appealed to
General Washington, begging
1155
01:03:31,576 --> 01:03:34,452
{\an1}for permission to see her.
1156
01:03:34,476 --> 01:03:36,885
{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
I am certain that an indulgence
1157
01:03:36,909 --> 01:03:39,119
{\an1}in my present request will be
1158
01:03:39,143 --> 01:03:41,585
{\an1}thankfully acknowledged
by my father,
1159
01:03:41,609 --> 01:03:44,619
{\an1}for he has great esteem
for my wife,
1160
01:03:44,643 --> 01:03:46,919
and I believe that
though we differ
1161
01:03:46,943 --> 01:03:48,785
{\an1}in our political sentiments,
1162
01:03:48,809 --> 01:03:52,519
{\an1}yet it has not lessened his
natural affection for me,
1163
01:03:52,543 --> 01:03:56,752
any more than it
has mine for him.
1164
01:03:56,776 --> 01:03:58,752
Narrator:
Washington passed his request
1165
01:03:58,776 --> 01:04:02,819
on to Congress, which
refused to intervene.
1166
01:04:02,843 --> 01:04:08,152
The same day,
Elizabeth died at age 43.
1167
01:04:08,176 --> 01:04:11,152
In his jail cell,
William's own health
1168
01:04:11,176 --> 01:04:14,552
began deteriorating.
1169
01:04:14,576 --> 01:04:17,885
{\an1}Man as William Franklin: My
"Life" has become quite a burden
1170
01:04:17,909 --> 01:04:20,919
to me.
In short, I suffer so much
1171
01:04:20,943 --> 01:04:24,152
that I should deem it
a "Favour" to be immediately
1172
01:04:24,176 --> 01:04:26,843
taken out and shot.
1173
01:04:28,976 --> 01:04:30,752
Narrator:
Franklin's daughter Sally
1174
01:04:30,776 --> 01:04:33,985
{\an1}and her husband appealed
to Congress to move him.
1175
01:04:34,009 --> 01:04:38,119
{\an1}So did many of Franklin's
Philadelphia friends.
1176
01:04:38,143 --> 01:04:42,419
{\an1}In France, Benjamin Franklin
himself did nothing
1177
01:04:42,443 --> 01:04:45,819
on his son's behalf.
1178
01:04:45,843 --> 01:04:50,252
In September of 1778,
Congress approved an exchange
1179
01:04:50,276 --> 01:04:52,085
of prisoners.
1180
01:04:52,109 --> 01:04:56,285
{\an1}The British released the
Patriot governor of Delaware.
1181
01:04:56,309 --> 01:04:59,319
William Franklin was
taken to New York City.
1182
01:04:59,343 --> 01:05:02,619
It was assumed he
would sail to England.
1183
01:05:02,643 --> 01:05:07,352
{\an1}Instead, he stayed to help the
British, establishing a network
1184
01:05:07,376 --> 01:05:12,652
{\an1}of spies that operated behind
American lines and organizing
1185
01:05:12,676 --> 01:05:16,352
{\an1}guerrilla units that conducted
raids along the coast
1186
01:05:16,376 --> 01:05:19,952
{\an1}of Connecticut and Rhode
Island and up the Hudson River
1187
01:05:19,976 --> 01:05:22,319
in New York.
1188
01:05:22,343 --> 01:05:25,519
{\an1}Skemp: He came out of that
jail time experience
1189
01:05:25,543 --> 01:05:29,019
{\an1}in the same way that Benjamin
came out of the Cockpit.
1190
01:05:29,043 --> 01:05:32,919
{\an1}He was angry, and he wanted to
do everything that he could
1191
01:05:32,943 --> 01:05:34,852
{\an1}to defeat the Patriots.
1192
01:05:34,876 --> 01:05:38,319
{\an1}He became head of something
called the "Associate Board
1193
01:05:38,343 --> 01:05:41,419
{\an1}of Loyalists," which was
a terrorist organization,
1194
01:05:41,443 --> 01:05:43,152
pure and simple.
1195
01:05:43,176 --> 01:05:46,419
{\an1}Narrator: In New Jersey,
Patriots were routinely
1196
01:05:46,443 --> 01:05:48,552
murdering Loyalists.
1197
01:05:48,576 --> 01:05:53,319
{\an1}In response, William's
group issued a warning.
1198
01:05:53,343 --> 01:05:56,085
{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
A Warning to Rebels:
1199
01:05:56,109 --> 01:05:59,919
{\an1}If you continue in your murder
and cruelties,
1200
01:05:59,943 --> 01:06:03,585
we "Loyalists"
do "Solemnly Declare" that we
1201
01:06:03,609 --> 01:06:07,419
{\an1}will "Hang Six for One",
which shall be "Inflicted"
1202
01:06:07,443 --> 01:06:10,309
{\an1}on your "Headmen and Leaders".
1203
01:06:14,643 --> 01:06:17,419
Narrator: Word of
the alliance with France had
1204
01:06:17,443 --> 01:06:20,352
prompted the British
to abandon Philadelphia
1205
01:06:20,376 --> 01:06:23,752
and bolster their
defenses in New York.
1206
01:06:23,776 --> 01:06:28,019
{\an1}Franklin's family moved back
into their Market Street home.
1207
01:06:28,043 --> 01:06:31,952
{\an1}Sally organized women who went
door-to-door to raise money
1208
01:06:31,976 --> 01:06:34,785
{\an1}for the Continental Army
and knitted shirts
1209
01:06:34,809 --> 01:06:36,952
for Washington's men.
1210
01:06:36,976 --> 01:06:41,719
{\an1}But elsewhere in America,
the war was not going well.
1211
01:06:41,743 --> 01:06:45,252
{\an1}The first joint American-
French military operation,
1212
01:06:45,276 --> 01:06:48,119
{\an1}in Rhode Island, had failed
to take Newport
1213
01:06:48,143 --> 01:06:49,885
{\an1}back from the British,
1214
01:06:49,909 --> 01:06:53,552
who opened up their
own offensive in the South.
1215
01:06:53,576 --> 01:06:56,485
{\an1}They captured Savannah,
Georgia, and later,
1216
01:06:56,509 --> 01:07:01,219
{\an1}Charleston, South Carolina,
where 5,000 American troops,
1217
01:07:01,243 --> 01:07:06,685
{\an1}4 ships, and 300 pieces of
artillery were surrendered.
1218
01:07:06,709 --> 01:07:10,752
{\an1}Soon, a British army, under
General Lord Cornwallis,
1219
01:07:10,776 --> 01:07:13,985
would begin marching
toward Virginia.
1220
01:07:14,009 --> 01:07:19,185
{\an1}"Our present situation makes one
of two things essential to us,"
1221
01:07:19,209 --> 01:07:21,685
George Washington
wrote to Franklin.
1222
01:07:21,709 --> 01:07:25,819
"A peace or the most
vigorous aid of our allies,
1223
01:07:25,843 --> 01:07:29,185
particularly in
the article of money."
1224
01:07:29,209 --> 01:07:34,752
{\an1}Lafayette reported to Franklin
how dire things had become.
1225
01:07:34,776 --> 01:07:38,152
{\an1}Man as Lafayette: My dear
friend, You have no idea
1226
01:07:38,176 --> 01:07:40,819
{\an1}of the shocking situation
the Army is in.
1227
01:07:40,843 --> 01:07:44,319
{\an1}We are naked, shockingly
naked, and worse off on that
1228
01:07:44,343 --> 01:07:46,619
respect than we have ever been.
1229
01:07:46,643 --> 01:07:48,052
{\an1}For God's sake let us have
1230
01:07:48,076 --> 01:07:50,385
{\an1}fifteen or twenty thousand
uniforms
1231
01:07:50,409 --> 01:07:53,052
{\an1}and let it be done in such
a way as will insure their
1232
01:07:53,076 --> 01:07:56,119
{\an1}timely departure from France.
1233
01:07:56,143 --> 01:07:58,552
Narrator: In France,
managing the purchase
1234
01:07:58,576 --> 01:08:03,185
{\an1}and shipment of supplies
proved frustratingly slow.
1235
01:08:03,209 --> 01:08:06,852
{\an1}Franklin did what he could
to speed things up, but some
1236
01:08:06,876 --> 01:08:11,052
{\an1}in Congress blamed him for the
delays anyway and discussed
1237
01:08:11,076 --> 01:08:13,652
having him replaced.
1238
01:08:13,676 --> 01:08:16,885
Vergennes was
angered at the news.
1239
01:08:16,909 --> 01:08:21,352
{\an1}He approved an outright gift,
not a loan, the largest
1240
01:08:21,376 --> 01:08:25,252
{\an1}of the war to the United
States, and wrote Congress
1241
01:08:25,276 --> 01:08:28,419
{\an1}that it had been granted
specifically because
1242
01:08:28,443 --> 01:08:31,752
{\an1}of Franklin's persistence.
1243
01:08:31,776 --> 01:08:34,885
Franklin, meanwhile,
wrote Congress,
1244
01:08:34,909 --> 01:08:37,852
{\an1}asking to be replaced.
1245
01:08:37,876 --> 01:08:40,885
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I have
"pass'd" my 75th Year.
1246
01:08:40,909 --> 01:08:45,852
{\an1}I have been "engag'd" in
"publick Affairs", and "enjoy'd"
1247
01:08:45,876 --> 01:08:50,185
{\an1}"public Confidence" in some
"Shape" or other, during the
1248
01:08:50,209 --> 01:08:54,719
{\an1}long "Term" of fifty "Years", an
"Honour" sufficient to satisfy
1249
01:08:54,743 --> 01:08:59,119
{\an1}any reasonable "Ambition", and I
have no other left, but that
1250
01:08:59,143 --> 01:09:04,119
{\an1}of "Repose", which I hope
the Congress will grant me,
1251
01:09:04,143 --> 01:09:08,985
{\an1}by sending some "Person"
to supply my "Place".
1252
01:09:09,009 --> 01:09:11,452
[Thunder]
1253
01:09:11,476 --> 01:09:16,585
{\an1}Narrator: On November 19, 1781,
a young American merchant
1254
01:09:16,609 --> 01:09:20,219
named Elkanah Watson
paid a visit to Passy
1255
01:09:20,243 --> 01:09:23,619
and found the old man
lost in thought.
1256
01:09:23,643 --> 01:09:27,319
{\an1}Franklin invited him in for
dinner, played a Scottish
1257
01:09:27,343 --> 01:09:31,719
{\an1}pastoral tune for him on the
armonica, and then they talked
1258
01:09:31,743 --> 01:09:37,452
{\an1}late into the night about
the state of the war.
1259
01:09:37,476 --> 01:09:40,419
{\an1}Man as Elkanah Watson: We
weighed probabilities,
1260
01:09:40,443 --> 01:09:45,185
{\an1}"balanc'd" vicissitudes,
dissected the best "Maps"; and
1261
01:09:45,209 --> 01:09:48,419
{\an1}finally it resulted in a
disheartening foreboding,
1262
01:09:48,443 --> 01:09:50,352
that the English
Fleet "wou'd" intercept
1263
01:09:50,376 --> 01:09:54,619
{\an1}& destroy the French Fleet,
"Land" their Army & "brake" up
1264
01:09:54,643 --> 01:09:57,085
{\an1}Washington's quarters.
1265
01:09:57,109 --> 01:10:01,619
{\an1}Thus our unhappy "Country" would
again bleed at every vein
1266
01:10:01,643 --> 01:10:03,952
& the war commence
with fresh vigor
1267
01:10:03,976 --> 01:10:06,843
on the part
of our implacable enemy.
1268
01:10:08,609 --> 01:10:12,219
Cohn: Franklin was
extremely discouraged.
1269
01:10:12,243 --> 01:10:16,719
{\an7}He was working night and day
to supply the Americans
1270
01:10:16,743 --> 01:10:19,985
{\an7}with everything they needed.
1271
01:10:20,009 --> 01:10:25,785
{\an1}But the war was dragging
on and on and on.
1272
01:10:25,809 --> 01:10:31,119
{\an1}So, when, at midnight,
a courier came galloping into
1273
01:10:31,143 --> 01:10:34,785
{\an1}Franklin's courtyard with
the news of the victory
1274
01:10:34,809 --> 01:10:38,919
at Yorktown, it transformed him.
1275
01:10:38,943 --> 01:10:41,719
{\an1}Narrator: A month earlier,
Washington's army
1276
01:10:41,743 --> 01:10:46,252
{\an1}of 9,000 Americans and nearly
as many French troops
1277
01:10:46,276 --> 01:10:49,919
{\an1}had trapped British General
Cornwallis at Yorktown
1278
01:10:49,943 --> 01:10:51,952
{\an1}on the Virginia Peninsula.
1279
01:10:51,976 --> 01:10:55,785
{\an1}The French fleet offshore
had cut off any chance of his
1280
01:10:55,809 --> 01:10:59,519
being resupplied or reinforced.
1281
01:10:59,543 --> 01:11:03,519
After 9 days of heavy
bombardment, Cornwallis
1282
01:11:03,543 --> 01:11:10,219
{\an1}surrendered his 8,000 troops
on October 19, 1781.
1283
01:11:10,243 --> 01:11:14,319
Lafayette, a division
commander of American forces,
1284
01:11:14,343 --> 01:11:17,619
{\an1}was at Washington's side.
1285
01:11:17,643 --> 01:11:20,852
{\an1}Isaacson: If France had not
supplied the ships,
1286
01:11:20,876 --> 01:11:23,119
{\an1}if Lafayette hadn't come over,
1287
01:11:23,143 --> 01:11:26,619
{\an1}if Vergennes and others
hadn't done what they did,
1288
01:11:26,643 --> 01:11:30,019
if we hadn't had
the French Navy helping by
1289
01:11:30,043 --> 01:11:34,185
{\an1}the time we got to Yorktown,
I do not think that
1290
01:11:34,209 --> 01:11:38,185
{\an1}the American Colonies would
have won the Revolution.
1291
01:11:38,209 --> 01:11:41,819
{\an7}I think Benjamin Franklin,
by sealing the alliance
1292
01:11:41,843 --> 01:11:46,485
{\an7}with France, did as much to
win the Revolution as anybody
1293
01:11:46,509 --> 01:11:49,185
{\an1}with the possible exception
of George Washington.
1294
01:11:49,209 --> 01:11:50,852
{\an1}["Yankee Doodle" playing]
1295
01:11:50,876 --> 01:11:54,052
{\an1}Narrator: The Americans
had won a great victory,
1296
01:11:54,076 --> 01:11:58,385
{\an1}but the British still had
26,000 troops in North America,
1297
01:11:58,409 --> 01:12:01,652
and the war with
England was not over.
1298
01:12:01,676 --> 01:12:04,719
Neither were Franklin's duties.
1299
01:12:04,743 --> 01:12:09,619
{\an1}Congress refused to accept his
resignation and instead gave him
1300
01:12:09,643 --> 01:12:11,552
{\an1}an additional mission.
1301
01:12:11,576 --> 01:12:14,419
He was now part of
a delegation to begin peace
1302
01:12:14,443 --> 01:12:17,885
{\an1}negotiations with England.
1303
01:12:17,909 --> 01:12:22,585
{\an1}Franklin drew up a list of
4 non-negotiable demands
1304
01:12:22,609 --> 01:12:26,052
{\an1}during informal talks with
the British and rebuffed their
1305
01:12:26,076 --> 01:12:29,052
suggestions that the
Americans cut the French
1306
01:12:29,076 --> 01:12:32,285
{\an1}out of the deliberations.
1307
01:12:32,309 --> 01:12:36,619
{\an1}To complicate things, when
two other American negotiators
1308
01:12:36,643 --> 01:12:39,685
{\an1}arrived in Paris, they had
their own opinions
1309
01:12:39,709 --> 01:12:41,885
{\an1}on the best way forward.
1310
01:12:41,909 --> 01:12:46,619
One was John Jay,
a brilliant New York lawyer.
1311
01:12:46,643 --> 01:12:50,719
{\an1}The other was John Adams.
1312
01:12:50,743 --> 01:12:52,385
{\an1}Man as Adams: That I have
no friendship
1313
01:12:52,409 --> 01:12:54,585
for Franklin, I avow.
1314
01:12:54,609 --> 01:12:57,619
{\an1}That I am incapable of having
any with a man of his moral
1315
01:12:57,643 --> 01:13:00,452
sentiments, I avow.
1316
01:13:00,476 --> 01:13:03,152
{\an1}His whole "Life" has been one
continued "Insult"
1317
01:13:03,176 --> 01:13:05,719
{\an1}to good "Manners" and to
"Decency".
1318
01:13:05,743 --> 01:13:08,319
I can have no
"Dependence" on his "Word".
1319
01:13:08,343 --> 01:13:12,185
{\an1}I never know when he speaks
the "Truth", and when not.
1320
01:13:12,209 --> 01:13:15,485
{\an1}I wish with all my "Soul" he
was out of public "Service",
1321
01:13:15,509 --> 01:13:18,552
and in "Retirement",
repenting of his past "Life",
1322
01:13:18,576 --> 01:13:23,352
{\an1}and preparing, as he ought
to be, for another "World".
1323
01:13:23,376 --> 01:13:25,919
Ellis: Franklin was
the kind of man put on Earth
1324
01:13:25,943 --> 01:13:29,185
to drive a man like
Adams absolutely crazy.
1325
01:13:29,209 --> 01:13:31,652
{\an7}Franklin, himself, writes back
to the Congress during
1326
01:13:31,676 --> 01:13:34,185
{\an7}the time they're both Ministers
in France and says,
1327
01:13:34,209 --> 01:13:37,252
{\an7}"John Adams is an honest man;
sometimes, a great one.
1328
01:13:37,276 --> 01:13:40,152
{\an1}"But, in some ways and some
things, absolutely out
1329
01:13:40,176 --> 01:13:41,952
of his senses."
1330
01:13:41,976 --> 01:13:44,085
{\an1}Narrator: Despite their
differences, the Americans
1331
01:13:44,109 --> 01:13:45,985
settled down to work.
1332
01:13:46,009 --> 01:13:47,752
{\an1}John Jay agreed with Adams,
1333
01:13:47,776 --> 01:13:50,719
{\an1}that they should not consult
with Vergennes,
1334
01:13:50,743 --> 01:13:54,219
{\an1}even though the alliance with
France required it.
1335
01:13:54,243 --> 01:13:59,285
{\an1}For the sake of unanimity,
Franklin reluctantly consented.
1336
01:13:59,309 --> 01:14:04,252
{\an1}By November of 1782, more
than a year after Yorktown,
1337
01:14:04,276 --> 01:14:08,419
{\an1}a preliminary agreement
seemed within reach.
1338
01:14:08,443 --> 01:14:12,019
{\an1}England would recognize
American independence,
1339
01:14:12,043 --> 01:14:14,885
remove its troops
from the United States,
1340
01:14:14,909 --> 01:14:18,552
{\an1}allow American fishing rights
off the coast of Newfoundland,
1341
01:14:18,576 --> 01:14:23,019
{\an1}and relinquish any claims
south of the Great Lakes.
1342
01:14:23,043 --> 01:14:25,152
But there was a sticking point.
1343
01:14:25,176 --> 01:14:28,352
{\an1}The British wanted a provision
that would compensate
1344
01:14:28,376 --> 01:14:32,019
{\an1}American Loyalists for their
losses during the war.
1345
01:14:32,043 --> 01:14:35,052
Adams and Jay wavered
on the issue.
1346
01:14:35,076 --> 01:14:38,352
{\an1}Franklin wouldn't budge.
1347
01:14:38,376 --> 01:14:40,052
Jenkinson:
And Franklin got angry.
1348
01:14:40,076 --> 01:14:41,585
He didn't very often
get angry, and he said,
1349
01:14:41,609 --> 01:14:44,819
"Wait a minute.
You ruined our crops.
1350
01:14:44,843 --> 01:14:47,219
{\an1}"You burned our cities.
1351
01:14:47,243 --> 01:14:49,885
{\an1}"You took our citizens
across the Atlantic
1352
01:14:49,909 --> 01:14:51,685
"and tortured them.
1353
01:14:51,709 --> 01:14:54,919
"You engaged in state
terror against the citizens
1354
01:14:54,943 --> 01:14:57,019
{\an1}"of the United States.
1355
01:14:57,043 --> 01:14:59,719
{\an7}"Don't talk to me about
recompensing Loyalists unless
1356
01:14:59,743 --> 01:15:03,352
{\an7}"you want to pay for Norfolk
and all the cities you burned
1357
01:15:03,376 --> 01:15:05,352
{\an1}"and trashed, and the houses
that you ruined, and the lives
1358
01:15:05,376 --> 01:15:07,185
that you shattered."
1359
01:15:07,209 --> 01:15:09,985
{\an1}Narrator: Even Adams was
struck by Franklin's vehemence
1360
01:15:10,009 --> 01:15:11,919
on the issue.
1361
01:15:11,943 --> 01:15:15,685
{\an1}His fury came in part from
reports of his son William's
1362
01:15:15,709 --> 01:15:18,619
conduct back in
the United States.
1363
01:15:18,643 --> 01:15:22,352
{\an1}Intent on keeping the war
going, despite the British
1364
01:15:22,376 --> 01:15:26,585
{\an1}defeat at Yorktown, William's
group of guerrilla marauders
1365
01:15:26,609 --> 01:15:28,952
had pressed forward
with their raids.
1366
01:15:28,976 --> 01:15:33,252
{\an1}In one notorious incident,
they hanged a Patriot leader
1367
01:15:33,276 --> 01:15:35,985
{\an1}in the midst of what was
supposed to be a peaceful
1368
01:15:36,009 --> 01:15:38,119
{\an1}exchange of prisoners.
1369
01:15:38,143 --> 01:15:41,819
{\an1}It was an outrage that
threatened to mushroom into
1370
01:15:41,843 --> 01:15:45,385
{\an1}an international crisis,
complicating Franklin's
1371
01:15:45,409 --> 01:15:49,176
diplomacy in Paris at
precisely the wrong time.
1372
01:15:51,343 --> 01:15:55,119
At the end of 1782,
a preliminary agreement
1373
01:15:55,143 --> 01:15:58,619
{\an1}of peace was signed and sent
to London and Philadelphia
1374
01:15:58,643 --> 01:16:00,719
for approval.
1375
01:16:00,743 --> 01:16:04,585
{\an1}It did not require reparations
to Americans who had remained
1376
01:16:04,609 --> 01:16:06,485
loyal to England.
1377
01:16:06,509 --> 01:16:10,352
{\an1}And France, which had given
so much to the new nation,
1378
01:16:10,376 --> 01:16:13,352
{\an1}had been excluded altogether.
1379
01:16:13,376 --> 01:16:17,085
{\an1}Franklin was assigned the
task of smoothing things over
1380
01:16:17,109 --> 01:16:19,019
with Vergennes.
1381
01:16:19,043 --> 01:16:21,152
{\an1}Jenkinson: Franklin writes one
of the greatest letters
1382
01:16:21,176 --> 01:16:22,885
he ever wrote to Vergennes,
1383
01:16:22,909 --> 01:16:25,652
apologizing for
this in a beautiful way and...
1384
01:16:25,676 --> 01:16:28,285
{\an1}and really disarming the...
What could have been a huge
1385
01:16:28,309 --> 01:16:31,852
{\an1}international crisis, that we
had not fulfilled our promise
1386
01:16:31,876 --> 01:16:34,552
{\an1}to work out the diplomatic
aspects of the end of the war
1387
01:16:34,576 --> 01:16:37,185
with France and not separately.
1388
01:16:37,209 --> 01:16:40,185
{\an1}But he also, in that same letter
of apology to Vergennes,
1389
01:16:40,209 --> 01:16:42,352
{\an1}this masterpiece, said,
"And, by the way,
1390
01:16:42,376 --> 01:16:46,052
{\an1}we need some more money, too,"
and he got it!
1391
01:16:46,076 --> 01:16:50,052
Narrator: Finally,
on September 3, 1783,
1392
01:16:50,076 --> 01:16:52,985
the Treaty of Paris was signed.
1393
01:16:53,009 --> 01:16:56,552
{\an1}England officially recognized
its former colonies
1394
01:16:56,576 --> 01:16:59,152
as the United States of America.
1395
01:16:59,176 --> 01:17:02,209
{\an1}The Revolutionary War was over.
1396
01:17:03,909 --> 01:17:06,752
{\an1}Members of the British
delegation refused to pose
1397
01:17:06,776 --> 01:17:09,585
{\an1}for the portrait meant to
commemorate the moment.
1398
01:17:09,609 --> 01:17:13,219
{\an1}In the unfinished painting,
Franklin sits in the middle,
1399
01:17:13,243 --> 01:17:16,585
{\an1}with his grandson Temple,
the delegation's secretary,
1400
01:17:16,609 --> 01:17:18,785
sitting to his left.
1401
01:17:18,809 --> 01:17:22,752
{\an1}On Franklin's right sits
John Adams, already worried
1402
01:17:22,776 --> 01:17:26,919
{\an1}about how history would
remember the Revolution.
1403
01:17:26,943 --> 01:17:29,352
{\an1}Man as Adams: The history
of our revolution will be
1404
01:17:29,376 --> 01:17:33,419
one continued lie
from one end to the other.
1405
01:17:33,443 --> 01:17:36,519
{\an1}And the essence of the whole
will be that Dr. Franklin's
1406
01:17:36,543 --> 01:17:40,085
{\an1}electrical rod smote the Earth,
and out sprang
1407
01:17:40,109 --> 01:17:42,185
General Washington.
1408
01:17:42,209 --> 01:17:46,452
{\an1}That Franklin electrified him
with his rod and thence forward
1409
01:17:46,476 --> 01:17:49,752
these two conducted
all the policy, negotiations,
1410
01:17:49,776 --> 01:17:52,509
legislation and war.
1411
01:17:57,809 --> 01:18:00,185
{\an1}Ellis: The Treaty of 1783
is one of the most
1412
01:18:00,209 --> 01:18:03,385
lopsided treaties in
American diplomatic history.
1413
01:18:03,409 --> 01:18:07,019
It's a total victory
for the United States.
1414
01:18:07,043 --> 01:18:09,819
{\an1}Its independence is recognized
by France and the rest
1415
01:18:09,843 --> 01:18:11,685
{\an1}of Europe and England.
1416
01:18:11,709 --> 01:18:14,385
And we get a third of
a continent, everything from the
1417
01:18:14,409 --> 01:18:16,619
{\an1}Mississippi to the Atlantic,
and from the Canadian border
1418
01:18:16,643 --> 01:18:18,485
to Florida.
1419
01:18:18,509 --> 01:18:21,385
{\an1}We now become a nation
larger than France, England,
1420
01:18:21,409 --> 01:18:23,385
{\an1}and Spain put together.
1421
01:18:23,409 --> 01:18:27,552
{\an1}There is a consensus, at the
end, uh, among the negotiators,
1422
01:18:27,576 --> 01:18:30,352
including the Brits,
that we're witnessing
1423
01:18:30,376 --> 01:18:32,552
the creation of
an American empire.
1424
01:18:32,576 --> 01:18:35,019
[Cheering]
1425
01:18:35,043 --> 01:18:37,485
{\an1}Cohn: By the end of the war,
France's coffers were
1426
01:18:37,509 --> 01:18:40,052
{\an1}more or less depleted.
1427
01:18:40,076 --> 01:18:44,452
{\an1}France had the satisfaction
in triumphing over their
1428
01:18:44,476 --> 01:18:46,819
{\an1}arch enemy Great Britain,
1429
01:18:46,843 --> 01:18:51,885
{\an1}but they hadn't counted on
bankrupting, uh, their own
1430
01:18:51,909 --> 01:18:54,185
{\an1}country in the process.
1431
01:18:54,209 --> 01:18:58,985
{\an1}So, Franklin extracted,
in a way, the lifeblood
1432
01:18:59,009 --> 01:19:05,485
{\an1}out of the royal coffers and he
gave in return something
1433
01:19:05,509 --> 01:19:08,252
{\an1}that the monarchy was not
counting on.
1434
01:19:08,276 --> 01:19:10,719
{\an1}["Le Marseillaise" playing]
1435
01:19:10,743 --> 01:19:14,885
He lit a fire,
not only in France,
1436
01:19:14,909 --> 01:19:19,919
but in all of Europe,
promoting the democratic ideals
1437
01:19:19,943 --> 01:19:23,052
that the
United States stood for.
1438
01:19:23,076 --> 01:19:28,385
{\an1}To put down tyranny was
something that all
1439
01:19:28,409 --> 01:19:30,909
{\an1}the peasants could understand.
1440
01:19:35,676 --> 01:19:40,052
{\an1}Narrator: For Native Americans,
the treaty was devastating.
1441
01:19:40,076 --> 01:19:43,719
{\an1}Many Nations had decided that
they would be better off by
1442
01:19:43,743 --> 01:19:47,419
{\an1}allying with the British, not
the colonists, who for nearly
1443
01:19:47,443 --> 01:19:52,019
2 centuries had been
encroaching on their lands.
1444
01:19:52,043 --> 01:19:54,719
Now the United States
was claiming
1445
01:19:54,743 --> 01:19:57,085
{\an1}an even vaster territory,
1446
01:19:57,109 --> 01:20:00,719
{\an1}and as its white citizens
pushed farther west,
1447
01:20:00,743 --> 01:20:04,619
{\an1}more and more Native people
would be dispossessed,
1448
01:20:04,643 --> 01:20:09,309
{\an1}regardless of whose side they
had taken during the war.
1449
01:20:12,543 --> 01:20:16,785
{\an1}[Cheering and applause]
1450
01:20:16,809 --> 01:20:21,552
{\an1}In the summer and fall of 1783,
huge balloons suddenly
1451
01:20:21,576 --> 01:20:24,952
appeared in
the skies over Paris.
1452
01:20:24,976 --> 01:20:27,919
{\an1}Hundreds of thousands of
people turned out to see
1453
01:20:27,943 --> 01:20:31,885
{\an1}human beings flying for
the first time.
1454
01:20:31,909 --> 01:20:35,119
{\an1}And Franklin is watching this,
with his usual spirit of,
1455
01:20:35,143 --> 01:20:37,685
{\an1}you know, what does this
portend and what are
1456
01:20:37,709 --> 01:20:42,752
{\an1}the applications for war,
for travel, for recreation.
1457
01:20:42,776 --> 01:20:46,052
{\an1}And a man that was standing
next to him, uh, watched all
1458
01:20:46,076 --> 01:20:51,552
{\an1}this and said, "Interesting,
but what's the use of it?"
1459
01:20:51,576 --> 01:20:54,419
And Franklin turned
to him and said,
1460
01:20:54,443 --> 01:20:57,009
"What's the use
of a newborn baby?"
1461
01:20:58,443 --> 01:21:02,319
{\an1}Narrator: In early 1785,
another balloon crossed
1462
01:21:02,343 --> 01:21:05,152
the English Channel
and landed in France.
1463
01:21:05,176 --> 01:21:09,152
{\an1}It carried the world's first
airmail letter addressed to
1464
01:21:09,176 --> 01:21:13,085
{\an1}Temple Franklin at Passy.
1465
01:21:13,109 --> 01:21:16,985
{\an1}It came from his father,
William, who was now in London.
1466
01:21:17,009 --> 01:21:20,219
{\an1}He had reestablished his
relationship with Temple
1467
01:21:20,243 --> 01:21:24,319
and was hoping to do
the same with his father.
1468
01:21:24,343 --> 01:21:27,252
{\an1}Man as William Franklin:
Dear and Honoured Father,
1469
01:21:27,276 --> 01:21:29,219
{\an1}Ever since the termination
1470
01:21:29,243 --> 01:21:32,952
{\an1}of the unhappy contest between
Great Britain and America,
1471
01:21:32,976 --> 01:21:35,819
I have been
anxious to write to you,
1472
01:21:35,843 --> 01:21:38,952
{\an1}and to endeavor to revive
that affectionate connection
1473
01:21:38,976 --> 01:21:41,652
{\an1}which till the commencement
of the late troubles
1474
01:21:41,676 --> 01:21:46,176
had been the pride
and happiness of my life.
1475
01:21:47,409 --> 01:21:51,552
{\an1}Man as Franklin: Dear Son,
I received your letter.
1476
01:21:51,576 --> 01:21:55,419
{\an1}Nothing has ever hurt me so
much and affected me with such
1477
01:21:55,443 --> 01:22:00,852
{\an1}keen sensations as to find
myself deserted in my old age
1478
01:22:00,876 --> 01:22:05,985
{\an1}by my only son; and not only
deserted, but to find him
1479
01:22:06,009 --> 01:22:08,719
{\an1}taking up arms against me.
1480
01:22:08,743 --> 01:22:13,219
{\an1}There are natural duties
which precede political ones,
1481
01:22:13,243 --> 01:22:17,352
and cannot be
extinguished by them.
1482
01:22:17,376 --> 01:22:21,385
{\an1}You may confide to your son
the family affairs you wished
1483
01:22:21,409 --> 01:22:23,852
{\an1}to confer upon with me.
1484
01:22:23,876 --> 01:22:27,752
{\an1}I shall hear from you by him.
1485
01:22:27,776 --> 01:22:29,719
{\an1}Brands: Benjamin Franklin
was estranged from
1486
01:22:29,743 --> 01:22:33,319
{\an1}many of his British associates
and friends during the war.
1487
01:22:33,343 --> 01:22:36,685
{\an1}But after the war, he was
able to repair all those
1488
01:22:36,709 --> 01:22:40,152
relationships,
except with William.
1489
01:22:40,176 --> 01:22:43,319
And I'm not sure
I can say exactly why.
1490
01:22:43,343 --> 01:22:47,419
{\an7}William is willing to make up,
but Benjamin is not.
1491
01:22:47,443 --> 01:22:50,585
{\an7}And I just sort of imagine
that William is... is holding out
1492
01:22:50,609 --> 01:22:53,852
{\an1}his hand to his father and
his father just won't take it.
1493
01:22:53,876 --> 01:22:55,976
I guess the hurt went too deep.
1494
01:22:58,076 --> 01:23:02,119
{\an1}Narrator: By May of 1785,
Thomas Jefferson had arrived
1495
01:23:02,143 --> 01:23:05,919
{\an1}as the new ambassador to
France, and Franklin learned
1496
01:23:05,943 --> 01:23:10,219
{\an1}that Congress had finally
accepted his resignation.
1497
01:23:10,243 --> 01:23:14,119
{\an1}By July, with his grandsons
Temple and Benny,
1498
01:23:14,143 --> 01:23:16,885
{\an1}he was ready to leave.
1499
01:23:16,909 --> 01:23:21,052
{\an1}They crossed the Channel
and lingered for several days
1500
01:23:21,076 --> 01:23:24,419
{\an1}in the port at Southampton,
where Franklin visited
1501
01:23:24,443 --> 01:23:28,452
with some of his
oldest English friends.
1502
01:23:28,476 --> 01:23:31,385
Then William arrived.
1503
01:23:31,409 --> 01:23:35,509
{\an1}He and his father had not
seen each other in a decade.
1504
01:23:38,609 --> 01:23:42,685
Whatever expectations
William held for the reunion,
1505
01:23:42,709 --> 01:23:46,419
{\an1}his father treated it as
a business negotiation.
1506
01:23:46,443 --> 01:23:49,385
{\an1}He insisted that the deeds
to William's properties
1507
01:23:49,409 --> 01:23:52,952
in America be turned
over to Temple.
1508
01:23:52,976 --> 01:23:57,752
{\an1}Franklin also made clear that
Temple, William's own son,
1509
01:23:57,776 --> 01:24:02,152
would be returning to
the United States with him.
1510
01:24:02,176 --> 01:24:05,085
{\an1}Legal documents were drawn up.
1511
01:24:05,109 --> 01:24:08,819
{\an1}William signed them all.
1512
01:24:08,843 --> 01:24:11,843
They would never see
each other again.
1513
01:24:16,809 --> 01:24:20,819
{\an1}On July 27, Franklin's
ship set sail
1514
01:24:20,843 --> 01:24:24,219
for his 8th crossing
of the Atlantic.
1515
01:24:24,243 --> 01:24:27,952
{\an1}On board, he soon immersed
himself in the most sustained
1516
01:24:27,976 --> 01:24:31,785
{\an1}scientific work since his
experiments with electricity
1517
01:24:31,809 --> 01:24:35,385
back in 1752.
1518
01:24:35,409 --> 01:24:39,352
{\an1}Most of his time was focused
on observations and theories
1519
01:24:39,376 --> 01:24:44,119
{\an1}about the ocean and ships...
From more efficient designs
1520
01:24:44,143 --> 01:24:47,819
{\an1}for hulls and sails, to thoughts
on the outrigger boats
1521
01:24:47,843 --> 01:24:52,619
{\an7}of Pacific Islanders and the
canoes of Native Americans,
1522
01:24:52,643 --> 01:24:56,952
{\an7}from proposals for better
anchors to a better soup bowl
1523
01:24:56,976 --> 01:25:01,452
{\an7}that would be less likely to
spill when the ship tilted.
1524
01:25:01,476 --> 01:25:03,285
And with Temple
and Benny's help,
1525
01:25:03,309 --> 01:25:07,085
{\an1}he continued gathering details
about the Gulf Stream-
1526
01:25:07,109 --> 01:25:09,785
{\an1}taking the temperature
of the air and water
1527
01:25:09,809 --> 01:25:14,119
{\an1}3 times a day for more than
40 days.
1528
01:25:14,143 --> 01:25:16,085
[Bell rings]
1529
01:25:16,109 --> 01:25:20,185
{\an1}Finally, his ship docked at
the wharf in Philadelphia,
1530
01:25:20,209 --> 01:25:24,885
{\an1}62 years after his first
arrival as a teenage runaway.
1531
01:25:24,909 --> 01:25:27,719
[Cannon fire, cheering]
1532
01:25:27,743 --> 01:25:31,219
Back then, no one
had heard of him.
1533
01:25:31,243 --> 01:25:34,919
{\an1}This time, he was greeted
by booming cannons,
1534
01:25:34,943 --> 01:25:36,685
ringing church bells,
1535
01:25:36,709 --> 01:25:40,685
and the cheers
of his fellow Americans.
1536
01:25:40,709 --> 01:25:43,319
{\an1}Schiff: He's been away for
8 1/2 years.
1537
01:25:43,343 --> 01:25:45,252
He's about to see
a country that he's created.
1538
01:25:45,276 --> 01:25:47,019
{\an8}It didn't exist when he'd left.
1539
01:25:47,043 --> 01:25:50,652
{\an7}It's a really, um, rather
extraordinary return.
1540
01:25:50,676 --> 01:25:53,419
{\an1}He's greeted at the pier
in Philadelphia by crowds
1541
01:25:53,443 --> 01:25:55,385
and acclamations.
1542
01:25:55,409 --> 01:25:58,385
{\an1}Narrator: The crowd carried
him to his Market Street home,
1543
01:25:58,409 --> 01:26:01,119
{\an1}where his daughter Sally
introduced him to
1544
01:26:01,143 --> 01:26:06,043
{\an1}4 new grandchildren who had been
born while he was away.
1545
01:26:08,109 --> 01:26:11,585
{\an1}Man as Franklin: I am now
in the "Bosom" of my "Family",
1546
01:26:11,609 --> 01:26:14,819
and find four
new little "Prattlers",
1547
01:26:14,843 --> 01:26:16,619
{\an1}who cling about the "Knees"
1548
01:26:16,643 --> 01:26:21,843
{\an1}of their "Grand Papa",
and afford me great "Pleasure".
1549
01:26:30,843 --> 01:26:34,085
{\an1}Narrator: In May of 1787,
delegates from
1550
01:26:34,109 --> 01:26:37,619
{\an1}all the former colonies
began converging again
1551
01:26:37,643 --> 01:26:39,819
on Philadelphia.
1552
01:26:39,843 --> 01:26:43,152
{\an1}The Articles of Confederation
that had been drawn up after
1553
01:26:43,176 --> 01:26:46,485
{\an1}the Declaration of Independence
had proved inadequate
1554
01:26:46,509 --> 01:26:50,152
for the new nation
during the Revolution.
1555
01:26:50,176 --> 01:26:52,319
Isaacson: When the
Constitutional Convention
1556
01:26:52,343 --> 01:26:53,785
is called,
1557
01:26:53,809 --> 01:26:55,685
{\an1}it's really a last chance
for America
1558
01:26:55,709 --> 01:26:57,585
{\an1}to get its act together.
1559
01:26:57,609 --> 01:27:00,885
{\an1}The Articles of Confederation
really did not do what
1560
01:27:00,909 --> 01:27:02,552
{\an1}Franklin had asked for,
1561
01:27:02,576 --> 01:27:07,019
{\an1}which is unite the Colonies
into one nation.
1562
01:27:07,043 --> 01:27:09,652
Narrator: When George
Washington arrived
1563
01:27:09,676 --> 01:27:12,685
in Philadelphia,
his first stop was to pay
1564
01:27:12,709 --> 01:27:15,185
Franklin a visit.
1565
01:27:15,209 --> 01:27:18,185
Man: At the
Constitutional Convention,
1566
01:27:18,209 --> 01:27:21,819
he was one
of the two great figures.
1567
01:27:21,843 --> 01:27:23,619
{\an7}There was George Washington
and there was
1568
01:27:23,643 --> 01:27:28,219
{\an8}Benjamin Franklin,
and nobody else came third.
1569
01:27:28,243 --> 01:27:30,719
{\an1}Ellis: Up until the end
of the War,
1570
01:27:30,743 --> 01:27:33,285
{\an1}if you were trying to rate
American leaders,
1571
01:27:33,309 --> 01:27:35,452
{\an1}Washington would be behind him
1572
01:27:35,476 --> 01:27:37,785
and Franklin would
be at the head.
1573
01:27:37,809 --> 01:27:39,785
{\an1}Franklin's the great man.
1574
01:27:39,809 --> 01:27:43,385
{\an1}By the end of the War,
Washington has gone ahead,
1575
01:27:43,409 --> 01:27:47,352
{\an1}and in his will, Franklin says,
"I leave him my crab-tree
1576
01:27:47,376 --> 01:27:50,885
walking stick for his
stroll towards destiny."
1577
01:27:50,909 --> 01:27:55,019
{\an1}Narrator: On May 25, 1787,
when the convention
1578
01:27:55,043 --> 01:27:59,519
{\an1}gathered for its first day,
Washington was unanimously
1579
01:27:59,543 --> 01:28:02,052
elected to preside.
1580
01:28:02,076 --> 01:28:05,852
{\an1}Isaacson: Benjamin Franklin's
health is starting to fade.
1581
01:28:05,876 --> 01:28:08,452
{\an1}Prisoners from the Walnut
Street Jail, they have to
1582
01:28:08,476 --> 01:28:11,119
{\an1}carry him from his home on
Market Street
1583
01:28:11,143 --> 01:28:12,785
for the 2 or 3 blocks
1584
01:28:12,809 --> 01:28:16,385
to get to what is
now called Independence Hall.
1585
01:28:16,409 --> 01:28:20,419
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin was 81,
nearly crippled by gout
1586
01:28:20,443 --> 01:28:22,285
and kidney stones.
1587
01:28:22,309 --> 01:28:26,643
{\an1}Still, he would attend
every session but one.
1588
01:28:28,176 --> 01:28:32,152
{\an1}From the start, it was clear
that the 55 delegates did not
1589
01:28:32,176 --> 01:28:34,419
agree on the details
of how to fix
1590
01:28:34,443 --> 01:28:36,952
the Articles of Confederation.
1591
01:28:36,976 --> 01:28:41,385
{\an1}Franklin favored a single-body
Congress and a 3-member
1592
01:28:41,409 --> 01:28:44,952
{\an1}executive council instead
of a president.
1593
01:28:44,976 --> 01:28:48,619
Virginians proposed
2 legislative bodies...
1594
01:28:48,643 --> 01:28:50,252
A House of Representatives
1595
01:28:50,276 --> 01:28:53,285
{\an1}that would select the members
of an upper body
1596
01:28:53,309 --> 01:28:54,952
{\an1}to be called the Senate
1597
01:28:54,976 --> 01:28:58,652
{\an1}and also name the president
and judiciary.
1598
01:28:58,676 --> 01:29:02,319
{\an1}Alexander Hamilton of New York
thought the president should
1599
01:29:02,343 --> 01:29:05,385
be elected... for life.
1600
01:29:05,409 --> 01:29:09,285
Fierce debates on
all the issues raged for days
1601
01:29:09,309 --> 01:29:12,243
during a sweltering
Philadelphia summer.
1602
01:29:14,843 --> 01:29:16,319
Man as Franklin:
We must not expect
1603
01:29:16,343 --> 01:29:18,785
that a new government
may be formed,
1604
01:29:18,809 --> 01:29:22,952
{\an1}as a game of chess may
be played, by a skillful hand,
1605
01:29:22,976 --> 01:29:25,519
without a fault.
1606
01:29:25,543 --> 01:29:29,852
We are making
experiments in politics.
1607
01:29:29,876 --> 01:29:33,952
{\an1}The players of our game
are so many, their ideas
1608
01:29:33,976 --> 01:29:37,252
so different, their
prejudices so strong
1609
01:29:37,276 --> 01:29:39,085
and so various,
1610
01:29:39,109 --> 01:29:43,343
{\an1}that not a move can be
made that is not contested.
1611
01:29:46,876 --> 01:29:49,819
{\an1}Narrator: The convention adopted
many provisions
1612
01:29:49,843 --> 01:29:52,752
that Franklin did
not initially support...
1613
01:29:52,776 --> 01:29:58,185
{\an1}a 2-body legislature, a single
executive who could veto laws...
1614
01:29:58,209 --> 01:30:02,285
{\an1}and others that he did...
A 4-year presidential term,
1615
01:30:02,309 --> 01:30:05,285
{\an1}the legislature's power
of impeachment,
1616
01:30:05,309 --> 01:30:08,685
{\an1}and no requirement of property
ownership for voting
1617
01:30:08,709 --> 01:30:11,252
or holding office.
1618
01:30:11,276 --> 01:30:14,319
{\an1}One of the thorniest issues
was how Congress
1619
01:30:14,343 --> 01:30:16,152
would be apportioned.
1620
01:30:16,176 --> 01:30:19,652
Under the Articles of
Confederation, each state had
1621
01:30:19,676 --> 01:30:23,785
{\an1}an equal vote, and delegates
from smaller states demanded
1622
01:30:23,809 --> 01:30:25,919
{\an1}that it stay that way.
1623
01:30:25,943 --> 01:30:29,785
{\an1}Larger states, which would be
contributing more in taxes,
1624
01:30:29,809 --> 01:30:33,452
wanted Congress to be
based on population.
1625
01:30:33,476 --> 01:30:36,452
{\an1}Franklin was placed on
a committee to find
1626
01:30:36,476 --> 01:30:38,819
{\an1}a workable compromise.
1627
01:30:38,843 --> 01:30:42,819
{\an1}Isaacson: And, finally, Franklin
gets up and he says,
1628
01:30:42,843 --> 01:30:45,485
{\an1}"When we were young tradesmen
here in Philadelphia,
1629
01:30:45,509 --> 01:30:48,619
{\an1}"we had a joint of wood
that didn't quite fit,
1630
01:30:48,643 --> 01:30:51,185
{\an1}"we'd take a little from one
side and shave from the other
1631
01:30:51,209 --> 01:30:54,519
{\an1}until we had a joint that would
hold together for centuries."
1632
01:30:54,543 --> 01:30:58,385
{\an1}And his point was that
compromises may not make
1633
01:30:58,409 --> 01:31:01,919
{\an1}great heroes, but they do
make great democracies.
1634
01:31:01,943 --> 01:31:05,085
{\an1}Narrator: As the impasse over
apportionment threatened to
1635
01:31:05,109 --> 01:31:08,219
{\an1}derail the convention,
Franklin began inviting
1636
01:31:08,243 --> 01:31:11,252
{\an1}important delegates to
his home, where they could
1637
01:31:11,276 --> 01:31:14,352
socialize in the late
afternoon, under the branches
1638
01:31:14,376 --> 01:31:20,352
of his mulberry tree,
and try to find common ground.
1639
01:31:20,376 --> 01:31:23,285
{\an1}Isaacson: They discuss science,
they discuss the things
1640
01:31:23,309 --> 01:31:26,085
{\an1}they're talking about that they
have to compromise on.
1641
01:31:26,109 --> 01:31:29,619
{\an1}And he helps cool the passions
of that hot summer
1642
01:31:29,643 --> 01:31:32,276
under the shade
of his mulberry tree.
1643
01:31:35,109 --> 01:31:38,519
Narrator: In the end,
a compromise was reached.
1644
01:31:38,543 --> 01:31:42,585
{\an1}Each state would have the same
number of senators, 2,
1645
01:31:42,609 --> 01:31:45,419
{\an1}chosen by their legislatures.
1646
01:31:45,443 --> 01:31:48,352
{\an1}The members of the House
of Representatives would be
1647
01:31:48,376 --> 01:31:53,185
{\an1}elected by voters, white men
only, and each state's share
1648
01:31:53,209 --> 01:31:56,752
would be based
on its population.
1649
01:31:56,776 --> 01:32:00,419
{\an1}To mollify the southern
states, their populations
1650
01:32:00,443 --> 01:32:04,219
{\an1}would include their number
of enslaved people,
1651
01:32:04,243 --> 01:32:07,252
{\an1}but each of those human beings
would be counted
1652
01:32:07,276 --> 01:32:10,985
as only three-fifths
of a person.
1653
01:32:11,009 --> 01:32:13,152
{\an1}Ellis: They can't talk about
slavery directly, and the word
1654
01:32:13,176 --> 01:32:17,985
{\an1}"slavery" is never mentioned
in the document itself.
1655
01:32:18,009 --> 01:32:23,119
{\an1}The difficult fact to accept
is that the Union is only
1656
01:32:23,143 --> 01:32:26,085
possible if it
includes the South.
1657
01:32:26,109 --> 01:32:29,885
{\an1}And the states south of the
Chesapeake are committed
1658
01:32:29,909 --> 01:32:33,485
{\an1}to slavery, especially
Virginia and South Carolina.
1659
01:32:33,509 --> 01:32:38,852
{\an1}If you did the moral thing in
the summer of 1787 and took
1660
01:32:38,876 --> 01:32:42,652
{\an1}a clear stand and insisted
on it, the Constitution would
1661
01:32:42,676 --> 01:32:44,076
have never passed.
1662
01:32:45,843 --> 01:32:48,519
{\an1}Chaplin: It was a tragic
compromise, obviously, for many
1663
01:32:48,543 --> 01:32:51,119
{\an1}populations in the United
States who had no party
1664
01:32:51,143 --> 01:32:52,852
to this agreement.
1665
01:32:52,876 --> 01:32:54,519
{\an1}They had never agreed that
they would be represented
1666
01:32:54,543 --> 01:32:56,352
in this way.
1667
01:32:56,376 --> 01:32:59,285
{\an7}And, so, the compromise
looks especially compromised
1668
01:32:59,309 --> 01:33:01,085
{\an8}in those terms.
1669
01:33:01,109 --> 01:33:06,219
{\an1}This is America's original sin,
and they know it.
1670
01:33:06,243 --> 01:33:10,085
{\an1}Nobody in the Convention
or at that moment
1671
01:33:10,109 --> 01:33:14,019
{\an1}talks about slavery as anything
other than a necessary evil.
1672
01:33:14,043 --> 01:33:16,352
{\an1}The original sin of slavery
1673
01:33:16,376 --> 01:33:21,819
was more than just
simply compromising.
1674
01:33:21,843 --> 01:33:24,552
{\an8}The original
sin of slavery began, at least
1675
01:33:24,576 --> 01:33:27,976
{\an8}for these colonists,
years before.
1676
01:33:29,409 --> 01:33:34,652
{\an1}For Franklin, unity and
compromise was the only thing
1677
01:33:34,676 --> 01:33:37,985
{\an1}that could make this new
nation move forward.
1678
01:33:38,009 --> 01:33:41,819
{\an1}Without it, it would be
a failed journey.
1679
01:33:41,843 --> 01:33:45,785
{\an1}American democracy would not
develop without it.
1680
01:33:45,809 --> 01:33:50,219
And for that reason,
Franklin, as well as others,
1681
01:33:50,243 --> 01:33:53,619
sidestepped the issue
of slavery.
1682
01:33:53,643 --> 01:33:58,785
{\an1}Narrator: On September 17, 1787,
the delegates gathered
1683
01:33:58,809 --> 01:34:02,119
to vote on
the proposed Constitution.
1684
01:34:02,143 --> 01:34:06,952
{\an1}Benjamin Franklin made
the motion for its adoption.
1685
01:34:06,976 --> 01:34:09,252
Man as Franklin:
I agree to this Constitution
1686
01:34:09,276 --> 01:34:12,252
with all its faults,
if they are such,
1687
01:34:12,276 --> 01:34:16,885
{\an1}because I think a general
government necessary for us.
1688
01:34:16,909 --> 01:34:20,452
{\an1}I doubt, too, whether any
other convention we can obtain
1689
01:34:20,476 --> 01:34:23,852
may be able to make
a better Constitution.
1690
01:34:23,876 --> 01:34:26,752
{\an1}For, when you assemble
a number of men, to have
1691
01:34:26,776 --> 01:34:30,185
{\an1}the advantage of their joint
wisdom, you inevitably
1692
01:34:30,209 --> 01:34:33,452
{\an1}assemble with those men
all their prejudices,
1693
01:34:33,476 --> 01:34:35,952
their passions,
their errors of opinion,
1694
01:34:35,976 --> 01:34:39,252
{\an1}their local interests,
and their selfish views.
1695
01:34:39,276 --> 01:34:42,419
{\an1}From such an assembly can
a perfect production
1696
01:34:42,443 --> 01:34:45,252
be expected?
1697
01:34:45,276 --> 01:34:49,119
{\an1}It therefore astonishes me,
sir, to find this system
1698
01:34:49,143 --> 01:34:53,319
{\an1}approaching so near to
perfection as it does;
1699
01:34:53,343 --> 01:34:57,052
{\an1}and I think it will astonish our
enemies, who are waiting
1700
01:34:57,076 --> 01:35:00,719
{\an1}with confidence to hear that
our councils are confounded,
1701
01:35:00,743 --> 01:35:04,852
{\an1}like those of the builders of
Babel, and that our "States" are
1702
01:35:04,876 --> 01:35:07,885
{\an1}on the point of separation,
only to meet hereafter
1703
01:35:07,909 --> 01:35:11,319
{\an1}for the purpose of cutting
one another's throats.
1704
01:35:11,343 --> 01:35:16,452
{\an1}Thus I consent, sir, to this
Constitution because I expect
1705
01:35:16,476 --> 01:35:20,519
{\an1}no better, and because I
am not sure that it is
1706
01:35:20,543 --> 01:35:23,209
not the best.
1707
01:35:27,876 --> 01:35:31,785
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin's motion
was approved.
1708
01:35:31,809 --> 01:35:35,885
{\an1}One by one, the delegates
signed the new Constitution,
1709
01:35:35,909 --> 01:35:39,585
{\an1}so it could be sent to the
states for ratification.
1710
01:35:39,609 --> 01:35:41,519
Skemp: He signed it.
1711
01:35:41,543 --> 01:35:47,485
{\an1}And I think he was relieved that
it brought Americans together.
1712
01:35:47,509 --> 01:35:49,852
{\an1}And that was something that
he had wanted ever since
1713
01:35:49,876 --> 01:35:51,819
{\an1}the Albany Conference.
1714
01:35:51,843 --> 01:35:56,919
{\an1}He had wanted Americans to
be a part of one grand whole.
1715
01:35:56,943 --> 01:35:58,485
{\an1}This might not be the best,
1716
01:35:58,509 --> 01:36:00,152
but it was the best
that you could get,
1717
01:36:00,176 --> 01:36:01,885
{\an1}and he recognized that.
1718
01:36:01,909 --> 01:36:05,152
The Constitution is
the framework for an ongoing
1719
01:36:05,176 --> 01:36:07,485
{\an1}argument about who we are
as a people
1720
01:36:07,509 --> 01:36:09,352
{\an1}and where power resides.
1721
01:36:09,376 --> 01:36:12,385
{\an1}And it's presumed that each
generation will be engaged
1722
01:36:12,409 --> 01:36:14,885
{\an1}in an argument and take
it in new directions.
1723
01:36:14,909 --> 01:36:17,352
What do we mean by,
"We the people"?
1724
01:36:17,376 --> 01:36:19,019
And certainly,
we mean a lot more people now
1725
01:36:19,043 --> 01:36:21,252
than we did then.
1726
01:36:21,276 --> 01:36:23,152
{\an1}Narrator: With the work done,
1727
01:36:23,176 --> 01:36:26,652
{\an1}the doors to Independence Hall
were thrown open.
1728
01:36:26,676 --> 01:36:29,052
{\an1}Franklin was approached
by one of the city's
1729
01:36:29,076 --> 01:36:33,019
{\an1}most prominent citizens,
Elizabeth Willing Powel,
1730
01:36:33,043 --> 01:36:35,985
whose own rights had
not been considered.
1731
01:36:36,009 --> 01:36:39,852
{\an1}She asked him, "Well, Doctor,
what have we got,
1732
01:36:39,876 --> 01:36:43,219
{\an1}a republic or a monarchy?"
1733
01:36:43,243 --> 01:36:47,685
{\an1}"A republic," he answered,
"if you can keep it."
1734
01:36:47,709 --> 01:36:51,085
{\an1}Jenkinson: "A republic,
if you can keep it,"
1735
01:36:51,109 --> 01:36:52,919
which turns out to be
1736
01:36:52,943 --> 01:36:55,619
{\an1}maybe the most prophetic
sentence of all.
1737
01:36:55,643 --> 01:36:57,452
Everyone who
cares about this country
1738
01:36:57,476 --> 01:36:59,719
{\an1}has to ask that question
every day.
1739
01:36:59,743 --> 01:37:03,343
"A republic,
if you can keep it."
1740
01:37:06,376 --> 01:37:09,019
Man as Franklin:
Hitherto, this long life
1741
01:37:09,043 --> 01:37:11,419
{\an7}has been tolerably happy,
1742
01:37:11,443 --> 01:37:15,119
{\an7}so that if I were allowed to
live it over again, I should
1743
01:37:15,143 --> 01:37:19,285
{\an7}make no objection, only
wishing for leave to do what
1744
01:37:19,309 --> 01:37:24,152
{\an1}authors do in a second edition
of their works: correct some
1745
01:37:24,176 --> 01:37:26,309
of my "Errata".
1746
01:37:34,109 --> 01:37:37,352
{\an1}Narrator: By early 1790,
the Constitution
1747
01:37:37,376 --> 01:37:41,919
{\an1}had been ratified, and Franklin
was now 84 years old.
1748
01:37:41,943 --> 01:37:45,985
{\an1}His kidney stones put him in
such pain, he took regular
1749
01:37:46,009 --> 01:37:48,885
doses of laudanum,
a tincture of opium,
1750
01:37:48,909 --> 01:37:50,952
{\an1}to get through the day.
1751
01:37:50,976 --> 01:37:54,252
{\an1}"I should have died 2 years
ago," he wrote to Washington,
1752
01:37:54,276 --> 01:37:57,252
{\an1}who had been elected as
the nation's first president,
1753
01:37:57,276 --> 01:37:59,785
{\an1}"but I am pleased that
I have lived them,
1754
01:37:59,809 --> 01:38:04,719
{\an1}since they have brought me to
see our present 'Situation'."
1755
01:38:04,743 --> 01:38:06,985
Man as Franklin: Our
grand machine has at length
1756
01:38:07,009 --> 01:38:08,819
begun to work.
1757
01:38:08,843 --> 01:38:13,019
I pray God to bless
and guide its operations.
1758
01:38:13,043 --> 01:38:17,352
{\an1}If any form of government is
capable of making a nation happy
1759
01:38:17,376 --> 01:38:21,852
{\an1}ours I think bids fair
for producing that effect.
1760
01:38:21,876 --> 01:38:25,352
{\an1}But after all, much depends
upon the people
1761
01:38:25,376 --> 01:38:27,852
{\an1}who are to be governed.
1762
01:38:27,876 --> 01:38:32,019
{\an1}Our new Constitution is now
established, everything seems
1763
01:38:32,043 --> 01:38:36,719
{\an1}to promise it will be durable;
but, in this world, nothing is
1764
01:38:36,743 --> 01:38:40,776
certain except death and taxes.
1765
01:38:43,376 --> 01:38:46,219
{\an1}Narrator: As an Enlightenment
scientist and inventor,
1766
01:38:46,243 --> 01:38:50,085
{\an1}he considered America's
new democracy an experiment.
1767
01:38:50,109 --> 01:38:52,685
It should be
tested and tinkered with,
1768
01:38:52,709 --> 01:38:55,352
{\an1}if improvements were needed.
1769
01:38:55,376 --> 01:38:58,852
As a man who had once
constructed an elaborate chart
1770
01:38:58,876 --> 01:39:01,952
{\an1}and checklist to help him
better himself,
1771
01:39:01,976 --> 01:39:05,819
{\an1}he still believed in keeping
track of his failings.
1772
01:39:05,843 --> 01:39:09,552
{\an1}Now Benjamin Franklin felt
there was still one more
1773
01:39:09,576 --> 01:39:14,885
{\an1}public duty to carry out,
one more of his life's "errata"
1774
01:39:14,909 --> 01:39:16,609
to correct.
1775
01:39:18,243 --> 01:39:20,152
{\an1}During his time as a delegate
1776
01:39:20,176 --> 01:39:22,419
to the Constitutional
Convention,
1777
01:39:22,443 --> 01:39:24,919
Franklin, a former slave owner,
1778
01:39:24,943 --> 01:39:26,985
{\an1}had accepted the presidency
1779
01:39:27,009 --> 01:39:30,085
{\an1}of the Pennsylvania Society
for Promoting
1780
01:39:30,109 --> 01:39:32,052
{\an1}the Abolition of Slavery,
1781
01:39:32,076 --> 01:39:35,219
a Quaker group in Philadelphia.
1782
01:39:35,243 --> 01:39:39,219
{\an1}He had considered introducing
a statement of principle
1783
01:39:39,243 --> 01:39:40,752
{\an1}into the Constitution,
1784
01:39:40,776 --> 01:39:43,919
condemning slavery
and the slave trade,
1785
01:39:43,943 --> 01:39:47,752
{\an1}but several delegates had
persuaded him to drop it.
1786
01:39:47,776 --> 01:39:52,285
{\an7}The question of anti-slavery,
pro-slavery, was not
1787
01:39:52,309 --> 01:39:56,119
{\an7}an important issue for
the vast majority of people
1788
01:39:56,143 --> 01:39:59,352
{\an1}who wrote or thought about
or argued about
1789
01:39:59,376 --> 01:40:01,219
{\an1}the American Revolution.
1790
01:40:01,243 --> 01:40:05,919
{\an1}On the other hand, given the
fact that it is the daily
1791
01:40:05,943 --> 01:40:10,952
{\an1}reality for enslaved men and
women, in some ways, that was
1792
01:40:10,976 --> 01:40:13,885
{\an1}the key question every day.
1793
01:40:13,909 --> 01:40:20,619
{\an7}The gross hypocrisy in
fighting a war for liberty,
1794
01:40:20,643 --> 01:40:25,785
liberty of people,
and not including everybody
1795
01:40:25,809 --> 01:40:27,919
was obvious.
1796
01:40:27,943 --> 01:40:32,085
{\an1}If you're talking about liberty,
you're talking about liberty.
1797
01:40:32,109 --> 01:40:35,119
Narrator: With the
Constitution in place,
1798
01:40:35,143 --> 01:40:39,885
Franklin felt free to
address the issue head-on.
1799
01:40:39,909 --> 01:40:41,719
Man as Franklin:
To the Senate
1800
01:40:41,743 --> 01:40:44,952
{\an1}and House of Representatives
of the United States.
1801
01:40:44,976 --> 01:40:47,185
From a persuasion
that equal liberty
1802
01:40:47,209 --> 01:40:49,585
is still the
"Birthright" of all "Men",
1803
01:40:49,609 --> 01:40:53,952
{\an1}we earnestly entreat your
serious attention to the subject
1804
01:40:53,976 --> 01:40:57,719
{\an1}of "Slavery"; that you will be
pleased to countenance
1805
01:40:57,743 --> 01:41:02,019
{\an1}the "Restoration" of liberty to
those unhappy "Men", who alone
1806
01:41:02,043 --> 01:41:04,119
{\an1}in this land of "Freedom"
1807
01:41:04,143 --> 01:41:07,552
are degraded
into perpetual "Bondage",
1808
01:41:07,576 --> 01:41:12,185
{\an1}that you will devise means for
removing this "Inconsistency"
1809
01:41:12,209 --> 01:41:15,043
{\an1}from the "Character" of
the "American People".
1810
01:41:16,576 --> 01:41:19,052
Schiff: The first
real act of Franklin's life,
1811
01:41:19,076 --> 01:41:20,819
or the first
public act, I guess,
1812
01:41:20,843 --> 01:41:22,819
{\an1}is his running away from home.
1813
01:41:22,843 --> 01:41:26,319
{\an1}So, here you have a young
man in quest of freedom.
1814
01:41:26,343 --> 01:41:29,552
{\an1}And the last real act of...
The last public act
1815
01:41:29,576 --> 01:41:32,852
{\an1}of Franklin's life, um,
is a treatise against slavery.
1816
01:41:32,876 --> 01:41:37,785
{\an1}So, the end... the life is
largely bookended in a way, um,
1817
01:41:37,809 --> 01:41:41,519
{\an1}by these two, um, endorsements,
in some way, of freedom.
1818
01:41:41,543 --> 01:41:45,819
{\an1}Benjamin Franklin evolved
as far as his understanding
1819
01:41:45,843 --> 01:41:49,452
of race relations
and slavery were concerned.
1820
01:41:49,476 --> 01:41:51,219
He had owned slaves.
1821
01:41:51,243 --> 01:41:53,485
{\an1}He didn't see anything
wrong with it
1822
01:41:53,509 --> 01:41:55,319
{\an1}until very late in the game.
1823
01:41:55,343 --> 01:41:59,809
{\an1}But in his last years,
he started to change his mind.
1824
01:42:01,343 --> 01:42:05,752
{\an1}Dunbar: Philadelphia became
a leader in abolition
1825
01:42:05,776 --> 01:42:10,152
{\an1}and the emancipation of enslaved
people of African descent.
1826
01:42:10,176 --> 01:42:15,052
{\an1}There were laws on the books
that began the dismantling
1827
01:42:15,076 --> 01:42:17,219
of slavery.
1828
01:42:17,243 --> 01:42:21,919
It was a train that
could not be stopped.
1829
01:42:21,943 --> 01:42:27,652
{\an7}And, so, we see someone
who understands the tide
1830
01:42:27,676 --> 01:42:29,985
{\an1}of the city, of the state,
1831
01:42:30,009 --> 01:42:34,685
{\an1}looks at the laws, understands
that slavery is going to end,
1832
01:42:34,709 --> 01:42:37,385
{\an1}at least in Pennsylvania,
1833
01:42:37,409 --> 01:42:40,719
{\an1}and he got on the right side
of that conversation.
1834
01:42:40,743 --> 01:42:43,652
{\an1}Ellis: If this were a petition
coming from anybody else,
1835
01:42:43,676 --> 01:42:45,719
{\an1}the Congress would have
never even considered it,
1836
01:42:45,743 --> 01:42:47,585
but because of
Franklin's signature,
1837
01:42:47,609 --> 01:42:49,652
they're forced to consider it.
1838
01:42:49,676 --> 01:42:54,052
{\an1}And it's the first outspoken,
in public, debate
1839
01:42:54,076 --> 01:42:56,752
{\an1}in the American history on...
Under the new nation
1840
01:42:56,776 --> 01:42:58,719
on slavery.
1841
01:42:58,743 --> 01:43:01,319
{\an1}Narrator: In Congress,
the petition was immediately
1842
01:43:01,343 --> 01:43:03,819
{\an1}attacked by southerners.
1843
01:43:03,843 --> 01:43:07,685
{\an1}Representative James Jackson
of Georgia warned that if
1844
01:43:07,709 --> 01:43:11,019
{\an1}Congress tried to abolish
slavery, it would "light up
1845
01:43:11,043 --> 01:43:14,752
{\an1}the flame of civil discord"
and the southern states
1846
01:43:14,776 --> 01:43:18,619
{\an1}"will never suffer themselves to
be divested of their property
1847
01:43:18,643 --> 01:43:20,585
without a struggle."
1848
01:43:20,609 --> 01:43:24,985
{\an1}Another congressman claimed that
the South's sweltering climate
1849
01:43:25,009 --> 01:43:28,485
prohibited whites
from working the soil.
1850
01:43:28,509 --> 01:43:31,985
For that, he said,
they needed slaves.
1851
01:43:32,009 --> 01:43:36,252
{\an1}Isaacson: And Franklin goes back
to a device he had used as
1852
01:43:36,276 --> 01:43:40,185
{\an1}a teenager, which is to
write a parody in the voice
1853
01:43:40,209 --> 01:43:42,152
of somebody else.
1854
01:43:42,176 --> 01:43:47,252
{\an1}So he writes a sermon that
he pretends has been given by
1855
01:43:47,276 --> 01:43:50,985
{\an1}a Muslim from North Africa
about why they have to keep
1856
01:43:51,009 --> 01:43:54,019
{\an1}white Europeans in slavery.
1857
01:43:54,043 --> 01:43:58,752
{\an1}And it parodies the entire
argument of all those who are
1858
01:43:58,776 --> 01:44:02,719
opposing abolition in
the United States.
1859
01:44:02,743 --> 01:44:05,185
{\an1}Narrator: "If we forbear
to make slaves
1860
01:44:05,209 --> 01:44:08,819
of the Christians,"
Franklin's character asks,
1861
01:44:08,843 --> 01:44:14,985
{\an1}who, in this hot climate,
are to cultivate our lands?"
1862
01:44:15,009 --> 01:44:17,952
{\an1}Man as Franklin: And if
we set our slaves free,
1863
01:44:17,976 --> 01:44:20,719
{\an1}what is to be done with them?
1864
01:44:20,743 --> 01:44:23,885
For men accustomed to
slavery, will not work
1865
01:44:23,909 --> 01:44:28,685
for a livelihood
when not compelled.
1866
01:44:28,709 --> 01:44:34,519
{\an1}Here they are brought into a
land where the sun of Islam
1867
01:44:34,543 --> 01:44:37,319
gives forth its light
1868
01:44:37,343 --> 01:44:40,052
and they have an
opportunity of making
1869
01:44:40,076 --> 01:44:44,952
{\an1}themselves acquainted with
the true doctrine, and thereby
1870
01:44:44,976 --> 01:44:48,876
{\an1}saving their immortal souls.
1871
01:44:50,243 --> 01:44:52,319
Jenkinson: And, so,
of course, the reader realizes
1872
01:44:52,343 --> 01:44:55,652
{\an1}that Franklin is using
precisely the same arguments
1873
01:44:55,676 --> 01:44:58,719
{\an1}of James Jackson of Georgia,
which immediately proves to you,
1874
01:44:58,743 --> 01:45:02,552
{\an1}without question, the absurdity
of the arguments.
1875
01:45:02,576 --> 01:45:05,419
{\an1}This is the genius of Franklin,
to... to take something
1876
01:45:05,443 --> 01:45:07,619
{\an1}and just turn it around,
to switch the lens and say,
1877
01:45:07,643 --> 01:45:09,752
{\an1}"So, how would you like it
if it looked like that?"
1878
01:45:09,776 --> 01:45:11,552
[Horse nickers]
1879
01:45:11,576 --> 01:45:15,219
{\an1}Narrator: The House of
Representatives voted 29-25
1880
01:45:15,243 --> 01:45:18,285
that "Congress has
no authority to interfere"
1881
01:45:18,309 --> 01:45:20,252
{\an1}on the issue of slavery.
1882
01:45:20,276 --> 01:45:25,652
{\an1}In the Senate, the petition
was tabled without discussion.
1883
01:45:25,676 --> 01:45:28,252
{\an1}Brown: What they agree on,
more than anything else,
1884
01:45:28,276 --> 01:45:30,485
is we're not talking about this.
1885
01:45:30,509 --> 01:45:33,052
{\an1}The Federal Government is
not talking about this.
1886
01:45:33,076 --> 01:45:35,119
{\an1}This is not the forum to deal
with the national question
1887
01:45:35,143 --> 01:45:37,785
{\an1}of slavery, because there is
no national question.
1888
01:45:37,809 --> 01:45:39,885
{\an1}It's a state question.
1889
01:45:39,909 --> 01:45:43,452
{\an1}The question of the future
of slavery is really left
1890
01:45:43,476 --> 01:45:45,752
for the individual
States to decide.
1891
01:45:45,776 --> 01:45:49,052
{\an1}That's how we end up with
the North-South division.
1892
01:45:49,076 --> 01:45:51,385
{\an1}Bailyn: I would put it
this way.
1893
01:45:51,409 --> 01:45:59,119
{\an1}Before the Revolution, slavery
was never a major public issue.
1894
01:45:59,143 --> 01:46:02,952
{\an1}There were people who spoke,
before the Revolution,
1895
01:46:02,976 --> 01:46:08,252
{\an1}who spoke against it and gave
good reasons to what evil
1896
01:46:08,276 --> 01:46:13,785
{\an1}it was, but it was not
a major public issue.
1897
01:46:13,809 --> 01:46:19,876
{\an1}After the Revolution, there
never was a time when it wasn't.
1898
01:46:28,476 --> 01:46:30,752
Man as Franklin:
Here is my creed:
1899
01:46:30,776 --> 01:46:35,485
I believe in one God,
creator of the universe.
1900
01:46:35,509 --> 01:46:38,585
That he governs it
by his providence.
1901
01:46:38,609 --> 01:46:40,519
That he ought to be worshipped.
1902
01:46:40,543 --> 01:46:43,452
{\an1}That the most acceptable
service we render to him
1903
01:46:43,476 --> 01:46:47,019
is doing good to his
other children.
1904
01:46:47,043 --> 01:46:51,152
{\an1}That the soul of man is immortal
and will be treated
1905
01:46:51,176 --> 01:46:57,019
{\an1}with justice in another life
respecting its conduct in this.
1906
01:46:57,043 --> 01:47:00,652
{\an1}These I take to be the
fundamental principles of all
1907
01:47:00,676 --> 01:47:03,919
sound religion,
and I regard them
1908
01:47:03,943 --> 01:47:06,576
in whatever sect
I meet with them.
1909
01:47:08,476 --> 01:47:12,252
{\an1}Narrator: Franklin's worsening
health kept him housebound.
1910
01:47:12,276 --> 01:47:15,352
{\an1}"People who live long,
who will drink from the cup
1911
01:47:15,376 --> 01:47:18,352
{\an1}of Life to the very bottom,"
he wrote a friend,
1912
01:47:18,376 --> 01:47:22,276
{\an1}"must expect to meet with some
of the usual dregs."
1913
01:47:23,909 --> 01:47:28,019
{\an1}In the spring of 1790,
he suffered chest pains
1914
01:47:28,043 --> 01:47:30,719
{\an1}and a fever that confined him
to his bed,
1915
01:47:30,743 --> 01:47:33,085
{\an1}surrounded by his family.
1916
01:47:33,109 --> 01:47:36,885
{\an1}He asked his daughter Sally
to arrange things so he could
1917
01:47:36,909 --> 01:47:38,919
{\an1}"die in a decent manner."
1918
01:47:38,943 --> 01:47:44,285
{\an1}She told him everyone hoped
he would live many more years.
1919
01:47:44,309 --> 01:47:47,109
{\an1}"I hope not," he replied.
1920
01:47:49,976 --> 01:47:55,885
On April 17, 1790,
an abscess in his lung burst,
1921
01:47:55,909 --> 01:47:59,285
and he slipped
into unconsciousness.
1922
01:47:59,309 --> 01:48:04,152
At 11:00 that night,
Benjamin Franklin died.
1923
01:48:04,176 --> 01:48:08,219
He was 84 years old.
1924
01:48:08,243 --> 01:48:10,652
{\an1}More than 20,000 people,
1925
01:48:10,676 --> 01:48:14,285
{\an1}the largest crowd Philadelphia
had ever seen,
1926
01:48:14,309 --> 01:48:17,319
turned out for
his funeral procession.
1927
01:48:17,343 --> 01:48:19,585
{\an1}Leading it from his house
on Market Street
1928
01:48:19,609 --> 01:48:22,485
to the burial ground
at Christ Church
1929
01:48:22,509 --> 01:48:27,552
{\an1}were the clergy of every church
of every sect in the city,
1930
01:48:27,576 --> 01:48:30,652
walking arm in arm.
1931
01:48:30,676 --> 01:48:33,252
{\an1}When he was 22 years old,
1932
01:48:33,276 --> 01:48:36,785
Franklin had composed
an epitaph for his grave.
1933
01:48:36,809 --> 01:48:39,952
{\an1}"The Body of B. Franklin,
Printer,
1934
01:48:39,976 --> 01:48:42,452
"Like the Cover of an old Book,
1935
01:48:42,476 --> 01:48:46,385
{\an1}"Its contents torn out,
And Stript of its Lettering
1936
01:48:46,409 --> 01:48:50,952
"and Gilding,
"Lies here, Food for Worms.
1937
01:48:50,976 --> 01:48:54,085
{\an1}"But the Work shall not be
wholly lost,
1938
01:48:54,109 --> 01:48:57,819
{\an1}"For it will, as he believed,
appear once more,
1939
01:48:57,843 --> 01:49:00,852
"In a new & more perfect Edition
1940
01:49:00,876 --> 01:49:04,109
{\an8}Corrected and amended
By the Author."
1941
01:49:05,809 --> 01:49:10,485
{\an1}As he aged, however, the old
printer had, of course,
1942
01:49:10,509 --> 01:49:12,652
edited it down.
1943
01:49:12,676 --> 01:49:15,552
{\an1}The gravestone's epitaph became,
1944
01:49:15,576 --> 01:49:18,309
"BENJAMIN
And DEBORAH FRANKLIN."
1945
01:49:20,909 --> 01:49:24,352
{\an1}He had never completed
the autobiography he started
1946
01:49:24,376 --> 01:49:27,719
back in 1771.
1947
01:49:27,743 --> 01:49:32,752
{\an1}His grandson Temple eventually
published the manuscript.
1948
01:49:32,776 --> 01:49:35,685
{\an1}The book would go through
hundreds of editions
1949
01:49:35,709 --> 01:49:38,219
{\an1}in dozens of languages,
1950
01:49:38,243 --> 01:49:42,385
{\an1}inspiring generations of
ambitious strivers
1951
01:49:42,409 --> 01:49:46,319
{\an1}wanting to get ahead in life.
1952
01:49:46,343 --> 01:49:48,685
{\an1}There's nothing dreamy
or romantic about Franklin.
1953
01:49:48,709 --> 01:49:54,252
{\an1}But in that self-improving,
marvelously protean way,
1954
01:49:54,276 --> 01:49:57,385
{\an1}there's something about him
that so much becomes what we
1955
01:49:57,409 --> 01:50:00,752
{\an1}all quest for, what we think
of as the sort of, American
1956
01:50:00,776 --> 01:50:02,752
{\an1}ingenuity, that American
feeling that we can
1957
01:50:02,776 --> 01:50:04,443
accomplish anything.
1958
01:50:09,909 --> 01:50:13,319
{\an1}Narrator: In his will, Franklin
left most of his wealth
1959
01:50:13,343 --> 01:50:16,119
and possessions to
members of his family,
1960
01:50:16,143 --> 01:50:18,709
{\an1}except to his son William.
1961
01:50:20,476 --> 01:50:24,552
{\an1}But in memory of his start as
a lowly printer's apprentice,
1962
01:50:24,576 --> 01:50:28,685
{\an1}he created a trust fund,
still active today,
1963
01:50:28,709 --> 01:50:32,119
{\an1}to help young people with
ambition and talent
1964
01:50:32,143 --> 01:50:38,685
{\an1}from his two hometowns
of Boston and Philadelphia.
1965
01:50:38,709 --> 01:50:40,952
Man as Franklin:
I begin to be almost sorry
1966
01:50:40,976 --> 01:50:42,952
I was born so soon,
1967
01:50:42,976 --> 01:50:46,519
{\an1}since I cannot have the
"Happiness" of knowing what will
1968
01:50:46,543 --> 01:50:49,485
{\an1}be known 100 "Years" hence.
1969
01:50:49,509 --> 01:50:52,819
[Thunder]
1970
01:50:52,843 --> 01:50:55,885
{\an1}But it is the will of God
and Nature that these mortal
1971
01:50:55,909 --> 01:50:58,819
bodies be laid aside.
1972
01:50:58,843 --> 01:51:02,685
{\an1}Whether I have been doing
good or mischief is for time
1973
01:51:02,709 --> 01:51:04,385
to discover.
1974
01:51:04,409 --> 01:51:07,285
I only know that
I intended well,
1975
01:51:07,309 --> 01:51:11,419
{\an1}and I hope all will end well.
1976
01:51:11,443 --> 01:51:13,752
Adieu.
1977
01:51:13,776 --> 01:51:15,309
Benjamin Franklin.
1978
01:51:24,143 --> 01:51:32,143
♪
1979
01:52:43,576 --> 01:52:45,552
Announcer:
Stream the full series,
1980
01:52:45,576 --> 01:52:46,985
go behind the scenes,
1981
01:52:47,009 --> 01:52:48,385
{\an1}and learn how to bring
1982
01:52:48,409 --> 01:52:49,852
Benjamin Franklin
1983
01:52:49,876 --> 01:52:51,685
{\an1}into the classroom by visiting
1984
01:52:51,709 --> 01:52:54,452
pbs.org/benfranklin
1985
01:52:54,476 --> 01:52:57,685
or the PBS video app.
1986
01:52:57,709 --> 01:52:59,952
{\an1}To order "Benjamin Franklin"
1987
01:52:59,976 --> 01:53:01,919
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1988
01:53:01,943 --> 01:53:03,585
visit shopPBS
1989
01:53:03,609 --> 01:53:07,019
{\an1}or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
1990
01:53:07,043 --> 01:53:09,652
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is also available
1991
01:53:09,676 --> 01:53:11,752
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1992
01:53:11,776 --> 01:53:15,719
{\an1}and on Amazon Prime Video.
1993
01:53:15,743 --> 01:53:23,743
♪
1994
01:54:02,509 --> 01:54:04,509
♪
1995
01:54:07,676 --> 01:54:10,419
{\an1}Announcer: Major funding
for "Benjamin Franklin"
1996
01:54:10,443 --> 01:54:12,419
was provided
by David M. Rubinstein,
1997
01:54:12,443 --> 01:54:14,419
investing in people
and institutions that help us
1998
01:54:14,443 --> 01:54:16,419
understand the past
and prepare us for the future.
1999
01:54:16,443 --> 01:54:18,619
{\an1}By the Pew Charitable Trusts,
2000
01:54:18,643 --> 01:54:21,419
{\an1}a global non-governmental
organization that seeks
2001
01:54:21,443 --> 01:54:24,485
{\an1}to improve public policy,
inform the public,
2002
01:54:24,509 --> 01:54:26,319
{\an1}and invigorate civic life;
2003
01:54:26,343 --> 01:54:29,519
{\an1}and by The Better Angels Society
and its members:
2004
01:54:29,543 --> 01:54:31,519
{\an1}Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine;
2005
01:54:31,543 --> 01:54:33,519
{\an1}The University of Pennsylvania,
2006
01:54:33,543 --> 01:54:36,352
{\an1}impact through innovation
and inclusion;
2007
01:54:36,376 --> 01:54:38,585
{\an1}Gilchrist and Amy Berg;
2008
01:54:38,609 --> 01:54:40,585
{\an1}Perry and Donna Golkin;
2009
01:54:40,609 --> 01:54:43,219
{\an1}and by these additional
contributors.
2010
01:54:43,243 --> 01:54:47,319
{\an3}♪
2011
01:54:47,343 --> 01:54:50,319
{\an8}By the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting
2012
01:54:50,343 --> 01:54:54,385
{\an7}and by generous contributions
to your PBS station
2013
01:54:54,409 --> 01:54:56,419
{\an7}from viewers like you.
2014
01:54:56,443 --> 01:54:57,976
{\an8}Thank you.
165599
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