Benjamin Franklin
The Albany Plan: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Call for Colonial Unity
On May 9, 1754 – just about a month before the Albany Congress was set to meet – Benjamin Franklin published his famous Join or Die political cartoon in The Pennsylvania Gazette, symbolizing his now long-forgotten call for a colonial union. Although it was...
The Satirical Genius of Benjamin Franklin’s 1774 Letter to Lord North
“A friend to military government.” That’s not what we’d expect from one of the leading supporters of American independence, but that’s just how Benjamin Franklin signed his “Open Letter to Lord North.” While many American colonists confronted arbitrary British power...
Benjamin Franklin’s Brilliant Satire: Exposing British Hypocrisy Through a Fake Prussian Edict
As frustrations with usurpations and arbitrary power from the British government grew, American colonial leaders fired up the presses, producing hundreds of newspaper articles, pamphlets, and resolutions outlining their case and urging resistance. Benjamin Franklin...
Benjamin Franklin: How to Lose an Empire
“Empires, by Pride & Folly & Extravagance, ruin themselves like Individuals.” Benjamin Franklin certainly understood history. He had witnessed it unfold. In fact, he predicted the unraveling of the British Empire. Featuring some of his best satire and sharpest...