Research Paper on History: Franklin Papers

My primary source is Franklin Papers, and it relates to this class because Benjamin Franklin is renowned as one of the forefathers of the United States of America. It is available at this URL: https://founders.archives.gov/?q=%20Period:%22Confederation%20Period%22&s=1111211111&r=1

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Franklin papers available at the founder's website contains an array of letters, which denote the various communications that the man undertook in his work as a Briton and as an American. This paper, therefore, will try to analyze the contribution of Benjamin Franklin towards civilization in America. The paper thus will further try to look at how Benjamin Franklin, a loyal British citizen found himself in the American history books as one of the founding fathers.

No single American can talk of American ideals without the mention of Benjamin Franklin in the conversation. Born in Boston, Franklin was a renowned scientist, industrialist, and a steadfast public official. Unknown to many and something that comes out from the letters in Franklin papers is the fact that for a majority of the time, Franklin was very much loyal to the crown of England and him the existence of America was just a pipe dream. In a letter by Jonathan Shipley, the author asserts the position of Franklin where the author asks him to stand his ground in regards to Pennsylvania becoming a British government property rather than becoming a proprietary colony of Britain. This is quite contrary to what many know of Franklin who is a symbol of the American dream. In fact, some historians like Gordon Wood dismiss Franklin as a non-entity when it comes to the American Revolution. Gordon argues that by the time the revolution was taking place, Franklin was old and has already cemented his place in both the American and English society and as such, the actions of the revolution were invalid to him. In 1754, Franklin did outline his Albany Plan, and something that came out was the need to unify all the colonies to make the British people control the colonies in America with ease.

It is usually difficult to associate Franklin to another nation other than America yet according to the papers up to and until around 1776 when the revolution took place, Franklin was still a very loyal citizen of Britain. Even after the revolution according to the letter written to him by Patience Wright, Franklin still did enjoy working for the Britons in France and England (Founders, n.p.). Patience in her letter describes to Franklin the situation in the colonies and asks for his guidance on a myriad of issues including the inclusion of women into leadership that would affect the entire country. It is at this point that Franklin starts to think of America especially after Patience explains to him the dynamics and the outcome of the revolutionary wars. His raging sense of nationalism towards America began at this point although from time to time he would exhibit the emotional attachment towards Britain.

In these papers and letters, many people consult Franklin on issues of democracy, capitalism, and opportunity. Franklin in his responses prefers opportunity in comparison to security and so when the country he loves, England takes away the opportunity that the Americans had, he is forced to go against England. It is during this time that Franklin became a serious contender and a key figure in American political freedom fight by voting for the American Independent Movement in the British parliament. He was much against the oppression that the British parliament was causing the innocent Americans.

From a logical perspective, it is certain that the Albany plan was synonymous with the American independence movement program. In 1754, the colonists, as well as Franklin, had no need to gain independence from the British people, in fact, the idea was to strengthen the power of the colonizers (Founders, n.p.). It later emerges that the idea of unifying the various states and colonies would be the same idea that Franklin and his cohorts use to secure the independence of America after the Revolutionary War. The premise is the same just that there is a difference in circumstances and time. In Franklin papers, Benjamin Franklin writes a letter to the British government to consider having a continental union to manage the colonies efficiently and regulate issues from a common ground. This request fails to materialize, but it would later emerge that the same idea was the beginning of the United States of America. In fact, in a letter Peter Collison, Franklin states that colonies indeed were ready to buy the idea of a union only that they faced distractions that were not allowing them to embrace the idea. There were several issues behind this, and one of them ran away corruption and smuggling of goods which would cease once a unitary system would come into place. The leaders were thus not keen on letting go of powers that they were holding in the colonies, as a new regime would find out about their ill deeds. Benjamin Franklin was thus the man who through his quest to create a united country managed to wipe away corruption and illegal businesses in America and pave the way for the independence of the country.

In the 1770s as the aggressions continued to mount in America, Franklin did manage to stumble on some letters, which were incriminating public officials and kept the notes safe with a colleague. The British found out and dismissed him as postmaster general. He faced treason charges and in one of his letters to a friend by the name, Tomas Cushing Franklin laments that the system he served diligently was now the same one torturing him. He goes ahead to state that he would have loved for there to be a restoration of peace and unity in the colonies, but again this was not going to be possible. He too was a casualty of the same system that did not inculcate peace. In a letter to John Foxcroft, he states that he is too much of an American something indicating his willingness to chart the way forward for Americans and not for England. In the letter to his sister Jane, Benjamin Franklin asserts that he was developing much attachment towards the American interests rather than the British interests, as was the case earlier. Initially, Franklin was keen on having both the interests of the Americans and the English colonizers by pursuing peace and unity between the two, but after a severe attack on his personal accomplishments, he fully devotes his services to the American people.

From Franklin papers, there is much insight on the man, Benjamin Franklin, his rise in the political circles, his work with the British people and finally his change of heart towards supporting the American cause. It took Franklin two years after parting ways with the British Parliament to be part of the team during the declaration of the American independence. He was a key player in the committee that worked on drafting the Declaration of Independence.

Work Cited

"Founders Online: Home." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.