2025.07.01 Daily Thread – American Stories: When in the Course of Human Events – Part 19

From deceptive acts used in the the sausage making of legislation in our current days to the deception by an author with the use of pen names, this thread is also about one very prominent founding father. It is safe to say that without his dedicated efforts in a foreign land during the Revolutionary War we may not have a reason to celebrate our nation’s independence today.

As previously discussed the Federalists and Anti-Federalists used the media of that day to publish their views in an attempt to sway public opinion their individual direction. So it was with this incredible founder many decades before the patriot movement in the colonies, except he did not always have political motives with his written words.

Sometimes his tranny alter ego took over.

Benjamin Franklin

Now you may ask, Trade, why would you disparage such an important American patriot? Brilliant Benjamin, or as he signed his name – B. Franklin, or “B” from this point on – was the master of using pseudonyms for his authorship. As a result he would sometimes choose fictitious ladies to write letters to newspapers by names such as Polly Baker and Silence Dogood. It was a way to get around the heavy censorship of the period, especially relating to subjects that were generally not accepted by society and political leaders.

Censorship in media inspired by government forces? Say it ain’t so! Yup, going back 300 years or so between these shores it was done in similar ways using whatever methodology they had available at the time. A reminder of Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NASB) is appropriate. “What has been, it is what will be, And what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.“

In one of B’s letter stories it seems Polly was an unwed mother with several illegitimate children who would opine about separation of church and state matters. She believed that having children born out of wedlock was not sinful. She saw herself before a fictive court making a defense without benefit of a lawyer whom she could not afford anyway. She believed that she deserved a statute in her honor instead of the whipping that authorities wanted to administer. She was basically pointing out the double standard of society’s treatment of men and women. The satire used is really humorous.

Silence was the first of B’s cast of characters. She was a middle aged country widow of a minister who once went after society not providing the same opportunity for education for the poor that the wealthy had. She loved men and the clergy while having a particular penchant for reproving others satirically. B snuck letters from “her” into his older brother’s newspaper without his knowledge.

Even the names he used for his women authors were funny. Besides Polly and Silence, there were Caelia Shortface, Martha Careful, Alice Addertongue and Busy Body all contributing. The latter penned gossip and a lot of hilarious looks at relationships between men and women.

His cast of names of men authors were noteworthy as well. Of course, most folks know that B used the name of Richard Saunders to produce Poor Richard’s Almanack as a young man. This publication continued for 26 editions and averaged around 10,000 copies issued per year. There also was the funny married life portrayals of Anthony Afterwit. Later in life in England he wrote under the pen name of Benevolus to dispel rumors about colonists that were being printed in the British press.

Needless to say B had an amazingly observant, creative, and intelligent mind. We should all be thankful he was a patriot because there was a long period of time before the war when he was a British loyalist. Some of those who did not care for him for a variety of reasons even accused him of being a British spy. However, as the oppressive Brits began to tighten down on the colonies, he flipped to being a full throated patriot. From his works we also see a founding father who was way ahead of his time when it came to seeking gender equality, access to education for all, scientific endeavors, and seeking fair dealings in all endeavors.

Biography

There is not enough time to detail B’s biography here. This extraordinary man left an incredible legacy in so many areas of life. I will not attempt to summarize, it would not do him justice. I have provided a shortened version of his bio in the first link below. The second link goes into a bit more information that hits the higher points of his life. I have followed that with a very good, more detailed version for those who want to know more in the format of an autobiography in the man’s own words that he chronicles to the year 1757.

https://www.thoughtco.com/story-of-benjamin-franklin-1989852

https://www.rbcpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/a_b_benf.pdf

His Interactions

Now that you probably know more about the man than you probably ever desired to know, we can focus on some of his more notable interactions and relationships during the founding years of our nation.

Will start with a political cartoon he published in his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, in May 1754.

He basically told the colonies to work together to become unified or die. The image was widely used leading up to the war.

He was a devoted freemason throughout his life. He joined in Philadelphia in 1730. It nearly cost his freedom and did damage his reputation for a time due to a stupid hazing incident that cost a man his life. B was dragged into the resulting negativity. Below is a published accusation, B’s response, and a witness statement. He testified in the criminal trial on behalf of the prosecution.

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0036

There is some nasty freemason shiz in that accusation that led to a conviction of manslaughter for the offender.

He aligned more with Thomas Jefferson in his political, governmental, and societal views. Similar to Jefferson, he embraced the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and in particular in France. This philosophy led several leaders who formerly claimed to be Christians to becoming Deists. In Jefferson’s case it appeared he did not stay in the Deist camp later in life. The two shared much in common in their beliefs about humanity and governing. The link below describes the relationship and their times well. It is from the Jefferson Monticello organization.

https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/benjamin-franklin

B left for France as a traitor to Great Britain at age 70, just months after signing the Declaration of Independence. It is safe to say that the colonies would have never won the Revolutionary War and independence without France becoming fully immersed in the struggle and strongly supporting the efforts of the colonies. Which shows everybody how things can change over time on the world stage. Big bad France of those days is a mess today.

B was very famous and a celebrity in France the entire nine years he lived there. He was known throughout Europe to have discovered electricity and for his inventions such as the flexible tubed urinary catheter. His manner fit in well with leaders and aristocracy in the nation. As we now know he also designed the first known pair of bifocals upon his return to the states.

He was never in a hurry, he took time to visit and understand the people and their motives. He took every meeting that was requested of him while in France. As it applied to meeting the war time needs of the colonies he was very good at bluffing and blowing smoke up the rears of French leaders when it came to the military prowess of the colonist military. He was patient when it came to securing the needed assets to help the colonial war efforts, which drove many of his contemporaries back in America crazy. He did not push hard for assistance until he had something to sell, which turned out to be the colonist victory at the Battle of Saratoga and subsequent capture of Gen. Burgoyne and his men. Ironically, Benedict Arnold led the colonial forces that accomplished it. That victory was all that was needed for France to sign treaties of alliance and jump in. More good information is in the article below.

https://www.history.com/articles/benjamin-franklin-france

As discussed in the linked article and in my previous post, John Adams and B were not best buddies. B’s deliberate manner and celebrity status drove John Adams crazy. However, they tolerated each other to accomplish important work for America. After a time, Adams was sent to Great Britain as the war ended as previously noted in the post about him. He was much happier and more effective there as he fit in with the British royals and aristocrats with his background and manner. This was the opposite of B’s previous experiences in Britain. The British royalty and aristocracy never really accepted him despite his attempts to fit in. They respected his accomplishments, but having been a commoner with little standing in society and formal education, B was considered beneath them.

B. Franklin’s Family and Death

This is a good place to end this Part. B’s marriage and children reflected an absent husband and father who was not all that into family life. It just goes to show that famous legends in history sometimes lead just as wanky of personal lives as many of the rest of us. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the grunge.com link below due to their spotty track record, although this article appears accurate compared to other historical accounts. They do reference Smithsonian documentation among other reputable sources in several spots. I have also linked the applicable Smithsonian one that applies to the following theory of the primary cause of the couple’s estrangement. If it is accurate, it sheds light on a brilliant, often times conflicted man who had a penchant for walking on the dark side at times in his life.

If the theory holds, B could never reconcile to wife Deborah’s refusal to inoculate for small pox their four year old son, Francis, from which he later contracted the disease and died. Long periods of time and distance apart did not make B’s heart grow fonder for Deborah and their daughter, Sarah, which made reconciliation less likely to occur. In fact, during Deborah’s latter years alive while B was in Great Britain he would send letters to her delaying his return even though he was well aware she was gravely ill. He waited to return until she passed away in 1774.

Cold, not only to her and Sarah, but also to older son, William, who was reported to be B’s from an extra-marital affair. William was well provided for and raised by the couple into adulthood. He was very close to his father for a time and considered Deborah his mother. There is speculation that Deborah actually was his mother, that William’s birth was from a period when she was estranged from her first husband. The couple were very secretive about William’s origins such that even his birth year was questioned. William went on to a distinguished career as an attorney, politician and soldier. However, he remained a British loyalist and became a nemesis to B and the founding fathers in his twenties. So much so that he was imprisoned at the start of the war for two years. He was released and immediately began organizing loyalists to fight the colonists. A few years later he was exiled to London and never returned.

Needless to say B harbored bitter resentment against Deborah, which may or may not have been founded on truth over a subject of vaccinations that is still a divisive issue centuries later.

https://www.grunge.com/234353/the-troubled-history-of-benjamin-

franklhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/benjamin-franklin-estranged-wife-nearly-two-decades-180964400

The following is a summary description of B’s funeral.

https://christchurchphila.org/remembering-benjamin-franklin

Please note what this (restored as of 2016/2017) plaque near his grave states.

As it states, he wrote it earlier in life with no intention of it actually being used. Will leave you with one of B’s better American Patriot quotes of the ages to live by.

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

Please remember Wolf’s rules for our community. In general that means to be respectful to each other and to pull no shenanigans that your mom might find offensive or otherwise cause jail time. That said, free speech is honored here.

Have a happy Independence Day, folks. We have so much to be thankful for as we head into The Golden Age of America. Be blessed and go make something good happen!