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Context
Although he is one of the best-known leaders of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin spent years attemping to encourage Americans and the British government to better understand the other before war broke out. Born in 1706, Benjamin Franklin grew up in relative poverty as one of seventeen children of an artisan. After his formal education ended at the age of ten, Franklin was apprenticed to his brother to learn printmaking two years later.
Franklin’s natural aptitude for writing and his ability to make connections contributed to his rapid rise in society. After running away from his brother in Boston, he found work as a printer in Philadelphia. By 1729, he was editor of the highly-regarded Pennsylvania Gazette, and three years later began to publish the widely-circulated Poor Richard’s Almanac, which he produced for 25 years. He founded the first successful public lending library in the colonies in 1731 as well as the American Philosophical Society in 1743. Franklin became postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737 and ten years later organized a militia to defend against Spanish privateers in the Delaware River.
Franklin's foray into politics really began after he retired from active printing at the age of 42. He had secured enough of a fortune through sales of his work and investments in property to step back from running his business concerns. In addition to conducting experiments on electricity, he served as a delegate in the general assembly of Pennsylvania and eventually became a Deputy Postmaster General of the colonies in 1753. He went to London in 1757 on behalf of the Pennsylvania assembly, and during his many years in England made connections with the aristocracy while representing American interests. As an agent of the colonial government, Franklin was firmly on the side of Parliament until Britain sought to make the colonists pay more to support the British army in America in the wake of the expensive Seven Years' War. When Parliament enacted the Stamp Act in 1765, colonists were outraged at this direct tax on paper items purchased and used in the colonies. In 1766 Parliament questioned Franklin about the American reaction to the Stamp Act, and he gave a four-hour testimony that left him concerned about Parliament’s reaction to colonial resistance. A month after Frankin's testimony, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766, but at the same time passed the Declaratory Act asserting its right to pass laws affecting the colonies.
Franklin continued to live in England until 1775, trying to explain the viewpoints of each side to opponents, without much success. When he returned to Philadelphia, he was elected one of Pennsylvania's delegates to the Second Continental Congress, to the dismay of some who believed Franklin had spent too much time in England—and who thought he might even be a spy. Franklin proved himself an ardent revolutionary and helped to draft the Declaration of Independence. He became foreign minister to France (1776–1778) and was instrumental in securing a formal alliance and several loans from the country. He also helped to broker the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that finally ended the Revolutionary War.
These excerpts from Franklin's published testimony before Parliament in 1766 can be found in the Evans Early American microfiche at the Library of Virginia.
Citation: Excerpts from The Examination of Doctor Benjamin Franklin, before an August Assembly, Relating to the Repeal of the Stamp-Act, &c., 1766 (Fiche 131 Evans 10302, Early American imprints, First series).
Read a transcription of Franklin's complete testimony online at the National Archives.
Related Document Bank entry
Address to the Ladies, Poem, 1767
Standards
Suggested Questions
Analyze: Read the excerpt from the Stamp Act testimony. According to Benjamin Franklin, what were the colonists' key grievances with Parliament, and why? How did Franklin refute Parliament’s assumption that Americans had never paid taxes to support the French and Indian War?
Post Activities
Food For Thought: Franklin made a few predictions about why the Stamp Act would be unsuccessful. What were they? What warnings did he give to Parliament about what would happen if they tried to enforce the Stamp Act? Although Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, how did colonists react to other laws Parliament passed after that? How did Franklin’s predictions play out over time? How accurately did he assess American sentiment?
Social Media Spin: Franklin could be considered a colonial-era influencer as a publisher of a newspaper and Poor Richard’s Almanac as well as a famous scientist who was made a fellow of the Royal Society. Design several IG posts from an account by Franklin, trying to persuade Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act.