Late in life, Franklin petitioned Congress to end slavery in the United States.
Franklin, though a former slave owner, had joined the growing antislavery movement in Philadelphia. With the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, he petitioned the new federal government to end slavery in the United States. Because of Franklin’s reputation, the petition was heard. But the House of Representatives voted it down, and the Senate tabled it without discussion.
AIR DATE 4/4/22
Ken Burns’s two-part, four-hour documentary, “Benjamin Franklin,” explores the revolutionary life of one of the18th century’s most consequential and compelling personalities, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States.
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