Publicly Humiliated in London

Franklin, the most famous American in London, became the face of American resistance.

As Britain and the colonies grew apart, Benjamin Franklin, the most famous American in London and an agent for several colonies, found himself caught in the middle. After the Boston Tea Party, he was publicly humiliated in a government meeting room called the Cockpit and blamed for the crisis across the ocean. It was clearer than ever that Franklin would have to choose a side.

AIR DATE 4/4/22

Benjamin Franklin House in London

Compromise and the Constitution of the United States

Franklin and the Antislavery Movement

Franklin Hears About Washington’s Victory at Yorktown

Franklin’s Endlessly Quotable Poor Richard’s Almanack

Behind the Scenes | Exploring Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin and Inoculation

Franklin Makes a Name for Himself as a Printer

Franklin and Slave Labor

Benjamin Franklin Invents the Glass Armonica

Franklin Faces His Racial Prejudices

The Stamp Act

Franklin’s Observations and Experiments on Electricity

The Franklins Choose Opposing Sides in the Revolution

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Publicly Humiliated in London

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About Benjamin Franklin

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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