Political Background

Franklin the Republican

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

~ Benjamin Franklin, 1783

  • Franklin was the gifted protege of Cotton Mather, a remarkable republican leader
  • In Philadelphia, Franklins work at a print shop provided a cover for his policial activities
  • Franklin served as a crucial link between the republican citizens of New England and the republican leaders in Virginia
  • He visited London with intelligence tasks to garner support against the corrupt Hell-Fire clubs
  • Franklin later lived in England as a diplomatic representative of Massachusetts