Quote:
Originally Posted by Taltarzac725
Silence was golden for Ben Franklin while he was in the Cockpit on January 29, 1774 facing the adder like tongued Alexander Wedderburn. Wedderburn even used a pun of stating that Franklin was the "prime conductor" of the anger against the British government because of the Hutchinson letters. Watching the roasting were all the honey tongued courtiers as well as Franklin's arch enemy by that time Lord Hillsborough who wanted payback for his removal from the grace of George III and the Prime Minister. They did not give Frankin much room to pivot from the ire so he just remained stoic and took the barbs. Franklin did have a few friends on that January 29 day like Edmund Burke a genius of a pragmatic political writer as well as the scientist Joseph Priestly and Lord Le Despencer (Francis Dashwood). Joseph Priestley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia BBC - History - Edmund Burke National Portrait Gallery - Person - Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron Le Despencer |
Franklin's reputation would soon
mutate as he stood up against public pressure while in England to recant his still strong belief in saving the relationship between England and her colonies in North America. Events at home would cause great grief with him however as his wife was gravely ill from the long term effects of a stroke five years before and his illegitimate son William--now Royal Governor on New Jersey-- was an avid Loyalist bent on making sure his father stayed on the side of the British in the oncoming struggle. This was the
theme of many letters between father and son. Both
refused to bend to the deepening sentiments of the other. Ben Franklin to his practical viewpoints of what would happen if the colonies rebelled and William Franklin's staunch support of King George III and Lord North's policies. Franklin recommended a Continental Congress boycott English goods both coming in and going out of the colonies which would demonstrate how much England needed her American colonies. The 1774 letters between Ben and William show quite an interesting view of Benjamin's growing disassociation with England even though he still lived there. Getting at his real feelings though is like peeling an
onion as they seem to change with each layer peeled as the year 1774 progressed.
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration...d/congress.htm