Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies

Abstract

A harmonious human multitude is the phrase Carl Van Doren used to describe Benjamin Franklin. A very different man emerges in Robert Middlekauff's engaging study of the much-loved statesman and polymath. Although he was greatly admired at home and abroad, Ben Franklin had a darker side, one never fully examined until now. In uncovering a little-known aspect of the great man's personality - his passionate anger - Middlekauff reveals a fully human Franklin, one whose life, while indeed remarkable, was not without its hostile relationships and great disappointments. With few exceptions, Benjamin Franklin's enemies were made in politics: his early adversaries, the Penns, viewed him as a colonial upstart; his later enemies, most notably John Adams and Arthur Lee, saw him as morally corrupt. Franklin's opponents neither shared his wider vision of the world nor appreciated his sophisticated understanding of power in matters of diplomacy. At the same time, Franklin's judgment could desert him and honourable instincts fail him, leaving him open to the enmity of others. Franklin's greatest sorrow came from his son, William, whose loyalty to Britain made him a traitor in his father's eyes. More than politics was at play, however: Franklin felt a son should put aside his principles in favour of his father's. Refusing to reconcile with William, even after America won independence, Franklin let his vaunted sense of reason overrule his heart. Utilizing an abundance of archival sources, Middlekauff weaves episodes in Franklin's emotional life into key moments in colonial and revolutionary history. The result is a highly readable narrative that illuminates how historical passions can torment even the most rational and benevolent of men.