To What Extent Did Benjamin Franklin Convert To Patriotism

Although a very loyal man, Benjamin Franklin has been considered both a Loyalist and a Patriot, but he is marked very clearly as a founding father, and as thus, should have primarily been a Patriot during and after the war with England. In this paper I wish to address the following questions. To what extent did Benjamin Franklin convert to Patriotism in the Revolutionary war, and what part did he play in achieving American victory? Was his primary success as a diplomat to France, a member of the Continental Congress, or through his subterfuge and spy ring. As a result of Franklin choosing to be a Patriot in the Revolutionary war what did Franklin have to lose, or gain? These questions are essential to understanding what Franklin truly

Franklin once wrote “to Lord Kames 'I have lived so great a part of my life in Britain, and formed so many friendships in it, that I love it and sincerely wish it prosperity;”(Jones, 213), and siding with America ment that Benjamin had the potential of never visiting England again, or by losing those friendships. Additionally, Benjamin Franklin lost his position of postmaster(which he did regain in America) and he was disconnected from the Royal Society. More importantly, by joining the Partriots, Franklin lost his only son William

He was introduced to law and politics early, and was always with Benjamin Franklin. “Benjamin was not merely his son's greatest benefactor. He was, said London printer William Strahan, ‘his friend, his brother, his intimate, and easy companion.’ As William matured, the relationship between father and son became at one and the same time stronger and more equal.”(Skemp, 36). During the war, however, William Franklin remained loyal to the crown, as his father taught him to be. The rift between the two became so large that “Benjamin Franklin's son William, who was a loyalist, spied on his own father and reported the elder Franklin's activities to the British authorities.”(Spies). Benjamin Franklin felt betrayed by his son’s actions and for not following the same Patriotic path as him. Consequently, “[i]n June, 1789, less than one year before his death, an aging Benjamin Franklin made an addition to his will, effectively disinheriting his only living son.”(Skemp,