Sleepy History - Benjamin Franklin

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Inventor, writer, diplomat, and one of America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin’s curiosity and brilliance helped shape the modern world. From printing presses and lightning experiments to revolutions and philosophies, his story is one of endless innovation and enduring wisdom. But his life was not without turmoil either. Tonight, travel back to colonial America and follow the fascinating journey of Benjamin Franklin, as his life and legacy gently guide you into a peaceful sleep. Narrated by: Arif Hodzic Written by: Alicia Steffann Includes mentions of: US History, Military History, Scientific Experiments, Marriage, British History, Slavery, American Revolution #history #sleep #bedtime #story #benjaminfranklin #UShistory About Sleepy History  Explore history's most intriguing stories, people, places, events, and mysteries, delivered in a supremely calming atmosphere. If you struggle to fall asleep and you have a curious mind, Sleepy History is the perfect bedtime companion. Our stories will gently grasp your attention, pulling your mind away from any racing thoughts, making room for the soothing music and calming narration to guide you into a peaceful sleep.  Want to enjoy Sleepy History ad-free? Start your 7-day free trial of Sleepy History Premium: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepyhistory.supercast.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have feedback or an episode request? Let us know at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠slumberstudios.com/contact⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios. To learn more, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.slumberstudios.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Sleepy History. Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios. To listen ad-free, get access to bonus episodes, and support the ongoing production of this show. Check out our premium feed. Thumbs to essentially American figures. One of the most iconic is founding father Benjamin Franklin. The modern imagination

has cemented his legacy as that of a wise politician and brilliant inventor. But who was the real man behind the stories? Tonight, we'll take you from his humble origins in colonial Boston to the halls of British Parliament, from the lavish salons of Versailles, to the Constitution. conventions in doing so the surprisingly complex private and public life of one of the world's most revered historical figures so just relax and let your mind drift

as we explore the sleepy history of Benjamin Franklin Jim and Franklin was one of those people who appeared to exemplary the American dream. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, in January of 1706, he did not come from exalted origins. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a Chandler, a craftsman who made soap and candles. Furthermore, between his first and second wives, Josiah had 17 children. Of those 17, Benjamin was quite far down the line, being the 15th overall and the 10th and final boy. Despite these humble realities, Benjamin learned to read at an early age and was allowed to attend

school briefly. He did, however, have to leave formal studies at age 10. By the time he was 12, he was apprenticed in the print shop of his older brother James. In hindsight, this career, which he did not choose for himself, turned out to have been a fortunate one. The exposure he gained to both the written word and the world of ideas was pivotal. and the skills he soon developed propelled him into a life of achievement that affected the course of world history. But it was not just that he had a lucky job. There is no denying that Franklin's own sharp mind played a large role in his future successes. He learned the printing business quickly

and soon began to turn the tools of his workplace to his advantage. In 1721, James Franklin founded a weekly newspaper called The New England Current. Jimon worked with him on the production of the paper, and he got a fire under him to contribute a letter to it. And had spent the previous few years reading and rereading a London-based purestrand, periodical called The Spectator, and he had practiced secretly to hone his command of prose, although he reportedly enjoyed poetry. He was later quoted as saying, Prose writing became of great use to me in the course of my life, and was a principal means

of my advancement, but his brother did not allow him to write a letter to the paper. regardless. In 1722, he was no longer satisfied to merely print other people's words, and he secretly wrote a series of 14 essays he submitted to the New England current. Under the female pseudonym Silence Dugood, these pieces were satirical and covered a number of provocative topics. Even his brother didn't know at first that he had written the articles, and he was not happy when he discovered the truth. But late in 1722, James got in trouble with provincial authorities for publishing other material that was critical of the current governor. He was jailed for three weeks and unable to run the news.

As a workaround, he made Ben the publisher of the newspaper under new indenture conditions. Commenting upon his brother's situation, Benjamin had his alias, Mrs. Dugood, quote, a British publication called Cato's Letters. She said, Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. Despite his defense of his brother, Benjamin had a falling out with him at age 17. He ran away, first to New York and then to Philadelphia, apparently confident that his brother wouldn't be able to enforce his revamped indenture agreement. He was correct. James left him to fend for himself in his new city. Although he arrived with

only a few coins in his pocket, he boldly sallied forth and got himself employed at a printer. He also began boarding with the family of a carpenter by the name of Reed. It was there that he developed a mutual affection with the Reed's second child, Deborah, who was two years younger than he. Sources vary on how far the relationship between Ben and Deborah got in that year. Some say that he asked for her hand in marriage and was refused by her parents due to his age and scant financial resources. Others suggest that Benjamin and Deborah married spoke of their love between themselves. In his later life, he obliquely commented that he and Deborah had

interchanged some promises, but the important fact is that they did not marry at that time. It was perhaps a fateful interruption to their courtship in 1724, when the governor of Pennsylvania suggested to Ben that he should start his own printing business. Since he had no colonial resources to do so, he set off for England with one friend and the governor's promise to send letters of introduction and credit in his favor that the governor would do no such thing. Benjamin and his friend James Ralph arrived in London

and realized quickly that they would have to fend for themselves. Ben was able to find work as a printer, offering his financial assistance to James, who was an aspiring writer. The two young men became swept up in the bustling life of London, enjoying themselves quite a bit, was reportedly, at this time that Ben sent his want. and only led her home to Deborah, explaining that he'd be staying in England for the near future. After that, he later related that by degrees he forgot his engagements with Miss Reed. There is evidence that, perhaps, he had a slight twinge of guilt.

his time in London, he published a pamphlet called A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity. Pleasure and pain, he argued that people can't be held morally responsible for their actions, since they don't really have any freedom of choice. He later regretted the pamphlet and burned all but one copy. But one has to wonder if he wasn't trying to make himself feel like less of a cad by riding it. One of the more surprising experiences he had in London was to become one of the world's early ornamental swimmers, pre-forting at a Thames River excursion in 1726. He later wrote, At the request of the company, I stripped and leaped

in the river, and swam from near Chelsea to Blackfriars, which was three and a half miles, performing on the way many feats of activity, both upon and underwater, that surprised and pleased those to whom they were novelties. I took occasion of exhibiting to the company, and was much flattered by their admiration, In fact, he received an offer to head up the first American swim school in England. But by 1726, he was tired of life in London. When a man named Thomas Denham offered him the clerkship of a store in Philadelphia, he decided to pass on the life of a swim instructor and return home.

His dreams of big commissions were short-lived, however. Thomas Denham passed away soon after. In 1728, Franklin returned to the printing business via a partnership with a friend. Two years later, he was able to borrow the money to become the sole proprietor. At this point, his professional life was going well. If Deborah Reed, you might ask, it was complicated. In Franklin's absence, Deborah's parents had pressured her into marrying a local potter named John Rogers. However, Deborah soon discovered that her new husband had another wife in England. According to some accounts,

Deborah moved back in with her mother after this revelation. But her troubles were not easy to escape. John squandered her dowry and then fled to Barbados to avoid debts and persecution. As a result, Deborah was left high and dry. Even when she heard that Rogers had died in the West Indies, It was too expensive for her to prove it. She had no partner, no dowry, and no way of remarrying. Unfortunately, bigamy laws prevented her from taking another spouse,

while her existing husband might still be alive. While all this was going on, Franklin was busy building his new printing business, and delving into an active social life. He and his partner won the business to print Pennsylvania's paper currency, and in 1929, he founded a well-regarded newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette, to which he contributed many essays and articles on current topics. In fact, Franklin's passion, for engagement exceeded his work sphere. He founded an organization he called the Junto, which was a

discussion group modeled on the Enlightenment-era coffee houses of England. One of the most consequential legacies of the Junto was Franklin's effort to pool reading resources. He did this first within the group and eventually in 1731 via the first subscription library in the American colonies. He called this new resource, the Library Company of Philadelphia. At the outset, he wrote, and by thus clubbing our books to a common library, we should, while we liked to keep them together, have each of us the advantage of using the books of all the other members, which would be nearly as beneficial as if each owned the whole.

But with all this going on, he still craved female companionship. He reportedly made a marriage offer that was refused due to the size of his requested dowry. When that failed, sources say he began to keep it. the company of various women, eventually fathering an illegitimate son with one of them. Her identity is lost to history. An unusual move for the time. He agreed to take custody of the infant.

This put Benjamin Franklin in a domestic pickle. For a man with an illegitimate baby was not a good marriage prospect for the average young lady of the time. However, there was one woman he knew who might be willing to make some compromises, and that was Deborah Reed. Although she couldn't marry him in the church, Franklin later wrote that their mutual affection was revived. Deborah agreed to be joined to him in a common law marriage and to raise his son William. They moved in together in the fall of 1730, where she kept house for him and ran a stationary store on the first floor of their building. The ensuing years were a period of increasing success and prosperity for Franklin.

In 1732, he began publishing the legendary Poor Richard's Almanac, a fulksie annual that has strongly shaped his modern image. Britannica characterizes the almanac as a rich source of prudent and witty aphorisms on the value of thrift, hard work, and this simple life. many Americans recognize some of poor Richard's most famous sayings, such as God helps those who help themselves, and early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. This was also a time period when he attempted to establish an intercolonial network of printers, some of which succeeded while others did not.

During the 1730s, Franklin also became an active member of the Freemasons, which is still the oldest fraternal organization in the world, characterized as being both social and philanthropic. In fact, he belonged to the first Masonic Lodge in the United States. St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia, and remained in the Organization for Life. Franklin's prosperity and influence continued to grow. In 1736, he became clerk of the Pennsylvania legislature. In 1737, he became the postmaster of Philadelphia.

Through the Junto, he successfully, proposed a paid watch, in essence, a police force for the city. Subsequently, he also was instrumental in establishing a volunteer fire department. But there was some sadness in Franklin's life amid the successes. In 1736, his second son Frankie died of smallpox. One Smithsonian magazine article speculates that he and Deborah may have disagreed about whether or not to inoculate Frankie, and that Benjamin might have held off too long to appease her. If so, the article suggests it might have driven a lifelong rift between them that echoed through their later years. However, that is not known as fact. He also sought to spread education. In 1749, he co-founded

a school for boys and a college for men called the Academy and College of Philadelphia. Opening in 1751, the institution educated both paid and charity students. The college even eventually evolved into today's University of Pennsylvania. One of his most politically important achievements of this period in his life was his effort to organize a militia in order to defend the colony against the French and Spanish, who had privateers operating on the Delaware River. By the end of the 1740s, Franklin had made his mark on the colonies in an incredible number of ways. He had also amassed himself a fortune, reportedly becoming one of the wealthiest people

in the northern colonies. In 1743, Deborah gave birth to their daughter, Sally, who would be their last child. In 1748, at the age of 42, he retired from the printing business. It was at this point that Benjamin Franklin transitioned to the life of a gentleman, inventor, and philosopher. He had a portrait painted, got nicer clothes, and bought a finer house. Also, notably, he added enslaved people to his house. a contradiction to his later support of abolition, and one that is important to recognize.

With an income streaming in from his real estate and his silent partnership in the printing business, he then applied himself to what he called philosophical studies and amusements. This aspect of his life is perhaps most recognizable to modern people. For what American student was not raised with the image of Benjamin Franklin's electricity experiment involving a kite and a thunderstorm? Franklin did not discover electricity, but he eagerly applied himself to its early studies, starting in about 1746, sending periodic reports to a friend named Peter Collinson in London. In 1751, Collins published those findings in an 86-page book called Experiments and Observations on Electricity.

The book was a success, going through numerous printings in multiple languages, and Benjamin Franklin became an increasingly famous person. Meanwhile, his influence at home grew as well. In 1748, he became a member of the Philadelphia City Council. In 1749, a Justice of the Peace. In 1751, he was elected an alderman and member of the Pennsylvania Assembly. And by 1753, he was a official. officially made a royal officeholder as the deputy postmaster general for all the northern colonies.

This last position allowed him to reform the Postal Service, improving performance. That same year, he helped establish the first hospital in the colonies, and the next year, first homeowner insurance company. In 1753, he was awarded honorary Master of Arts degrees from Harvard and Yale, and in 1756, from William and Mary. But this phase of his life is perhaps one that has been somewhat oversimplified by the American memory, because Benjamin Franklin was also, at that time, an enthusiastic admirer of the British Empire, characterizing the empire as the greatest political structure human wisdom ever yet erected. Franklin seemed eager at that time to climb the ladder of the imperial hierarchy. In 1754, he participated in a meeting in

Albany, New York, for the purpose of uniting the colonies under a National Congress, the effort was unsuccessful. But it did result in the creation of the Articles of Confederation, which provided the foundation for the Constitution years later. In 1757, he went to London as a representative of the Pennsylvania Assembly. The stated purpose was to settle some disputes with the descendants of William Penn, who owned Pennsylvania. But some sources argue that his larger call was to get the British to remove the Penn family entirely and make Pennsylvania a royal province. Leaving another part of his old life behind, he also brought an end to poor Richard's almanac. Crossing the ocean to England, he wrote a preface to the final edition, which he called

Father Abraham's Speech. Known later as the Way to Wealth, it was an ode to hard work and thrift, and it eventually became the most reprinted. thing he ever wrote. Once he was in England, it seemed he really didn't want to come back. Whatever actual affection he had for Deborah was not sufficient to keep him on her side of the Atlantic, and her fear of traveling across the ocean prevented her from coming with him. As such, they spent the majority of the final years of her life on separate continents. Meanwhile, Franklin made the most of his presence in England. Socializing with a veritable who's who of the day in 1759,

he received an honorary degree from the University of St. Andrews in Edinburgh. In 1762, he added an honorary degree from Oxford to his resume. Hobnobbing with important figures in Britain helped him get his 31-year-old son William, appointed as the royal governor of New Jersey in 1762. As it turned out, he would also be the last one. That same year, Benjamin Benjamin had to return to the colonies to take care of matters related to the Postal Service. He was at home in the colonies until 1764. This was the last time he saw his wife, Deborah, who would eventually pass away in 1774.

Franklin returned to England, not knowing that he was about to enter a new era of personal conflict regarding British and colonial relations. In 1765, Parliament passed the Stamp Act, which levied a tax on colonists whenever they purchased items such as documents and playing cards. This was supposedly to pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the seven years war, and it was done without local approval. To add insult to injury, the tax was collected in British sterling instead of colonial currency. Benjamin Franklin did argue against the act on behalf of the colonies in front of Parliament. However, when it seemed like he couldn't win, he made the questionable

decision to order stamps for his printing firm. He also helped a friend get the tax agency for Pennsylvania. The blowback to both the Stamp Act and his personal choices was dramatic. Furious colonists even threatened Deborah Reed's house in his absence. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766. But Parliament simultaneously passed the Declaratory Act, stating that the King and Parliament had full legislative power over the colonies. Although this episode is not one the modern public may usually recall about Franklin, it showed a rare misstep in his decision-making. Perhaps it also presaged a shift in his political beliefs. Unfortunately, even greater public relations problems awaited him a few years later.

Late in 1772, Franklin anonymously received some letters that had been written to the British government by Thomas Hutchinson, who was the governor of Massachusetts. In the letters, he urged the British to send more troops to suppress colonial rebels. Franklin decided to circulate these letters with other people, sympathetic to the revolutionaries. He was clear that he intended them to remain secret. However, the letters became public anyway. Published in the Boston Gazette in June of 1773, Bostonians were incensed. Governor Hutchinson had to leave the country, and the British government embarked upon a mission to find the people who leaked the letters. When three innocent men were about to be blamed, Franklin stepped up and admitted his role in the fiasco. The entire embarrassing

incident would become known as that of the Hutchinson letters. Franklin was in disgrace. He was dismissed from his role as postmaster and generally shunned in British circles. He finally left England a short time later and returned to the colonies to start his next chapter as one of the founding fathers. With Deborah now several years past, He was to embark upon this phase of his life as a widower when Franklin arrived in Philadelphia. The American Revolution was underway, with the battles of Lexington and Concord, having happened just the month before. He was immediately elected to the Second Continental Congress. In 1776, he was appointed to what was known as the Committee of Five.

This was a subset of the Congress consisting of him, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Their task was to draft the Declaration of Independence. In October of 1776, at the 8th,000,000, of 70, Franklin was dispatched as American ambassador to France. He took his 16-year-old grandson William Temple Franklin with him, and his mission was to negotiate and secure a treaty. Doing this was actually fairly perilous. Because Franklin had signed the Declaration of Independence, the British now considered him a traitor. If he'd been apprehended at sea, he could have suffered

the consequences. Luckily, he arrived safely and was able to begin his work. Although his diplomatic achievements there took time, what he discovered right away was that the French were very impressed by his scientific and literary achievements. Quoted on history.com, biographer Stacey Schiff explained that Franklin was the most famous American in the world. He was the discoverer of electricity, a man of genius, a successor to Newton and Galileo. He also counted among the greatest celebrities in Paris. He could not walk through the street without attracting a crowd. The man who had once enjoyed the social life of London now basked in the adoration of the French, and the way the historians tell it, he also cleverly put forth a persona, emphasizing a quaint

American rusticity. He donned a fur hat instead of a wig and wore his spectacles. This folksy image became iconic, but perhaps even more cleverly, Franklin did not reveal his motives for his trip to France. Instead, he developed his relationships gradually, waiting for the right moment to make his. his diplomatic moves. Although this patient approach may have frustrated his younger colleagues at home, it turned out to be a productive strategy. Schiff put it, he read people and cultures easily. He quickly mastered the French art of accomplishing much, while appearing to accomplish little. During that time, It was true that Franklin would have struggled to offer any good reasons for Versailles to back the colonists.

The revolutionaries were outmanned and their supplies were dwindling, but finally, in 1777, word arrived of General Benedict Arnold's victory at the Battle of Saratoga. This impressed the French, and a couple of months later in February of 1778, they signed treaties of alliance with the Americans, but Franklin's work in France was far from over. Once the treaties were in place, he became the point person in France, responsible for continuously soliciting money and supplies. in order to keep up his appearances as a cultured member of French society. He had to entertain all manner of starstruck visitors by day

and work his fingers to the bone at night, taking care of business related to the war. As an experienced diplomat at this point, Franklin may have made all this schmoozing look too easy. historians say that his appearance of living an enviable social life aggravated his colleague John Adams, whom he had already exasperated in the past due to his savvy politics and natural sociability. In 1778, Adams came to France to fill an ambassador position and the two men began aggravating each other. According to historians, Adams favored a blunt and urgent approach,

whereas Franklin obviously had obviously found success with a softer touch. Adams wrote letters home mocking Franklin's French and his social style, but Franklin persisted with his own methods, being always patient and appreciative of the French, rather than demanding. In the end, the King of France paid a heavy price for his admiration of Benjamin Franklin and the image of America. Schiff estimated that Louis XVI put what would today be the equivalent of $20 billion into the American conflict. bankrupted France and was a factor that contributed to the French Revolution.

Franklin helped conclude the Revolutionary War by participating in the negotiation of the Peace of Paris in 1783. During the following year, he completed writing his own autobiography, which he had started more than a decade before. In 1885, Franklin finally returned home. He was approaching the age of 80, and he had been in France for nine years. Most sources characterize his return as heroic, citing celebratory crowds and positive press coverage. His daughter Sally also reportedly welcomed him home, introduced him to four new grandchildren, according to some historians, when he found himself back on American soil

in 1786. After such a long absence with the French, he did have some detractors. There were those who cast him as a dilettante, whispering about his lavish lifestyle all those years in France. Further, One can only imagine how he must have felt about the fact that his son William, the former governor of New Jersey, had remained a staunch royalist throughout the revolution. This enormous difference between father and son had created a terminal rift between them. By 1782, William had fled to England, never to return. Even though the two met briefly in England, as Benjamin was in route home, the men were unable to reconcile and never saw each other again. Almost as soon as he'd arrived in

America, Franklin was pressed into service at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and greeted by George Washington himself. But at the age of 81, Franklin was no longer vigorous enough to take the lead, ceding that to Washington. Struggling with ailments such as gout and kidney stones, he had to be transported to and from the convention. Still, he attended all but one session,

encouraging dialogue and compromise when it was necessary in order to make progress. During his time at the convention, Franklin became the president of a Quaker abolitionist group in Philadelphia. Although he reportedly considered trying to add a condemnation of slavery to the Constitution, numerous other delegates convinced him to refrain in the interest of compromise. Once the Constitution was finally in place, Franklin felt it was important to address slavery as a great injustice. Although he had once owned slaves, he had evolved late in life. His call to end slavery was his final effort at activism. In his documentary about Franklin, Filmmaker Ken Burns told the story of how that effort unfolded.

He explained that Congress reluctantly took up the issue due to Franklin's influence. However, it was loudly opposed by numerous senators. Countering their arguments, Franklin wrote a withering satirical article. Posing as a Muslim from North Africa, he made arguments. justifying the enslavement of white Christians. In the article, the speaker used the same arguments as the American senators advocating for slavery, thereby exposing their hypocrisy. The senator still voted 29 to 25 that Congress had no authority to interfere on the issue of slavery,

and the Senate set the question aside without any discussion. As such, the topic of slavery was left up to the states for the time being. On April 17, 1790, Benjamin Franklin passed away at the age of 84, numbering 20,000 people, the crowd that turned out for his funeral procession was the largest in the history of Philadelphia. His epitaph, preserved and corrected for legibility as best it can be, was one he wrote at the tender age of 20. It said that there lay the body of B. Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stripped of its its lettering and gilding lies here, food for worms.

But the work shall not be wholly lost, for it will, as he believed, appear once more. In a new and more perfect edition, as a final gift to the public, Franklin bequeathed one thousand pounds sterling each to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia. to gather interest and trust for 200 years. That money grew to $2 million in Philadelphia and $5 million in Boston by the time it came due in 1990. Over the years, the funds were used for noble purposes,

ranging from mortgages to scholarships to the establishment of a trade school. Centuries later, Benjamin Franklin is revered as one of the most brilliant and wisest of the founding fathers. Truly, it is undeniable that life in America and, in fact, the world, would be different without him. Not only was he a pivotal force in the birth of American democracy, but he somehow also summoned the time and energy. to advance science and invent an impressive array of instruments and household conveniences

we now take for granted. Most obviously, among all the founding fathers, he was the only one to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. Constitution. Without him, we might not have the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, swim fins, or flexible catheters. Importantly, he was key to developing the language of electricity, and for contributing to a wide range of fields that included oceanography, meteorology, and population studies. Further, he advanced many social supports that keep our cities running, such as fire stations,

hospitals, and home insurance companies. After Franklin's lifetime, people in the 19th century focused mainly on his inventions and his persona from poor Richard's almanac, reducing him to a figure of science, morality, and thrift. But the true story of Benjamin Franklin reveals a vastly more complicated figure than this simplistic legacy would indicate. He was a man with a challenging personal life who was vulnerable to ordinary human foibles, but he was also a self-taught and wide-ranging genius who made great achievements in a jaw-dropping number of. of fields and areas of public life.

As Britannica suggests, Franklin became a living example of the natural untutored genius of the new world that was free from the encumbrances of a decadent and tired old world. His true legacy.