Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist / Edition 1

by Sheila L. Skemp

Overview

Benjamin and William Franklin narrows in on the relationship between father and son, as a microcosm for the struggle over the question of loyalty to England during the American Revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312086176
Publisher:	Bedford/St. Martin's
Publication date:	03/15/1994
Series:	Bedford Cultural Editions Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	205
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.92(h) x 0.42(d)

About the Author

Sheila L. Skemp is associate professor of history at the University of Mississippi. She is the author of William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King (1990), and has served as an editor of two volumes dealing with issues of race and gender in the South. She is currently working on a biography of Judith Sargent Murray. Skemp was the recipient of the University of Mississippi's award for Outstanding Teacher in the Liberal Arts.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface

PART I. BENJAMIN AND WILLIAM FRANKLIN

Introduction: Divided Loyalties
1. Self-Made Men
2. Forging a Partnership
3. Government Men
4. Men in the Middle
5. The Making of a Patriot
6. The Making of a Loyalist
7. Toward Independence
8. "When in the Course of Human Events"

Epilogue

PART II. THE DOCUMENTS

1. William Franklin, Letter to Benjamin Franklin, September 7, 1765
2. Benjamin Franklin, Letter to William Franklin, September 9, 1765
3. John Dickinson, From "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies," 1767, 1768
4. William Franklin, Letter to Lord Hillsborough, November 23, 1768
5. Benjamin Franklin, "Causes of the American Discontents before 1768," January 1768
6. William Franklin, Speech to the New Jersey Assembly, January 13, 1775
7. William Franklin, Letter to Lord Dartmouth, May 6, 1775
8. Benjamin Franklin, Letter to William Franklin, August 16, 1784

APPENDICES

A Franklin Chronology (1706–1814)
Selected Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

We smirk or tut-tut at such scandals as gay children of our presidents, often unaware that the Founding Fathers had closets of their own. Ben Franklin's son William, remaining loyal to the British crown, was the last royal governor of New Jersey. Skemp delves not so much into the relationship between the two as into their different personal backgrounds and political experiences as an illustration of the variety of opinions and issues that led to the Revolution. She includes eight primary documents, a chronology, and questions for students to ponder. Usable as a week-long assignment in an undergraduate course, and a brief read for armchair historians. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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