1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,719 Speaker 1: Are you with me here? YOU'LLI get politics these days, 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: and you can't imagine more dysfunction even among family members. Ah, 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: the good old days. When you think of the founding fathers, 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: you think full on dedication to the revolutionary spirit. Right. 5 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,120 Speaker 1: But did you know one of the most iconic names 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,160 Speaker 1: in US history had a son who was a loyalist 7 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: to the British crown for the entire war and they 8 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: never spoke again. I'm Patty Steele. Ben Franklin's politics were 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: thicker than blood. That's next on the backstory. We're back 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: with the backstory. Benjamin Franklin was a little bit of 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: a puzzle now. On the one hand, he loved England 12 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 1: and his British heritage. He's a huge fan of the king, 13 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,559 Speaker 1: and he really loved the fancy life in the European courts, 14 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: the high end manners, the intellectual stimulation, and especially hanging 15 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: out with the gorgeous party girls of the British and 16 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: French aristocracy. The ultimate ladies man. Believe it or not, 17 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: that was Ben. But after years living over there as 18 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: a diplomat from the colonies, he began to realize the 19 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,199 Speaker 1: Brits in particular looked down their noses at Americans thought 20 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 1: of us as uncultured. On top of that, he began 21 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: to fully understand what British rule was costing folks in America. 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: So let's go back in time. When Ben was twenty 23 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: four years old, a woman he was sleeping with gave 24 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: birth to a baby boy, William. Ben wanted to raise 25 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: William himself and make sure that being illegitimate didn't define him, 26 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: so he entered into a common law marriage with Deborah, 27 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: a former sweetheart, letting her know that he and baby 28 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: William were kind of a package deal. She accepted that, 29 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: and while Ben was in Europe, she ran his publishing 30 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: business and was a terrific mother to William and the 31 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: one surviving child they had together, a daughter named Sarah, 32 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: but she was a girl and not nearly as interesting 33 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: to Ben. He was incredibly close to a son and 34 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: made sure William had the best tutors and later schooling, 35 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,559 Speaker 1: But Ben wasn't much of a husband. He spent most 36 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: of the years between seventeen fifty seven and seventeen seventy 37 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: five in England and was the first ambassador to France 38 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: from seventeen seventy six to seventeen eighty five. That's almost 39 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: thirty years overseas with very little time at home, all 40 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: without his wife, who hated the idea of ocean travel. 41 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: During his years in England, Ben pretty much never saw Deborah. 42 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 1: In fact, she died in seventeen seventy four while he 43 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: was in England, having not seen Ben for the last 44 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: ten years of her life. She had had several strokes 45 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: in her last years, and Ben never returned home to 46 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: see her despite her requests. So eventually, in the year 47 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: before her death, she simply stopped writing to him, which 48 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: he weirdly didn't understand now. As for William, Ben encouraged 49 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: him to become active in public service as a royalist 50 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: like himself in the seventheen forties. The two were exceptionally tight. 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: In fact, a family friend described William as Ben's friend, 52 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: his brother, his intimate, his companion. When Ben went to 53 00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:14,280 Speaker 1: London in seventeen fifty seven, William went with him and 54 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: studied law. There. They toured the country, made important friends, 55 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: and attended the coronation of King George the Third in 56 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty one. But you see, that's where the trouble started. 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: All that exposure to the British high life made William 58 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: a believer. When he returned to America, he brought a 59 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:39,440 Speaker 1: British wife from an influential aristocratic British family, and he 60 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: was appointed Royal Governor of New Jersey. Ben and William 61 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: had shared so many interests, and both were brilliant and 62 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: charismatic guys. But while William was becoming more devoted to 63 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: the royal cause, his dad was becoming more of a revolutionary. 64 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: Left England just as the first shots of the Revolutionary 65 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: War were fired at Lexington and Concord in seventeen seventy five, 66 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: and that conflict pulled the two apart, with Ben now 67 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: an ardent patriot and William a committed loyalist. Ben tried 68 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,200 Speaker 1: to win William over early, even had some shouting matches 69 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: when Ben tried to get William to step down as 70 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 1: Royal governor and become a patriot. Of course, that didn't happen, 71 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: and worst of all, Ben did manage to convert William's son, 72 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: Temple to the patriot's cause. It was over between father 73 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: and son. William was as devoted to the royal cause 74 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: as his father was to the cause of independence, and 75 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: Ben was prepared to totally banish his son from his life. 76 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: As the revolution got under way, William was arrested by 77 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: continental authorities and put in prison. In fact, the Continental Congress, 78 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: which ran the colonies during the war, wouldn't even allow 79 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: William to visit his wife as she was dying in 80 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy eight. Even though George Washington himself made a 81 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: personal appeal and Ben did nothing to help his son, 82 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: he remained in prison for a little over two years. 83 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: Even the end of the war in seventeen eighty three 84 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: didn't fix things between the two. William was exiled from 85 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: the brand new USA and he moved to England to 86 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: rebuild his life there. But here's the thing. He really 87 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: wanted to reconnect with his father. So William wrote to Ben, saying, 88 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: I hope it's possible for us to revive that affectionate 89 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: intercourse and connection which till the war had been the 90 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: pride and happiness of my life. Ben replied, nothing has 91 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: ever hurt me so much and affected me with such 92 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: keen sensations as to find myself deserted in my old 93 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: age by my only son, and to find him taking 94 00:05:49,839 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: up arms against me in a cause wherein my good, fame, 95 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: fortune in life were all at stake. He didn't really 96 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: care that William was following his heart and his own 97 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 1: path like his dad would. Ben wanted him to follow 98 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: his Ben did agree to meet William in England later 99 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,280 Speaker 1: in seventeen eighty five, but when they first arrived at 100 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: the meeting place, the first thing Ben did was ask 101 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: his son to apologize for his loyalty to the king 102 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: during the war, and William would not, and that finished that. Ben, 103 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: in his will, disinherited William, saying I leave him no 104 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: part of an estate he endeavored to deprive me of. 105 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 1: Much like we see in our own disturbing political climate, 106 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: it came down to ideology over blood. Benjamin and William 107 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: Franklin never saw each other again. Hope you're enjoying the 108 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: Backstory with Patty Steele. Follow or subscribe for free to 109 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 1: get new episodes delivered automatically, and feel free to DM 110 00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:58,600 Speaker 1: me if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 111 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 112 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 113 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 114 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser, Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 115 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 116 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 117 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 118 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the 119 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.