1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:10,559 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. One brief 3 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: housekeeping note before we begin. This fall, I am teaching 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: an online romance writing class with Not Sorry. It starts 5 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: October sixth. It's on Sundays, and it's virtual, so you 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,319 Speaker 1: can sign up if you're based anywhere in the world. Again, 7 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: starting October six it will go from eight weeks. This 8 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: program is so much fun. Last year I taught a 9 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: class on horror writing. I had an amazing time. If 10 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: you're interested in writing, or you're already a writer, or 11 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: just want to like dip your toes into what it 12 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: means to write romance or characters with chemistry, or if 13 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: you've ever wanted to do Nano raimo, write a novel 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: in November. This is a great opportunity. It's an incredibly 15 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: supportive community and it offers accountability for your writing. So 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: if you want to join us, sign up now at 17 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,160 Speaker 1: not Sorry works dot com. If you sign up quick, 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: there's an early bird discount. There's also scholarships available if 19 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: you scroll on the page and apply for that information. 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: I just love teaching these classes. I love making writing 21 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: accessible and building a fun community. And I've had a 22 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: great time this class. I'm teaching with a brilliant co teacher, 23 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: vanessa's Oultan, who I absolutely love. She's so smart and 24 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: so funny. I just know we're gonna have a great 25 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: time this October. So if this interests you, absolutely join us. 26 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:36,479 Speaker 1: Let's get into the episode. The man who arrived in 27 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: Paris was one of the most famous people on the planet, 28 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:45,080 Speaker 1: the type of person who influenced fashion and caused crowds 29 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: to gather on the sides of streets to cheer his carriage. 30 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: Passing collectibles would be printed with his face in honor 31 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: of his arrival in France, and dinner parties would be 32 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: thrown for him. The French considered him to be another 33 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: Mutan or Galileo, a great intellectual in the vein of Voltaire. 34 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: He was Benjamin Franklin, and for most Parisians he was 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: almost certainly the only person from America that they would 36 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: have heard of, the man who had managed to pull 37 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,920 Speaker 1: lightning from the heavens. It was an honor and a 38 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: privilege that he was choosing to spend time in France, 39 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: and the French were going to make sure that he 40 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: knew that they understood that. Within weeks of his arrival, 41 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:38,119 Speaker 1: women began wearing lightning dresses and hats with metal lightning 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: rods sticking out of them, complete with small chains trailing 43 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: down to ground any possible electric charges. Although I imagine these 44 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: were only styles worn in comfortably sunny weather. Women also 45 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: styled their pompadours to resemble the famous fur cap that 46 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: Benjamin Franklin chose to wear instead of the more standard 47 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: powdered wig. The women called the hair do a coffeur 48 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: a la Franklin. Paris had a case of Franklin mania. 49 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: His book of Poor Richard's aphorisms was translated and published 50 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: in French copies of Lacience de bonam. Richard frequently appeared 51 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: at the most glamorous salons. Franklin's portrait appeared over mantles, 52 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 1: his face was embossed on collectibles, dishes, walking sticks, and 53 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: snuff boxes. The French, Franklin wrote in a letter to 54 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: family back in America, have made your father's face as 55 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: well known as that of the moon. In fact, the 56 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: mania became so extreme that King Louis the sixteenth himself 57 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: was a little annoyed by it. As a tongue in 58 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,200 Speaker 1: cheek gesture, he commissioned a chamber pot for a friend 59 00:03:54,520 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: with Benjamin Franklin's face on it. Franklin's social calendar was 60 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 1: an endless parade of parties, dinners, and salons. It seemed 61 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 1: that he spent most of his time flirting with his 62 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: many female admirers. As a matter of fact, it seemed 63 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: as though Benjamin Franklin was having so much fun in 64 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: Paris that anyone might be forgiven for thinking that pleasure 65 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 1: was the reason he was there in the first place. 66 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: But the truth was something kept hidden by design from 67 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: almost everyone in Europe. Benjamin Franklin was in France on 68 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: a mission, and though he certainly enjoyed being fitted, he 69 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: knew that his mission was critically important to the fate 70 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: of what he hoped would one day be his young nation. 71 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: The American Colonies were at war with the British for 72 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: their independence, and in seventeen seventy seven they were lacking money, food, uniforms, 73 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: and hope. Even the fai to see that George Washington 74 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: and his meager army might defeat the vastly superior British 75 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: forces would only be possible with the help of an 76 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: outside resource. The American revolutionaries needed France, and so they 77 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: needed Benjamin Franklin. So while Parisian socialites amused themselves dressing 78 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: to honor Franklin's scientific achievements, Franklin himself was hard at 79 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: work trying to figure out a way to convince a 80 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: monarch to help fund revolutionaries attempting to overthrow that very 81 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 1: same system of government that he presided over. Franklin sat 82 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: at feasts trying to play his diplomatic hand exactly right, 83 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: while he knew that at those exact same moments American 84 00:05:53,400 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: troops were starving. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. 85 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 1: Benjamin Franklin wasn't always a revolutionary. Just a few years 86 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: before he would sign the Declaration of Independence, he was 87 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:15,520 Speaker 1: a loyal British subject, actually trying his diplomatic best to 88 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: work within the colonial system while tensions between the British 89 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: and the colonists were rising. In seventeen seventy two, Franklin 90 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: was co Postmaster General and he was faced with a 91 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: massive scandal. An anonymous source had forwarded along a collection 92 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: of private letters written by the Governor of Massachusetts. The 93 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: governor was writing to British officials, saying that he thought 94 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: the colonies needed harsher oversight and more troops, even that 95 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: certain liberties that English citizens enjoyed ought to be restricted 96 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: amongst the colonists. Obviously, the letters were massively inflammatory, the 97 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: type of rhetoric that would only stoke the growing revolutionary 98 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:07,200 Speaker 1: sentiment in America. Although Franklin decided that the letters should 99 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,480 Speaker 1: not be published or made public, he showed them to 100 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 1: Samuel Adams and the members of the Massachusetts House. The 101 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 1: letters did not stay secret for long. They were published 102 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: in the Boston Gazette. English officials were furious about the scandal. 103 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: Those were private letters that had been leaked, and the 104 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: source of the leak had not been identified. Who had 105 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: given the letters to Franklin in the first place. Franklin 106 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: was summoned to England to testify before the King's Privy 107 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: Council in a room referred to as the cockpit. Franklin 108 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:48,119 Speaker 1: understood just how infuriated the colonists were, and he tried 109 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: to reason with the Englishmen, advocating for the British to 110 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 1: appoint a new governor and lieutenant governor in Massachusetts. But 111 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: the men in the cockpit had no interest in an 112 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: engaging in good faith with Franklin. Instead, Franklin was mocked 113 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: and ridiculed by the Solicitor General. He was accused of 114 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: dishonor and thievery. Benjamin Franklin had come to England hoping 115 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: to turn the temperature down on revolutionary talk. He sailed 116 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: home convinced that revolution was the only way forward. A 117 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: little over a year later, the first shots of the 118 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: Revolutionary War would be fired at Lexington and Concord. Though 119 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: the revolutionaries had the strength of their convictions, that was 120 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: one of the only strengths they had. American soldiers were untrained, 121 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:46,679 Speaker 1: under fed, and massively underfunded. If they were going to 122 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:51,479 Speaker 1: stand a fighting chance against the British, they needed help. 123 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: On October twenty sixth, seventeen seventy six, Benjamin Franklin, then 124 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: seventy years old, was sent to France as one of 125 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: three diplomats on a top secret mission to secure French 126 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 1: support for the revolution. He traveled with two of his 127 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: grandsons on a ship called the Reprisal. It was an 128 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:19,080 Speaker 1: incredibly treacherous journey. Franklin wrote that the voyage quote almost 129 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: demolished me. They had limited rations on board, and by 130 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,199 Speaker 1: the time Benjamin Franklin landed in Europe he had boils 131 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 1: and scabs all over his body, including on his balding scalp. 132 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: But even more dangerous than the risk of disease or 133 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: dangerous seas was the fact that Benjamin Franklin was technically 134 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: traveling as a traitor. The British Navy patrolled the Atlantic, 135 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 1: and if they captured him as a signer of the 136 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: Declaration of Independence, he could have been hanged. Fortunately, Franklin 137 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: managed to make it to Brittany intact, and though he 138 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:01,319 Speaker 1: had planned on keeping his arrival in France a secret celebrity, 139 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: made that challenging word that the famous Benjamin Franklin was 140 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: on their shores, made to Paris before he did, and 141 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: the celebrations of all things Benjamin Franklin began. One thing 142 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: that Benjamin Franklin understood implicitly was how to play act 143 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,559 Speaker 1: the role of an American. In order to delight the French, 144 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: he wore an iconic fur hat in the style of 145 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: a hat that had been famously worn by the philosopher Rousseau, 146 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: which gave Franklin both an intellectual and a delightfully rustic 147 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: frontier style appeal. The hat also served the additional purpose 148 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: of covering the scabs that still covered his head from 149 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: the miserable ship ride across the Atlantic. Franklin was a 150 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: bonafied sensation, the most famous American in the world, and 151 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: a celebrated scholar scientist. When he moved into a house 152 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: in the suburbs outside Paris, invited by the man who 153 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: owned the manor, a lightning rod was hoisted on the 154 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: roof in Franklin's honor. He received what seemed like an 155 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: endless stream of visitors, including plenty of women who adored 156 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: his company and whom he adored wright back. His favorite 157 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,199 Speaker 1: was a woman named Madame Brion, his thirty three year 158 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: old married neighbor, a year younger than Franklin's daughter. The 159 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: two had an incredibly close relationship. They played chess and 160 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,200 Speaker 1: had tea multiple times a week, and though their letters 161 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: were intimate in a loving way and Franklin made his 162 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: sexual interest clear, Madame Brion politely reminded him that she 163 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 1: was a married woman, and the two just genuinely seemed 164 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: to enjoy each other's company. From that point on, the 165 00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:01,560 Speaker 1: relationship became more platonic and paternal, But Benjamin Franklin was 166 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: an incredible flirt, which was one of the primary modes 167 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: of communication in France. One particular line that I think 168 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: shows off his celebrated charm came when he was playing 169 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 1: a game of chess with a woman. Instead of checkmating 170 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: his opponent, he simply claimed her king. The woman scolded him, 171 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: telling him in France they didn't take kings that way. Ah, 172 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: Franklin replied, we do in America. As enjoyable as his 173 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,880 Speaker 1: socializing was, it wasn't the reason Benjamin Franklin was in France. 174 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: He needed to convince King Louis the sixteenth to join 175 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: with the fledgling United States of America, to recognize it 176 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: as a nation and support it in its revolution against 177 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 1: the British. Now, if there's one thing France loves, it's 178 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: fighting the British, and just a few years earlier, the 179 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: British had humiliated France in the Seven Years War, cementing 180 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,760 Speaker 1: British domination in America and Canada. France did have a 181 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: vested interest in restoring the balance of power away from 182 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,600 Speaker 1: England in the New World, and they had a personal 183 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: interest in defeating the British. But Benjamin Franklin's task was 184 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: still a massively difficult one. For one, much as he 185 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: was trying to convince France that the United States was 186 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: an actual unified nation, that was a long way off. 187 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: America was fighting the Revolutionary War, yes, but there was 188 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 1: still no consensus even among the Continental Congress whether America 189 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: was one people or thirteen pulling together for a common cause. 190 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:55,959 Speaker 1: For another thing, France's resources were already massively strained, and 191 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: if they sent ships to North America, they would be 192 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: playing a risk ski games in terms of their ability 193 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: to protect France itself and the French West Indies against 194 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 1: the vastly powerful and far superior British navy, the most 195 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: powerful navy in the world. It was such a dangerous 196 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:18,679 Speaker 1: proposition that Louis the sixteenth wrote a letter to the 197 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: King of Spain. King to King, he knew that whether 198 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: or not to recognize the US was an incredibly important decision, 199 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: but it wasn't one that he wanted France to have 200 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: to make a loan. And then all of that aside, 201 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: there was the philosophical issue of asking King Louis the 202 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: sixteenth to fund the overthrow of another monarch. While trying 203 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 1: to win the French government over, Franklin told them about 204 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: how powerful George Washington's army was. Washington was leading an 205 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: army of eighty thousand men, he said, well trained, fierce 206 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: fighters who would stop at nothing until they achieved their 207 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,760 Speaker 1: freedom from tyranny. Franklin said that Americans could hold out 208 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: for thirty years, and when reports reached France that the 209 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: British had taken Philadelphia, Franklin just smiled and shook his head. 210 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: It was all part of the plan. The river would freeze, 211 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: you see, and the British would be trapped there. Franklin 212 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: was fully bluffing. Washington had closer to fourteen thousand men, 213 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: nowhere near eighty, and they were so poor that they 214 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: couldn't afford uniforms. When Philadelphia fell to the British, a 215 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: British officer commandeered Benjamin Franklin's own home, stealing his books, 216 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 1: private papers, and scientific equipment. Though Franklin's ally in France, 217 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 1: the Foreign Minister Compe de Vergen, was able to sneak 218 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: Franklin and the Americans some funds under the table. The 219 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: French were not going to officially support the Revolution unless 220 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: there was some proof that it wasn't a fully lost cause. 221 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: All Franklin could do, much to the chagrin of his 222 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: American colleagues watching from across the ocean, was weight continuing 223 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: to wage his personal charm offensive against the French people. 224 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: After months of bluffing and treading water, the tide finally 225 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: shifted on October seventeenth, seventeen seventy seven, when Americans defeated 226 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: the British general John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga. 227 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: It was a tremendous victory, a turning point in the Revolution, 228 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: and exactly the sword of moment Benjamin Franklin needed in 229 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: order to convince the French that helping the Americans was 230 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: backing a winning team. Franklin sprang into action, writing detailed 231 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: and poetic accounts of the incredible victory, taking particular time 232 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: to raise the French soldiers who had been fighting alongside 233 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: the colonists, Because even if the French government had been 234 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: hesitant to officially join in the American Revolution, there was 235 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:17,680 Speaker 1: no shortage of valiant young frenchmen, particularly young noblemen inspired 236 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 1: by the daring do of the Marquis de Lafayette, who 237 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 1: wanted to prove their medal on a field of battle 238 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: that would also incidentally give them a chance to humiliate 239 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: the British. Franklin's efforts worked. On February sixth, seventeen seventy seven, 240 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:39,439 Speaker 1: Benjamin Franklin met with the Foreign Minister Version to sign 241 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:44,359 Speaker 1: not one, but two treaties. The first was a treaty 242 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 1: of Friendship and commerce. The second, and more important of 243 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: the two, was a treaty of military alliance. Not only 244 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: had France officially recognized the United States as a nation, 245 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: it had officially joined in its rugs revolutionary efforts. Imagine 246 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,880 Speaker 1: the scene of French officials that day at the end 247 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: of the eighteenth century, and try to picture what you 248 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:16,399 Speaker 1: imagine they might be wearing, fine silks, embroideries, the type 249 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: of clothing that reflects the importance of the occasion within 250 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: a culture where people were already wearing incredibly ornate, decorated clothing. 251 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: In contrast, Benjamin Franklin wore a simple brown wool waistcoat suit. 252 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: But he had a very specific reason for the outfit 253 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,120 Speaker 1: he chose. It was the exact same suit he had 254 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: been wearing less than a decade earlier, when he was 255 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:48,639 Speaker 1: berated and humiliated by the British while testifying in the cockpit. 256 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,879 Speaker 1: Now that same jacket would witness the signing of the 257 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,400 Speaker 1: treaty that might help America cast off Britain's yoke forever. 258 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: It was an act of sirctorial vengeance, the eighteenth century 259 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:09,480 Speaker 1: equivalent of Princess Diana's revenge dress. Franklin did wear slightly 260 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: more formal garb a month later when he appeared at 261 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: Versailles for the ratification of the alliance. This time he 262 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: wore a black velvet suit lined with white ruffles and 263 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:25,879 Speaker 1: silk stockings. Even still, the chamberlain took a moment's pause 264 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: before letting him into court because Franklin wasn't wearing the 265 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:35,480 Speaker 1: wig and sword that was required by court etiquette. Still then, 266 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: as today, dress codes are more suggestions when you're famous, 267 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: and Franklin was invited into an audience with King Louis 268 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: the sixteenth in the King's Great Chamber. The king extended 269 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,439 Speaker 1: a message of goodwill to Congress, stating that he hoped 270 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 1: the alliance would be quote for the good of our 271 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: two nations. Franklin was effusive in his gratitude and replied 272 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,800 Speaker 1: to the King with the type of remark that seems 273 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: so poignant in its dramatic irony, that I'm tempted to 274 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 1: believe it was apocryphal. If all rulers ruled with your benevolence, 275 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 1: Franklin told the King Louis the sixteenth republics would never 276 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: be formed. Once the formal acknowledgments were taken care of, 277 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:30,280 Speaker 1: Franklin was invited to spend time with the royal family. 278 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: When account relates that while Franklin was watching a game 279 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: play out on a gaming table, he was honored by 280 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: the particular notice of the Queen, who courteously desired him 281 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: to stand near to her, and as often as the 282 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,400 Speaker 1: game did not require her immediate attention, she took occasion 283 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,919 Speaker 1: to speak to him in very obliging terms. Franklin and 284 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: Marie Antoinette were also said to have strolled through the 285 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: gardens of Versailles, where he explained to her the basics 286 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: of his electrical experiments. Allegedly, Marie Antoinette asked Benjamin Franklin 287 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: if he was worried that, like Prometheus, who was chained 288 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: to a rock with his liver plucked out for all eternity, 289 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: he too worried that he would be punished for stealing 290 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: fire from heaven. Franklin replied that he would quote if 291 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:25,440 Speaker 1: he did not behold a pair of eyes pass unpunished, 292 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: which have stolen infinitely more fire from Jove than he 293 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: ever did, though they do more mischief in a week 294 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:37,959 Speaker 1: than he has done in all my experiments. The task 295 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: of official recognition was done, but Benjamin Franklin's work was 296 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: far from over. The revolutionaries were in desperate need still 297 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:51,159 Speaker 1: of money, supplies, and ammunition, and trying to get the 298 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:55,359 Speaker 1: French people to provide it became the central focus of 299 00:21:55,359 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: Franklin's work. Biographer Stacy Schiff recounted how at one point 300 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: the Americans sent Franklin a thirty eight page list of 301 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:09,040 Speaker 1: the things they needed from the French, including quote, a frigate, 302 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: a ship of the line, and forty nine thousand uniforms, 303 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:17,439 Speaker 1: as well as spoons, trumpets, paint, and thimbles. According to Shiff, 304 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:24,880 Speaker 1: the demands was so massive that Franklin was left speechless. 305 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: It's at this point that another Founding father makes a 306 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,400 Speaker 1: cameo in the story. In seventeen seventy eight, future President 307 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:38,359 Speaker 1: John Adams joined Franklin in France as an ambassador. It 308 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,200 Speaker 1: was a terrible idea from the start. If you've seen 309 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: the excellent HBO mini series John Adams starring Paul Giamatti, 310 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: you probably have a fairly good understanding of what sort 311 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: of man Adams was. Principled and brilliant, but straightforward, blunt, 312 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 1: hard working, with no patience for nonsense. In other words, 313 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: a terrible fit for France, where diplomacy was more reliant 314 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 1: on charm and flirtation than anything else. He was also 315 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: a terrible match for Benjamin Franklin, who, as shiff elegantly 316 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,959 Speaker 1: put it, was a master of the French art of quote, 317 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 1: accomplishing much while appearing to accomplish little. Adams despised Franklin. 318 00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: Where was the man who had written Poor Richard's Almanac? 319 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: Early to bed, Early to rise? All of that. The 320 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,719 Speaker 1: Franklin that Adams saw in France was a lush who 321 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: seemed to spend more time socializing than working. He was 322 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: invited to dine every day and never declined, Adams wrote, 323 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 1: and it was the only thing in which he was punctual. 324 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: To make matters worse, Adams also had to bear witness 325 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: to Franklin's tremendous celebrity. As Adams put it, Franklin was green, 326 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: did like quote an opera girl everywhere they went. Adams 327 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: was so unpopular in France that the Foreign minister actually 328 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:14,399 Speaker 1: insisted that Franklin be the only American representative, and so 329 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: Adams was sent back across the Atlantic, although his mistrust 330 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,760 Speaker 1: and resentment of Franklin never abated. In seventeen eighty three, 331 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,359 Speaker 1: Adams wrote a letter stating, quote, if I was in 332 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,400 Speaker 1: Congress and Franklin and the marble Mercury in the garden 333 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,920 Speaker 1: of Versailles were in nomination for an embassy, I would 334 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,440 Speaker 1: not hesitate to give my vote for the statue upon 335 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: the principle that it would do no harm. The growing 336 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: sentiment of resentment of Franklin's slow progress in France seemed 337 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:55,199 Speaker 1: to be shared amongst the United States. America needed resources immediately, 338 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: and France was not providing them. Why couldn't Franklin get more? 339 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,520 Speaker 1: At one point, Congress was so frustrated with Franklin that 340 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: they floated the idea of replacing him. That notion was 341 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: so abhorrent to Franklin's friend and ally, the Foreign Minister Vergennes, 342 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,240 Speaker 1: that Virgen immediately sent over a large shipment to America 343 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: and wrote to make sure that Congress understood that he 344 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: had only granted it specifically on account of Benjamin Franklin. 345 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: Franklin continued his efforts to fund the Americans, writing letters 346 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 1: and missives, charming the French, and trying to secure supplies 347 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 1: as best he could, but by seventeen eighty one the 348 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: war was dragging on. It was midnight when a courier 349 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:48,360 Speaker 1: arrived at the suburban home Franklin lived in with incredible news. 350 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: The Americans had achieved victory at Yorktown with the help 351 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: of six thousand men that King Louis the sixteenth had 352 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: sent under Lieutenant General Rochambeau. George Washington had trapped General Cornwallis, 353 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: and a helpful French fleet posted just offshore meant that 354 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:10,800 Speaker 1: the British wouldn't be able to escape or send for 355 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: more supplies. Cornwallis had no options. He surrendered. The American 356 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,919 Speaker 1: Revolutionary War was all but over, and John Jay and 357 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: John Adams arrived in Europe to work with Benjamin Franklin 358 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 1: on finalizing the end of the war with the British. 359 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 1: Though the nature of the American treaty with France meant 360 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: that the Americans were supposed to consult with France and 361 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:44,360 Speaker 1: Virgin on their British peace agreement. John Jay and Adams 362 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,760 Speaker 1: bulked at that idea and preferred to work independently. It 363 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:53,160 Speaker 1: was a tricky situation for Franklin, who had seen firsthand 364 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: just how much the French had done for them and 365 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: how much Virgin had done for him personally, but he 366 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: had no choice but to go along with the other negotiators. 367 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 1: France was understandably upset at being left completely out of 368 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: the peace agreement, and so it was left to Franklin 369 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 1: to apologize to Verzhen, which he did in an absolutely 370 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 1: masterful letter. He wrote that the omission quote was not 371 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: from want of respect for the King, whom we all 372 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:28,159 Speaker 1: love and honor. It is not possible for anyone to 373 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: be more sensible than I am of what I and 374 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,040 Speaker 1: every American owe to the King for the many and 375 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:39,639 Speaker 1: great benefits and favors he has bestowed upon us. The English, 376 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: I just now learn flatter themselves that they have already 377 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,600 Speaker 1: divided us. I hope this little misunderstanding will therefore be 378 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:52,919 Speaker 1: kept a perfect secret, and that they find themselves totally mistaken. 379 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,440 Speaker 1: He added that he hoped, quote, the great work which 380 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: has hitherto been so happily conducted, is so nearly brought 381 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 1: to perfection, and is so glorious to his reign, will 382 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,239 Speaker 1: not be ruined by a single indiscretion of ours, And 383 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: certainly the whole edifice falls to the ground immediately if 384 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,640 Speaker 1: you refuse, on that account to give us any further assistance. 385 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,040 Speaker 1: Did you catch that last part? Not only had America 386 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:25,280 Speaker 1: excluded France from negotiating in the peace agreement, but now 387 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:30,679 Speaker 1: America needed more money, and the absolutely insane part the 388 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: letter worked. Next time you apologize, if it doesn't end 389 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:38,960 Speaker 1: with the person you wronged giving you more money, just 390 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: know that Benjamin Franklin was operating on a different level, 391 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: and the affection the French had for Benjamin Franklin lasted 392 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 1: until the end. When Franklin eventually left the country, it 393 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:57,040 Speaker 1: was Marie Antoinette who personally lent him a litter carried 394 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:02,840 Speaker 1: between mules because franklin health issue made normal coach travel uncomfortable. 395 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: I want to be clear, as an American citizen, I 396 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: am personally very grateful to the French for everything they 397 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: did for us in the Revolutionary War, but hindsight being 398 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 1: what it is looking back, it was a catastrophic move 399 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: for the French monarchy. According to Schiff, the value of 400 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: French material and manpower sent by Louis the sixteenth was 401 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:31,200 Speaker 1: the equivalent of approximately twenty billion dollars in today's money. 402 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:35,880 Speaker 1: The empty treasury was certainly an aggravating factor six years 403 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: later when the French Revolution began, and the money doesn't 404 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: even account for the philosophical impact of the American Revolution 405 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: on the French people. Hearing all about overthrowing a tyrannous 406 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: monarch and the essential promises of liberty helped the French 407 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: revolutionaries establish their vocabulary when it came to the revolution 408 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: that would lead to Louis the Das sixteenth head detached 409 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: from his body. But again for Americans, it is almost 410 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 1: impossible to overstate how important that French aid was during 411 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War. As Schiff says, quote, when the British 412 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 1: surrendered at Yorktown, they did so to forces that were 413 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:24,480 Speaker 1: nearly equal parts French and American, all fed, clothed and 414 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: paid by France and protected by a French navy. Biographer 415 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:36,479 Speaker 1: Walter Isaacson puts Benjamin Franklin's impact specifically into focus. He said, quote, 416 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,120 Speaker 1: I think Benjamin Franklin, by sealing the alliance with France, 417 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:44,080 Speaker 1: did as much to win the revolution as anybody, with 418 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: the possible exception of George Washington. If John Adams were 419 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: to hear that, I know he would be rolling in 420 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 1: his grave. Even as it happened, he was aware of 421 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 1: the mythologizing that was happening in real time. Our ten 422 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:04,800 Speaker 1: tidency to exalt individual heroes over the boring hard work 423 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: of slow collective effort. Quote, the history of our revolution 424 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: will be one continued lie from one end to the other, 425 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,240 Speaker 1: he wrote. The essence of the whole will be that 426 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:21,600 Speaker 1: doctor Franklin's electric rod smote to the earth and outsprung 427 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:27,320 Speaker 1: General Washington. I apologize to John Adams if this podcast 428 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:32,840 Speaker 1: continues the Franklin mythmaking yet another telling of the story 429 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 1: of the man who charmed the French into helping us 430 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:47,959 Speaker 1: win a war. That's the story of Benjamin Franklin working 431 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,080 Speaker 1: with the French monarchy to overthrow the British monarchy. But 432 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 1: keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a 433 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:58,760 Speaker 1: little bit about how the French inspired one of Benjamin 434 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 1: Franklin's most famous inventions. Benjamin Franklin is famous as a 435 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: founding father, but he's also acclaimed as an inventor. Ask 436 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: any precocious elementary school student in the US and they'd 437 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,200 Speaker 1: probably be able to rattle off a few of his inventions. 438 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,760 Speaker 1: The lightning rod, of course, but also the Franklin stove, 439 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,880 Speaker 1: a glass armonica, the catheter, and swim fins. And one 440 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: of his other most famous inventions came about because he 441 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:38,280 Speaker 1: wasn't that good at French. During his time in Paris, 442 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:42,240 Speaker 1: Benjamin Franklin was invited to a countless number of dinner 443 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: parties because his French was still rudimentary. If he wanted 444 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,440 Speaker 1: to understand what his dining companions were saying, he would 445 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:53,360 Speaker 1: need to be able to see their lips moving across 446 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: the table, but he also wanted to be able to 447 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 1: make out the food in front of him. This dilemma 448 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: of wanting his vision corrected at different distances led to 449 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:16,520 Speaker 1: an invention that still used today by vocals. Noble Blood 450 00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from 451 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. Nobel Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts, 452 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:30,200 Speaker 1: with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zewick, 453 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 1: Courtney Sender, Julia Milani, and Arman Cassam. The show is 454 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: edited and produced by Noemy Griffin and rima Il Kaali, 455 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey, 456 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Four more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 457 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,600 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 458 00:33:55,640 --> 00:34:35,720 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.