Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin « Series from 2022

Series from 2022

Broadcast info
Duration: 6780 min

Ken Burns’s four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential and compelling p…

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“Join or Die”

Leaving behind his Boston childhood, Benjamin Franklin reinvents himself in Philadelphia where he builds a printing empire and a new life with his wife Deborah. Turning to science, Franklin gains worldwide fame from his lightning rod and experiments in electricity. After entering politics, he spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his own family starts to come apart.

“An American”

Benjamin Franklin leaves London and returns to wartime Philadelphia where he joins Congress and helps Thomas Jefferson craft the Declaration of Independence. In Paris, he wins French support for the American Revolution then negotiates a peace treaty with Britain. He spends his last years in the new United States, working on the Constitution and unsuccessfully promoting the abolition of slavery.

Franklin and Writing

Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.

Franklin and Innovation

Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.

Benjamin Franklin and American Diplomacy

Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.

Franklin and Revolution

Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.

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