July 30, 2024 • 34 mins
In 1777, Benjamin Franklin made his way across the Atlantic to Paris. He was the most famous American in the world, a celebrated inventor thought of as Galileo reincarnate. But Franklin would need more than just his celebrity if he were to achieve his mission: convincing the French monarchy to support the Americans in overthrowing a king.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. One brief
housekeeping note before we begin. This fall, I am teaching
an online romance writing class with Not Sorry. It starts
October sixth. It's on Sundays, and it's virtual, so you
(00:22):
can sign up if you're based anywhere in the world. Again,
starting October six it will go from eight weeks. This
program is so much fun. Last year I taught a
class on horror writing. I had an amazing time. If
you're interested in writing, or you're already a writer, or
just want to like dip your toes into what it
means to write romance or characters with chemistry, or if
(00:44):
you've ever wanted to do Nano raimo, write a novel
in November. This is a great opportunity. It's an incredibly
supportive community and it offers accountability for your writing. So
if you want to join us, sign up now at
not Sorry works dot com. If you sign up quick,
there's an early bird discount. There's also scholarships available if
(01:06):
you scroll on the page and apply for that information.
I just love teaching these classes. I love making writing
accessible and building a fun community. And I've had a
great time this class. I'm teaching with a brilliant co teacher,
vanessa's Oultan, who I absolutely love. She's so smart and
so funny. I just know we're gonna have a great
time this October. So if this interests you, absolutely join us.
(01:29):
Let's get into the episode. The man who arrived in
Paris was one of the most famous people on the planet,
the type of person who influenced fashion and caused crowds
to gather on the sides of streets to cheer his carriage.
Passing collectibles would be printed with his face in honor
(01:53):
of his arrival in France, and dinner parties would be
thrown for him. The French considered him to be another
Mutan or Galileo, a great intellectual in the vein of Voltaire.
He was Benjamin Franklin, and for most Parisians he was
almost certainly the only person from America that they would
(02:14):
have heard of, the man who had managed to pull
lightning from the heavens. It was an honor and a
privilege that he was choosing to spend time in France,
and the French were going to make sure that he
knew that they understood that. Within weeks of his arrival,
women began wearing lightning dresses and hats with metal lightning
(02:38):
rods sticking out of them, complete with small chains trailing
down to ground any possible electric charges. Although I imagine these
were only styles worn in comfortably sunny weather. Women also
styled their pompadours to resemble the famous fur cap that
Benjamin Franklin chose to wear instead of the more standard
(03:00):
powdered wig. The women called the hair do a coffeur
a la Franklin. Paris had a case of Franklin mania.
His book of Poor Richard's aphorisms was translated and published
in French copies of Lacience de bonam. Richard frequently appeared
at the most glamorous salons. Franklin's portrait appeared over mantles,
(03:25):
his face was embossed on collectibles, dishes, walking sticks, and
snuff boxes. The French, Franklin wrote in a letter to
family back in America, have made your father's face as
well known as that of the moon. In fact, the
mania became so extreme that King Louis the sixteenth himself
(03:47):
was a little annoyed by it. As a tongue in
cheek gesture, he commissioned a chamber pot for a friend
with Benjamin Franklin's face on it. Franklin's social calendar was
an endless parade of parties, dinners, and salons. It seemed
that he spent most of his time flirting with his
(04:08):
many female admirers. As a matter of fact, it seemed
as though Benjamin Franklin was having so much fun in
Paris that anyone might be forgiven for thinking that pleasure
was the reason he was there in the first place.
But the truth was something kept hidden by design from
almost everyone in Europe. Benjamin Franklin was in France on
(04:31):
a mission, and though he certainly enjoyed being fitted, he
knew that his mission was critically important to the fate
of what he hoped would one day be his young nation.
The American Colonies were at war with the British for
their independence, and in seventeen seventy seven they were lacking money, food, uniforms,
(04:57):
and hope. Even the fai to see that George Washington
and his meager army might defeat the vastly superior British
forces would only be possible with the help of an
outside resource. The American revolutionaries needed France, and so they
needed Benjamin Franklin. So while Parisian socialites amused themselves dressing
(05:24):
to honor Franklin's scientific achievements, Franklin himself was hard at
work trying to figure out a way to convince a
monarch to help fund revolutionaries attempting to overthrow that very
same system of government that he presided over. Franklin sat
at feasts trying to play his diplomatic hand exactly right,
(05:48):
while he knew that at those exact same moments American
troops were starving. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood.
Benjamin Franklin wasn't always a revolutionary. Just a few years
before he would sign the Declaration of Independence, he was
(06:10):
a loyal British subject, actually trying his diplomatic best to
work within the colonial system while tensions between the British
and the colonists were rising. In seventeen seventy two, Franklin
was co Postmaster General and he was faced with a
massive scandal. An anonymous source had forwarded along a collection
(06:34):
of private letters written by the Governor of Massachusetts. The
governor was writing to British officials, saying that he thought
the colonies needed harsher oversight and more troops, even that
certain liberties that English citizens enjoyed ought to be restricted
amongst the colonists. Obviously, the letters were massively inflammatory, the
(06:58):
type of rhetoric that would only stoke the growing revolutionary
sentiment in America. Although Franklin decided that the letters should
not be published or made public, he showed them to
Samuel Adams and the members of the Massachusetts House. The
letters did not stay secret for long. They were published
(07:18):
in the Boston Gazette. English officials were furious about the scandal.
Those were private letters that had been leaked, and the
source of the leak had not been identified. Who had
given the letters to Franklin in the first place. Franklin
was summoned to England to testify before the King's Privy
Council in a room referred to as the cockpit. Franklin
(07:43):
understood just how infuriated the colonists were, and he tried
to reason with the Englishmen, advocating for the British to
appoint a new governor and lieutenant governor in Massachusetts. But
the men in the cockpit had no interest in an
engaging in good faith with Franklin. Instead, Franklin was mocked
(08:05):
and ridiculed by the Solicitor General. He was accused of
dishonor and thievery. Benjamin Franklin had come to England hoping
to turn the temperature down on revolutionary talk. He sailed
home convinced that revolution was the only way forward. A
little over a year later, the first shots of the
(08:27):
Revolutionary War would be fired at Lexington and Concord. Though
the revolutionaries had the strength of their convictions, that was
one of the only strengths they had. American soldiers were untrained,
under fed, and massively underfunded. If they were going to
stand a fighting chance against the British, they needed help.
(08:52):
On October twenty sixth, seventeen seventy six, Benjamin Franklin, then
seventy years old, was sent to France as one of
three diplomats on a top secret mission to secure French
support for the revolution. He traveled with two of his
grandsons on a ship called the Reprisal. It was an
(09:13):
incredibly treacherous journey. Franklin wrote that the voyage quote almost
demolished me. They had limited rations on board, and by
the time Benjamin Franklin landed in Europe he had boils
and scabs all over his body, including on his balding scalp.
But even more dangerous than the risk of disease or
(09:36):
dangerous seas was the fact that Benjamin Franklin was technically
traveling as a traitor. The British Navy patrolled the Atlantic,
and if they captured him as a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, he could have been hanged. Fortunately, Franklin
managed to make it to Brittany intact, and though he
(09:56):
had planned on keeping his arrival in France a secret celebrity,
made that challenging word that the famous Benjamin Franklin was
on their shores, made to Paris before he did, and
the celebrations of all things Benjamin Franklin began. One thing
that Benjamin Franklin understood implicitly was how to play act
(10:20):
the role of an American. In order to delight the French,
he wore an iconic fur hat in the style of
a hat that had been famously worn by the philosopher Rousseau,
which gave Franklin both an intellectual and a delightfully rustic
frontier style appeal. The hat also served the additional purpose
(10:43):
of covering the scabs that still covered his head from
the miserable ship ride across the Atlantic. Franklin was a
bonafied sensation, the most famous American in the world, and
a celebrated scholar scientist. When he moved into a house
in the suburbs outside Paris, invited by the man who
(11:05):
owned the manor, a lightning rod was hoisted on the
roof in Franklin's honor. He received what seemed like an
endless stream of visitors, including plenty of women who adored
his company and whom he adored wright back. His favorite
was a woman named Madame Brion, his thirty three year
(11:26):
old married neighbor, a year younger than Franklin's daughter. The
two had an incredibly close relationship. They played chess and
had tea multiple times a week, and though their letters
were intimate in a loving way and Franklin made his
sexual interest clear, Madame Brion politely reminded him that she
(11:48):
was a married woman, and the two just genuinely seemed
to enjoy each other's company. From that point on, the
relationship became more platonic and paternal, But Benjamin Franklin was
an incredible flirt, which was one of the primary modes
of communication in France. One particular line that I think
(12:10):
shows off his celebrated charm came when he was playing
a game of chess with a woman. Instead of checkmating
his opponent, he simply claimed her king. The woman scolded him,
telling him in France they didn't take kings that way. Ah,
Franklin replied, we do in America. As enjoyable as his
(12:32):
socializing was, it wasn't the reason Benjamin Franklin was in France.
He needed to convince King Louis the sixteenth to join
with the fledgling United States of America, to recognize it
as a nation and support it in its revolution against
the British. Now, if there's one thing France loves, it's
fighting the British, and just a few years earlier, the
(12:56):
British had humiliated France in the Seven Years War, cementing
British domination in America and Canada. France did have a
vested interest in restoring the balance of power away from
England in the New World, and they had a personal
interest in defeating the British. But Benjamin Franklin's task was
(13:19):
still a massively difficult one. For one, much as he
was trying to convince France that the United States was
an actual unified nation, that was a long way off.
America was fighting the Revolutionary War, yes, but there was
still no consensus even among the Continental Congress whether America
(13:41):
was one people or thirteen pulling together for a common cause.
For another thing, France's resources were already massively strained, and
if they sent ships to North America, they would be
playing a risk ski games in terms of their ability
(14:02):
to protect France itself and the French West Indies against
the vastly powerful and far superior British navy, the most
powerful navy in the world. It was such a dangerous
proposition that Louis the sixteenth wrote a letter to the
King of Spain. King to King, he knew that whether
(14:22):
or not to recognize the US was an incredibly important decision,
but it wasn't one that he wanted France to have
to make a loan. And then all of that aside,
there was the philosophical issue of asking King Louis the
sixteenth to fund the overthrow of another monarch. While trying
(14:42):
to win the French government over, Franklin told them about
how powerful George Washington's army was. Washington was leading an
army of eighty thousand men, he said, well trained, fierce
fighters who would stop at nothing until they achieved their
freedom from tyranny. Franklin said that Americans could hold out
(15:02):
for thirty years, and when reports reached France that the
British had taken Philadelphia, Franklin just smiled and shook his head.
It was all part of the plan. The river would freeze,
you see, and the British would be trapped there. Franklin
was fully bluffing. Washington had closer to fourteen thousand men,
(15:25):
nowhere near eighty, and they were so poor that they
couldn't afford uniforms. When Philadelphia fell to the British, a
British officer commandeered Benjamin Franklin's own home, stealing his books,
private papers, and scientific equipment. Though Franklin's ally in France,
the Foreign Minister Compe de Vergen, was able to sneak
(15:48):
Franklin and the Americans some funds under the table. The
French were not going to officially support the Revolution unless
there was some proof that it wasn't a fully lost cause.
All Franklin could do, much to the chagrin of his
American colleagues watching from across the ocean, was weight continuing
(16:11):
to wage his personal charm offensive against the French people.
After months of bluffing and treading water, the tide finally
shifted on October seventeenth, seventeen seventy seven, when Americans defeated
the British general John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga.
(16:36):
It was a tremendous victory, a turning point in the Revolution,
and exactly the sword of moment Benjamin Franklin needed in
order to convince the French that helping the Americans was
backing a winning team. Franklin sprang into action, writing detailed
and poetic accounts of the incredible victory, taking particular time
(16:59):
to raise the French soldiers who had been fighting alongside
the colonists, Because even if the French government had been
hesitant to officially join in the American Revolution, there was
no shortage of valiant young frenchmen, particularly young noblemen inspired
by the daring do of the Marquis de Lafayette, who
(17:21):
wanted to prove their medal on a field of battle
that would also incidentally give them a chance to humiliate
the British. Franklin's efforts worked. On February sixth, seventeen seventy seven,
Benjamin Franklin met with the Foreign Minister Version to sign
not one, but two treaties. The first was a treaty
(17:44):
of Friendship and commerce. The second, and more important of
the two, was a treaty of military alliance. Not only
had France officially recognized the United States as a nation,
it had officially joined in its rugs revolutionary efforts. Imagine
the scene of French officials that day at the end
(18:06):
of the eighteenth century, and try to picture what you
imagine they might be wearing, fine silks, embroideries, the type
of clothing that reflects the importance of the occasion within
a culture where people were already wearing incredibly ornate, decorated clothing.
(18:27):
In contrast, Benjamin Franklin wore a simple brown wool waistcoat suit.
But he had a very specific reason for the outfit
he chose. It was the exact same suit he had
been wearing less than a decade earlier, when he was
berated and humiliated by the British while testifying in the cockpit.
(18:49):
Now that same jacket would witness the signing of the
treaty that might help America cast off Britain's yoke forever.
It was an act of sirctorial vengeance, the eighteenth century
equivalent of Princess Diana's revenge dress. Franklin did wear slightly
more formal garb a month later when he appeared at
(19:12):
Versailles for the ratification of the alliance. This time he
wore a black velvet suit lined with white ruffles and
silk stockings. Even still, the chamberlain took a moment's pause
before letting him into court because Franklin wasn't wearing the
wig and sword that was required by court etiquette. Still then,
(19:35):
as today, dress codes are more suggestions when you're famous,
and Franklin was invited into an audience with King Louis
the sixteenth in the King's Great Chamber. The king extended
a message of goodwill to Congress, stating that he hoped
the alliance would be quote for the good of our
(19:58):
two nations. Franklin was effusive in his gratitude and replied
to the King with the type of remark that seems
so poignant in its dramatic irony, that I'm tempted to
believe it was apocryphal. If all rulers ruled with your benevolence,
Franklin told the King Louis the sixteenth republics would never
(20:20):
be formed. Once the formal acknowledgments were taken care of,
Franklin was invited to spend time with the royal family.
When account relates that while Franklin was watching a game
play out on a gaming table, he was honored by
the particular notice of the Queen, who courteously desired him
(20:42):
to stand near to her, and as often as the
game did not require her immediate attention, she took occasion
to speak to him in very obliging terms. Franklin and
Marie Antoinette were also said to have strolled through the
gardens of Versailles, where he explained to her the basics
of his electrical experiments. Allegedly, Marie Antoinette asked Benjamin Franklin
(21:07):
if he was worried that, like Prometheus, who was chained
to a rock with his liver plucked out for all eternity,
he too worried that he would be punished for stealing
fire from heaven. Franklin replied that he would quote if
he did not behold a pair of eyes pass unpunished,
which have stolen infinitely more fire from Jove than he
(21:29):
ever did, though they do more mischief in a week
than he has done in all my experiments. The task
of official recognition was done, but Benjamin Franklin's work was
far from over. The revolutionaries were in desperate need still
of money, supplies, and ammunition, and trying to get the
(21:51):
French people to provide it became the central focus of
Franklin's work. Biographer Stacy Schiff recounted how at one point
the Americans sent Franklin a thirty eight page list of
the things they needed from the French, including quote, a frigate,
a ship of the line, and forty nine thousand uniforms,
(22:12):
as well as spoons, trumpets, paint, and thimbles. According to Shiff,
the demands was so massive that Franklin was left speechless.
It's at this point that another Founding father makes a
cameo in the story. In seventeen seventy eight, future President
(22:33):
John Adams joined Franklin in France as an ambassador. It
was a terrible idea from the start. If you've seen
the excellent HBO mini series John Adams starring Paul Giamatti,
you probably have a fairly good understanding of what sort
of man Adams was. Principled and brilliant, but straightforward, blunt,
(22:57):
hard working, with no patience for nonsense. In other words,
a terrible fit for France, where diplomacy was more reliant
on charm and flirtation than anything else. He was also
a terrible match for Benjamin Franklin, who, as shiff elegantly
put it, was a master of the French art of quote,
(23:20):
accomplishing much while appearing to accomplish little. Adams despised Franklin.
Where was the man who had written Poor Richard's Almanac?
Early to bed, Early to rise? All of that. The
Franklin that Adams saw in France was a lush who
seemed to spend more time socializing than working. He was
(23:42):
invited to dine every day and never declined, Adams wrote,
and it was the only thing in which he was punctual.
To make matters worse, Adams also had to bear witness
to Franklin's tremendous celebrity. As Adams put it, Franklin was green,
did like quote an opera girl everywhere they went. Adams
(24:05):
was so unpopular in France that the Foreign minister actually
insisted that Franklin be the only American representative, and so
Adams was sent back across the Atlantic, although his mistrust
and resentment of Franklin never abated. In seventeen eighty three,
Adams wrote a letter stating, quote, if I was in
(24:27):
Congress and Franklin and the marble Mercury in the garden
of Versailles were in nomination for an embassy, I would
not hesitate to give my vote for the statue upon
the principle that it would do no harm. The growing
sentiment of resentment of Franklin's slow progress in France seemed
(24:49):
to be shared amongst the United States. America needed resources immediately,
and France was not providing them. Why couldn't Franklin get more?
At one point, Congress was so frustrated with Franklin that
they floated the idea of replacing him. That notion was
so abhorrent to Franklin's friend and ally, the Foreign Minister Vergennes,
(25:13):
that Virgen immediately sent over a large shipment to America
and wrote to make sure that Congress understood that he
had only granted it specifically on account of Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin continued his efforts to fund the Americans, writing letters
and missives, charming the French, and trying to secure supplies
(25:35):
as best he could, but by seventeen eighty one the
war was dragging on. It was midnight when a courier
arrived at the suburban home Franklin lived in with incredible news.
The Americans had achieved victory at Yorktown with the help
of six thousand men that King Louis the sixteenth had
(25:57):
sent under Lieutenant General Rochambeau. George Washington had trapped General Cornwallis,
and a helpful French fleet posted just offshore meant that
the British wouldn't be able to escape or send for
more supplies. Cornwallis had no options. He surrendered. The American
(26:21):
Revolutionary War was all but over, and John Jay and
John Adams arrived in Europe to work with Benjamin Franklin
on finalizing the end of the war with the British.
Though the nature of the American treaty with France meant
that the Americans were supposed to consult with France and
Virgin on their British peace agreement. John Jay and Adams
(26:44):
bulked at that idea and preferred to work independently. It
was a tricky situation for Franklin, who had seen firsthand
just how much the French had done for them and
how much Virgin had done for him personally, but he
had no choice but to go along with the other negotiators.
France was understandably upset at being left completely out of
(27:08):
the peace agreement, and so it was left to Franklin
to apologize to Verzhen, which he did in an absolutely
masterful letter. He wrote that the omission quote was not
from want of respect for the King, whom we all
love and honor. It is not possible for anyone to
be more sensible than I am of what I and
(27:31):
every American owe to the King for the many and
great benefits and favors he has bestowed upon us. The English,
I just now learn flatter themselves that they have already
divided us. I hope this little misunderstanding will therefore be
kept a perfect secret, and that they find themselves totally mistaken.
(27:53):
He added that he hoped, quote, the great work which
has hitherto been so happily conducted, is so nearly brought
to perfection, and is so glorious to his reign, will
not be ruined by a single indiscretion of ours, And
certainly the whole edifice falls to the ground immediately if
you refuse, on that account to give us any further assistance.
(28:17):
Did you catch that last part? Not only had America
excluded France from negotiating in the peace agreement, but now
America needed more money, and the absolutely insane part the
letter worked. Next time you apologize, if it doesn't end
with the person you wronged giving you more money, just
(28:39):
know that Benjamin Franklin was operating on a different level,
and the affection the French had for Benjamin Franklin lasted
until the end. When Franklin eventually left the country, it
was Marie Antoinette who personally lent him a litter carried
between mules because franklin health issue made normal coach travel uncomfortable.
(29:03):
I want to be clear, as an American citizen, I
am personally very grateful to the French for everything they
did for us in the Revolutionary War, but hindsight being
what it is looking back, it was a catastrophic move
for the French monarchy. According to Schiff, the value of
French material and manpower sent by Louis the sixteenth was
(29:26):
the equivalent of approximately twenty billion dollars in today's money.
The empty treasury was certainly an aggravating factor six years
later when the French Revolution began, and the money doesn't
even account for the philosophical impact of the American Revolution
on the French people. Hearing all about overthrowing a tyrannous
(29:48):
monarch and the essential promises of liberty helped the French
revolutionaries establish their vocabulary when it came to the revolution
that would lead to Louis the Das sixteenth head detached
from his body. But again for Americans, it is almost
impossible to overstate how important that French aid was during
(30:11):
the Revolutionary War. As Schiff says, quote, when the British
surrendered at Yorktown, they did so to forces that were
nearly equal parts French and American, all fed, clothed and
paid by France and protected by a French navy. Biographer
Walter Isaacson puts Benjamin Franklin's impact specifically into focus. He said, quote,
(30:36):
I think Benjamin Franklin, by sealing the alliance with France,
did as much to win the revolution as anybody, with
the possible exception of George Washington. If John Adams were
to hear that, I know he would be rolling in
his grave. Even as it happened, he was aware of
the mythologizing that was happening in real time. Our ten
(30:59):
tidency to exalt individual heroes over the boring hard work
of slow collective effort. Quote, the history of our revolution
will be one continued lie from one end to the other,
he wrote. The essence of the whole will be that
doctor Franklin's electric rod smote to the earth and outsprung
(31:21):
General Washington. I apologize to John Adams if this podcast
continues the Franklin mythmaking yet another telling of the story
of the man who charmed the French into helping us
win a war. That's the story of Benjamin Franklin working
(31:48):
with the French monarchy to overthrow the British monarchy. But
keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a
little bit about how the French inspired one of Benjamin
Franklin's most famous inventions. Benjamin Franklin is famous as a
(32:10):
founding father, but he's also acclaimed as an inventor. Ask
any precocious elementary school student in the US and they'd
probably be able to rattle off a few of his inventions.
The lightning rod, of course, but also the Franklin stove,
a glass armonica, the catheter, and swim fins. And one
(32:30):
of his other most famous inventions came about because he
wasn't that good at French. During his time in Paris,
Benjamin Franklin was invited to a countless number of dinner
parties because his French was still rudimentary. If he wanted
to understand what his dining companions were saying, he would
need to be able to see their lips moving across
(32:53):
the table, but he also wanted to be able to
make out the food in front of him. This dilemma
of wanting his vision corrected at different distances led to
an invention that still used today by vocals. Noble Blood
(33:16):
is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from
Aaron Mankey. Nobel Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts,
with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zewick,
Courtney Sender, Julia Milani, and Arman Cassam. The show is
edited and produced by Noemy Griffin and rima Il Kaali,
(33:40):
with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey,
Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Four more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim
and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. One brief
housekeeping note before we begin. This fall, I am teaching
an online romance writing class with Not Sorry. It starts
October sixth. It's on Sundays, and it's virtual, so you
(00:22):
can sign up if you're based anywhere in the world. Again,
starting October six it will go from eight weeks. This
program is so much fun. Last year I taught a
class on horror writing. I had an amazing time. If
you're interested in writing, or you're already a writer, or
just want to like dip your toes into what it
means to write romance or characters with chemistry, or if
(00:44):
you've ever wanted to do Nano raimo, write a novel
in November. This is a great opportunity. It's an incredibly
supportive community and it offers accountability for your writing. So
if you want to join us, sign up now at
not Sorry works dot com. If you sign up quick,
there's an early bird discount. There's also scholarships available if
(01:06):
you scroll on the page and apply for that information.
I just love teaching these classes. I love making writing
accessible and building a fun community. And I've had a
great time this class. I'm teaching with a brilliant co teacher,
vanessa's Oultan, who I absolutely love. She's so smart and
so funny. I just know we're gonna have a great
time this October. So if this interests you, absolutely join us.
(01:29):
Let's get into the episode. The man who arrived in
Paris was one of the most famous people on the planet,
the type of person who influenced fashion and caused crowds
to gather on the sides of streets to cheer his carriage.
Passing collectibles would be printed with his face in honor
(01:53):
of his arrival in France, and dinner parties would be
thrown for him. The French considered him to be another
Mutan or Galileo, a great intellectual in the vein of Voltaire.
He was Benjamin Franklin, and for most Parisians he was
almost certainly the only person from America that they would
(02:14):
have heard of, the man who had managed to pull
lightning from the heavens. It was an honor and a
privilege that he was choosing to spend time in France,
and the French were going to make sure that he
knew that they understood that. Within weeks of his arrival,
women began wearing lightning dresses and hats with metal lightning
(02:38):
rods sticking out of them, complete with small chains trailing
down to ground any possible electric charges. Although I imagine these
were only styles worn in comfortably sunny weather. Women also
styled their pompadours to resemble the famous fur cap that
Benjamin Franklin chose to wear instead of the more standard
(03:00):
powdered wig. The women called the hair do a coffeur
a la Franklin. Paris had a case of Franklin mania.
His book of Poor Richard's aphorisms was translated and published
in French copies of Lacience de bonam. Richard frequently appeared
at the most glamorous salons. Franklin's portrait appeared over mantles,
(03:25):
his face was embossed on collectibles, dishes, walking sticks, and
snuff boxes. The French, Franklin wrote in a letter to
family back in America, have made your father's face as
well known as that of the moon. In fact, the
mania became so extreme that King Louis the sixteenth himself
(03:47):
was a little annoyed by it. As a tongue in
cheek gesture, he commissioned a chamber pot for a friend
with Benjamin Franklin's face on it. Franklin's social calendar was
an endless parade of parties, dinners, and salons. It seemed
that he spent most of his time flirting with his
(04:08):
many female admirers. As a matter of fact, it seemed
as though Benjamin Franklin was having so much fun in
Paris that anyone might be forgiven for thinking that pleasure
was the reason he was there in the first place.
But the truth was something kept hidden by design from
almost everyone in Europe. Benjamin Franklin was in France on
(04:31):
a mission, and though he certainly enjoyed being fitted, he
knew that his mission was critically important to the fate
of what he hoped would one day be his young nation.
The American Colonies were at war with the British for
their independence, and in seventeen seventy seven they were lacking money, food, uniforms,
(04:57):
and hope. Even the fai to see that George Washington
and his meager army might defeat the vastly superior British
forces would only be possible with the help of an
outside resource. The American revolutionaries needed France, and so they
needed Benjamin Franklin. So while Parisian socialites amused themselves dressing
(05:24):
to honor Franklin's scientific achievements, Franklin himself was hard at
work trying to figure out a way to convince a
monarch to help fund revolutionaries attempting to overthrow that very
same system of government that he presided over. Franklin sat
at feasts trying to play his diplomatic hand exactly right,
(05:48):
while he knew that at those exact same moments American
troops were starving. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood.
Benjamin Franklin wasn't always a revolutionary. Just a few years
before he would sign the Declaration of Independence, he was
(06:10):
a loyal British subject, actually trying his diplomatic best to
work within the colonial system while tensions between the British
and the colonists were rising. In seventeen seventy two, Franklin
was co Postmaster General and he was faced with a
massive scandal. An anonymous source had forwarded along a collection
(06:34):
of private letters written by the Governor of Massachusetts. The
governor was writing to British officials, saying that he thought
the colonies needed harsher oversight and more troops, even that
certain liberties that English citizens enjoyed ought to be restricted
amongst the colonists. Obviously, the letters were massively inflammatory, the
(06:58):
type of rhetoric that would only stoke the growing revolutionary
sentiment in America. Although Franklin decided that the letters should
not be published or made public, he showed them to
Samuel Adams and the members of the Massachusetts House. The
letters did not stay secret for long. They were published
(07:18):
in the Boston Gazette. English officials were furious about the scandal.
Those were private letters that had been leaked, and the
source of the leak had not been identified. Who had
given the letters to Franklin in the first place. Franklin
was summoned to England to testify before the King's Privy
Council in a room referred to as the cockpit. Franklin
(07:43):
understood just how infuriated the colonists were, and he tried
to reason with the Englishmen, advocating for the British to
appoint a new governor and lieutenant governor in Massachusetts. But
the men in the cockpit had no interest in an
engaging in good faith with Franklin. Instead, Franklin was mocked
(08:05):
and ridiculed by the Solicitor General. He was accused of
dishonor and thievery. Benjamin Franklin had come to England hoping
to turn the temperature down on revolutionary talk. He sailed
home convinced that revolution was the only way forward. A
little over a year later, the first shots of the
(08:27):
Revolutionary War would be fired at Lexington and Concord. Though
the revolutionaries had the strength of their convictions, that was
one of the only strengths they had. American soldiers were untrained,
under fed, and massively underfunded. If they were going to
stand a fighting chance against the British, they needed help.
(08:52):
On October twenty sixth, seventeen seventy six, Benjamin Franklin, then
seventy years old, was sent to France as one of
three diplomats on a top secret mission to secure French
support for the revolution. He traveled with two of his
grandsons on a ship called the Reprisal. It was an
(09:13):
incredibly treacherous journey. Franklin wrote that the voyage quote almost
demolished me. They had limited rations on board, and by
the time Benjamin Franklin landed in Europe he had boils
and scabs all over his body, including on his balding scalp.
But even more dangerous than the risk of disease or
(09:36):
dangerous seas was the fact that Benjamin Franklin was technically
traveling as a traitor. The British Navy patrolled the Atlantic,
and if they captured him as a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, he could have been hanged. Fortunately, Franklin
managed to make it to Brittany intact, and though he
(09:56):
had planned on keeping his arrival in France a secret celebrity,
made that challenging word that the famous Benjamin Franklin was
on their shores, made to Paris before he did, and
the celebrations of all things Benjamin Franklin began. One thing
that Benjamin Franklin understood implicitly was how to play act
(10:20):
the role of an American. In order to delight the French,
he wore an iconic fur hat in the style of
a hat that had been famously worn by the philosopher Rousseau,
which gave Franklin both an intellectual and a delightfully rustic
frontier style appeal. The hat also served the additional purpose
(10:43):
of covering the scabs that still covered his head from
the miserable ship ride across the Atlantic. Franklin was a
bonafied sensation, the most famous American in the world, and
a celebrated scholar scientist. When he moved into a house
in the suburbs outside Paris, invited by the man who
(11:05):
owned the manor, a lightning rod was hoisted on the
roof in Franklin's honor. He received what seemed like an
endless stream of visitors, including plenty of women who adored
his company and whom he adored wright back. His favorite
was a woman named Madame Brion, his thirty three year
(11:26):
old married neighbor, a year younger than Franklin's daughter. The
two had an incredibly close relationship. They played chess and
had tea multiple times a week, and though their letters
were intimate in a loving way and Franklin made his
sexual interest clear, Madame Brion politely reminded him that she
(11:48):
was a married woman, and the two just genuinely seemed
to enjoy each other's company. From that point on, the
relationship became more platonic and paternal, But Benjamin Franklin was
an incredible flirt, which was one of the primary modes
of communication in France. One particular line that I think
(12:10):
shows off his celebrated charm came when he was playing
a game of chess with a woman. Instead of checkmating
his opponent, he simply claimed her king. The woman scolded him,
telling him in France they didn't take kings that way. Ah,
Franklin replied, we do in America. As enjoyable as his
(12:32):
socializing was, it wasn't the reason Benjamin Franklin was in France.
He needed to convince King Louis the sixteenth to join
with the fledgling United States of America, to recognize it
as a nation and support it in its revolution against
the British. Now, if there's one thing France loves, it's
fighting the British, and just a few years earlier, the
(12:56):
British had humiliated France in the Seven Years War, cementing
British domination in America and Canada. France did have a
vested interest in restoring the balance of power away from
England in the New World, and they had a personal
interest in defeating the British. But Benjamin Franklin's task was
(13:19):
still a massively difficult one. For one, much as he
was trying to convince France that the United States was
an actual unified nation, that was a long way off.
America was fighting the Revolutionary War, yes, but there was
still no consensus even among the Continental Congress whether America
(13:41):
was one people or thirteen pulling together for a common cause.
For another thing, France's resources were already massively strained, and
if they sent ships to North America, they would be
playing a risk ski games in terms of their ability
(14:02):
to protect France itself and the French West Indies against
the vastly powerful and far superior British navy, the most
powerful navy in the world. It was such a dangerous
proposition that Louis the sixteenth wrote a letter to the
King of Spain. King to King, he knew that whether
(14:22):
or not to recognize the US was an incredibly important decision,
but it wasn't one that he wanted France to have
to make a loan. And then all of that aside,
there was the philosophical issue of asking King Louis the
sixteenth to fund the overthrow of another monarch. While trying
(14:42):
to win the French government over, Franklin told them about
how powerful George Washington's army was. Washington was leading an
army of eighty thousand men, he said, well trained, fierce
fighters who would stop at nothing until they achieved their
freedom from tyranny. Franklin said that Americans could hold out
(15:02):
for thirty years, and when reports reached France that the
British had taken Philadelphia, Franklin just smiled and shook his head.
It was all part of the plan. The river would freeze,
you see, and the British would be trapped there. Franklin
was fully bluffing. Washington had closer to fourteen thousand men,
(15:25):
nowhere near eighty, and they were so poor that they
couldn't afford uniforms. When Philadelphia fell to the British, a
British officer commandeered Benjamin Franklin's own home, stealing his books,
private papers, and scientific equipment. Though Franklin's ally in France,
the Foreign Minister Compe de Vergen, was able to sneak
(15:48):
Franklin and the Americans some funds under the table. The
French were not going to officially support the Revolution unless
there was some proof that it wasn't a fully lost cause.
All Franklin could do, much to the chagrin of his
American colleagues watching from across the ocean, was weight continuing
(16:11):
to wage his personal charm offensive against the French people.
After months of bluffing and treading water, the tide finally
shifted on October seventeenth, seventeen seventy seven, when Americans defeated
the British general John Burgoyne in the Battle of Saratoga.
(16:36):
It was a tremendous victory, a turning point in the Revolution,
and exactly the sword of moment Benjamin Franklin needed in
order to convince the French that helping the Americans was
backing a winning team. Franklin sprang into action, writing detailed
and poetic accounts of the incredible victory, taking particular time
(16:59):
to raise the French soldiers who had been fighting alongside
the colonists, Because even if the French government had been
hesitant to officially join in the American Revolution, there was
no shortage of valiant young frenchmen, particularly young noblemen inspired
by the daring do of the Marquis de Lafayette, who
(17:21):
wanted to prove their medal on a field of battle
that would also incidentally give them a chance to humiliate
the British. Franklin's efforts worked. On February sixth, seventeen seventy seven,
Benjamin Franklin met with the Foreign Minister Version to sign
not one, but two treaties. The first was a treaty
(17:44):
of Friendship and commerce. The second, and more important of
the two, was a treaty of military alliance. Not only
had France officially recognized the United States as a nation,
it had officially joined in its rugs revolutionary efforts. Imagine
the scene of French officials that day at the end
(18:06):
of the eighteenth century, and try to picture what you
imagine they might be wearing, fine silks, embroideries, the type
of clothing that reflects the importance of the occasion within
a culture where people were already wearing incredibly ornate, decorated clothing.
(18:27):
In contrast, Benjamin Franklin wore a simple brown wool waistcoat suit.
But he had a very specific reason for the outfit
he chose. It was the exact same suit he had
been wearing less than a decade earlier, when he was
berated and humiliated by the British while testifying in the cockpit.
(18:49):
Now that same jacket would witness the signing of the
treaty that might help America cast off Britain's yoke forever.
It was an act of sirctorial vengeance, the eighteenth century
equivalent of Princess Diana's revenge dress. Franklin did wear slightly
more formal garb a month later when he appeared at
(19:12):
Versailles for the ratification of the alliance. This time he
wore a black velvet suit lined with white ruffles and
silk stockings. Even still, the chamberlain took a moment's pause
before letting him into court because Franklin wasn't wearing the
wig and sword that was required by court etiquette. Still then,
(19:35):
as today, dress codes are more suggestions when you're famous,
and Franklin was invited into an audience with King Louis
the sixteenth in the King's Great Chamber. The king extended
a message of goodwill to Congress, stating that he hoped
the alliance would be quote for the good of our
(19:58):
two nations. Franklin was effusive in his gratitude and replied
to the King with the type of remark that seems
so poignant in its dramatic irony, that I'm tempted to
believe it was apocryphal. If all rulers ruled with your benevolence,
Franklin told the King Louis the sixteenth republics would never
(20:20):
be formed. Once the formal acknowledgments were taken care of,
Franklin was invited to spend time with the royal family.
When account relates that while Franklin was watching a game
play out on a gaming table, he was honored by
the particular notice of the Queen, who courteously desired him
(20:42):
to stand near to her, and as often as the
game did not require her immediate attention, she took occasion
to speak to him in very obliging terms. Franklin and
Marie Antoinette were also said to have strolled through the
gardens of Versailles, where he explained to her the basics
of his electrical experiments. Allegedly, Marie Antoinette asked Benjamin Franklin
(21:07):
if he was worried that, like Prometheus, who was chained
to a rock with his liver plucked out for all eternity,
he too worried that he would be punished for stealing
fire from heaven. Franklin replied that he would quote if
he did not behold a pair of eyes pass unpunished,
which have stolen infinitely more fire from Jove than he
(21:29):
ever did, though they do more mischief in a week
than he has done in all my experiments. The task
of official recognition was done, but Benjamin Franklin's work was
far from over. The revolutionaries were in desperate need still
of money, supplies, and ammunition, and trying to get the
(21:51):
French people to provide it became the central focus of
Franklin's work. Biographer Stacy Schiff recounted how at one point
the Americans sent Franklin a thirty eight page list of
the things they needed from the French, including quote, a frigate,
a ship of the line, and forty nine thousand uniforms,
(22:12):
as well as spoons, trumpets, paint, and thimbles. According to Shiff,
the demands was so massive that Franklin was left speechless.
It's at this point that another Founding father makes a
cameo in the story. In seventeen seventy eight, future President
(22:33):
John Adams joined Franklin in France as an ambassador. It
was a terrible idea from the start. If you've seen
the excellent HBO mini series John Adams starring Paul Giamatti,
you probably have a fairly good understanding of what sort
of man Adams was. Principled and brilliant, but straightforward, blunt,
(22:57):
hard working, with no patience for nonsense. In other words,
a terrible fit for France, where diplomacy was more reliant
on charm and flirtation than anything else. He was also
a terrible match for Benjamin Franklin, who, as shiff elegantly
put it, was a master of the French art of quote,
(23:20):
accomplishing much while appearing to accomplish little. Adams despised Franklin.
Where was the man who had written Poor Richard's Almanac?
Early to bed, Early to rise? All of that. The
Franklin that Adams saw in France was a lush who
seemed to spend more time socializing than working. He was
(23:42):
invited to dine every day and never declined, Adams wrote,
and it was the only thing in which he was punctual.
To make matters worse, Adams also had to bear witness
to Franklin's tremendous celebrity. As Adams put it, Franklin was green,
did like quote an opera girl everywhere they went. Adams
(24:05):
was so unpopular in France that the Foreign minister actually
insisted that Franklin be the only American representative, and so
Adams was sent back across the Atlantic, although his mistrust
and resentment of Franklin never abated. In seventeen eighty three,
Adams wrote a letter stating, quote, if I was in
(24:27):
Congress and Franklin and the marble Mercury in the garden
of Versailles were in nomination for an embassy, I would
not hesitate to give my vote for the statue upon
the principle that it would do no harm. The growing
sentiment of resentment of Franklin's slow progress in France seemed
(24:49):
to be shared amongst the United States. America needed resources immediately,
and France was not providing them. Why couldn't Franklin get more?
At one point, Congress was so frustrated with Franklin that
they floated the idea of replacing him. That notion was
so abhorrent to Franklin's friend and ally, the Foreign Minister Vergennes,
(25:13):
that Virgen immediately sent over a large shipment to America
and wrote to make sure that Congress understood that he
had only granted it specifically on account of Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin continued his efforts to fund the Americans, writing letters
and missives, charming the French, and trying to secure supplies
(25:35):
as best he could, but by seventeen eighty one the
war was dragging on. It was midnight when a courier
arrived at the suburban home Franklin lived in with incredible news.
The Americans had achieved victory at Yorktown with the help
of six thousand men that King Louis the sixteenth had
(25:57):
sent under Lieutenant General Rochambeau. George Washington had trapped General Cornwallis,
and a helpful French fleet posted just offshore meant that
the British wouldn't be able to escape or send for
more supplies. Cornwallis had no options. He surrendered. The American
(26:21):
Revolutionary War was all but over, and John Jay and
John Adams arrived in Europe to work with Benjamin Franklin
on finalizing the end of the war with the British.
Though the nature of the American treaty with France meant
that the Americans were supposed to consult with France and
Virgin on their British peace agreement. John Jay and Adams
(26:44):
bulked at that idea and preferred to work independently. It
was a tricky situation for Franklin, who had seen firsthand
just how much the French had done for them and
how much Virgin had done for him personally, but he
had no choice but to go along with the other negotiators.
France was understandably upset at being left completely out of
(27:08):
the peace agreement, and so it was left to Franklin
to apologize to Verzhen, which he did in an absolutely
masterful letter. He wrote that the omission quote was not
from want of respect for the King, whom we all
love and honor. It is not possible for anyone to
be more sensible than I am of what I and
(27:31):
every American owe to the King for the many and
great benefits and favors he has bestowed upon us. The English,
I just now learn flatter themselves that they have already
divided us. I hope this little misunderstanding will therefore be
kept a perfect secret, and that they find themselves totally mistaken.
(27:53):
He added that he hoped, quote, the great work which
has hitherto been so happily conducted, is so nearly brought
to perfection, and is so glorious to his reign, will
not be ruined by a single indiscretion of ours, And
certainly the whole edifice falls to the ground immediately if
you refuse, on that account to give us any further assistance.
(28:17):
Did you catch that last part? Not only had America
excluded France from negotiating in the peace agreement, but now
America needed more money, and the absolutely insane part the
letter worked. Next time you apologize, if it doesn't end
with the person you wronged giving you more money, just
(28:39):
know that Benjamin Franklin was operating on a different level,
and the affection the French had for Benjamin Franklin lasted
until the end. When Franklin eventually left the country, it
was Marie Antoinette who personally lent him a litter carried
between mules because franklin health issue made normal coach travel uncomfortable.
(29:03):
I want to be clear, as an American citizen, I
am personally very grateful to the French for everything they
did for us in the Revolutionary War, but hindsight being
what it is looking back, it was a catastrophic move
for the French monarchy. According to Schiff, the value of
French material and manpower sent by Louis the sixteenth was
(29:26):
the equivalent of approximately twenty billion dollars in today's money.
The empty treasury was certainly an aggravating factor six years
later when the French Revolution began, and the money doesn't
even account for the philosophical impact of the American Revolution
on the French people. Hearing all about overthrowing a tyrannous
(29:48):
monarch and the essential promises of liberty helped the French
revolutionaries establish their vocabulary when it came to the revolution
that would lead to Louis the Das sixteenth head detached
from his body. But again for Americans, it is almost
impossible to overstate how important that French aid was during
(30:11):
the Revolutionary War. As Schiff says, quote, when the British
surrendered at Yorktown, they did so to forces that were
nearly equal parts French and American, all fed, clothed and
paid by France and protected by a French navy. Biographer
Walter Isaacson puts Benjamin Franklin's impact specifically into focus. He said, quote,
(30:36):
I think Benjamin Franklin, by sealing the alliance with France,
did as much to win the revolution as anybody, with
the possible exception of George Washington. If John Adams were
to hear that, I know he would be rolling in
his grave. Even as it happened, he was aware of
the mythologizing that was happening in real time. Our ten
(30:59):
tidency to exalt individual heroes over the boring hard work
of slow collective effort. Quote, the history of our revolution
will be one continued lie from one end to the other,
he wrote. The essence of the whole will be that
doctor Franklin's electric rod smote to the earth and outsprung
(31:21):
General Washington. I apologize to John Adams if this podcast
continues the Franklin mythmaking yet another telling of the story
of the man who charmed the French into helping us
win a war. That's the story of Benjamin Franklin working
(31:48):
with the French monarchy to overthrow the British monarchy. But
keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear a
little bit about how the French inspired one of Benjamin
Franklin's most famous inventions. Benjamin Franklin is famous as a
(32:10):
founding father, but he's also acclaimed as an inventor. Ask
any precocious elementary school student in the US and they'd
probably be able to rattle off a few of his inventions.
The lightning rod, of course, but also the Franklin stove,
a glass armonica, the catheter, and swim fins. And one
(32:30):
of his other most famous inventions came about because he
wasn't that good at French. During his time in Paris,
Benjamin Franklin was invited to a countless number of dinner
parties because his French was still rudimentary. If he wanted
to understand what his dining companions were saying, he would
need to be able to see their lips moving across
(32:53):
the table, but he also wanted to be able to
make out the food in front of him. This dilemma
of wanting his vision corrected at different distances led to
an invention that still used today by vocals. Noble Blood
(33:16):
is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from
Aaron Mankey. Nobel Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts,
with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zewick,
Courtney Sender, Julia Milani, and Arman Cassam. The show is
edited and produced by Noemy Griffin and rima Il Kaali,
(33:40):
with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey,
Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. Four more podcasts from iHeartRadio,
visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Host
Dana Schwartz
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