Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies - Softcover

Middlekauff, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520213785 ISBN 13: 9780520213784

Publisher: University of California Press, 1998

Synopsis

In this engaging study of the much-loved statesman and polymath, Robert Middlekauff uncovers a little-known aspect of Benjamin Franklin's personality―his passionate anger. He reveals a fully human Franklin who led a remarkable life but nonetheless had his share of hostile relationships―political adversaries like the Penns, John Adams, and Arthur Lee―and great disappointments―the most significant being his son, William, who sided with the British. Utilizing an abundance of archival sources, Middlekauff weaves episodes in Franklin's emotional life into key moments in colonial and Revolutionary history. The result is a highly readable narrative that illuminates how historical passions can torment even the most rational and benevolent of men.

About this title

Review:

Who could have imagined that Benjamin Franklin, the genial inventor and policy-maker who gained international popularity during the Revolutionary War was found by some to be "foul-mouthed" and "a very uneasy Spirit"? Robert Middlekauff, a historian at the University of California, Berkeley, examines Franklin's long battle not only with Thomas Penn, son of the founder of Pennsylvania, but John Adams, a bright lawyer who grew to hate Franklin, primarily out of jealousy over Franklin's celebrity. Though Franklin's attempts to have Penn stripped of his charter powers backfired, fortunately for Americans, he and Adams were able to rise above animosity for the good of the country.

About the Author:

Robert Middlekauff is Preston Hotchkis Professor of American History at the University of California, Berkeley. His books include The Mathers: Three Generations of Puritan Intellectuals (1971), which won the Bancroft Prize, and The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution (1982), which won the Commonwealth Club Gold Medal.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0520213785
• ISBN 13: 9780520213784
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284