Skip to main content
Support Provided By
An American Celebrity in France
4:37
Benjamin Franklin arrived in France, hoping to win French support for the Revolution.
The Treaty of Paris, 1783
4:20
The Treaty of Paris ended a war, secured Independence and created an Empire.
Franklin and Slave Labor
1:49
Enslaved Philadelphia residents worked in businesses and homes, including Franklin’s.
Franklin and Adams: Rivals on the Same Diplomatic Mission
4:03
Franklin and Adams frustrated each other in France with opposing approaches to diplomacy.
Franklin’s Observations and Experiments on Electricity
5:31
Franklin studied electricity and proved lightning’s electrical nature with a key and kite.
Franklin Faces His Racial Prejudices
1:58
A visit to a school for Black children challenged Franklin’s racial prejudices.
Benjamin Franklin Invents the Glass Armonica
1:55
Franklin’s musical invention, the armonica, became a sensation in Europe.
Publicly Humiliated in London
6:02
Franklin, the most famous American in London, became the face of American resistance.
The Franklins Choose Opposing Sides in the Revolution
2:26
The American Revolution tore families apart, including the Franklins.
Benjamin Franklin House in London
5:15
This bonus scene features Benjamin Franklin House in London, his only surviving residence.
Benjamin Franklin’s Theory of Colds
3:03
Franklin and Adams have to share a bedroom in a humorous scene not in the final film.
Franklin’s Endlessly Quotable Poor Richard’s Almanack
4:37
Franklin’s popular "Poor Richard’s Almanack" offered an enduring brand of American humor.
Active loading indicator