Benjamin Franklin the Brilliant Mind Who Placed the Foundation for the Fight of Liberty, Freedom, an
Benjamin Franklin’s role in securing the independence of our nation was crucial during the revolutionary war. During my time in school from elementary to my senior year every history book I've utilized never explored the background of historical events. They often simplify an event by stating which side won a war, and leave out the details. Why might you ask? I believe it’s for the sake of simplicity. In short, this general die and the other lives. This country wins and the other dissipates. However, such simplicity does not pay homage to the intellectual minds that worked behind the scenes of great revolutions, leaving us the reader to dig deeper in the muddied mess that is human history.
I would argue that Sam Houston was heavily influenced by Benjamin Franklin’s views on liberty. Such views inspired Houston to become a leader of the Texas Revolution. Although many would praise the military involvement of Sam Houston in the Texas Revolution and George Washington during the American Revolution, many often forget to mention how Sam Houston was influenced by the founding fathers of the United States. After all, if the United States never existed, then neither would the state of Texas. One could argue it truly began with Franklin’s protests in the English parliament against the Stamp Act, and gradually grew to the point where Franklin became the chief diplomat of the United States. Mainly it was Benjamin Franklin’s message of liberty that inspired many to take a stand against Great Britain, and his political rhetoric turned the tide of the American Revolution, when he secured troops and supplies from France by creating the Treaty of Alliance. This ensured the independence of the United States, and inspired nations along with future generations, to fight for their own liberty.
Benjamin Franklin is considered an advocate of the common man by many, because he was very outspoken against tyranny or taxation of any kind. His political career and reputation gained significant momentum when he actively promoted American ideals of liberty, and when he publicly protested the Stamp Act in the English Parliament. This significantly helped achieve its repeal, and simultaneously promoted his reputation. That reputation carried him to the Continental Congress, France, and his signature onto the Declaration of Independence.
His diplomatic mission to France was not simply to acquire aid for the ailing revolutionary army, it was also a challenge for Franklin himself to overcome. He was tasked with the future of the United States, despite never visiting France before in his life. However following his diplomatic rhetoric, he offered logical incentives such as the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, appealed to the ethical rivalry that longed plagued English and French history, and provided a chance for emotional vengeance for the French defeat in the Seven Years’ War also known as the French and Indian War. Even with such a cultural disadvantage, Franklin, through his political rhetoric and willingness to adapt to the French culture, not only secured French allies, but secured the first European country to recognize the Unites States as a sovereign nation. His actions in France are what truly secured the independence of the United States, not some bullet on a battlefield or a cannon on a ship in the middle of the sea. It was an intellectual that was willing to adapt to the culture of a foreign nation, convince its economic and political elite that the revolution would in no way negatively affect them, and promised them incentives that they may have never received if the revolution failed. Without Franklin’s rhetoric the “…land liberty and justice for all.” would have never existed, and its legacy would not inspire the Texas revolution.
Franklin was more than a simple politician or a faceless soldier on the battlefield. He was an inspiration to future generations and one of the more prominent founding fathers that left a lasting legacy. Whether you believe it was his devotion to liberty which sparked future action for equality and liberty in other countries such as the French Revolution and Texas Revolution, and even in the United States today. Benjamin Franklin was the first American postmaster, and made it a point to protect the privacy of his constituents. After all, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Even today one could argue that our rights regarding privacy are under attack by our government. One prime example would be the National Security Agency having access to the emails of the average American citizen. As allowed by the Patriot Act. Proving that even to this day Benjamin Franklin’s influence is still a prime example of how someone should stand for equality and liberty. Even as he secured his position as one of the most revered men in the United States after the Revolutionary war, he continued his work in making the United States as the prime example of liberty in the world. Franklin secured that a prosperous city on a hill that the rest of the world could look up to, and follow its example.
