- Franklin by Duplessis - Smithsonian Instiution
The worst day of Benjamin Franklin's life might well have been January 29, 1774. That's the day Franklin stood in an amphitheatre in London's Whitehall Palace and heard an hour-long tirade of abuse against him before the council of King George III, various members of the court, and a packed and sneering gallery.
Wedderburn Versus Franklin in Cockpit
The rant in the so-called "cockpit" came from Alexander Wedderburn, the solicitor general. Much of it was so vile that newspapers didn't print it. We do know that Wedderburn said Franklin had "forfeited all the respect of societies and of men." Franklin, Wedderburn said, was not a gentleman but only a thief.
Franklin, who took the abuse in silence, was not on trial. It just seemed so.
What did Franklin do to deserve such abuse?
These were the months before the outbreak of the American War of Independence. Tensions between Americans and British authorities were climbing. The possibility of a permanent break between America and Britain was evident.
Agent for Massachusetts House of Representatives
Franklin was in London working as an agent for the Massachusetts House of Representatives and for several other colonies. In this role he was a kind of lobbyist. He explained America's position to members of Parliament and in turn reported to Americans about British policies.
Franklin at this time dearly wanted the American colonies to remain within the British empire. He believed that the problem between Britain and America was mostly a matter of miscommunication. Franklin thought ministers in Britain did not understand the true situation in America because they were not getting honest reports. As a result, bad policies were put in place. Americans, meanwhile, reacted to those policies, sometimes with violence, and blamed the government ministers.
Whately Letters and Thomas Hutchinson
One day, someone—no one knows who—brought to Franklin a bundle of letters. All the letters, written in the late 1760s or early 1770s, had been addressed to Thomas Whately, a government minister who had died back in 1772. All the letters were written by Americans. Among the writers was Thomas Hutchinson, who was lieutenant governor of Massachusetts when he wrote the letters, and who now was governor. Other writers included Andrew Oliver, who was now lieutenant governor.
To Franklin, these letters seemed to prove what he had suspected: that officials in Britain were being misled by Hutchinson and others in key positions in America. Franklin thought that if patriotic leaders in America were aware of these letters, they would concentrate their anger on the letter writers and moderate their ire against decision-makers in London.
Request to King George III to Remove Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Franklin sent the letters to his correspondent at the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He asked that the letters not be published. But they soon were. The ensuing outrage over the letters led to a request from the Massachusetts House that the king remove Hutchinson and Oliver from office.
Eventually word got back to London about the letters and about the request to dismiss the governor and lieutenant governor. No one knew at first how the Americans had gotten hold of the letters. Franklin eventually came forward and admitted his role. This prompted widespread criticism of Franklin for passing along letters, possibly stolen, that had neither been written by him or addressed to him.
Gathering at Whitehall
Soon, a meeting was contemplated to officially consider the request from Massachusetts to dismiss Hutchinson and Oliver. Thus, the gathering at Whitehall on January 29 was scheduled.
But before the meeting took place, more news from Massachusetts: Bostonians had dumped tons of tea into Boston harbor to protest a tax on tea Americans had long opposed. This was the Boston Tea Party. The Tea Party had nothing directly to do with the issue at hand in Whitehall—the request to remove the governor and lieutenant governor. But the effect of the Tea Party was to further sour opinions against Americans—and against Franklin.
So the January 29 meeting turned into a virtual trial--not of Hutchinson and Oliver, but of Franklin. Hutchinson's competence was never seriously questioned. Wedderburn assured all that Hutchinson was honorable, able, and conscientious, a man of integrity and the victim of a conspiracy begun by thieves. The criminal here was not Hutchinson, but Franklin, Wedderburn said. And it is Franklin who should lose his job.
Fired as Deputy Postmaster General
Indeed, two days later, Franklin was fired as deputy postmaster general of North America.
The report that eventually emerged said in part that the request from Massachusetts was "groundless, vexatious, and scandalous, and calculated only for the seditious purpose of keeping up a spirit of clamor and discontent..." Even so Hutchinson would be replaced within the year.
In the aftermath, Franklin did not immediately give up his hopes for reconciliation between America and Britain. But the humiliating experience shattered his affection for Britain and drove him toward the belief that independence was the best course for America.
Sources:
Bailyn, Bernard. The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1974.
Morgan, Edmund S. Benjamin Franklin. New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 2002.
Wood, Gordon S. The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. New York, The Penguin Press, 2004.
Brian Deming - Brian Deming has a master’s degree in American history from Northwestern University. He has taught U.S. history and media history at ...
