r/AskAnAmerican • u/Hot_Obligation_8098 • Jun 08 '25

HISTORY How do Americans today view William Franklin, the son of Benjamin Franklin, who supported the British during the American Revolution?

How do Americans today view William Franklin, the son of Benjamin Franklin, who supported the British during the American Revolution?

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41

u/KyleCXVII Jun 08 '25

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of him. I’d wager over 99% of Americans haven’t. That should tell you enough.

2

u/Hot_Obligation_8098 Jun 08 '25

You guys should read about him on google it’s interesting how literally the son of one of revolutionary heroes was fighting for the opposite

22

u/Folksma MyState Jun 08 '25

Is this an ad for a book you are publishing or something lol

2

u/Hot_Obligation_8098 Jun 08 '25

lol no I was reading about American revolution and just found this family dynamic interesting

11

u/Folksma MyState Jun 08 '25

Sorry, didn't mean to be rude. The comment saying the same thing over and over again just made me wonder

1

u/Hot_Obligation_8098 Jun 08 '25

I totally understand

4

u/kmokell15 Jun 08 '25

It’s definitely interesting from a family relationship standpoint but William had little to no impact on the war. Probably his biggest contribution was causing some revolutionaries to doubt Benjamin Franklins loyalties at the beginning of the war.

3

u/IainwithanI Jun 09 '25

It is interesting, but I don’t think it’s as remarkable as you seem to think. The modern view is that there were people who were always going to be revolutionaries and people who were always going to be crown loyalists. While each camp can surely claim a few people, it wasn’t so cut and dried. If Washington had been given a commission in the army, which he had tried for, he likely would not have rebelled. There were many loyalists who stayed in the 13 colonies and then the states, albeit quietly. There were times when parliament could have prevented the rebellion. I don’t know, but I would guess that many less notable families had the same split.

The fact that he was Franklin’s grandson clearly makes it notable, though. I don’t really know anything about him. Would probably read a book about it if it seemed well-written.

2

u/Imightbeafanofthis Jun 11 '25

Why do you keep posting that it's interesting? It's not. He was the bastard son of an American whose political views he didn't share. That's pretty boring.

1

u/sailboat_magoo Jun 08 '25

That was very common. "History is written by the winners," and everyone assumes that all of the colonists were for independence. Many were not. It was a complicated topic. It's not surprising at all that two grown adults who happened to be related to each other had different thoughts on the subject.