Benjamin Franklin is well known as a Founding Father and an innovative inventor, scientist, and diplomat. But did you know he had a major and often unsung role at the Constitutional Convention? Historians H.W. Brands, author of The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, and Ed Larson, author of Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership, join host Jeffrey Rosen on this week’s episode. They illuminate Franklin’s involvement in drafting and debating the Constitution during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia—as host of the Constitutional Convention and one of the Convention’s most-respected delegates—as well as his vision for America’s future.
FULL PODCAST
This episode was engineered and produced by Jackie McDermott, with editing by Greg Scheckler. Research was provided by Nicholas Mosvick, Alexandra “Mac” Taylor, Olivia Gross, and Lana Ulrich.
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
PARTICIPANTS
Edward J. Larson holds the Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law and is University Professor of History at Pepperdine University and is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. He is the author of Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership.
H. W. Brands is a Professor and Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas Austin. He is the author of The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- H.W. Brands, The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
- Ed Larson, Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership
- Ben Franklin’s final speech at the Convention (1787)
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