Collection Summary
Benjamin Franklin Papers
1726-1907
(bulk 1770-1789)
1726-1907
(bulk 1770-1789)
MSS21451
Franklin, Benjamin,
1706-1790
8,000
items
40 containers
12 linear feet
12 microfilm reels
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Statesman, publisher,
scientist, and diplomat. Correspondence, journals, records, articles, and other
material relating to Franklin's life and career. Includes manuscripts (1728) of
his Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion; negotiations in London (1775); letterbooks (1779-1782) of the United
States legation in Paris; records (1780-1783) of the United States peace
commissioners, including journals kept by Franklin and Richard Oswald; and
papers (1781-1818) of Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin
(1760-1823).
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Adams, John, 1735-1826--Correspondence.
Bache, Richard, 1737-1811--Correspondence.
Carmichael, William, approximately 1739-1795--Correspondence.
Cushing, Thomas, 1725-1788--Correspondence.
Dumas, Charles Guillaume Frédéric, 1721-1796--Correspondence.
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790.
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790. Articles of belief and acts of religion. 1728
Franklin, William Temple, 1760-1823. William Temple Franklin papers.
Hartley, David, approximately 1731-1813--Correspondence.
Hewson, M. S. (Mary Stevenson)--Correspondence.
Ingenhousz, Jan, 1730-1799--Correspondence.
Jay, John, 1745-1829--Correspondence.
Jones, John Paul, 1747-1792--Correspondence.
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834--Correspondence.
Lansdowne, William Petty, Marquis of, 1737-1805--Correspondence.
Laurens, Henry, 1724-1792--Correspondence.
Morris, Robert, 1734-1806--Correspondence.
Oswald, Richard, 1705-1784. Richard Oswald papers.
Sartine, Antoine de, comte d'Alby, 1729-1801--Correspondence.
Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de, 1719-1787--Correspondence.
Washington, George, 1732-1799--Correspondence.
Whitefield, George, 1714-1770--Correspondence.
Williams, Jonathan, 1750-1815--Correspondence.
Organizations
United States. Continental Congress.
United States. Legation (France) U.S. Legation (France) letterbooks. 1779-1782.
United States. Postmaster General.
Subjects
Diplomatic and consular service, American--France.
Postal service--United States.
Places
France--Foreign relations--United States.
Great Britain--Foreign relations--United States.
United States--Foreign relations--1775-1783.
United States--Foreign relations--France.
United States--Foreign relations--Great Britain.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Peace.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.
Titles
Benjamin Franklin Papers at the Library of Congress
Definitive Treaty of Peace Between Great Britain and the United States (1783 September 3)
Occupations
Diplomats.
Publishers.
Scientists.
Statesmen.
Provenance
The papers of Benjamin Franklin, statesman, publisher, scientist, and
diplomat, were given to the Library of Congress by transfer, gift, and
purchase, 1903-1968. An addition was transferred from the Library of Congress
archives to the collection in 1989.
Processing History
The papers of Benjamin Franklin were arranged and described in 1968
and prepared for microfilming in 1972. The finding aid was revised in 2000.
Additional Guides
The papers have been described in
Benjamin Franklin, A Register and Index of His Papers in the Library of Congress
(Manuscript Division Reference Department: Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. 1973) and in the Library's publication
List of the Benjamin Franklin Papers in the Library of Congress
compiled in 1905 by Worthington C. Ford. An index of selected
correspondence is available in the Manuscript Division Reading Room and as a
[PDF]
document.
Related Material
Franklin correspondence can also be found in other collections in the
Manuscript Division of the Library, including the
Peter Force Collection and the papers of
[George
Washington] ,
[Thomas
Jefferson] ,
[Edmond
Charles Genet] ,
[James
McHenry] ,
Silas Deane, and
[Andrew
Ellicott] . Other Franklin items in the Library are in the
Mrs. Archibald Crossley Autograph
Collection, the
J. Pierpont Morgan Book of
Signers, the
[
Gaston Tissandier Collection] ,
and the
reproductions from archives in Great Britain (
Public Record Office ) and
France (
Ministère des Affaires Etrangères ).
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Benjamin
Franklin is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Benjamin Franklin are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on twelve
reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning
availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the
originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as
available.
Online Content
The papers of Benjamin Franklin are available on the Library of Congress Web site at
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/collmss.ms000064].
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container or reel number, Benjamin Franklin Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1706, Jan. 17
Born, Boston, Mass.
1718
1723
Apprenticed as a printer to his brother James Franklin
1725
1726
Journeyman printer, London, England
1727
Founded the Junta, a debating club, Philadelphia, Pa.
1728
Wrote
Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion
1729
Purchased
Pennsylvania Gazette
1730
Married Deborah Read Rogers (died 1774)
1731
Established the Library Company of Philadelphia, Pa.
1732
1758
Published
Poor Richard
, 1732-1747, and
Poor Richard Improved
, 1748-1758, commonly known under collective title
Poor Richard's Almanack
1736
1751
Clerk, Pennsylvania Assembly
1740
Invented the Pennsylvania fireplace (Franklin stove)
1743
Proposed formation of the American Philosophical
Society
1751
Founded with others, the Academy for Education of Youth (now
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.)
Founded Philadelphia City Hospital, Philadelphia,
Pa.
Published letters to Peter Collinson,
Experiments and Observations on Electricity
. London: Printed and Sold by E. Cave
1751
1764
Represented Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Assembly
1754
Represented Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress
1757
1762
Political agent of the Pennsylvania Assembly, London,
England
1766
Reappointed as agent for Pennsylvania, London, England
1771
Began autobiography
1775
Left London, England, for Massachusetts
Elected member of the Second Continental Congress
Named postmaster general
1776
Served on committee to draft the Declaration of
Independence
Went to France as one of three American commissioners to
negotiate a treaty
1778
Negotiated treaties of commerce and defense with
France
Appointed sole plenipotentiary in France
1781
Appointed with John Jay and John Adams to negotiate a peace
with Great Britain
1783
Signed Treaty of Paris with Great Britain and asked Congress
for his recall
1785
Returned to the United States
1785
1788
President, Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
1787
Represented Pennsylvania at the Constitutional
Convention
1790
Signed memorial to Congress as last official act as president
of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery
1790, Apr. 17
Died, Philadelphia, Pa.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) span the years 1726 to
1907, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1770-1789.
Consisting of correspondence, journals, records, articles, and other material,
the collection reflects Franklin's many interests and activities.
[Series I](series1)
relates chiefly to Franklin's mission to France to obtain diplomatic
recognition of the rebellious colonies as well as financial and military aid
and to participate in the peace negotiations in Paris and London preceding the
Treaty of Paris in 1783. The series contains seventeen interrelated volumes
chiefly pertaining to Franklin's years in France. Six are letterbooks of the
United States legation in Paris, 1779-1782. Other volumes include letters in
French to Franklin, 1777-1780; records of the peace commissioners, 1780-1783;
negotiations in London, 1775 (original and Franklin's corrected transcript);
and Franklin's correspondence with David Hartley, 1775-1781. Single volumes
include the Craven Street, London, letterbook, 1772-1773, one of the few
pre-Revolutionary Franklin letterbooks to survive; the signed Petition of the
First Continental Congress to the King, 16 October 1774; and Richard Oswald's
journal concerning the peace commission, 1782.
[Series
II](series2) has been described in the Library's publication
List of the Benjamin Franklin Papers in the Library of Congress
compiled in 1905 by Worthington C. Ford. Of the fourteen volumes in
this series, eleven represent a selection of Franklin's correspondence,
1726-1790 made by William Temple Franklin prior to his departure for London in
1791. The letters bear many editorial annotations, deletions, and other changes
made by William Temple Franklin before publication of his three-volume work.
This series also contains a volume of notes entitled “Medical, Nature
Printing and Addenda” and two volumes of William Temple Franklin's
papers.
[Series
III](series3) represents a miscellaneous group of Benjamin Franklin items gathered
by the Library. It includes the original manuscript of Franklin's
Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion
; his correspondence with M. S. Hewson, 1760-1779; a facsimile copy of
his ledger as postmaster general, 1775-1778; his correspondence with Jan
Ingenhousz, 1777-1785; and other papers, 1728-1841 and undated.
[Series
IV](series4) includes copies of items held by other institutions and transcripts of
material from Series I and II which is not on the microfilm of the Library's
Benjamin Franklin Papers.
The
[Addition](add)
consists of a letter, 1753, from Franklin to George Whitefield concerning the
importance of “good works” in the Christian faith. The letter written in an
unknown hand is a print made from a microfilm in the American Philosophical
Society Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Organization of the Papers
The collection is arranged in five series:
-
[Series I,
1772-1783](series1)
-
[Series II,
1726-1818](series2)
-
[Series III,
1728-1841](series3)
-
[Series IV,
1744-1907.](series4)
-
[Addition,
1753](add)
Container List
Box
Reel
Contents
1-16
1-4
Series I,
1772-1783
1772-1783
Letterbooks, journals, records of negotiations, a petition, and
correspondence.
Indexed by name of writer or recipient.
1
1
Records of the United States
legation, Paris, France
Letters in French to Franklin,
1777-1780 (vol. 1)
1777-1780
Digital content available
2
1
Letterbooks
1779 (vol.
2)
1779
Digital content available
3
1
1779-1780 (vol.
3)
1779-1780
Digital content available
4
1
1780 (vol.
4)
1780
Digital content available
5
2
1781 (vol.
5)
1781
Digital content available
6
2
1781 (vol.
6)
1781
Digital content available
7
2
1782 (vol.
7)
1782
Digital content available
8
2
Peace commissioners
1780-1783 (vol.
8)
1780-1783
Digital content available
8a
2
1780-1783 (vol.
8a)
1780-1783
Digital content available
9
2
Commissioners to France, 1776-1779
(vol. 9)
1776-1779
Digital content available
10
3
Petition of the Continental Congress to the
King, Philadelphia, Pa., 1774, Oct. 26 (vol.
10)
1774, Oct. 26
Digital content available
11
3
Craven Street letterbook, London, England,
1772-1773 (vol. 11)
1772-1773
Digital content available
12
3
Oswald, Richard, journal, peace commission,
1782 (vol. 12)
1782
Digital content available
13
3
Franklin's journal, peace commission,
1782 (vol. 13)
1782
Digital content available
14
4
Negotiations in London, England,
1775
1775
Original autograph (vol. 14)
Digital content available
15
4
Transcript corrected by Franklin (vol.
15)
Digital content available
16
4
Correspondence with David Hartley,
1775-1781 (vol. 16)
1775-1781
Digital content available
17-30
5-12
Series II,
1726-1818
1726-1818
General correspondence and miscellaneous papers of Benjamin
Franklin and correspondence and other papers of William Temple Franklin.
Indexed by name of writer or recipient.
17
5
1726, July 22-1774, May 21
(vol. 17)
1726, July 22-1774, May 21
Digital content available
18
5
1774, June 10-1777, Sept. 4
(vol. 18)
1774, June 10-1777, Sept. 4
Digital content available
18
6
1777, Sept. 7-1778, Oct. 9
(vol. 18)
1777, Sept. 7-1778, Oct. 9
Digital content available
19
6
1778, Oct. 20-1781, May 1
(vol. 19)
1778, Oct. 20-1781, May 1
Digital content available
20
7
1781, May 4-1782, Jan.
(vol. 20)
1781, May 4-1782, Jan.
Digital content available
21
7
1782, Jan.-1784, Jan. 6
(vol. 21)
1782, Jan.-1784, Jan. 6
Digital content available
22
8
1784, Jan. 12-1785, May 23
(vol. 22)
1784, Jan. 12-1785, May 23
Digital content available
23
8
1785, May 26-1786, Dec. 10
(vol. 23)
1785, May 26-1786, Dec. 10
Digital content available
24
9
1786, Dec. 15-1789, Mar. 2
(vol. 24)
1786, Dec. 15-1789, Mar. 2
Digital content available
25
9
1789, Apr.-1790, undated
(vol. 25)
1789, Apr.-1790, undated
Digital content available
26
10
Undated (vol. 26)
Digital content available
27
10
Miscellaneous material in French,
1778-1786 , undated (vol. 27)
1778-1786
Digital content available
28
10
Medical, Nature Printing and Addenda,
1781-1785 , undated (vol. 28)
1781-1785
Digital content available
29
11
Franklin, William Temple,
papers
Correspondence,
1781-1818 , undated (vol. 29)
1781-1818
Digital content available
30
11
Correspondence and miscellaneous material,
1814-1818 , undated (vol. 30, pt. 1)
1814-1818
Digital content available
30
12
Correspondence and miscellaneous material,
1814-1818 , undated (vol. 30, pt. 2)
1814-1818
Digital content available
31-32
12
Series III,
1728-1841
1728-1841
Literary and scientific articles, memoranda, correspondence of
Benjamin Franklin and William Temple Franklin, and miscellany.
Arranged chronologically and indexed by name of writer and
recipient.
31
12
Miscellaneous
material
1728-1783 (vol.
31)
1728-1783
Digital content available
32
12
1784-1841 , undated (vol.
32)
1784-1841
Digital content available
33-39
Series IV, 1744-1907
1744-1907
Copies of correspondence and miscellaneous material from
collections outside the Library of Congress.
Arranged chronologically and indexed by name of writer and
recipient. Transcripts of material from Series I and II are unarranged and
unindexed.
33
Reproduction and miscellaneous
material
1744-1775
1744-1775
34
1776-1907 ,
undated
1776-1907
35-39
Unarranged
transcripts
39
Addition,
1753
1753
Copy of a letter from Franklin to George Whitefield.
39
Letter (copy), Benjamin Franklin to George
Whitefield, 1753
1753