Who better to electrify us in these stormy times than the man who literally invented the lightning rod?
We’re just days away from Decision Day in America to choose whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be President in January of 2025. And as with almost all past Presidential elections — Pennsylvania isn’t just a swing state — it’s a pivotal one. Philadelphia hosted the last Presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, right here in the Constitution Center at Independence Hall.
Two months ago, when President Biden stepped down as the Democratic candidate, he cited an old Ben Franklin story – one of his favorites, he has framed and hanging in the Oval Office. The colonial socialite Elizabeth Willing Powell asked him if the newly-created United States was a monarchy or a republic. Dr. Franklin had replied, “A republic. If you can keep it.”
Could any sentiment be more relevant through our history? Benjamin Franklin would be my choice for president, based on that wit and understanding alone. Factor in the hallmarks of his extraordinary life, however, and it’s hard to imagine a more ideal candidate. He was only seventeen when he stepped from a Boston schooner into a Philadelphia sunrise for the first time in 1723. He knew he was home instantly and wasted no time leaving his mark.
From his humble beginnings as his brother’s apprentice, Franklin went on to found the country’s first library, hospital, fire department, and insurance company. He became a master printer and newspaper publisher, the first Provost of the University of Pennsylvania and Postmaster General for North America. He was a ground-breaking scientist and a popular, prolific writer that gave voice to the people and shaped public opinion.
Franklin was an incredible civic visionary, but he was also a diplomatic genius, securing crucial alliances that would change the course of history. His mad skills of persuasion charmed the court of Louis XVI into giving us the guns, men, and money we needed to win our Independence from English tyranny. Franklin’s effectiveness abroad earned him widespread respect in Europe, making him a celebrated ambassador who could negotiate with kings while still connecting with ordinary citizens.
But his vision of unity wasn’t only shaped by European alliances. Franklin had deep respect for America’s Indigenous communities, who had been practicing democratic collaboration long before the colonies dreamed of independence. The Iroquois Confederacy was a voluntary union, each member nation retained autonomy yet joined together for common defense and prosperity. Inspired by this example, Franklin’s advocacy for a similar union among the American colonies became the key to our successfully replacing British rule.
When he wasn’t founding countries or inventing stuff, Dr. Franklin was a really good boss who developed an early form of franchising to help his employees fund their own printing presses, so they could become publishers themselves. This network of loyal, thriving business partners helped carry his ideas and influence far and wide across the city, like his own media empire.
Cognitive decline? Not here, although he was the oldest Founding Father by far — well into his 70s, compared to Jefferson, Adams, and the others who co-wrote our Original documents (their average age was 32.6 years old).
He was 81 when the Constitution was ratified, and spent the last years of his life in several lofty positions such as President of the Council of Philadelphia, President of the Supreme Executive Council, and was host in the Continental Congress of 1787. Despite being plagued by gout, kidney stones and foot pain, Franklin remained sharp as a tack until his death at age 84, less than a year after George Washington was elected First President of the United States.
At least 20,000 people turned out for his funeral — the entire population of Philadelphia was only 28,000 at the time. Franklin’s nemesis gave his eulogy, which I think goes to show you how respected he was. Perhaps if he’d been a younger man when the country was born, he would’ve had his turn in the White House. I wonder what lessons he might have had to share, that we could learn from today? As we stand on the brink of another historic election, his words echo from the past: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Franklin knew that building a nation was only half the battle. Preserving it requires vigilance, unity, and a commitment to ideals over individual power. If Franklin were here today, I bet he’d remind us that democracy thrives only if we each take part in keeping it alive. His vision of an engaged, thoughtful, and resilient America lives on, and now it’s our turn to rise to the challenge, just as he did. After all, Franklin’s greatest invention might just be the idea of America itself.
God speed, to one and all.
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