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Benjamin Franklin
Franklin and Slave Labor
Slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies that eventually formed the United States. In the middle of the 18th Century, nearly a tenth of Philadelphia’s residents were enslaved—working in businesses and homes, including Franklin’s. Many Philadelphians, including Franklin’s friends and colleagues, were vocally antislavery. But Franklin, committed to slave labor, did not join them.
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1:54:59
Benjamin Franklin helps craft the Declaration of Independence and wins French support.
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1:55:26
After success as a Philadelphia printer Benjamin Franklin earns worldwide fame in science.