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Benjamin Franklin
Franklin Faces His Racial Prejudices
Deborah Franklin encouraged her husband to visit a new school for enslaved and free Black children in Philadelphia. After his visit, Benjamin Franklin admitted that he had previously held a low opinion of the “natural Capacities of the black Race,” but observing the children at school had proven his prejudices wrong. He now knew they were “in every Respect equal to that of white Children.”
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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.