Founders Online: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin

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Go to main content.</a><div id="side_flourish"> <div id="side_shadow"> <div id="main_wrapper"><header> <div id="banner"> <a href="http://www.archives.gov/" id="national_archives_logo"><img alt="National Archives" title="National Archives" src="/lib/media/natl-arch-logo.png" height="100" width="100"/></a> <a href="http://www.upress.virginia.edu/rotunda/" id="rotunda_logo" target="_blank"><img tabindex="0" alt="University of Virginia Press" title="University of Virginia Press [link will open in a new window]" src="/lib/media/rotunda-white-on-blue.png" height="56" width="55"/></a> <nav> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.archives.gov/">Archives.gov Home</a></li> <li><a href="/about">About Founders Online</a></li> <li><a href="/help/contact">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div id="line2"> <h1> <a href="/" title="home page">Founders Online</a>  <span id="close_print_view">[<a href="/about/Franklin">Back to normal view</a>]</span> </h1><img alt="" src="/lib/media/clear.gif" id="test_trans"/> </div> </div> </header><div id="main" class="clearfix"><div class="left_column clearfix"><nav id="secondary_nav" class="sidebar"> <ul class="search clearfix"> <li><a id="start_new_search" href="/?q=&s=1111211111&r=1">Start New Search<span class="icon"></span></a></li> </ul> <ul class="search_editions clearfix"> <li> <a id="search_this_edition">Search an Edition<span class="icon"></span></a> </li> </ul> <ul class="editions"> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Adams%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="adams">Adams<br/>Papers</a> </li> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Franklin%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="franklin">Franklin<br/>Papers</a> </li> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Hamilton%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="hamilton">Hamilton<br/>Papers</a> </li> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Jay%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="jay">Jay<br/>Papers</a> </li> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Jefferson%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="jefferson">Jefferson<br/>Papers</a> </li> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Madison%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="madison">Madison<br/>Papers</a> </li> <li><a href="/?q=Project%3A%22Washington%20Papers%22&s=1511211111&r=1" class="washington">Washington<br/>Papers</a> </li> </ul> <ul class="user_links">  <li><a href="/about/design">About the Art</a></li> </ul> <footer> <img src="/lib/media/envelope-bottom-left.png" alt="envelope" width="99" height="38"/> </footer> </nav></div><div class="middle_wide_column clearfix"><a id="main_content"></a><article id="content_article"><div id="quick_intro"><section id="quick_links"> <header class="title"> <h3>Quick links</h3> </header> <ul class="body"> <li><a href="/about">About Founders Online</a></li> <li><a href="/content/funders">Major Funders</a></li> <li><a href="/help/searching">Search Help</a></li> <li><a href="/help/how_to_use">How to Use This Site</a></li> <li><a href="/help/FAQ">Frequently Asked Questions</a></li> <li><a href="/content/lesson_plans">Teaching Resources</a></li> <li><a href="/help/contact">Contact Us</a></li> </ul> </section></div><header><h1>About the Papers of Benjamin Franklin</h1></header><p><em>The Papers of Benjamin Franklin</em> is a collaborative undertaking by a team of scholars at Yale University to collect, edit, and publish a comprehensive, annotated edition of Franklin鈥檚 writings and papers: everything he wrote and almost everything he received. In a life spanning from 1706 to 1790, Franklin explored nearly every aspect of his world, and he corresponded with an astonishing range of men and women of all social classes and professions in America, Great Britain, and Europe. His collected papers present a panoramic view of the eighteenth century, in addition to an unprecedented view into Franklin鈥檚 thoughts and activities reflecting his ever-curious and inventive mind.</p><p><em>The Papers of Benjamin Franklin</em> was established in 1954 under the joint auspices of Yale University and the American Philosophical Society. It is housed in Yale鈥檚 Franklin Collection, the world鈥檚 finest collection of printed, manuscript, and visual materials dedicated to the study of Franklin and his times, which was assembled by Yale alumnus William Smith Mason. Launched with a generous gift from Henry Luce in the name of <em>Life Magazine,</em> the project has been sustained by numerous grants from individuals; private foundations, including the Packard Humanities Institute, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Florence Gould Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Cinco Hermanos Fund; and two federal agencies, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Forty volumes have been published to date, bringing the edition to September, 1783, when Franklin and his colleagues signed the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution and established the United States of America. The entire edition is projected to reach 47 volumes and will encompass approximately 30,000 extant papers.</p><p>A Digital Franklin Papers edition has been freely available on the web since 2006, sponsored by the Packard Humanities Institute, at <a href="http://www.franklinpapers.org">www.franklinpapers.org</a>. This database contains texts of all documents that have been published (current through volume 37), and preliminary transcriptions of all texts that will appear in future volumes, through the end of Franklin鈥檚 life. In addition, the database includes transcriptions of the documents that were not printed in full, translations of many of the French texts, a biographical dictionary of all Franklin鈥檚 correspondents, and an introduction written for the digital edition by Edmund S. Morgan.</p><p>A <a href="http://franklinpapers.yale.edu/preliminary-cumulative-index">preliminary cumulative index</a> to the published volumes is available on the project鈥檚 website. Please visit that website for more information on the project, links to order volumes, and information on Yale鈥檚 Franklin Collection.</p><p><a href="/content/volumes#Franklin">See a complete list of Franklin Papers volumes included in Founders Online, with links to the documents.</a></p><hr/><p>The letterpress edition of <em>The Papers of Benjamin Franklin</em> is available from <a href="http://yalepress.yale.edu/">Yale University Press</a>.</p><p>Copyright 漏 by the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge and by Yale University. </p><p style="margin-top:1em;font-style:italic;margin-bottom:0;">We thank <span style="font-style:normal;">Michael D. Hattem</span> of Yale University, and <span style="font-style:normal;">Erica Cavanaugh</span> and <span style="font-style:normal;">Patricia Searl</span> of the University of Virginia, for their assistance in proofreading the Franklin documents in Founders Online.</p></article><nav id="about_individual_editions"> <header> <h2>About Individual Editions</h2> </header> <ul class="editions_graphical clearfix"> <li id="bust-adams"> <a href="/about/Adams" class="adams"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/adams-bust.png" width="92" height="78" alt="John Adams"/><span class="title">Adams Papers</span></a> </li> <li id="bust-franklin"> <a href="/about/Franklin" class="franklin"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/franklin-bust.png" width="93" height="80" alt="Benjamin Franklin"/><span class="title">Benjamin Franklin Papers</span></a> </li> <li id="bust-hamilton"> <a href="/about/Hamilton" class="hamilton"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/hamilton-bust.png" width="71" height="79" alt="Alexander Hamilton"/><span class="title">Alexander Hamilton Papers</span></a> </li> <li id="bust-jefferson"> <a href="/about/Jefferson" class="jefferson"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/jefferson-bust.png" width="83" height="79" alt="Thomas Jefferson"/><span class="title">Thomas Jefferson Papers</span></a> </li> <li id="bust-madison"> <a href="/about/Madison" class="madison"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/madison-bust.png" width="77" height="78" alt="James Madison"/><span class="title">James Madison Papers</span></a> </li> <li id="bust-washington"> <a href="/about/Washington" class="washington"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/washington-bust.png" width="85" height="78" alt="George Washington"/><span class="title">George Washington Papers</span></a> </li> <li id="bust-jay"> <a href="/about/Jay" class="jay"><span class="glow"></span><img src="/lib/media/jay-bust.png" width="77" height="78" alt="John Jay"/><span class="title">John Jay Papers</span></a> </li> </ul> </nav></div><div id="hatches"></div><div id="bottom_shadow"></div></div><footer> <div id="top_footer_section" class="clearfix"> <a href="http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/" id="nhprc_logo" class="ir" target="_blank">NHPRC</a> <div id="divider"></div> <div id="nhprc_blurb"><p>The <a href="http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/" style="color:inherit" target="_blank">National Historical Publications and Records Commission</a> (NHPRC) is part of the National Archives. Through its grants program, the NHPRC supports a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, relating to the history of the United States, and research and development projects to bring historical records to the public.</p></div> </div> <div id="bottom_footer_section" class="clearfix"> <section id="copyright" style="text-align:justify"> Founders Online is an official website<br/> of the U.S. government, administered by the<br/> National Archives and Records Administration<br/> through the NHPRC, in partnership with the<br/> University of Virginia Press, which is hosting <br/>this website. </section> <nav id="collections_links" class="footer_nav"> <ul> <li><a href="/about/Adams">The Adams Papers</a></li> <li><a href="/about/Franklin">The Papers of Benjamin Franklin</a></li> <li><a href="/about/Hamilton">The Papers of Alexander Hamilton</a></li> <li><a href="/about/Jay">The Selected Papers of John Jay</a></li> <li><a href="/about/Jefferson">The Papers of Thomas Jefferson</a></li> <li><a href="/about/Madison">The Papers of James Madison</a></li> <li><a href="/about/Washington">The Papers of George Washington</a></li> </ul> </nav> <nav id="archive_links" class="footer_nav"> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.archives.gov/about/">About the National Archives</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/privacy.html">National Archives Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/accessibility.html">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.archives.gov/foia/">Freedom of Information Act</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.archives.gov/eeo/policy/complaint-activity.html">No FEAR Act Data</a></li> </ul> </nav> </div> </footer></div> </div> </div></div><script src="/lib/js/global.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript"> window.jQuery || document.write( '<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.min.js" type="text/javascript"><\/script>' ) </script><script src="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.13.2/jquery-ui.min.js" integrity="sha256-lSjKY0/srUM9BE3dPm+c4fBo1dky2v27Gdjm2uoZaL0=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script><script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-migrate-1.4.1.js"></script><style> label { display: inline-block; width: 5em; } </style><script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/tooltipster/3.3.0/js/jquery.tooltipster.min.js"></script><script> $(document).ready(function() { $('.tooltip').tooltipster(); }); </script><script src="/lib/js/polyfill.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script defer="defer" src="/lib/js/plugins.js"></script><script src="/lib/js/script.js" defer="defer"></script><script defer="defer" src="/lib/js/expandible.js"></script><script src="/lib/js/upress-body.js"></script></body> </html>

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Founders Online: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin