The Papers of Benjamin Franklin

FAIN: RQ-50340-08

Yale University (New Haven, CT 06510-1703)
Ellen R. Cohn (Project Director: November 2007 to February 2012)

Work toward the completion of volumes 40 through 44 of the edition of the papers of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). (36 months)

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, a long-term collaborative project to produce a comprehensive edition of the papers and writings of one of the nation's most illustrious writers, printers, scientists, statesmen, and founders, has published 38 volumes. Based on an archive of 30,000 photocopies of manuscripts gathered from around the world and housed at Yale University, the edition presents Franklin's thought and activities in the context of the 18th century American and European Enlightenment. The volumes now underway document the peace negotiations with Britain that granted American independence and established the nation's boundaries, the negotiations of America's first commercial treaties with other nations, and Franklin's campaign to publicize American democratic ideals throughout Europe. This proposal requests support for editorial work on volumes 40 through 44.