The Papers of Benjamin Franklin for Volumes 42-46

FAIN: RQ-50849-14

Yale University (New Haven, CT 06510-1703)
Ellen R. Cohn (Project Director: January 2014 to March 2022)

Preparation for publication of volumes 42-46 of the papers of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American statesman, businessman, and inventor. (36 months)

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin is a long-term collaborative project to produce a comprehensive, annotated edition of the papers and writings of one of the nation's most illustrious writers, printers, scientists, statesmen, and founders. Since 1959 it has published 40 volumes, and Volume 41 is in press. 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 currently being edited document the period immediately following the signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris granting American independence. They document, for the first time, the negotiations for America's first commercial treaties, Franklin's multi-faceted campaign to publicize American democratic ideals, and his theories on various scientific questions. This proposal requests support for editorial work on volumes 42 through 46.

Associated Products

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 42, March 1 through August 15, 1784 (Book)
Title: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 42, March 1 through August 15, 1784
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Editor: Jonathan R. Dull, Consulting Editor
Editor: Ellen R. Cohn, Editor
Editor: Robert P. Frankel, Jr., Associate Editor
Editor: Kate M. Ohno, Associate Editor
Editor: Philipp Ziesche, Associate Editor
Editor: Alysia M. Cain, Assistant Editor
Editor: Adrina M. Garbooshian, Assistant Editor
Editor: John M. Huffman, Assistant Editor
Editor: Elen M. Pawelczak, Assistant Editor
Editor: Kate G. Woodford, Editorial Assistant
Abstract: The forty-second volume of the collected writings and correspondences of the American statesman, ambassador, and Founding Father Benjamin Franklin In the spring of 1784, Franklin, John Jay, and British negotiator David Hartley exchanged ratifications of the definitive British-American peace treaty. Hoping for permission from Congress to return home, Franklin settled his accounts, negotiated a French consular convention, headed a royal commission to investigate animal magnetism, wrote several scientific theories, and published his well-known satire about rising with the sun. As the volume ends, Thomas Jefferson brings news of a diplomatic assignment that would keep Franklin in France for another year.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/title/papers-of-benjamin-franklin/oclc/959034624&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300222692/papers-benjamin-franklin
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Access Model: Book
Publisher: New Haven and London: Yale University Press
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780300222692
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 43, August 16, 1784 through March 15, 1785 (Book)
Title: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 43, August 16, 1784 through March 15, 1785
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Editor: Ellen R. Cohn, Editor
Editor: Ellen M. Pawelczak, Assistant Editor
Editor: John M. Huffman, Assistant Editor
Editor: Philipp Ziesche, Associate Editor
Editor: Kate M. Ohno, Associate Editor
Editor: Robert P. Frankel, Jr., Associate Editor
Abstract: In late August, 1784, Franklin, John Adams, and the newly arrived Thomas Jefferson began their congressional commission to negotiate treaties of amity and commerce with twenty nations. Of the countries they approached, only Prussia entered into negotiations. The Americans sent Prussia a treaty proposal based on the draft treaty that Franklin had negotiated with Denmark the previous year but which Congress had not acted upon. Jefferson rearranged the articles and simplified their language. To the two unprecedented humanitarian articles that Franklin had crafted in 1782, the American commissioners added a third, guaranteeing humane treatment of prisoners of war. Frederick II, understanding their historic nature, quickly approved the new articles. Also during the period of this volume, from August 16, 1784, through March 15, 1785, Franklin permitted his grandson Temple to visit his Loyalist father in London, apprenticed his younger grandson Benny to a type founder, invented a novel kind of sailboat, inspired a new musical instrument, and entertained the first aeronaut to cross the English Channel in a balloon. As the volume ends, John Jay writes a letter informing Franklin that his recall has finally been approved.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/title/papers-of-benjamin-franklin-volume-43/oclc/1029892311&referer=brief_results
Primary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300236064/papers-benjamin-franklin
Secondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Access Model: Book
Publisher: New Haven and London: Yale University Press
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9780300236064
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 44, March 16 through September 13, 1785 (Book)
Title: The Papers of Benjamin Franklin: Volume 44, March 16 through September 13, 1785
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Editor: Ellen R. Cohn
Editor: Robert P. Frankel, Jr.
Editor: Kate M. Ohno, Associate Editor
Editor: Elen M. Pawelczak
Editor: Philipp Ziesche
Editor: John M. Huffman
Editor: Amy E. Jacaruso
Abstract: his volume covers Franklin’s final months as minister to France and his voyage back to America. He received his long-awaited permission from Congress to return home; accepted the king’s parting gift of a miniature portrait surrounded by diamonds; settled his accounts; and arranged passage for himself and his two grandsons on a ship bound from England to Philadelphia. Franklin instructed the French government on the culinary uses of maize and wrote a lengthy “eye-witness” account of China that includes directions for making tofu. His last public act in France was signing the Prussian-American Treaty of Commerce, which contained three unprecedented articles: the two he wrote in 1782 guaranteeing protections during wartime for noncombatants, and a third guaranteeing humane treatment for prisoners of war. On the English coast, Franklin met with his Loyalist son William and witnessed William’s signing over his American property to his son William Temple Franklin. Aboard the London Packet, Franklin wrote three scientific papers, including the copiously illustrated “Maritime Observations.” His original line drawings are reproduced here for the first time. The volume ends with an appendix containing supplementary documents from the French mission.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://search.worldcat.org/title/310601
Primary URL Description: WorldCat
Secondary URL: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300267952/the-papers-of-benjamin-franklin/
Secondary URL Description: Yale University Press
Publisher: Yale University Press
Type: Edited Volume
ISBN: 9780300267952
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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