Throughout his long and illustrious career, Benjamin Franklin nursed a not-so-secret desire to annex Canada and make it American.
When he was not busy conducting scientific experiments or representing American interests at home and abroad, Benjamin Franklin hatched one plan after another to join Canada to the American colonies and then later to the United States. These were not solely intellectual efforts. He went to Montreal in 1776 to try to turn around the faltering occupation by American forces. As lead American negotiator at the 1782 peace negotiations with Britain in Paris, he held the fate of Canada in his hands. Ill health and other American priorities then forced him to abandon his decades-long campaign to possess Canada.
Franklin’s elevation to the status of an American icon has pushed this signal failure into the far reaches of collective memory in both Canada and the United States. Yet it shaped the future of North America and relations between the two neighbours over the next two and a half centuries.
Very interesting and timely
"""Historically, a Canadian is an American who rejects the revolution. "" - Northrop Frye A fascinating account of what you could call the first attempted invasion of Canada, with a deep look into Benjamin Franklin as a person with the mythology stripped away. Following his life and goals also reveals a lot about his society and ongoing political tensions at the time: I was surprised by how deep Catholic-Protestant animosity ran (and at the same time, how easily people were willing to overlook religious differences in the name of personal gain). Overall a very relevant and insightful book."
