Posted By:
Accipiter
in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. Jul 15, 2005
Benjamin Franklin is one of the best known and most beloved of America's Founding Fathers. He is known as a printer, a diplomat, an inventor, a scientist, a moralist, and an author. Some even claim that he was a notorious womanizer. Cecil B. Curry, in his book Code Number 72, suggests another role that Franklin filled: that of British spy. It has been generally acknowledged that Franklin was involved in espionage for the American side, and many of his friends and coworkers were British spies, but was Franklin himself actually one? It is true that he was a loyal British subject and supporter for much of his life preceding the American Revolution. I unfortunately couldn't find much information on Curry, his book, or his theory. Most other authors either don't mention the notion of Franklin being a spy at all, or else write that he was merely suspected by some Americans.
Of course, Franklin could still be considered a traitor either way. If he was a spy for the British, he would be a traitor against the Americans. If he was a loyal supporter of the revolution, then he was a traitor against the British.
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Accipiter
in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. Member
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 | 10:39 AM
Oh, I've also heard stories that there were supposed to have been human bones found under Franklin's house (which house I don't know). According to some people, this proves that he was a serial killer. Other people defend him, saying that they were just medical specimens. Personally, I haven't heard anything about any bones other than pure hearsay.
X Member
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 | 10:47 AM
It is also said he was in the Templar Knights.
David B.
in Reading, England.
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 | 11:04 AM
I heard that he invented the black helicopter!
Accipiter
in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. Member
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2005 | 11:22 AM
No, David B., that was Cardinal Richelieu. Franklin came up with the idea of adding fluoride to the water to control people's minds.
Franklin might not have been as hardcore anti-british as some wanted him to be. He considered Britain to be like a mother country, but so did many of his contempories who would later become revolutionaries. I seem to remember he also found the French distasteful and was against supporting them. Nationalists, who supported the French and tended to be Anglophobic might have accused Franklin of being a spy or a softie against the British.
Accipiter
in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. Member
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 | 12:15 PM
Without even meaning to, I just stumbled across another reference to Franklin being a British spy. In his book A History of the British Secret Service, Richard Deacon apparently claims that Franklin ("Agent No. 72") and Edward Bancroft were working for the British while assigned to the American Embassy in Paris, and that they are responsible for the capture of many American ships. Franklin was in Paris from late 1776 until 1785. Again, though, I can't find an actual copy of the book to look into myself.
Accipiter
in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. Member
Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 | 12:18 PM
I'd be interested to see how much Deacon based his theory on Curry's work, or Curry on Deacon's.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA Member
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 | 05:20 AM
If it was exposed in Conspiranoia, I'd probably believe it. But I can't remember if it was...So, I'll say for sure that I'm on the fence here.
I remember hearing somewhere, something about how most of the founding fathers, when they first set out to "rebel" against the crown... were only seeking to have their grievances acknowledged and dealt with, and "if" that had been done, the revolution probably would have never even taken place.
Accipiter
in the Northern Hemisphere, unless They have lied. Member
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 | 10:43 AM
Most of the Founding Fathers didn't start calling for independence until well after fighting had broken out. The First Continental Congress wasn't even about independence, it was about getting King George III to retract his decrees. It was a year after the war had started that the Declaration of Independence was drawn up. Up until then, the majority of Americans had simply wanted to smooth things over and remain loyal subjects.
TG
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 | 07:54 PM
Currey was a professor at the university of South Florida in Tampa when he wrote Code number 72. He was interested in military history as well as early American history which he taught.
Deacon wrote his book in 1969 and Currey wrote his in 1972 (appropriately enough). Deacon was one of his sources.
Currey felt that Franklin looked after Franklin. As he says, "Franklin wanted to win the American Revolution. No matter who lost -- the United States, France, England -- Benjamin Franklin wanted to win."
