The Hoaxes of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was born the son of a candle and soap maker, but by his own efforts and intellect he rose to become arguably the most admired man of the eighteenth century.

Throughout his long and illustrious career he was many different things: a printer, a philosopher, a man of science, a man of letters, and a statesman. He was also a hoaxer. Like other eighteenth-century literary figures such as Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe, he used hoaxes for satirical ends, to expose what he perceived as foolishness and vice to the light of public censure.

The efforts of Franklin and other Enlightenment hoaxers to address public opinion through hoaxes reveals the increasing importance placed upon the public (and upon the idea of democracy) throughout this period. Franklin was a master of the art of public relations before that concept had even been dreamed up. The very image of himself which he presented to the world, as a simple but wise American rustic dressed in a raccoon-skin hat, was a carefully crafted public persona which belied the reality that he was one of the most sophisticated, cosmopolitan men of his era.

This charming, cheerful widow poked fun at colonial habits. But who was she really? All kinds of strange things could be found in New Jersey, including (according to Franklin) witches. If you keep insisting that someone is dead, eventually you'll be telling the truth. After all, no one lives forever. Poor Richard said that these three things would come to pass during the following year. None of them seemed to happen... but that was only at first sight. She was a woman fined for the crime of premarital sex. But her eloquent defense inspired the Europeans to change the law. Were the British paying Native Americans to collect the scalps of Revolutionaries? According to this news story dreamed up by Franklin, they were.

Back to Gallery: 1700-1799

Text copyright © 2002 Alex Boese