Benjamin Franklin: “An Address to the Public”

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

From time to time Benjamin Franklin had owned slaves, but in midlife he decided that slavery was a social evil. At the time he composed “An Address to the Public,” Franklin was seriously ill. He was in constant torment and took laudanum (tincture of opium) to ease his pain. Most of the time, he could not hold even a pen, and he dictated his writings to others, which was probably the case for “An Address to the Public.” Obviously handicapped by disease, Franklin might well have rested without anyone thinking badly of him for doing so, but he knew that he was one of the most famous people in the world and that his word on any subject was given great weight by readers and listeners. Thus, in one of his final efforts at improving society, he aided the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery in its efforts to raise funds for the rescue and education of slaves.