Editing Benjamin Franklin (section)

====Political work====
[[File:US-Colonial (PA-115)-Pennsylvania-18 Jun 1764.jpg|thumb|Pennsylvania colonial currency printed by Franklin and [[David Hall (publisher)|David Hall]] in 1764]]
[[File:Benjamin Franklin 1767.jpg|thumb|Franklin in London in 1767, wearing a powdered wig and blue suit with elaborate gold braid and buttons, a far cry from the simple dress he affected at the [[Royal court|French court]] in later years, [[Portrait of Benjamin Franklin|depicted in a portrait]] by [[David Martin (artist)|David Martin]] that is now on display in the [[White House]]]]

In 1757, he was sent to England by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the [[William Penn|Penn family]], the [[proprietary colony|proprietors of the colony]]. He remained there for five years, striving to end the proprietors' prerogative to overturn legislation from the elected Assembly and their exemption from paying taxes on their land. His lack of influential allies in [[Whitehall]] led to the failure of this mission.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

At this time, many members of the Pennsylvania Assembly were feuding with William Penn's heirs, who controlled the colony as proprietors. After his return to the colony, Franklin led the "anti-proprietary party" in the struggle against the Penn family and was elected [[List of speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives|Speaker of the Pennsylvania House]] in May 1764. His call for a change from proprietary to royal government was a rare political miscalculation, however: Pennsylvanians worried that such a move would endanger their political and religious freedoms. Because of these fears and because of political attacks on his character, Franklin lost his seat in the October 1764 Assembly elections. The anti-proprietary party dispatched him to England again to continue the struggle against the Penn family proprietorship. During this trip, events drastically changed the nature of his mission.<ref name="ANB2">J.A. Leo Lemay, "Franklin, Benjamin". ''[[American National Biography]] Online'', February 2000. https://www.anb.org/display/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0100298?rskey=69AExU&result=10</ref>

In London, Franklin opposed the [[Stamp Act 1765|1765 Stamp Act]]. Unable to prevent its passage, he made another political miscalculation and recommended a friend to the post of stamp distributor for Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians were outraged, believing that he had supported the measure all along, and threatened to destroy his home in Philadelphia. Franklin soon learned of the extent of colonial resistance to the Stamp Act, and he testified during the House of Commons proceedings that led to its repeal.<ref>Peter Charles Hoffer, ''Benjamin Franklin Explains the Stamp Act Protests to Parliament, 1766'' (2015)</ref> With this, Franklin suddenly emerged as the leading spokesman for American interests in England. He wrote popular essays on behalf of the colonies. [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Massachusetts]] also appointed him as their agent to the Crown.<ref name="ANB2"/>

During his lengthy missions to London between 1757 and 1775, Franklin lodged in a house on Craven Street, just off [[Strand, London|the Strand]] in [[central London]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/2/2006_2_49.shtml|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005062210/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/2/2006_2_49.shtml|url-status=dead|title=Tom Huntington|archivedate=October 5, 2009}}</ref> During his stays there, he developed a close friendship with his landlady, Margaret Stevenson, and her circle of friends and relations, in particular, her daughter Mary, who was more often known as Polly. The house is now a museum known as the [[Benjamin Franklin House]]. Whilst in London, Franklin became involved in [[Radicalism (historical)|radical]] politics. He belonged to a [[gentlemen's club]] (which he called "the honest [[Radical Whigs|Whigs]]"), which held stated meetings, and included members such as [[Richard Price]], the minister of [[Newington Green Unitarian Church]] who ignited the [[Revolution controversy]], and [[Andrew Kippis]].<ref>Duncan Wu, ''William Hazlitt (1737–1820), the Priestley Circle, and "The Theological Repository:" A Brief Survey and Bibliography'', The Review of English Studies New Series, Vol. 56, No. 227 (Nov. 2005), pp. 758–766 [762]. Published by: Oxford University Press {{JSTOR|3661246}}.</ref>