Editing Benjamin Franklin (section)

===Return to North America===
[[File:Franklin's return to Philadelphia 1785 cph.3g09906.jpg|thumb|''Franklin's return to Philadelphia, 1785'', a portrait by [[Jean Leon Gerome Ferris]]]]
[[File:Foundation of the American Government by Henry Hintermeister.jpg|thumb|[[George Washington]] witnesses [[Gouverneur Morris]] sign the [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] with Franklin seen behind Morris, in [[John Henry Hintermeister]]'s 1925 portrait, ''Foundation of the American Government''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Raymond H. |title= George Washington: American Symbol|chapter= The Marketing of an Icon |year=1999 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eLxsfeV43-wC&q=foundation%20of%20the%20American%20government%2C%20John%20Henry%20Hintermeister&pg=PA117 |page= 117 |publisher=Hudson Hills |isbn=9781555951481 |quote= Figure 56 John Henry Hintermeister (American 1869–1945) ''Signing of the Constitution'', 1925...Alternatively labeled ''Title to Freedom'' and the ''Foundation of American Government''...".}}</ref>]]

When he returned home in 1785, Franklin occupied a position second only to that of [[George Washington]] as the champion of American independence. Le Ray honored him with a commissioned portrait painted by [[Joseph Duplessis]], which now hangs in the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in Washington, D.C. After his return, Franklin became an [[Abolitionism|abolitionist]] and freed his two slaves. He eventually became president of the [[Pennsylvania Abolition Society]].<ref name="auto1"/>

==== President of Pennsylvania and Delegate to the Constitutional convention ====
Special balloting conducted October 18, 1785, unanimously elected him the sixth [[List of governors of Pennsylvania|president]] of the [[Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania]], replacing [[John Dickinson]]. The office was practically that of the governor. He held that office for slightly over three years, longer than any other, and served the constitutional limit of three full terms. Shortly after his initial election, he was re-elected to a full term on October 29, 1785, and again in the fall of 1786 and on October 31, 1787. In that capacity, he served as host to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention of 1787]] in Philadelphia.<ref>Brands, ''The First American'', pp. 654–55, 694.</ref>

He also served as a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Convention]]. It was primarily an honorary position and he seldom engaged in debate.
According to [[James McHenry]], [[Elizabeth Willing Powel]] asked Franklin what kind of government they had wrought. He replied: "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."{{sfn|Isaacson|2003|p=459}}