Editing Benjamin Franklin (section)

===Freemasonry===
In 1730 or 1731, Franklin was initiated into the local [[Masonic lodge]]. He became a [[Grand Master (Freemasonry)|grand master]] in 1734, indicating his rapid rise to prominence in Pennsylvania.<ref name=HC>[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]], ''Mysteries of the Freemasons: America'', video documentary, August 1, 2006, written by Noah Nicholas and Molly Bedell</ref><ref name=freemasonry>{{cite web| url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/franklin_b/franklin_b.html|title=Freemasonry Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon website |publisher=Freemasonry.bcy.ca|access-date=September 21, 2009}}</ref> The same year, he edited and published the first Masonic book in the Americas, a reprint of [[James Anderson (Freemason)|James Anderson]]'s ''Constitutions of the Free-Masons''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=James |last2=Franklin |first2=Benjamin |last3=Royster |first3=Paul |date=January 1, 1734 |title=The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1734). An Online Electronic Edition. |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience/25 |journal=UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications}}</ref> He was the [[Masonic lodge officers#Secretary|secretary]] of [[Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania|St. John's Lodge]] in Philadelphia from 1735 to 1738.<ref name=freemasonry/>

In January 1738, "Franklin appeared as a witness" in a manslaughter trial against two men who killed "a simple-minded apprentice" named Daniel Rees in a fake Masonic initiation gone wrong. One of the men "threw, or accidentally spilled, the burning spirits, and Daniel Rees died of his burns two days later." While Franklin did not directly participate in the [[List of hazing deaths in the United States|hazing that led to Rees' death]], he knew of the hazing before it turned fatal, and did nothing to stop it. He was criticized for his inaction in ''The American Weekly Mercury'', by his publishing rival [[Andrew Bradford]]. Ultimately, "Franklin replied in his own defense in the ''Gazette''."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Founders Online: A Defense of Conduct, 15 February 1738 |url=http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0036 |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=founders.archives.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=says |first=Brother Hogarth |date=May 16, 2020 |title=Incredible History: Ben Franklin, Fake Masonry, and Accidental Death |url=https://forthright.space/2020/05/16/incredible-history-ben-franklin-fake-masonry-and-accidental-death/ |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=Forthright |language=en}}</ref>

Franklin remained a Freemason for the rest of his life.<ref>Van Horne, John C. "The History and Collections of the Library Company of Philadelphia", ''The Magazine Antiques'', v. 170. no. 2: 58–65 (1971).</ref><ref>{{cite ODNB|id=52466|title=Franklin, Benjamin (1706–1790)|orig-year=2004|year=2014|last=Lemay|first=Leo}}</ref>