Latest Episodes
After success as a Philadelphia printer Benjamin Franklin earns worldwide fame in science.
Benjamin Franklin helps craft the Declaration of Independence and wins French support.
After success as a Philadelphia printer Benjamin Franklin earns worldwide fame in science.
Specials
Ken Burns speaks with Mandy Patinkin and Michael Douglas.
Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.
Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.
Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.
Filmmakers and special guests explore Franklin's writing in this virtual event series.
Extras
A visit to a school for Black children challenged Franklin’s racial prejudices.
As impasse threatened the Constitutional Convention, Franklin appealed for Compromise.
Late in life, Franklin petitioned Congress to end slavery in the United States.
Franklin and Adams frustrated each other in France with opposing approaches to diplomacy.
Franklin’s musical invention, the armonica, became a sensation in Europe.
Franklin’s first published essays were printed under a pseudonym—Silence Dogood.
The American Revolution tore families apart, including the Franklins.
Benjamin Franklin arrived in France, hoping to win French support for the Revolution.
This bonus scene features Benjamin Franklin House in London, his only surviving residence.
Franklin and Adams have to share a bedroom in a humorous scene not in the final film.
A month after the end of the battle, Franklin finally got the news from Yorktown.
Franklin’s popular "Poor Richard’s Almanack" offered an enduring brand of American humor.
Get an inside look from Ken Burns on the making of Benjamin Franklin.
This extended scene from BENJAMIN FRANKLIN includes bonus material not in the final film.
In 1765, England found a new way to raise money from the American colonies: The Stamp Act.
Franklin, the most famous American in London, became the face of American resistance.
Franklin made a pivotal edit to Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
The Treaty of Paris ended a war, secured Independence and created an Empire.
Franklin studied electricity and proved lightning’s electrical nature with a key and kite.
Enslaved Philadelphia residents worked in businesses and homes, including Franklin’s.