Two things. First: My wonderful Patreons get to see these pages early — and in glorious full resolution. (They also get the occasional side story and bonus art.) If you would like to help keep the comic going, consider throwing a dollar or five its way. Thanks!
Second: I have taken outrageous artistic license here (as usual). I’ve knocked one of Franklin’s most powerful and moving speeches into a few terse blurbs — cutting out both not only the poetry and emotion, but also the jokes! Outrageous!
And I’ve had him say the words himself. I’ve denied you what happened in real life — he was too weak to speak, it was a monumental effort for him to even attend, and so with an unsteady hand he handed his prepared remarks to James Wilson to read for him. The delegates were all
I denied you all that. And I’m going to do it again, real soon.
Unforgivable.
If anyone’s curious, this is the full text of Franklin’s speech.
The comic’s speech is more of a summary than a paraphrase, but the message is about right. And the lines at the end of the comic are taken straight from the speech.
However, there’s one more beautiful bit of prose that I want to quote:
“The Opinions I have had of its Errors, I sacrifice to the Public Good. I have never whispered a Syllable of them abroad. Within these Walls they were born, and here they shall die.”
Franklin realized how important perception is in politics. The convention had to *seem* united, no matter how divided they really were.