CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Conclusions

Franklin returns to Philadelphia in 1785 as a scientific writer and family patriarch, accepts the presidency of Pennsylvania, and plays a pivotal role at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where his advocacy for compromise and democratic principles helps forge the nation's foundational document. In his final year, he takes up the abolitionist cause before dying in April 1790.

Franklin arrives in Philadelphia in September 1785 after sixty-two years, greeted triumphantly by crowds. He settles into family life with his daughter Sally, her husband Richard Bache, and their children, along with his grandsons Benny and Temple. He indulges his scientific curiosity during his ocean voyage with observations on maritime topics, the Gulf Stream, and heating systems—work comparable to his earlier electricity experiments. Back home, he expands his Market Street house with a three-story wing featuring a library of 4,276 volumes and various scientific instruments. He resumes his social clubs and, in 1785, is elected president of Pennsylvania's executive council, a position affirming his continued popularity despite partisan attacks during his diplomatic years.

In May 1787, the Constitutional Convention convenes in Philadelphia with Franklin as a Pennsylvania delegate. Though eighty-one years old and often transported in a sedan chair, he becomes instrumental in forging compromise. When disputes threaten to fracture the convention—particularly over representation in Congress—Franklin advocates for calm deliberation and proposes that both large and small states concede. On June 30, he articulates the central compromise: the House would be apportioned by population, the Senate would give equal votes to each state. Though he does not originate the Connecticut Compromise, his prestige, call for moderation, and refined motion help secure its adoption on July 16. Throughout the summer, Franklin supports democratic principles—direct election of representatives, limiting executive power, opposing property requirements for voting—though his proposal that officials serve without salary gains no support. His closing address, emphasizing intellectual humility and the impossibility of perfection, persuades wavering delegates to sign the final document. The Constitution becomes the framework for the new republic.

In his final year, Franklin becomes president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, marking a decisive moral commitment. He presents a formal abolition petition to Congress in February 1790 and composes a scathing parody mocking slavery advocates by mirroring their arguments through the voice of an Algerian official defending the enslavement of Christians—a technique drawing on his lifetime of satirical essays. Congress declines to act on the petition. Franklin's health deteriorates from kidney stones and fever. In April, after writing a final letter to Jefferson on technical matters of the peace treaty, he dies on April 17, 1790, at eighty-four. Nearly twenty thousand mourners attend his funeral, with clergy of all faiths walking together.