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People of the Revolutionary War | Patriots of the American Revolution | Benjamin Franklin |
The Hutchinson Letters Affair
The Hutchinson Letters Affair
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> The Hutchinson Letters Affair
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> More on Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
American statesman, printer, scientist, and
writer, b. Boston. The only American of the
colonial period to earn a European reputation
as a natural philosopher, he is best
remembered in the United States as
a patriot and diplomat.
The Hutchinson Letters Affair began in December, 1772 when Ben Franklin anonymously received a packet of
letters. The letters were written to the British government by Thomas Hutchinson, the royal Governor of
Massachusetts. In the letters, Hutchinson urged his superiors to send more troops to Boston to fight the
American rebels. Ben felt that his friends in Boston should know what Hutchinson was planning. He allowed
his American friends and colleagues to read the letters on the condition that they not be circulated or
published. However, the content of the letters did get published in the Boston Gazette in June of 1773.
The citizens of Boston were furious and forced Hutchinson to flee to England. The British government
demanded to know who leaked the letters. In December of 1773, three innocent men were accused. In order
to protect them, Ben admitted his guilt. As a result, Ben's reputation in England suffered. In January
of 1774, Ben was publicly reprimanded. Later that year, Ben left England and returned to America to help
write the Declaration of Independence.
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