Because Benjamin Franklin has been mentioned many times (and in an unfavorable light by some) I feel the need to post something on him, since I have already posted on George Washington.

Some seem to think that there was no attempt to reach out to Great Britain with peaceful intentions. There was. Over the course of several years there were missives sent to Parliament (remember, back then it took months to send letters overseas) and there were interactions with nobles who were "stationed" in the colonies. On December 22, 1754 Franklin wrote a letter to Governor William Shirley. By reading this letter, it is easy to see that there is an attempt to relate to Britain and it's representatives how strenuous and difficult it was to live as an extension of another country...under rule of a government so far away with no representation.

The letter can be found here

He then later wrote to Joseph Galloway, which was nearly a letter of warning. The British full well knew how those in the colonies felt. Furthermore, it is eroneous to state that Franklin was the impitus of it all. It was no one single person, it was a collective...otherwise how would the Americans (many of whom were armed with pitchforks and other farming implements) have defeated the well-armed British? Does anyone really believe that a handful of 50 to 60 men incited all of America to rise up in arms? Not hardly. That's like saying one group of current Tea Partiers are going to convince all of America to revolt. Not gonna happen.

Oh, and as to how Franklin felt about slavery...

And for anyone truly interested enough to do a bit of reading on Franklin