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Imagine it's January 1758 and you're

0:26

at home in your study in

0:28

London, England. You're the son

0:30

of the founder of Pennsylvania. You

0:32

and the rest of your family still own most

0:34

of the colony's unsettled land, and you're

0:37

determined to make sure it remains exempt

0:39

from taxation. But today you're

0:41

entertaining an unwelcome guest. Benjamin

0:43

Franklin has traveled here as an

0:45

agent of the Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly,

0:47

trying to persuade you to pay

0:49

taxes on your land. You've

0:51

allowed him to call on you, but you have

0:53

no intention of giving in to his demands. The

0:56

fate of your family's wealth and power

0:58

rests on your shoulders. You

1:01

sit down on a carved mahogany chair

1:04

across from Franklin, silently hoping this meeting

1:06

ends quickly. You hand him

1:08

a glass of Bordeaux, and he smiles

1:10

gratefully. You're too kind, sir. My

1:12

pleasure, Mr. Franklin. Now what can I do for you?

1:15

He takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders.

1:18

Your family still owns vast tracts of land

1:20

in Pennsylvania. Every other landowner in

1:22

the colony pays taxes to our assembly. Why

1:25

should you be exempt? The assembly

1:27

is simply asking that you and your family pay

1:29

your fair share. You smile

1:31

bitterly, your jaw held tight. Well,

1:33

how dare you tell me what taxes I owe? Need

1:36

I remind you that my family rules Pennsylvania,

1:38

just as the crown rules Virginia, Massachusetts, and

1:41

New York? Perhaps so,

1:43

but our assembly governs it. Not

1:45

so. My hand-picked colonial governor is

1:47

in charge of Pennsylvania. Your assembly

1:50

exists merely to offer advice, and

1:52

our governor will veto any tax law you

1:54

pass. But why should your

1:56

appointed governor hold sway over our elected

1:58

assembly? You take a sip of

2:01

wine, laughing into your glass. Leave

2:03

it to Franklin to turn a discussion

2:05

about taxation into an argument about political

2:07

representation. Few Americans have all

2:10

the wrong ideas. I may be

2:12

an American, yes, but I'm also

2:14

a subject of the British Crown, and our

2:16

colonial assembly has all the same rights and

2:18

privileges as the British Parliament. In

2:20

fact, your father is the one who

2:22

expressly granted those rights, wasn't he, under

2:24

Pennsylvania's founding charter? You

2:27

shake your head, anger bubbling up in your

2:29

chest. My father had no power

2:31

to grant such rights. Franklin

2:33

puts down his glass of wine, his

2:35

eyes turning steely. All we

2:37

are asking is to be treated as equal

2:40

subjects of the Crown. Oh, you ask to

2:42

be treated as an equal, while failing to

2:44

pay me proper respect in my own home.

2:46

I cannot bear to speak with you one

2:48

moment longer. From now on, you

2:50

must direct these matters to my lawyer. The

2:53

curt nod Franklin rises from his seat,

2:56

his expression a mask of barely contained

2:58

contempt. He exits the room, leaving

3:00

you alone in the silence of your study. You're

3:03

stunned by his insolence. It seems

3:05

to you that if this is the caliber of

3:07

leadership in Pennsylvania, a colony must

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be put in its proper place. American

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Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this

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your story. The

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Times and the People On

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our show, we take you to the events,

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the times and the people that shaped America

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and Americans. Our values, our

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struggles, and our dreams. We'll

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affected them, their families, and affects you now.

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In the late 1750s, Benjamin Franklin

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sailed from Philadelphia to London as

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an agent of the Pennsylvania Colonial

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Assembly. There he met with

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Thomas Penn, the son of Pennsylvania's founder. His

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objective was to persuade Penn to pay taxes

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on his land in the colony and to

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honor the laws passed by the elected Colonial

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Assembly. But Penn refused to

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even consider Franklin's request. And

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over the next two decades, conflicts

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