Skip to main content
Ken Burns: Benjamin Franklin

Tuesday, June 14 at 8pm on MPT

Join or Die (1706-1774)
After building a printing empire in Philadelphia with his wife Deborah, Benjamin Franklin gains worldwide fame from electricity experiments, then spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his family comes apart.

Tuesday, June 14 at 10:30pm on MPT

An American (1775-1790)
In wartime Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin helps Thomas Jefferson craft the Declaration of Independence. In Paris, he wins French support for the American Revolution. Back home, he works on the Constitution of the new United States.

About the program

Ken Burns’s four-hour documentary, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th Century’s most consequential figures, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of electricity and helped create the United States.

Benjamin Franklin
Official Trailer

Ken Burns explores the revolutionary life of Benjamin Franklin.