William Franklin: The Collapse of New Jersey’s Last Royal Government

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In 1763, William Franklin, arrived in New Jersey to assume his post as royal governor.¹ As the illegitimate son of Benjamin Franklin, William’s appointment by King George III was evidence of his acceptance by the British elite. In 1757, William had accompanied his father to Great Britain where Benjamin Franklin represented the interests of the Pennsylvanian legislature in London.2 Having obtained an exclusive legal education at the Inns of Court, William was prepared to begin his own independent political career.3 As royal governor, he sought to balance the rights of the people of New Jersey with the right of the Crown. For his efforts to preserve the British constitutional order as he regarded it, William experienced periods of harmony and conflict with both the legislature of New Jersey and the British government. But by 1774, William’s position became untenable. Regarding the Continental Congress as an illegitimate institution, William remained loyal to the Crown. As an American, William Franklin was an ardent proponent of representative government and English liberties.4 But he regarded the political and social order of the British Empire as the best means to secure those rights against what he saw as the excesses of democracy.

As New Jersey experienced a shortage of gold and silver specie, William Franklin encountered a disagreement between the Legislature and British government on the printing of paper currency. New Jersey had accrued £200,000 in debt during the French and Indian War.5 As the colony paid the debt and traded with New York and Pennsylvania for goods from Europe and the West Indies, gold and silver specie became scarce. The shortage of currency convinced the Legislature to print bills of credit to promote commercial exchange, but Parliamentary regulations on paper currency prevented them from addressing the crisis.6 In Governor Franklin’s first report to the Board of Trade, he wrote that he was “inclined to think your Lordships may not be averse” to allow New Jersey to print £10,000 to £12,000 in bills of credit. Paper currency, he explained, was needed “as a Medium of Commerce” in a colony with little gold and silver.7 The colony was expected to provide provisions for military personnel and for the construction of public buildings, which, Franklin informed the ministry, New Jersey could not provide without currency. While the Board of Trade considered Franklin’s request, the governor also set out to improve his relations with the principal gentlemen of the colony.

In the same letter to the Board of Trade, William recommended that King George III appoint two gentlemen to the governor’s Council. Because New Jersey had two capitals in Burlington and Perth Amboy, William sought to appoint gentlemen from West and East New Jersey in order to preserve the balance between the two divisions. But more importantly, he sought to appoint political allies, whom he could trust to uphold the British constitution as loyal subjects of the King.8 Although being appointed to the Council was a great honor, it was also an unprofitable time commitment and William remarked that it was “with great Difficulty that Gentlemen of Character & Fortune sufficient for that Station can be prevail’d upon to accept it.”9 With three open council seats to fill, Franklin initially found “but two...suitable to the Office & willing to undertake it.”10 Samuel Smith from Burlington was a “leading Member of the Assembly where he has always exerted himself in promoting His Majesty’s Measures,” while John Ladd from Gloucester County was also an experienced Assemblyman who “was always on the Side of the Administration.”11 While Governor Franklin did not recommend a third person, he informed the Board of Trade that he hoped to find someone from East Jersey with similar political leanings. But for the time being, he was satisfied that he had successfully promoted two gentlemen who would advance the interests of the Crown.

After a period of amicable relations with the Legislature, William Franklin had to face another dispute between the Legislature and Parliament. In response to Pontiac’s Rebellion on the frontier, the British commander-in-chief in North America, Jeffrey Amherst requested that the colonies provide troops for his campaign. While New Jersey was not at immediate risk, Amherst requested that the Legislature of New Jersey raise six hundred troops for his army.12 But two complications prevented William Franklin from securing the Legislature’s cooperation with this request. For one, Amherst had not asked the New England colonies to provide any troops for his campaign. Unwilling to contribute more to the campaign than her sister colonies, New Jersey refused to supply the troops until it learned what other colonies were doing.13 In a letter to the Lords of Trade, William complained that New Jersey legislators had followed “the Example of the Assembly of New York” who had “postpon’d complying with the Demand made on them till ‘tis known what the New England Colonies” would do.14 Because New England had not been asked to supply troops, New York -- and subsequently New Jersey -- refused to raise their own. Franklin convinced the Legislature to raise two hundred militiamen to defend its own frontier, but the colony would not send reinforcements to General Amherst.15 But the jealousy existing between the colonies was not the only reason New Jersey hesitated to comply with the request.

In addition, the expense of raising, training, and equipping this small force reignited the controversy over paper currency. William Franklin continued to urge the Legislature to respond to the request of General Amherst. While the Legislators refused to raise new troops, they did agree to allocate £10,000 pounds to support the militia defending New Jersey’s western borders.16 In return, the bill included a “Provision in it for striking a Sum to exchange the torn and defaced Bills of former Emissions” of paper bills of credit.17 While the bill did not call for any paper currency emissions beyond replacing old bills of credit, it was unclear whether this would be acceptable to the Board of Trade. While Franklin discouraged this provision, he defended the Legislature’s actions in a letter to the Board of Trade. The act, he insisted, was “exactly conformable to all the Acts of the same Nature pass’d” during the French and Indian War.18 Further, the safety of New Jersey placed him under “the Necessity… of passing it” despite his “Objection” to parts of the bill.19 While it placed him in an awkward position, Franklin decided it was better to compromise with the Assembly in order to comply partially with his instructions from London than to achieve nothing at all.

Within two months, Franklin finally convinced the Legislature to provide troops to the British campaign on the frontier.20 After prodding from Governor Franklin, the Legislature agreed to provide General Gage -- who had replaced General Amherst as commander-in-chief -- with the requested troops. But the initial bill only required New Jersey to supply troops after the “Majority of the Eastern Colonies” did the same.21 Franklin rejected their offer and managed to convince them to accept his “Proposal” to raise troops in proportion “to what had been, or might be done during the Year, by New York alone.”22 Because New York had already agreed to raise eight hundred troops -- half of the amount requested of them -- New Jersey raised three hundred in turn. Although it was not a complete victory for Franklin, he had obtained troops for the now grateful General Gage without upsetting the Legislature. More importantly, Franklin received word that the King greatly approved of “the Zeal and Diligence which [he] exerted… in prevailing on the Assembly to raise a Part...of the Number of Troops required of them for the publick Service.”23 Franklin had been successful in balancing the interests of Crown and colony. 

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While the request for troops ended to the satisfaction of both parties, two events soon soured the relations between the colonial Legislature and the British government. In early 1764, the Board of Trade ruled printing paper currency “destructive of publick Credit, ruinous to the Colonies themselves, and highly injurious to the Commerce of this Country.24 While the Board of Trade condemned the practice throughout the colonies, where the practice was prevalent, the ruling came at the wrong time for New Jersey. Suffering from debt and a shortage of gold and silver specie -- the only other currency available -- the decision to declare the printing of paper currency “null and void to all intents and purposes” was particularly damaging.25 The ruling even indirectly censured William Franklin for his approval of replacing bills of credit in return for funding the colonial militia. The ruling determined that “any Governor, who shall give his Assent to any Act” contradicting Parliamentary regulations “shall forfeit one thousand pounds, and be rendered incapable of serving” the King “in any Employment, Civil or Military.”26 In the future, William Franklin would endeavour to be more careful. But while embarrassing, the ruling did not earn him the ire of the Legislature, whose desire for paper currency he shared. The decision, however, did strain the colony’s relationship with the British government.

In late 1764, the Earl of Halifax informed the royal governors in North America that Parliament intended to charge stamp duties on the colonies.27 In response to Lord Halifax, William Franklin forwarded him a list of taxable documents used in New Jersey.28 But despite his compliance with the British government’s requests, Franklin considered the Stamp Act a mistake that would inflame the colonies against London. In a letter to Secretary Conway, Franklin acknowledged that the Stamp Act was the “principal Matter which agitates the Minds of the People.”29 But he insisted that the “Phrensy which prevailed in other Colonies” was not emulated in New Jersey.30 The “Conduct of the People of this Province” showed that “altho’ many of them have objections to the Act… none of them would have endeavoured to prevent its Execution by Violence.”.31 He went through great lengths to defend the people of his colony. Explaining the unexpected resignation of William Coxe, the stamp distributor for New Jersey, Franklin accused him of “take[ing] Fright at the outrageous Proceeding which have happened in other Colonies” and of abandoning his duty “without even endeavouring to execute it.”.32 While he assured Secretary Conway that he would have attempted to uphold law and order in New Jersey, Governor Franklin understood that popular uproar against the Stamp Act would reach the colony.

In his private correspondence, William Franklin intimated that the British Parliament was to blame for the Stamp Act crisis. While Franklin discouraged lawlessness, he actively avoided associating himself with the Stamp Act. In a letter to Benjamin Franklin in London, he admitted that he “had a difficult Part to manage so as to steer clear of giving any Umbrage to the People here, and of embarrassing myself with the Ministry in England.”.33 The Stamp Act had enraged the colonies against Parliament and any officer who attempted to defend it. When outrage over the Stamp Act finally materialized in New Jersey, the anger was not directed at Franklin, but at Robert Ogden, the Speaker of the colony’s House of Representatives. After representing the colony at the Stamp Act Congress in New York in 1765, Ogden refused to sign the petition drafted during the proceedings. Unlike Ogden “whom” the people of New Jersey “have burned in Effigy” throughout the eastern division of the colony, Governor Franklin stood “extremely well with the People in all Parts of the Province.”34 Franklin maintained his reputation by refusing to comment on the Stamp Act. After meeting with his Council, he decided not to call the House of Representatives for a session because he would, as royal governor, be required to speak in favor of Parliament’s taxation of the colonies. Criticizing Governor Bernard of Massachusetts, who enraged his province for defending the Stamp Act, Governor Franklin explained that “an Officer of Government” who speaks in favor of taxation “not only becomes obnoxious but is sure to lose all the Authortity” of his office.35 Franklin sought to uphold law and order by refusing to enforce the Stamp Act. The official stamp distributor had resigned and he could always claim that he did not have the authority to appoint one himself. Because the authority of the Crown in New Jersey depended on his ability to hold the respect of the people of New Jersey, he claimed to act in the King’s best interest when he avoided enforcing his own law.

While the relationship between the Legislature of New Jersey and the British Parliament deteriorated, William Franklin maintained his reputation among both parties. But as Parliament continued to enforce legislation on the colonies without their consent, it would become more difficult for Franklin to balance himself between both camps. In 1765, Parliament passed the Mutiny Act demanding that the colonies provide provisions for British troops garrisoned within their borders.36 In 1766, at Franklin’s urging, the Legislature of New Jersey agreed to supply British troops in the province. Franklin complained that the Legislature should have complied with the exact language of the Mutiny Act, but decided to pass it rather than allow the King’s troops to remain unsupplied.37 In the following year, the Legislature passed a similar bill, which Franklin also signed, despite expressing the same reservations.38 Although disappointed, he felt that he had successfully done his duty as governor. But in 1768, he received a letter from Lord Hillsborough, Secretary of State, accusing him of committing “an unwarrantable Deviation from your Duty” and expressing the King’s great “Disapprobation of your Conduct.”39 Franklin replied with a letter defending his conduct. Hillsborough had implied that New Jersey was unique in its noncompliance with the Mutiny Act. Franklin reminded him that “the Right of Parliament” to enforce such laws “on the Colonies is not questioned by the Assembly of New-Jersey alone, but also by every other House of Representatives on the Continent.”40 Moreover, Hillsborough had complained about a petition that New Jersey had sent the King, accusing the Legislature of disrespect. But, Franklin insisted, the “Petitioning the King is… an inherent Right of the Subject.”41 By allowing the Legislature to compose a petition, Franklin had acted with “Temper and Wisdom… and liberal principles” as instructed upon his appointment as governor.42 Moreover, the British Parliament had incompetently “rekindled the Flame that had subsided from the Time of the Stamp Act” just to prove they had the right to tax the colonies.43 Franklin had firmly defended himself and his colony in response to criticism from Parliament. But as political unrest increased in the colonies, Franklin realigned with Great Britain and the social and political order it provided.

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In 1770, the Board of Trade disallowed the Legislature’s latest attempt to print paper currency.44 While William Franklin had urged the Board of Trade to allow New Jersey to print £100,000 in bills of credit, he regarded the Legislature’s response to the disallowal as unacceptable. In a letter to Lord Hillsborough, Franklin explained that the Legislature “thought they had obviated every Objection, and fully complied with His Majesty’s Directions.”45 But he feared that radicals in the Legislature would “take Advantage of the Ill humour… and prevail on the Assembly not to grant any Money for the Support of the King’s Troops.”46 As legislators debated whether to supply British troops in New Jersey, Governor Franklin urged them “as a Friend” holding “the Interest of the Province at Heart” not to directly oppose the King’s order.47 Once the Legislature resolved not to supply the King’s troops again, the governor and the House of Representatives began a vitriolic debate with each other. After reminding them that the King had dissallowed the currency bill because it had violated the British Constitution, the legislators asked if New Jersey had to “run” itself “in Debt for the Sake of paying as high Taxes” as Britain for the sake of “demonstrating Loyalty.”48 Accusing the legislators of over exaggerating New Jersey’s economic difficulties and of misrepresenting his own actions on their behalf as governor, Franklin allowed the assembly to recess. Writing to Lord Hillsborough, Franklin announced that he would continue to “prorogue them from Time to Time, without letting them proceed to any Business” until they provided for the King’s troops.49 By December, 1771, Franklin’s strategy compelled the Legislature to provide for the King’s troops, but his relationship with the House of Representatives was irreparably strained.

 In 1774, the relationship between the Legislature and Parliament remained strained, but this time, William Franklin was more firmly on the side of the British government. In response to the Boston Port Act, which closed Boston Harbor to maritime trade, the colonies began to establish committees of correspondence.50 Governor Franklin told the Legislature that the committees of correspondence were “very absurd, if not unconstitutional,” but he could do nothing to stop the formation of one in New Jersey.51 Writing to Lord Dartmouth, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Franklin did not excuse the actions of the House of Representatives, but postulated that New Jersey had formed a committee more to avoid appearing “singular” than out of anger.52 Although he promised to “omit nothing in my Power to keep this Province quiet,” he was unable to stop the colonies from planning the First Continental Congress.53 As committees of safety formed throughout New Jersey, it seemed inevitable that the colony would appoint delegates to attend the conference. Franklin refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, but he accepted the united front the colonies had created as political reality. While recognizing that “many of the Inhabitants of the Colonies” were suspicious of Congress, he acknowledged that “few have the Courage to declare their Disappropbation publickly” and that those who do, including officers of the Crown, “have but little or no Protection for themselves.”54 In early 1775, Franklin called a meeting of the Legislature, hoping to convince them not to approve of the proceedings of the Continental Congress. Reminding them that “Every Breach of the Constitution, whether it proceeds from the Crown or the people, is, in its Effects, equally destructive to the Rights of both,” Franklin called upon them not to formally recognize what he regarded as an illegitimate government.55 While the legislators chose to formally approve of the Continental Congress’s actions, they insisted that they “neither intend[ed] to usurp the Rights of others, nor suffer any vested in us by the Constitution to be tested out of our Hands by any Person or Persons whatsoever.”56 As support for the Continental Congress increased, respect for the authority of the governor and of royal government itself began to wane.

 By 1775, royal government in New Jersey began a slow process of dissolution. In a letter to Lord Dartmouth, Governor Franklin informed him that a Provincial Congress had been formed in Trenton and that it had begun to subsume the roles of government in New Jersey. After the Provincial Congress allocated £10,000 to raise the militia, officers began submitting resignations to Governor Franklin in return for commissions from the Continental Congress or local conventions.57 Franklin admitted that “all Government is nearly laid prostrate, and the public Officers from the highest to the lowest are now only on Sufferance, as it were.”58 By September, Franklin had accepted that his presence in New Jersey served only as a “Means of Keeping up some Appearance of Government.”59 But with the Provincial Congress in control of the militia and of the tax system, there was little he could achieve. As 1775 drew to a close, Franklin attempted to call the Legislature again, although he doubted whether or not it would meet.60 The Legislature considered sending its own separate petition to the King, but decided against it after delegates from the Second Continental Congress appeared in person before the legislators.61 Franklin admitted that the office of governor had, in effect, no remaining authority. With “no more than one or two among the Principal Officers of Government” whom he could trust, there was nothing left to do but wait for impending arrest.62 In January, 1776, William Alexander, Lord Stirling, a former member of the governor’s Council, serving as a colonel loyal to the Contintental Congress, ordered the arrest of Governor Franklin at his home in Perth Amboy.63 After the intervention of the Chief Justice of New Jersey, Franklin was released and allowed to remain in his home.64 By June, the Provincial Congress had declared that Governor Franklin had “discovered himself to be an enemy to the liberties of this country” for trying to call the Legislature for another meeting that same month.65 With the powers of government completely absorbed by the Provincial Congress, royal government in New Jersey formally ended with Franklin’s removal from New Jersey for confinement in Connecticut.66

William Franklin’s administration attempted to uphold the traditional order of the British Constitution, balancing liberties with the rigid social and political order based in London. Although his relations with the Legislature began on a positive note, it became increasingly difficult for Franklin, despite his American sympathies, to preserve his perception of British constitutionalism in New Jersey. While the Legislature defied Great Britain in order to defend its rights to self-government, Franklin considered the political order of the British Empire too great to abandon. But as the colonies organized in their joint opposition to Parliamentary taxation, Franklin’s ability to enforce that political order decreased. Without many remaining political allies, he became increasingly isolated. By 1776, he remained a symbol of royal government in New Jersey without any authority or power. With the supremacy of Parliament replaced by the Continental Congress, royal government in New Jersey came to its end.

Notes 

Sheila L. Skemp, William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 39-40.

Ibid., pp. 23-25.

Ibid., p. 23.

Maya Jasanoff, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World (New York: Vintage Books, 2011), p. 64.

Skemp, William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King, p. 54.

Ibid.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Lords of Trade acquainting them with his arrival in New Jersey, ackowledging their letter of the 9th of March, respecting the correspondence to be carried on with the Board, and notifying them of three vacancies in the Council of that province, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 386.

Ibid., pp. 386-388.

Ibid., p. 386.

Ibid., p. 387.

Ibid.

William Franklin, Letter from William Franklin, Esq., Governor of New Jersey, to the Lords of Trade, containing an account of his proceedings with the Assembly with respect to the means of repelling the hostilities of the Indians, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 398.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Lords of Trade relative to an act for raising levies for the defence of the province, and to other acts lately passed there, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 401.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Lords of Trade relative to raising levies; also to some acts passed by the Assembly, and to Mr. Ashfield’s claim to precedence in the Council, his mandamus being of a prior date to that of Mr. Ogden, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, pp. 428-430.

Ibid., p. 428.

Ibid., p. 429

William Franklin, Letter from Secretary Halifax to Governor Franklin, expressing the King’s satisfaction with his zeal in protecting the frontier settlements of New Jersey, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 439.

William Franklin, Representation to His Majesty concerning the revival of the bounties upon hemp, the paper currency in American Colonies, and the duties upon beaver skins; also upon the application of the New England merchants relative to the duty upon whale fins, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 412.

Ibid., p. 413.

Ibid., p. 414.

William Franklin, Circular letter from the Earl of Halifax to the Governors in North America, informing them that the House of Commons had resolved to charge certain stamp duties in the colonies and plantations, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 448.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to Secretary of State the Earl of Halifax, inclosing the Attorney General’s list of the instruments, etc., made use of in New Jersey, and the Secretary’s Observations thereupon, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, pp. 479-480.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to Secretary Conway--relative to the Act for establishing a Stamp duty in America, enclosing copies of letters from William Coxe, General Gage and others, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, p. 493.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Franklin, William, To Benjamin Franklin from William Franklin, 13 November 1765, Founders Online, https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Author%3A%22Franklin%2C%20William%22&s=1111311111&r=16.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Skemp, William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King, p. 88.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Earl of Shelburne, concerning the Murders and Violences committed on the Indians, and the New Jersey Act for supplying the Barracks, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005647543&view=1up&seq=13, pp 576-577.

William Franklin, From Governor Franklin to Secretary Hillsborough, relative to the New Jersey Act of 1767, for quartering the troops, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, pp. 32-33.

William Franklin, Letter from Secretary Hillsborough to Governor Franklin, relative to the letter from the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, and the King’s disapprobation of Governor Franklin’s conduct in assenting to a law contrary to an act of Parliament, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 48.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Hillsborough, defending his Conduct during the last Session of the Assembly of New Jersey against the Censures of his Lordship, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 65.

Ibid., p. 69.

Ibid., p. 76.

Ibid., p. 70.

William Franklin, Representation from the Lords of Trade to the King, recommending disallowance of an Act of the New Jersey Assembly for issuing £100,000 in Bills of Credit, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, pp. 106-107.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Earl of Hillsborough, relative to the displeasure of the Assembly at the disallowance of the Paper Money Act, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), p. 200.

Ibid., https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 201.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Hillsborough, announcing the Actions of the Assembly relative to provision for the supply of the troops, the appointment of Barrack Masters, etc., in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 203.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Earl of Hillsborough, announcing the refusal of the Assembly to provide for the King’s troops, and transmitting Copies of his Speech and Messages on the Subject, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 266.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Earl of Hillsborough, announcing the continued refusal of the Assembly to grant money for the supply of the King’s troops, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 299.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmough, relative to the Boston Port Act; a Congress of Members of the several Houses of Assembly; the removal of the seat of government from Burlington to Perth Amboy, etc., in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, pp. 457-459.

Ibid., p. 458.

Ibid.

Ibid.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmough, relative to the Congress at Philadelphia and the sentiment of the public concerning it, also transmitting a plan of a proposed Union between Great Britain and the Colonies, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 503.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmouth, giving an account of the proceedings of the King’s troops at Concord, and the immediate counsequences thereof, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 596.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmouth, transmitting his speech to the New Jersey Assembly, together with Resolutions of that body, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 545.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmouth, giving an account of proceedings in New Jersey, the effect of “the unfortunate affair at Lexington,” and transmitting a number of Papers, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, pp. 603-604.

Ibid.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmough complaining that his dispatches are opened at the Post-office, and giving information that the Congress of New Jersey had assumed the command of the Militia, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 658.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmough, relative to the condition of affairs in the Colonies; Lord Stirling had accepted a Colonel’s commission from the Provincial Congress, and no gentleman would consent to be nominated for a place in the Council, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 665.

William Franklin, Letter from Gov. Franklin to the Earl of Dartmouth, relative to the sentiments of the people and the proceedings of the Assembly; the Earl of Stirling suspended from the Council; general belief that Congress will have the assistance of France, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 677.

Ibid., p. 679.

Skemp, William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King, pp. 193-194.

Ibid., pp. 196-197.

William Franklin, Letter from Governor Franklin to the Legislature of New Jersey, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson (Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886), https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11, p. 720.

Skemp, William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King, p. 213.

Bibliography

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William Franklin, From Governor Franklin to Secretary Hillsborough, relative to the New Jersey Act of 1767, for quartering the troops, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 10, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson, Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1886, Accessed July 17, 2019: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11.

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William Franklin, Representation to His Majesty concerning the revival of the bounties upon hemp, the paper currency in American Colonies, and the duties upon beaver skins; also upon the application of the New England merchants relative to the duty upon whale fins, in Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, vol. 9, ed. Frederick W. Ricord and William Nelson, Newark: Daily Advertiser Printing House, 1885, Accessed July 17, 2019, Accessed July 17, 2019: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015005646453&view=1up&seq=11.

Franklin, William. “To Benjamin Franklin from William Franklin, 13 November 1765,” Founders Online, Accessed July 17, 2019: https://founders.archives.gov/?q=Author%3A%22Franklin%2C%20William%22&s=1111311111&r=16.

Jasanoff, Maya. Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World. New York: Vintage Books, 2011.

Skemp, Sheila. William Franklin: Son of a Patriot, Servant of a King. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

This blogpost: Damiano Servidio; Intern, Washington University, Summer 2019