Benjamin Franklin

You and I were long friends; you are at present my enemy, and I am yours.

Conciliation hopeless from the Conduct of Great Britain to America.

She has begun to burn our sea-port towns; secure, I suppose, that we shall never be able to return the outrage in kind.

If she wishes to have us subjects and that we should submit to her as our compound sovereign, she is now giving us such miserable specimens of her government, that we shall ever detest and avoid it, as a complication of robbery, murder…

Enough has happened, one would think, to convince your ministers, that the Americans will fight, and that this is a harder nut to crack than they imagined.

It will scarce be credited in Britain, that men can be as diligent with us from zeal for the public good, as with you for thousands per annum.

Such is the difference between uncorrupted new states, and corrupted old ones.

By these means, and the stoppage of our consumptive trade with Britain, we shall be better able to pay our voluntary taxes for the support of our troops.

I wish as ardently as you can do for peace, and should rejoice exceedingly in co-operating with you to that end.

But every ship from Britain brings some intelligence of new measures, that tend more and more to exasperate: and it seems to me, that until you have found by dear experience the reducing us by force impracticable, you will think of nothing…

If you would recal your forces and stay at home, we should meditate nothing to injure you.

You despise us too much; and you are insensible of the Italian adage, that there is no little enemy.

I am persuaded the body of the British people are our friends; but they are changeable, and by your lying gazettes may soon be made our enemies.

Our respect for them will proportionally diminish; and I see clearly we are on the high road to mutual enmity, hatred, and detestation.

It will not be destroyed: God will protect and prosper it: you will only exclude yourselves from any share in it.

We know you may do us a great deal of mischief, but we are determined to bear it patiently as long as we can; but if you flatter yourselves with beating us into submission, you know neither the people nor the country.

We are making all the provision in our power here to oppose that force, and we hope we shall be able to defend ourselves.

It gives us great pleasure to learn from you, that toute l'Europe nous souhaite le plus heureux succes pour le maintien de nos libertés.

I have not the vanity, my lord, to think of intimidating, by thus predicting the effects of this war; for I know it will in England have the fate of all my former predictions; not to be believed till the event shall verify it.

I consider this war against us, therefore, as both unjust and unwise; and I am persuaded, that cool and dispassionate posterity will condemn to infamy those who advised it; and that even success will not save from some degree of dishonour…

I know your great motive in coming hither, was the hope of being instrumental in a reconciliation; and I believe, when you find that to be impossible, on any terms given you to propose, you will then relinquish so odious a command, and…

History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of its people.

The ordaining of laws in favour of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy.

An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is intitled to, and ought to enjoy; it being a matter of no moment to the state, whether a subject grows rich and flourishing on the Thames or the…

Whereas Britain, during those ten years of peace and profitable commerce, had made little or no reduction of her debt; but on the contrary, from time to time, diminished the hopes of her creditors, by a wanton diversion and misapplication…