In a notable address toward the close of the
Convention, he gently urged dissenting delegates to put aside
their
legitimate criticisms -- he himself had several -- and recognize
the version before them as the best compromise possible.
FRtR > Outlines > The American Government > Topics > Benjamin Franklin's Rising Sun
Benjamin Franklin, at 81, was the
oldest and the most widely
accomplished delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. His
presence represented the final public service in a remarkable
career as scientist, author, diplomat and statesman. His
reputation in Europe, wrote John Adams from Paris, was "more
universal than that of Leibnitz or Newton, Frederick or Voltaire,
and his character more beloved and esteemed than any or all of
them." Although he was physically feeble -- all of his speeches
were read by a colleague -- Franklin attended most of the
sessions
and was troubled by the recurring signs of opposition to the
draft
Constitution.
In a notable address toward the close of the
Convention, he gently urged dissenting delegates to put aside
their
legitimate criticisms -- he himself had several -- and recognize
the version before them as the best compromise possible.
On the final day, as the last delegates were signing the document, Franklin pointed toward the sun on the back of the Convention president's chair. Observing that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising sun from a setting sun, he went on to say: "I have often ... in the course of the session ... looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting sun."
Franklin was one of several American leaders who saw the new Union as a model that other countries could usefully emulate. "I send you," he wrote to friends in Europe, "the proposed new federal Constitution for these states.... If it succeeds, I do not see why you might not in Europe form a Federal Union and one grand republic of all its different states and kingdoms...."