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drum up interest. He found an ally in Massachusetts Governor William Shirley . The men discussed the idea and exchanged letters on the subject. Shirley’s approach was to have the Grand Council work out plans for a common defense and, through an act of parliament, have Americans pay for it. Shirley’s Grand Council consisted largely of governors and their councilors, most of whom were the king’s appointees.
    Franklin warned Shirley that Americans never would tolerate this. “Excluding the people of the colonies from all share in the choice of the Grand Council would probably give extreme dissatisfaction, as well as the taxing them by act of Parliament where they have no representation.” In three letters, Franklin explained why Americans would not pay taxes parliament imposed and why they resented England’s interference in their affairs. More than two decades later, James Madison , reading these letters, declared Franklin had summarized the argument of the American Revolution “within the compass of a nutshell” twenty years before it occurred to anyone else.

 
    Pennsylvania and his family remained as important to Franklin during these years as his job as postmaster and his politicking. When Franklin resigned as Assembly clerk - a position he had held for more than a dozen years - the Assembly appointed his son William as his replacement. It was more evidence of the place William held in Franklin’s affections. If a word were chosen to describe Franklin, it would be paternal. He seemed happiest when he was sharing his strength, wisdom, generosity, and humor with others. This brought a special intensity to his relationship with his only son.
    Another reason for this was William’s lineage, especially with regard to Philadelphia’s elite. As Franklin’s political power increased, he became more critical of the Penns. This antagonized the ruling party, who held judgeships and other positions of power the Penns could appoint. Since they couldn’t attack Franklin, they criticized him through his son. There were persistent whispers about William’s illegitimacy. When he fell in love with Elizabeth Graeme and asked her to marry him, her parents refused. It saddened Franklin to see his son being treated so poorly.
    Franklin also worried about William’s relationship with Deborah. A young clerk, Daniel Fisher, lived in Franklin’s house for a time. He wrote of seeing young Franklin pass through the house “without the least compliment between Mrs. Franklin and him or any sort of notice taken of each other.” One day, as Deborah was talking to Fisher, and William Franklin passed in silence, Deborah said, “Mr. Fisher, there goes the greatest villain upon earth.” While Fisher stared in surprise, Deborah denounced William “in the foulest terms I ever heard from a gentlewoman.” Fisher eventually quit his job and moved out of the Franklin house because he loathed Deborah’s “turbulent temper.”
    Deborah and Benjamin had grown apart. She remained the shopkeeper’s daughter, almost illiterate, signing letters “Your affecthone wife.” His letters to her began: “My dear child.” More jealous of the time he gave to public affairs, she told Fisher, “All the world claimed a privilege of troubling her Pappy,” her pet name for Franklin.
    Franklin gave up trying to reconcile Deborah and William. As soon as William was paid his first salary as clerk of the Assembly, with his father’s permission, the young man moved into separate quarters to escape his stepmother.
    In his teens, William considered leaving Philadelphia and Deborah for good. He had tried to run away as a sailor. Franklin searched the harbor and found him before the ship on which he had stowed – crewed by privateers out to raid French and Spanish merchant ships – could embark. “My only son left my house unknown to us all and got