DS, signed “Th: Jefferson,” one page, 9.25 x 15, March 2, 1791. Official printing of a resolution passed by the First Congress of the United States during its Third Session, in full: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the Unites States be requested to cause to be communicated to the National Assembly of France the peculiar sensibility of Congress to the tribute paid to the memory of Benjamin Franklin, by the enlightened and free representatives of a great nation, in their decree of the eleventh of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety." Imprinted at the conclusion with the names of Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, Vice President John Adams, and President George Washington, and prominently signed below in ink by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. In fine condition, with a faint block of toning from prior display.
Benjamin Franklin, widely admired at home and abroad, was especially beloved in France: during his time as ambassador to the nation (1776–1785), his charm, wit, and diplomatic skills won him celebrity status in Parisian society. Franklin capitalized on his fame to further the cause of freedom, successfully negotiating for the French financial and military support that was crucial for America's victory against Britain. The Founding Father died at his home in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790,
News of his death reached Paris on June 11, 1790, prompting a period of national mourning. Speaking before the National Assembly, Mirabeau eulogized the great man: 'Franklin is dead! The genius, that freed America and poured a flood of light over Europe, has returned to the bosom of the Divinity. The sage whom two worlds claim as their own, the man for whom the history of science and the history of empires contend with each other, held, without doubt, a high rank in the human race. Too long have political cabinets taken formal note of the death of those who were great only in their funeral panegyrics. Too long has the etiquette of courts prescribed hypocritical mourning. Nations should wear mourning only for their benefactors. The representatives of nations should recommend to their homage none but the heroes of humanity.
The Congress has ordained, throughout the United States, a mourning of one month for the death of Franklin; and, at this moment, America is paying this tribute of veneration and gratitude to one of the fathers of her Constitution. Would it not become as, Gentlemen, to join in this religious act, to bear a part in this homage, rendered, in the face of the world, both to the rights of man, and to the philosopher who has most contributed to extend their sway over the whole earth? Antiquity would have raised altars to this mighty genius, who, to the advantage of mankind, compassing in his mind the heavens and the earth, was able to restrain alike thunderbolts and tyrants. Europe, enlightened and free, owes at least a token of remembrance and regret to one of the greatest men who have ever been engaged in the service of philosophy and of liberty. I propose that it be decreed, that the National Assembly, during, three days, shall wear mourning for Benjamin Franklin.'
In a subsequent letter to President George Washington, Abbé Sieyès remarked: 'Great men are the fathers of universal humanity; their loss ought to be felt, as a common misfortune, by all the tribes of the great human family; and it belongs without doubt to a nation still affected by all the sentiments, which accompany the achievement of their liberty, and which owes its enfranchisement essentially to the progress of the public reason, to be the first to give the example of the filial gratitude of the people towards their true benefactors…The name of Benjamin Franklin will be immortal in the records of freedom and philosophy; but it is more particularly dear to a country, where, conducted by the most sublime mission, this venerable man knew how very soon to acquire an infinite number of friends and admirers, as well by the simplicity and sweetness of his manners, as by the purity of his principles, the extent of his knowledge, and the charms of his mind.'
Washington forwarded the letter of condolence and esteem to Congress, prompting this resolution by which the House and Senate asked him to formally reply. Washington wrote: 'So peculiar and so signal an expression of the esteem of that respectable body for a citizen of the United States, whose eminent and patriotic services are indelibly engraved on the minds of his countrymen, cannot fail to be appreciated by them as it ought to be. On my part, I assure you, Sir, that I am sensible of all its value.'
For more on France's reaction to Franklin's death, see 'France Pays Tribute to Benjamin Franklin' by Bob Ruppert, published in the Journal of the American Revolution.
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