* This program will be held OFF-SITE at the Roosevelt II building at Saratoga Spa State Park *
Before independence was declared, America's greatest diplomat attempted his most ambitious mission: winning Canada for the Revolutionary cause. In spring 1776, Benjamin Franklin journeyed through the Saratoga region on his way north, hoping to make Canada the 14th colony. Town Historian Sean Kelleher explores why this mission failed, how it influenced the drafting of the Declaration of Independence just months later, and how Franklin transformed defeat into triumph.
From the muddy roads along the Hudson in Saratoga to the halls of Versailles, follow Franklin's remarkable evolution from rejected envoy to celebrated ambassador. Learn how his Canadian failure taught lessons that would prove invaluable in France, where his diplomatic genius secured the alliance that won American independence.
Sean Kelleher is Historian for the Town of Saratoga, New York, board member of the Saratoga County History Center, and is on the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and Saratoga 250th Commissions. He is an avid historical researcher, writer, preservation advocate, and living historian.
This program will be immediately followed by The Friends of Grant Cottage Annual Meeting
Light refreshments will be available.
ALL GRANT COTTAGE PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
