#251 Ben Franklin and George Washington: The Founding Partnership

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets, they're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high, so I will have at least four shots of espresso, or four energy drinks before or during the show, so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today, and I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. At the time, Franklin and Washington were two of the most admired individuals in the United States and the most famous Americans in the world. Their final letters to each other represented a fitting end to a three-decade-long partnership that more than any other pairing would forge the American nation. Their relationship began during the French and Indian War when Franklin supplied the wagons for British General Braddock's ill-fated assault on Fort Duquesne. And Washington buried that general's body under the dirt road traveled by those retreating wagons.
Both had warned Braddock against this attack.
Their friendship continued through the American Revolution, the Constitutional Convention, and the establishment of the new federal government. Perhaps because of the differences in their background, age, manner, and public image, their relationship was not widely commented on then, and it remains little discussed today. But it existed and helped to shape the course of American history. Both men have been called the first American, but they were friends first and never rivals.
Their relationship gained historical significance during the American Revolution when Franklin led American's diplomatic mission in Europe and Washington commanded the Continental Army. Victory required both of these efforts to succeed, and their success required coordination and cooperation. Their successful collaboration during the Revolution helped to found a nation and propel a global experiment.
Leadership at this level is a rare quality and well worth study. That was an excerpt from the book I'm going to talk to you about today, which is Franklin & Washington, The Founding Partnership, and it was written by Edward J. Larson. I was not expecting to do this book. It's actually walking through a book story the other day, and the cover caught my eye. And I have done several podcasts on Ben Franklin. I did his autobiography back on Founders No. 62, and then Isaacson's fantastic biography of Franklin back on Founders 115 And even though I've read those two books on Franklin, I never thought about the partnership that he had with George Washington.
So this book is a dual biography, focuses on the 30-year friendship that Franklin & Washington had and how their lives intersected around three historical events, which is the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and then the creation and the founding of a brand new government and nation. So I want to jump right into the beginning. The author is going to give us a brief overview of Franklin, a brief overview of George Washington's life. And the reason Benjamin Franklin is, in my opinion, extremely important to study, and I plan on continuing to read as many books on him as I can find, is because I think he's the single most influential American entrepreneur to ever live. If you factor in how many people were inspired by his life story, and then they in turn lived lives so remarkable that other people wrote books about them, and that inspiration continued to be passed down to generation after generation, I think you could tie this all the way back to him.
And so the author sets this up nicely for us by saying, by then Franklin was 50, talking about when he first met George Washington. George Washington is going to be, Franklin, I think, was 48 Washington was around 21, 22 years old. By then Franklin was 50, and one of the most widely known and respected people in the Western world. Washington was less than half of Franklin's age, but already held a regional reputation for military prowess. Neither man was born to power or influence. Both had earned it.