I was the Founding Father of the United States

Chapter 18 Academic Authority Benjamin Franklin

Time flies, and a month has passed quickly.

April 8st morning.

Providence City Hall Square was now filled with citizens drawn by "Dr. Robin's new spinning machine".

After more than 20 days of hard work, Chen Wenbin's Zhenna spinning machine has finally been successfully finalized, and today is the day for its public unveiling.

Governor Stephen Hopkins personally attended the event today, gathering a host of prominent figures from the Rhode Island colony, including Metcalf Bowler, the richest man in the colony; former Governor Samuel Ward; Joseph Vanton Jr., a Quaker leader from the Vanton family; and Aaron Lopez, from the Lopez family, the owners of Captain George Mills.

Thanks to the fame of allicin, Chen Wenbin, a renowned physician and inventor in Rhode Island and even throughout New England, invited some doctors and scientists from the New England region to participate in today's ceremony.

Among them were Dr. Zabdir Boyleston, a medical luminary in North America, who is 84 years old, and Dr. Edward Hollok and Dr. William Smibert, a medical doctor who had just graduated from the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

There was also Dr. Thomas Burfinch, who was promoting variolation to prevent smallpox in Boston, but which sparked public skepticism and forced him to temporarily step away from the limelight.

Of course, the most prominent figure among the celebrities present today is the 57-year-old bald, overweight man, Benjamin Franklin, who is having a private conversation with Chen Wenbin in an office at the city hall.

That's right, it's that mad scientist who used a kite to attract lightning, the former postmaster of Philadelphia, a Pennsylvania congressman, a Fellow of the Royal Society, who in the future used his silver tongue to trick the real Founding Father of the United States, Louis XVI, into emptying the national treasury to support the United States, and who was eventually printed on the $100 bill.

To be honest, Chen Wenbin himself did not expect that the articles and papers he sent to mainstream New England newspapers such as the Pennsylvania Gazette and the Boston Gazette would cause such a big reaction.

So much so that it attracted even a big name like Benjamin Franklin... After seeing the article "A Reasonable Conjecture on the Phenomena of Electricity and Magnetism" in the newspaper, he immediately took a boat here and arrived in Providence four days ago. Attending the unveiling ceremony of the Jenna Spinning Machine today was just a side event.

In addition, the doctors and scholars who came to Providence were all drawn by his papers.

For example, in the paper "Allicin: A substance that effectively treats whooping cough and dysentery and eliminates inflammation, and its simple extraction method," which has driven doctors into a frenzy, Chen Wenbin directly published the simple method for extracting allicin through several newspapers.

The medical community in New England was immediately abuzz after the paper was actually verified!

Although allicin has limited effectiveness in treating severe cases of whooping cough and dysentery, it can alleviate and treat the condition of some patients, making it a truly remarkable and effective medicine!

Based on this contribution alone, Chen Wenbin is worthy of being called the greatest doctor of this era!

As for "The Theory of Oxidation" and "Study on Oxygen in the Air," they also attracted the attention of many scholars. However, because Chen Wenbin had not yet published his experiments on mercury oxide and red phosphorus combustion, they had not yet caused a great stir.

However, Benjamin Franklin has witnessed two experiments in Chen Wenbin's laboratory in the past two days... Anyone with scientific literacy who sees these two experiments will understand the indisputable correctness of the oxidation theory!

This is a groundbreaking and epoch-making scientific breakthrough!

So this 57-year-old bald fat man, just like Pastor Jason, was earnestly persuading Chen Wenbin to focus his energy on scientific research instead of wasting time on socializing and business.

"...Dear Robin! I admit you need to get to know those people outside so your textile mill can get better service, but you don't need to care too much about them!"

Even if you ignore them, they won't dare to touch your property!

Because you are already the greatest doctor and the most brilliant scientist in the entire North American colony, no! In the entire world!

With the full support of Peter, me, and Dr. Boyleston, and more importantly, with your brilliant papers, you will definitely become a Fellow of the Royal Society next year! At least in medicine, you are a hundred times better than those quacks in the Royal Society of Medicine!

The French will certainly extend an olive branch to you, hoping you can become a member of the French Royal Academy of Sciences!

Kings and dukes would certainly not object to this; on the contrary, they would be honored to have you in their homes! Especially since you are a great doctor who may very well save their lives in the future!

Do you understand it?

We true scientists are, in effect, uncrowned kings! Unless someone commits a crime like murder, no one can harm a great scientist! Nor will anyone covet his property!

This is the social standing and influence that Sir Isaac Newton and the Enlightenment thinkers of Europe worked so hard to create for us!

The bald, fat man spoke with such conviction and self-righteousness, as if this were the truth of European and North American society!

Well, at least in Western Europe and the North American colonies, what Franklin said seems to be true. It is the height of the European Enlightenment, and the spirit of science and reason has gradually taken root in people's hearts and begun to become a consensus among the nobility and elites.

Scientists' status naturally rose as well. They no longer needed to be directly dependent on kings and nobles as they were during the Renaissance. Scientists could even participate in politics. Isn't this bald, fat man right in front of us the most obvious example?

That experiment of using a kite to attract lightning earned the fat man immense fame, which smoothly led to his election as a congressman. He later moved among the aristocratic and academic circles of Britain and France, and ultimately contributed to the independence of the United States.

This is the status of scientists in Europe!

They were on par with, or even higher than, the great Confucian scholars of the East, because the great Confucian scholars of the East could only be loyal to one emperor, and their image would collapse if they betrayed their master, while European scientists could travel around the world and were welcomed wherever they went.

Thinking about it this way, being a scientist in Europe is indeed quite enjoyable. If you have both money and a title, and become a pioneer and academic authority like Newton, that would be even more awesome!

But Chen Wenbin wasn't stupid. Unlike Franklin, he wasn't a white man. The threat of survival always loomed over him, and he simply couldn't settle down to be a scientist.

Moreover, he did not want to contribute too much to the West, lest he become a sinner against China.

Faced with Franklin's persuasion, he simply shook his head and said frankly with a smile, "Benjamin, my friend, to be honest, I prefer to trust the wealth in my own hands rather than the reputation of an uncrowned king. It makes me feel more secure. And spending time befriending Governor Hopkins and his ilk will reduce a lot of resistance to my factory."

More importantly, with the funds from running a business, I can conduct more experiments, try to create more new inventions, expand the school, and enroll more students. Isn't that a better option?

Did you know? My maid Mary is actually a very smart girl. She mastered a lot of words and mathematical calculation methods in just three weeks.

However, due to poverty, she had no opportunity to receive an education in Ireland. If she hadn't been sold to the New World by a local lord, she might never have had access to such knowledge in her entire life!

So...you see!

He stood up, went to the window, and pointed to the square outside.

The crowd watching the spectacle was gathered around a Jenna spinning machine, and the person operating it to spin yarn quickly was Mary, who had changed into a simple white dress.

At this moment, a proud smile spread across her face, as if she were explaining something to the onlookers.

Watching this scene, Chen Wenbin earnestly said to the bald, fat man:

"Look! With money, I can change the fate of many, many Marys!"

This makes me feel very accomplished!

In my opinion, knowledge should not be expensive!

Education should not have any barriers!

I can't bear the thought that so many geniuses, for various reasons, have not received an education and will never be able to shine!

Can you understand that feeling?

There are many, perhaps hundreds or even thousands, geniuses who could discuss electromagnetism with us, but they have been overlooked!

They might be farmers, sailors, or even in prison now—they're definitely not studying science!

And now, we are the only two people in the world here, all alone, discussing electromagnetism…

At this moment, Chen Wenbin's upgraded brain was working at full capacity, and coupled with the infectiousness he had been deliberately practicing in social situations recently, he pushed his acting skills to the limit.

It was as if he truly was a great scientist with a heart for all living beings!

Even Benjamin Franklin, a seasoned veteran, was momentarily stunned, his gaze fixed on the handsome young man beside him whose eyes were exceptionally firm and seemed to radiate light.

Do saintly people really exist in the world?

Franklin couldn't help but think about it, but his extensive experience told him that saints did not exist.

But Chen Wenbin is indeed putting his ideas into practice in Providence—

Two weeks ago, Providence Science School was established. Chen Wenbin directly donated £100 to purchase land and build classrooms, and prioritized recruiting talented children from poor families and orphans as students.

This school doesn't charge any tuition fees and even provides students with free lunches. All students need to do is work for Robin's company for ten years after graduation.

This school-company partnership model was more relaxed than the apprenticeship system of guilds in Britain, and it did not require the high tuition fees of universities. Moreover, it directly solved the problem of students' employment. In Franklin's view, this was almost a perfect education system.

If Britain and its North American colonies could fully implement this education system, it would undoubtedly produce thousands of scientific talents in Britain... However, he also knew that this was unrealistic.

Firstly, Britain does not need that many scholars and scientists because society cannot provide that many jobs that require scholars and scientists.

Secondly, the nobles and wealthy people who control wealth and knowledge do not want anyone to break their monopoly on knowledge.

Finally, British companies were either large, monopolistic trading companies like the East India Company, or numerous, but financially constrained, small and medium-sized workshops.

The former has local universities and colleges to supply various talents, while the latter only wants to minimize costs and make profits, and is unlikely to waste money on investing in education.

Making money through business and then investing in education... Perhaps only a true dreamer who wants to discover more geniuses would do something like this?

Thinking about all this, Franklin gave up guessing Chen Wenbin's true thoughts, shook his head and said, "Your idea is good, but one person's strength is limited. You can't guarantee commercial success forever; you need more support... Just like I said yesterday, you should come to England with me!"

Only in Britain can you recruit enough skilled artisans, secure greater investment, and obtain cheaper labor. Furthermore, if you wish to become a Fellow of the Royal Society, you should ideally visit London at least once.

The reason he rushed to Providence to meet Chen Wenbin was not only because of Chen Wenbin's amazing scientific achievements, but also because he wanted to invite him to go to England to prove to London that the North American colonies had flourished and that Britain could no longer ignore the wishes and interests of the colony people!

Before returning to Boston last year, he had sensed the urgency in Britain that Downing Street and Parliament were working to improve the financial situation.

So how exactly can we make up for the huge financial hole left by the Seven Years' War?

Taxing the East India Company?

impossible!

The East India Company's main shareholders were London nobles and members of parliament, as well as the royal family, who could not possibly give up their own interests.

Should taxes be increased on emerging domestic businesspeople?

That's something to consider, but which of these businessmen doesn't have shareholders from London behind them? And if taxes are increased, won't these businessmen flee the UK and go to other countries?

Therefore, the North American colonies became the first choice for the cabinet and parliament to consider raising taxes.

This choice is easy to understand. First of all, one of the main achievements of the Seven Years' War was the vast land west of the Appalachian Mountains in North America. No matter how much benefit these lands can bring now, since the North American colonies have acquired the land, they must bear part of the cost of the war!

Secondly, the North American colonies had no representation in the British Parliament. In that case, why bother considering the colonies' opinions? Why not just raise taxes directly?

As a colonial elite born in Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin could not ignore this situation, which is why he decided to petition the King and Parliament in England again—six years ago he had petitioned in London because of the Payne family’s wanton behavior in Pennsylvania, and now he wanted to do it again.