Uncover the Top Secret World of Benjamin Franklin at the National Constitution Center
March 6, 2006
Philadelphia, PA (March 6, 2006) – Nathan Miller wrote in his book Spying for America that behind Benjamin Franklin’s benevolent façade “lurked a master of intrigue.” Though not widely known, Benjamin Franklin was essential in establishing an intelligence network for the United States during the Revolutionary War, as a founder of the Committee on Secret Correspondence and when he served as U.S. Ambassador to France. On Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 6:30 p.m., the National Constitution Center will sneak into the top secret world of Franklin the spy in Secret Agent Benjamin Franklin, a program in partnership with the International Spy Museum of Washington, D.C. and the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). Tickets for this event are free, but reservations are required and can be made by calling 215.409.6700.
Franklin was known by the code number 72 and to the British intelligence service as “Moses.” His Ambassadorial residence in the suburban Paris village of Passy was believed to be the nation’s first intelligence “station.” More intriguing facts about Franklin’s secret agent role will be uncovered during this program by special guests James Srodes, a nationally respected expert on intelligence gathering; Thomas B. Allen, the author of two books on espionage in America; and Peter Earnest, Executive Director of the International Spy Museum.
James Srodes is the author of a new book, Franklin: The Essential Founding Father, a selection of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s One Book, One Philadelphia program that focuses on Franklin’s espionage career. Srodes also authored a biography on Allen Dulles, head of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Eisenhower, Allen Dulles: Master of Spies.
Thomas B. Allen is the author of George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War and Spybook: The Encyclopedia of Espionage. The New York Public Library selected George Washington, Spymaster as one of the best children's books of 2004. Spybook, co-authored with Norman Polmar, is the principal source book for the International Spy Museum.
Peter Earnest, Executive Director of the International Spy Museum, will moderate the event. He is a former intelligence operations officer whose thirty-six year CIA career included over twenty years in the Agency's Clandestine Service. A member of the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service, he was awarded the Agency's Intelligence Medal of Merit for "superior performance" throughout his career.
This program is part of the National Constitution Center’s Benjamin Franklin Legacy Series. Secret Agent Benjamin Franklin will also take place at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. on April 5, 2006.
Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, a blockbuster exhibition celebrating Franklin’s 300th birthday, makes its world premiere at the National Constitution Center from December 15, 2005, through April 30, 2006. Created by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary, this exhibition is being hosted locally by CBS 3. Tickets for the exhibition, which also include regular museum admission, are $14 for adults; $12 for children ages 4-12, seniors, and college students; and $8.50 for groups of 20 or more. For advance tickets, call 215.409.6700 or visit www.gophila.com/ben.
The National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch St. on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the ideas and values it represents. Opened on July 4, 2003, the Constitution Center is a museum, an education center, and a forum for debate on constitutional issues. The museum dramatically tells the story of the Constitution from Revolutionary times to the present through more than 100 interactive, multimedia exhibits, film, photographs, text, sculpture and artifacts, and features a powerful, award-winning theatrical performance, “Freedom Rising”. The Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, which serves as the hub for national constitutional education and debates, and is a partner of NPR’s “Justice Talking,” a program of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. Also, serving as a nonpartisan forum for constitutional discourse, the Center presents – without endorsement – programs that contain diverse viewpoints on a broad range of issues. For more information, call 215.409.6600 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org. |
