Smithsonian Exhibit on Benjamin Franklin Sparks Controversy

An exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, titled "The Electric Dr. Franklin," which detailed Benjamin Franklin's pioneering contributions to electrical science, has become a focal point for controversy. A key aspect highlighted was Franklin's past ownership of enslaved people and its potential role in his scientific endeavors.

The exhibition stated that prior to becoming an abolitionist, Franklin had enslaved individuals in his household. "Benjamin Franklin’s remarkable scientific accomplishments were, in part, enabled by slavery," the exhibit declared. It further speculated that Franklin might have utilized enslaved people in his electrical research, though acknowledging uncertainty about this specific connection.

This historical interpretation, suggesting one of the Founding Fathers may have subjected individuals to potentially painful experiments against their will, was among the details singled out for criticism in a White House report. The report accused the museum of "ideological capture" and shifting its mission towards political activism.

The "The Electric Dr. Franklin" exhibit closed in 2025, but its content remains accessible online. The White House report argued that the museum had deviated from its mission of straightforward historical education and scholarship toward an extreme political activism aimed at transforming the country.