Benjamin Franklin and Heinrich Zschokke

Authors

Donald H. Crosby

Keywords

colonial history, the Revolution, Napoleonic era, Helvetic Republic, Switzerland

Abstract

History has not seen fit to couple the names of Benjamin Franklin and Heinrich Zschokke. To attempt to do so at this 1ate date, then, may well suggest dilettantism or even charlatanry. What can be said in defense of what might seem to be a whimsical coupling, one which flies in the face of time-tested historical judgment? To proceed logically: one begins, as an American, with a study of colonial history before, during, and after the Revolution, where one very quickly encounters the towering figure of Benjamin Franklin. Then, as a student of Swiss history and culture, one turns to the history of Switzerland during the turbulent Napoleonic era, a time which saw Switzerland being torn between allegiance to Hapsburg Austria and Napoleon's Helvetic Republic; here one finds, looming large, the no less towering figure of Heinrich Zschokke.

Recommended Citation

Crosby, Donald H. (1994) "Benjamin Franklin and Heinrich Zschokke," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 30: No. 3, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol30/iss3/4