> on a few occasions he did use offensive language about Jews in his private correspondence, though this language does not come close to the antisemitic vitriol he ostensibly publicly uttered in the “Prophecy.” Franklin, who also owned slaves and featured slaves for sale in his newspaper prior to becoming an abolitionist, was not at all times free of prejudice.
So if you have doubt about his antisemitism, have no doubt about his slave-holding. The next line in the article is quite good, too:
>In much of today’s popular culture, there often seems to be room only for saints or villains. Franklin was neither.
BTW I'm glad there's doubt about Franklin's anti-semitism. That one in particular always made me particularly sad, for some reason.