Benjamin Franklin's Alter Egos Gave Him the Most Freedom

Benjamin Franklin created dozens of pen names—starting with teenage widow Silence Dogood—to bypass his brother’s publishing embargo and critique society, later using personas such as Polly Baker, Richard Saunders of Poor Richard’s Almanack, and Americanus to mock authority and promote reform. In London he wrote as Benevolus, defending colonial interests against British parliamentary arguments, demonstrating how his alter egos granted him unparalleled freedom to influence public opinion.