Franklin, a pragmatic persuader, would later serve as an ambassador to France to win its support for America’s war of independence. To play upon the French people’s romantic ideas about Americans, Franklin wore a coonskin cap around France.89 He would do anything to win support, even play a little dress-up. And he succeeded in soliciting French aid, which eventually helped win the war. To the extent that these four references are religious, they are the coonskin cap of the Declaration.
