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Franklin’s foresight helped ensure that the Mississippi River would become
part of the Northwest Territories. The control of the entire river corridor
was in dispute, with France and Spain both laying claim to parts of it. In 1780,
the Spanish government refused to make an alliance with America unless the Americans
gave control of the Mississippi River to Spain. Franklin was adamantly opposed
to giving up the Mississippi, saying that, "A neighbor might as well ask
me to sell my street door."
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copyright 2002 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.
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