As the United States nears its 250th birthday, it finds itself at a fork in the road regarding nuclear policy and spending. In the spirit of Benjamin Franklin—who once observed “there never was a good war or a bad peace”—this piece calls on Americans to embrace diplomacy and re-examine an ever-growing nuclear arsenal that already costs $119 billion a year.

Benjamin Franklin, the emblem of American ingenuity, is said to have vowed never to visit England. Yet, this account explores his first journey to London, highlighting both the irony and the thick tensions between colonial America and the British Empire.