Hey, I'll reply here now instead!
I'm also always interested in history and read a lot about it. But, well, I'm from Germany and so propably the interests shift in a slightly different direction. (Mostly 3rd Reich, of course, because as a German you are practically constantly reminded of that.)
Well, I didn't know that Franklin was such an important personality. I always thought of him as the "electricity!" guy, rather a scientist than a politician. But I suppose that this latest project of homarusrex and his class goes more in depth about him. (Oha, he was a freemason, too! - Wikipedia ftw.)
Yes, I suppose the eagle was the better choice after all. You wouldn't want to eat the country's symbol at thanksgiving... hehe