"The Speech of Polly Baker" (1747) is the fictional story of a woman put on trial in 1747 for having an illegitimate child. She had been convicted five times in the past for this same crime. Each time, she said, the full blame was placed on her shoulders but not the father's. In later versions, the story ends as she is set free and marries one of the magistrates in charge of her trial. This story was actually written by Benjamin Franklin as a protest to the unfairness of the early judicial system charging women for having illegitimate children while not charging the fathers, although he did not disclose this until decades later; therefore Polly Baker is one of Franklin's many aliases. Franklin himself had an illegitimate son named William Franklin. See Illegitimacy in fiction. The Speech of Polly Baker Preface The speech of Polly Baker, before a Court of Judicature, at Connecticut near Boston in New England; where she was prosecuted the Fifth Time, for having a Bastard Child: Which influenced the Court to dispense with her Punishment, and induced one of her Judges to marry her the next day. Polly Baker's speech May it please the Honourable Bench to indulge me a few Words: I am a poor unhappy Woman; who have no Money to Fee Lawyers to plead for me, being hard put to it to get a tolerable Living. I shall not trouble your Honours with long Speeches; for I have not the presumption to expect, that you may, by any Means, be prevailed on to deviate in your Sentence from the Law, in my Favour. All I humbly hope is, that your Honours would charitably move the Governor’s Goodness on my Behalf, that my Fine may be remitted. This is the Fifth Time, Gentlemen, that I have been dragg’d before your Courts on the same Account; twice I have paid heavy Fines, and twice have been brought to public Punishment, for want of Money to pay those Fines. This may have been agreeable to the Laws; I do not dispute it: But since Laws are sometimes unreasonable in themselves, and therefore repealed; and others bear too hard on the Subject in particular Circumstances; and therefore there is left a Power somewhere to dispense with the Execution of them; I take the Liberty to say, that I think this Law, by which I am punished, is