Benjamin Franklin was called on to answer questions about the American colonists’ opposition to the Stamp Act… Franklin answered the sheep questions as best as he could, although he clearly was out of his realm, as some of his replies were noncommittal. But when asked the very general question, “Can [the people] possibly find enough wool in North America?” Franklin confidently asserted that they could:

“They have taken steps to increase the wool. They entered into general combinations to eat no more lamb, and very few lambs were killed last year. This course persisted in, will soon make a prodigious difference in the quantity of wool. And the establishing of great manufactories, like those in the clothing towns here, is not necessary, as it is where the business is to be carried on for the purposes of trade. The people will all spin, and work for themselves, in their own houses.”

https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/03/republic-wool-founding-era-americans-grand-plans-sheep/