Benjamin Franklin: Pivotal Player in American History

Benjamin Franklin was a very significant figure during the American Revolution. His success as an inventor, scientist, printer, and politician made him a very famous and successful man during these times. His involvement in the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States always is an important part in US history. Simply put, we could not be here if Benjamin Franklin didn’t exist.

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston to father, Josiah Franklin and mother Abiah Folger. Josiah had seven children with his first wife, Anne child, and ten with his second wife, Abiah Folger. Benjamin was his 15th child and youngest son. Ben formally went to school at Boston Latin School and

learned how to read, till 10 years old his father took him out to work fully in his candle and soap shop. At 12, he was sent to his Brother James’ print shop to work there. James frequently beat and was harsh towards Ben. Ben published a pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, and the letters pleased readers of his brother’s paper, The New England Courant. Growing tired of his brothers harsh behavior toward him, Ben fled Boston to New York, but then settled in Philadelphia, his future home for the rest of his life.
In Philadelphia, Governor William Keith encouraged Ben to set up his own print shop. Ben left for London in 1724 to supplies for his printing shop. When he arrived in England he was disappointed because it was not what he expected, but he took advantage of the cities attractions. He returned to Philadelphia in 1726, and varied jobs between bookkeeper, shopkeeper and currency cutter. Until 1728 when he partnered with a friend to open his own print shop in Philadelphia, 2 years later, he was named the official printer of Pennsylvania. He helped to establish America’s first library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, in 1731.
After having financial success selling pamphlet’s, he purchased The Pennsylvania Gazette, he transformed the struggling newspaper into the most successful newspapers in the colonies. He married Deborah Read in 1730. They took in a son “William” out of wedlock. Deborah gave birth to a son named Francis in 1732, but then died four years later of smallpox. They had a daughter named Sarah born in 1743.
Franklin’s prominence as a citizen grew in the 1730’s.

He published Poor Richard’s Almanac at the end of 1732, which was a huge success. The almanac contained weather, poetry, advice, recipes, astronomical information, and much more; he continued to publish it for 25 years. He organized the Union Fire Company to protect against dangerous fire hazards. He also innovated with the invention of the Franklin stove, which was a stove that provided more heat with less fuel. “By 1748, the 42-year-old Ben had become one of the richest men in Pennsylvania. He turned his business over to a partner to give him more time to conduct scientific experiments.” (Paragraph 12) He moved into a new house and acquired slaves to work around the house, but his views on slavery evolved to where he considered it evil, and then freed his slaves in the 1760s. He joined the Pennsylvania militia at age 42. His interest in electricity grew and he began experimenting on electricity. He conducted experiments and recorded them into a book called “Experiments and Observations on Electricity.” He is most famous for his kite-key experiment in 1752 to prove there was electricity in light. He is also credited to the invention of bifocal glasses, the rocking chair, and the American penny. “His self-education earned him honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, England’s Oxford University and Scotland’s University of St. Andrews in

Scotland.”

Franklin became a member of Philadelphia’s city council in 1748.

He worked his way up to becoming the deputy postmaster general of North America. In 1754, when the French and Indian war began, he called the colonies to come together for defense. He made an illustration of a snake divided into sections, saying “Join or die” meaning if the colonies don’t join together they will die. At the “Albany Congress”, Franklin represented Pennsylvania; he proposed the colonies unify to form a government, but this idea failed to be ratified by the colonies. In 1757 Franklin sailed to London to resolve long-standing conflicts with the holders of the Pennsylvania colony, the Penn family. He would not return until 1762, when he toured the colonies inspecting the post offices. He then returned to London again in 1764, but Franklin would not return home before his wife passed away in 1774. But in London, he arrived at a tense time in the relations between Britain and the colonies. In March 1765 the Parliament passed the stamp act, taxing all major printed documents in the colonies. Since Franklin was highly involved with stamps at his job, people in the colonies thought he supported it, and rioted and threatened his house. Franklin posted a pamphlet “Causes of the American Discontents before 1768”, explaining why the Americans were not content with the British Government. He sent them to the Massachusetts Governor, Thomas Hutchinson, which called for the restriction of rights of the

colonists. They were posted in Boston newspapers, which caused uproar in the citizens; this lead to Franklin being removed as deputy postmaster general, “and returned to North America in 1775 as a devotee of the patriot cause”. On his return across the Atlantic, he was interested on why the westbound trip took longer, which led to the discovery of the Gulf Stream. “The Gulf Stream cuts off two weeks of the previous sailing times from Europe to North America.”

In 1775, Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and appointed the first postmaster general for the colonies. In 1776, he was one of the five men to draft the Declaration of Independence. Franklin’s son, William, was a loyalist and was imprisoned; on Franklin’s behalf of being a Patriot he decided to not get involved. Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence; he then sailed over to France to negotiate a treaty for France’s support. Franklin’s years in Paris were spent well. Living a life of royalty and becoming the first US ambassador to France. He was highly respected in France for his involvement in the scientific community and a politician from a foreign country. He spent almost a decade in France before returning in 1785. “He was elected in 1787 to represent Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention, which drafted and ratified the new U.S. Constitution.” He served as the President for the “Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.” In 1790, he petitioned the U.S. Congress to end slavery.
On April 17, 1790 Benjamin Franklin passed away in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He gave most of his money to his 24 year-old daughter Sarah and some to William, but he also donated money toward schools and museums Ben Franklin still holds his place in America such as being on the hundred dollar bill, founding universities and libraries, several inventions and organization, drafting and signing the Declaration of Independence, printing, electricity, etc., “which is no doubt why he is called the “First American”.”