How Did Benjamin Franklin Influence Society

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He stood before five kings in his lifetime (benjamin-franklin-history.org). As a pioneer in the sport of swimming, he was posthumously inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ishof.org). He served as the first American ambassador to a foreign country (benjamin-franklin-history.org). Although these may seem like random facts about different people, they are all things one person has accomplished. Only the varied, eclectic personality of Benjamin Franklin could have achieved so much in one lifetime. Just as the Enlightenment influenced him, he influenced American society through his inventions and public service. His legacy is still felt today. Benjamin Franklin was a product of his time, meaning the culture and society around …show more content…

For example, He founded the first formally organized all volunteer fire department. Called the Union Fire Company, it protected all of Philadelphia rather than only its members, a feature that set it apart from previous volunteer fire companies (Benjamin-franklin-history.org). Later in life, he founded the first American hospital along with Dr. Thomas Bond. By 1750, the population of Philadelphia had grown to 15,000 people, most of who were without accessible or organized healthcare. Dr. Bond saw the need and approached his friend Benjamin Franklin to help raise funds for the new hospital, to which Franklin agreed (benjamin-franklin-history.org). In addition to the new hospital, he also established the first lending library. In early Philadelphia, books were valuable commodities because one had to travel to Boston or New York to purchase them. Franklin’s goal in starting a lending library was to benefit common folk who would not typically have access to books. It started with fifty subscribers who paid a membership fee of forty shillings and an annual fee of ten shillings, which contributed to the purchase of new books to increase the library’s collection. (Concluding sentence

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