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Benjamin Franklin essay
Benjamin franklins impact on the us
Benjamin Franklin essay
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Benjamin Franklin was an exceptional intellectual and gifted personality. He went from being a poor uneducated young boy into a very intelligent and wealthy man. This was through his self improvement and determination in life. Franklin was a diplomat, printer, scientist, political philosopher and a writer. Throughout Franklin’s life, he worked on his self improvement so that others would learn from it. He improved his characters by writing the thirteen virtues which helped him.
Benjamin Franklin was a genuine and a compassionate man who wanted to help others people. He wanted the world to learn from his own experience by allocating his knowledge. Through this, Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia library. Benjamin made a proposition to his friends that they pool together their respective books in a common place in order to facilitate convenience and use of all members. He argued that, by placing all the books in one place, all members would have an opportunity to access every book that is owned by their colleagues which his book club members agreed to it. Consequently, the members brought their books until an entire room was filled up with different types of books. Afterwards, Franklin organized for the setting up of a subscription library which was registered under North American Subscription libraries. This is how Franklin opened the Philadelphia library which helped him in gaining more knowledge especially his writing skills. In addition, the library also helped the local people as they were able to access various book on various subjects from the library.
Franklin did not behave well responsibly as a youth and so, he decided to change his life by embarking on a project he called moral perfection. During Franklin’s jou...
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... that his religious beliefs differed with those of colonial Christians.
In conclusion, Benjamin Franklin was a kindhearted man who never stopped helping others and improving himself. He did a lot for the nation which continues to be used up to now including establishing the Philadelphia public library. In addition, he was a motivating and modest man who valued every person in the society and never gave on anything he wanted to do despite the struggles. He grew from a young poor, uneducated boy to a well-formed, strong willed and a knowledgeable rich man. He believed in civilizing one self as a means to success and enlightening the society. He never stopped at anything but rather tried doing it by inspiring the other people and improving himself.
Works Cited
Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Rockville: Arc Manor LLC, 2008. Print.
There are many men in American History whose lives helped shape the future of not only this nation, but of the world and one man among them is Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin is known for his inventions, his philosophies, political influence in the American Revolution and his published writings, including his autobiography. Though he is an important man in history, there are some people who say that as a person, Franklin wasn’t someone to be admired. To determine if Franklin is worthy of admiration, many critics review his autobiography and through it, many aspects of his actions and his personality throughout different experiences in his life.
Benjamin Franklin has been without a doubt one of the most relevant individuals in US history. His autobiography gives us a brief but detailed summary of what his life was like and how society worked in the eighteen century. This autobiography gives us many details of how the colonies where and offers and an overall image of the development of British North America which later turned into the United States. Due to the fact that this book was originally written for Franklin's son, the book concentrates in personal information and has very little information about other topics. However, there are some topics that can be extracted from his writings; one of them is gender. Even though, Franklin never talks openly about gender, we can observe how in his writing these roles are clearly assigned. In this paper, we will analyze how Benjamin's Franklin autobiography showcases the importance of gender in the early eighteenth century. Gender can be analyzed in Franklins book by looking at different topics. This given to men and women by society can be seen in the workspace, in the education of each individual, and in the family and family structure.
Benjamin Franklin was a remarkably talented man. He started his life as a printers apprentice, but went much farther then there. He developed things that were far more advanced than the time. Benjamin Franklin's stove for example, for cold winter nights, and bifocal lenses for reading. Franklin tracked storms to help understand the horrible weather endured by the colonies. But gis study of electricity made him mist famous and he was known world wide as the founder of the lightning rod. Not only was Benjamin Franklin helpful in developing ideas for better living, he was also a strong force in developing the new nation of America. Benjamin Franklins political views showed him to be a man who loved freedom and independence. His views towards England gradually changed from like to dislike until he finally
First, He wrote about a library that he opened up. In the letter he tells us he opened this library in Pennsylvania around 1730. He opens this library because the book sellers weren’t that great. The book tells us the following, “At the time I establish’d my self in Pennsylvania, there was not a good Bookseller’s Shop in any of the Colonies to the Southward of Boston”(410). Franklin also tells us how if anyone wanted to read a book they would have to order their books from England. According to the book it says “This library afforded me the means of Improvement by constant study, For
...eek. These virtues include temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquillity, chastity, and humility. The Autobiography is not the full story of Franklin’s life. It terminates approximately in his fifty-third year, before he became America’s greatest diplomat.
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.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a representation of the new prospect of upward mobility in colonial America during the 18th century and the development of the Age of Reason, which assisted in the conception of the idea of the “American Dream”; a dream that includes fundamentally social ideals such as democracy, equality, and material prosperity. Furthermore, Franklin’s autobiography exemplifies a significant shift in focus from religion to enlightenment and reason. Additionally, there were forces specific to Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia, that played an important role in his perspectives and the changes that occurred within colonial America during the 18th century.
In The Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin recounts the many paramount experiences throughout his life that shaped him into great American figure he was known to be. On the opening page, Franklin reveals the book’s epistolary format by writing, “Dear Son,” going on to admit that he’s made some mistakes in the past and to recollect that past is a way to relive it. By divulging his desire to “change some sinister Accidents & Events” (Franklin 3) the author indicates how important it is for his son to observe as he amends his mistakes. Pride, virtue and vanity play a pivotal role in Benjamin Franklin’s life and the way he portrays himself to others. Instances occur where the author is shown gloating about his great accomplishments and he puts emphasis on his need to live a virtuous and morally perfect life. Throughout his story, Benjamin Franklin tells his son of his many virtuous acts and momentous achievements, motivating the question as to whether he seeks his own approval more so than the approval of his peers.
Benjamin Franklin is considered to be one of the most well-known Founding Fathers, as he helped in writing the Declaration of Independence and the very first Constitution of the United States. Who was he other than a man who fought for colonist’s rights however? Franklin was a brilliant inventor who created many innovating and life changing mechanisms, such as the world’s very first almanac, bifocals, and the lightning rod. He was also a major figure in the American Enlightenment, which restored art, science and music, spreading moral philosophy all across the colonies. Although he was never elected to the role of President of the United States, Franklin served in several other parts, such as the first postmaster general for the colonies in
Franklin also played the harp, violin, and guitar which expresses his great love for music and his love for learning. Benjamin cared that young people got a good education; he thought that "education today is leadership and success of tomorrow." He thought that it was important to have a love of reading and founded the first public library in America in 1731: the Philadelphia Library. In 1732, Franklin published Poor Richard's Almanac with the pen name 'Richard Saunders.' In 1749, he wrote Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania. In 1751, he established Philadelphia Academy, later known as Univer...
Benjamin Franklin was a very prominent figure in shaping our nation. Many people look at him as a role model or just as an amazing individual. He had his faults just like every human being had, and he shouldn’t be discredited because of a few minor glitches to his character. As being the only person that had signed The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Treaty of Paris, this immediately separates him from all others. One of the things that he wrote about in Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography and Other Writings, was trying to be the ideal person, and even made a list of virtues to live by. His virtues were very important to his lifestyle, and he followed them to a great extent.
Moral perfection. This was Benjamin Franklin’s way of living “..without committing any fault at any time” (Franklin, 63). Benjamin Franklin was very specific about the way he intended to live his life and the person he was aiming to become. Franklin seemed to believe that since he knew right and wrong, there was no reason not to always do right and avoid the other. This might have seemed like a crazy task, even impossible. However, Benjamin Franklin was determined to try to achieve this perfect lifestyle. In previous letters that Benjamin had received for encouragement to right and publish an autobiography, men had described him in many ways that made him worthy. Men used words such as your frugality, diligence, and temperance ( Benjamin
As a scientist, he experimented vastly with electricity. He invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, and bifocal glasses during his scientist career. As a writer, he wrote and published Poor Richard’s Almanac for several years. As a statesman, he served as a U.S. postmaster, minister to England and France, and a representative to the Continental Congress, where he assisted in the development of the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin was a multitalented individual whom I feel has contributed the greatest as a statesman.
Benjamin Franklin's moral and social philosophies inspired and continue to inspire millions around the globe. Becoming a "self-made man" is a long and arduous task. Improve yourself, which will in return improve the society. Contradiction is inevitable when trying to follow strict ideals. Franklin's purpose was to make people aware of their inclinations and to help them overcome the natural tendencies of man, which would limit our dependence on other people. Benjamin Franklin is an inspiration to us all.
Benjamin Franklin was a scholar and lexicographer, a representative of the American Enlightenment, ideologist of the national liberation movement. It should be noted that Franklin was one of the most active participants of the struggle of American people for independence. He condemned slavery and ardently defended the rights of American national minorities.