The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Cloverleaf Local
The Autobiography of Benjamin
Franklin
? Lived: 1706-1790
? Franklin only had two years of
formal education, yet is
considered one of the greatest
people of the Age of Reason
and one of America¡¯s greatest
founders.
? Career & Achievements:
? Printer and Publisher of several
newspapers & Poor Richard¡¯s
Almanac.
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin contd.
? 1726: Founds the ¡®Junto¡¯ which becomes the
American Philosophical Society
? 1731: founded 1st public library in America
? 1744: Invented the Franklin stove and better ways
to pave streets.
1747: Began his experiments to prove that lightning
was an electric phenomena. In 1752 he conducted
the ¡°kite¡± experiment and created the lightning
rod.
Franklin¡¯s Political Career
? In addition to his literary and scientific exploits,
Franklin was a prolific politician
? 1748-1764: Pennsylvania Colonial Legislature
? 1754: Proposed the Albany Plan to build unity
among the American Colonies.
? 1757-1763: American ambassador to Britain
? 1775: Franklin chooses the colonial side in the
American Revolution and becomes a member of
the Continental Congress. Upon signing the
Declaration of Independence he remarked, ¡°We
must hang together or assuredly we shall all hang
separately.¡±
Franklin¡¯s Political Career contd.
? 1775-1778: Ambassador to France. Brought
France into the war on the American side
breathing life into a then losing war and
Revolution. Secured French armies, navies,
supplies, and officers.
? 1787: Delegate and ¡°wise old man¡± to the
Constitutional Convention.
? 1790: Created the American Abolition Society.
Concepts from The Autobiography of Benjamin
Franklin
? Major Themes in Franklin's Writing
1. Interest in the individual and society; the creation of
an American national identity.
2. Tension between aristocracy and democracy; the
awareness of America as distinct in values and
interests from those of England.
3. Tension between appearance and reality; shift from an
other worldly to a this worldly viewpoint.
4. Tension between romantic idealism and pragmatic
rationalism; theory should be tested primarily by
experience not logic; reason should be tested
pragmatically.
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