Benjamin Franklin

“The First American”

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most
important Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a leading author, politician,
scientist, inventor, civic activist and diplomat. As a scientist,
he was a major figure in the history of physics for his
discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As a political
writer and activist he, more than anyone, invented the idea of
an American nation. As a diplomat during the American
Revolution, he secured the alliance with France that helped to
defeat the British, and make independence possible. Many
historians call him the “First American”.

Left: Portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze,

1777

Franklin was famous for his curiosity, his writings, his inventions, and his diversity of
interests. As a leader of the Enlightenment, he gained the recognition of scientists
and intellectuals across Europe. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the iron
furnace stove, a carriage odometer and a unique musical instrument made of glass,
and known as the “armonica”. Franklin was fluent in five languages, but he was also
generally recognized as a polymath. He also played a major role in establishing the
University of Pennsylvania and Franklin and Marshall College. Quite expectedly, in
1769 he was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society, the
oldest learned society in the
United States.

Left: Autograph of Benjamin

Franklin

Right: An illustration from

Franklin’s scientific paper “On Water- spouts and
Whirlwinds”

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin learned printing

from his older brother, and became a newspaper
editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia,
becoming very wealthy. Benjamin began writing when he
was 15. His brother James started the New England Courant, the first truly
independent newspaper in the colonies. When, because of his young age, Benjamin
was rejected as an author for the newspaper, he invented the pseudonym of “Mrs.
Silence Dogood”. His letters published under that name were much spoken about
around town. He spent many years in England and published the Pennsylvania
Gazette and the famous Poor Richard’s Almanac (1733 - 1758) under the name
Richard Saunders there. “Poor Richard’s Proverbs” such as “A penny saved is
twopence dear” (often misquoted as “A penny saved is a penny earned”), “Fish and
visitors stink in three days” remain popular in the modern world.
Public life

As early as in 1736 Franklin created the Union Fire company, the first volunteer
firefighting organization in America. As he matured, Franklin became more
concerned about public affairs. He became involved in Philadelphia politics and
progressed rapidly. In October 1748 he was selected as a councilman, in June 1749
he became a Justice of Peace for Philadelphia, and in 1751 he was elected to the
Pennsylvania Assembly. Later he served as a deputy postmaster-general of North
America and reformed the postal system.

Left: This political cartoon by Franklin urged

the colonies to join together during the French
and Indian War (Seven Years’ war).

In 1763 the western frontier of the colonies

was engulfed in a war known as Pontiac’s
Rebellion. A group of settlers convinced that
the Pennsylvania government was not doing
enough to protect them from American Indian
raids murdered a group of peaceful Indians
and then marched on Philadelphia. Franklin helped to organize the local militia to
defend the capital against the mob. Then he met the rebellious settlers’ leaders and
persuaded them to disperse. That act cost him some electoral support and he lost
his seat in the Assembly. However, this defeat allowed him to return to London,
were he obtained a reputation of a pro-American radical. Franklin became a national
hero in America when he did his best to persuade the English Parliament to repeal
the Stamp Act (1764 – 1765), a law extremely unpopular in the colonies.

When he returned to Philadelphia on May 5, 1775, the American Revolution had

begun with fighting at Lexington and Concord. The New England militia had trapped
the main British army in Boston. The Revolutionary War had begun. The
Pennsylvania Assembly unanimously chose Franklin as their delegate to the Second
Continental Congress. In 1776 he was a member of the Committee of Five that
drafted the Declaration of Independence and made several small changes to
Thomas Jefferson’s initial draft.
 Above: “The Committee of Five present their work to the Congress” by
John Trumbull

They say that at the signing the Declaration Benjamin Franklin said: “We must all
hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

In December 1776, Franklin went to France as commissioner for the United States,
and stayed there until 1785 representing American interests in Europe. Upon his
return he was elected the President of Pennsylvania (a position very similar to that
of a Governor today). In this period of his life Franklin became an abolitionist,
freeing both of his slaves. Eventually he became president of the “Society for the
Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage”. In 1789 – 1790 he wrote several
essays, addressing the Congress, first of all, that attempted to convince the readers
of the importance of the abolition of slavery and of integration of Africans into
American society.

Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at age 84. His funeral was attended by
approximately 20,000 people. His body is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in
Philadelphia.

Above: To be portrayed on a US currency is a great honor for a person. Benjamin

Franklin’s image on a hundred-dollar bill.

Project work by Oksana Pakholyuk, Group 44-H, December 2007

(Under the supervision of O.Zabolotnyi)