Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin could be considered an important influence for the French Revolution, in particuarly his impact on the Enlightenment Era. An inventor and figure of new, radical and "revolutionary" ideas, Franklin provided the French nation hope for equality of all citizens regardless of privileged order and status among the hierarchy of Estates, thus a new voice for the once oppressed Third Estate. With an alliance created with America during the "American War of Independence", the French society began to use these this enlightened leaders to shape their own ideas, questioning their own thoughts on the absolute divine monarchy, creating a common constitution and and abolishing the privileges available to the First and Second Estates. With these radical thoughts and motives, the French nation began a revolution to move their society towards equality and fairness for all people.

The writer would like to thank her VCE History Revolutions teacher (HAMMO) her invaluable information and advice on the topic.

Benjamin Franklin was a example of social mobility by being that he was once a poor person and over the years he began working his way up the social class and through that he established the idea that if you work hard for what you want instead of being born into a wealthy lifestyle you will be successful this is the ideology of individualism.

Benjamin Franklin discovered the effects of electricity when he flew his kite during a storm in 1752. While flying his kite lightning struck the kite.

Benjamin Franklin did not encourage abolition in the U.S. Constitution. He did, however, become very active in Pennsylvania's anti-slavery societies.

He improved it so it could burn brightly all night long.

Beyond being a Founding Father, be invented the lightning rod and the Franklin Stove and created a lending library and a fire station. He also aided various religious organizations as he believed them all to help the community. His Philadelphia Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack were widely popular and trusted.

WORKMEN have dug up the remains of ten bodies hidden beneath the former London home of Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of American independence.

The remains of four adults and six children were discovered during the £1.9 million restoration of Franklin's home at 36 Craven Street, close to Trafalgar Square. Researchers believe that there could be more bodies buried beneath the basement kitchens.

Since his brother wouldn't let him write in the newspaper he sent a series of letters.

his knowledge ,and the ability to invent for a better society

yes,people now call it the Franklin stove it uses less gas

Ben Franklins wife was Deborah Read Rogers.

he thinks it will help him accomplish his goals better

By all accounts, Benjamin Franklin was an exceptionally fair and honest man. That would lead us to conclude that his handling of his slaves was no different. That he changed his views of the negro race later in life and became an active proponent for abolition and education of freed slaves also indicates his character in this regard. Having endured indentured servitude himself, Franklin likely had great empathy for those forced into slavery.

Ben Franklin's autobiography is available free of charge for the Kindle/iPhone/iPad from Amazon.com. It is an excellent source of information about Franklin, though it doesn't mention his ownership of slaves.

See link below for more information.

Yes!
He wrote an entire essay about putting something in our food to make farts inoffensive!
It's really funny and clever.

It is called To the Royal Academy of Farting.

"My Prize Question therefore should be, To discover some Drug wholesome & not disagreable, to be mixed with our common Food, or Sauces, that shall render the natural Discharges of Wind from our Bodies, not only inoffensive, but agreable as Perfumes."
- Benjamin Franklin



http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=470

The first postage stamp was issued by Great Britain on 1 May 1840. {| |- | It was referred to as the One Penny Black. It was issued in 1840 and depicted Queen Victoria. |}

Benjamin Franklin's achievements in a short sweet answer.

He invented bifocals in 1784, the odometer in 1745, the Franklin stove in 1742, and the lightning rod in 1750, discovered electricity, and founded the first fire-fighting company in 1736. As well as published several books and founded several businesses.

Benjamin Franklin began his postal career as postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737 under the British Parliamentary Post. By 1753 he had been promoted as one of two Deputy Postmasters of North America along with William Hunter. Franklin and Hunter could not do anything to lower the cost of postage, but they did greatly streamline the system in hopes of discouraging people to send their letters out of the mails. Under Franklin and Hunter, the Parliamentary Post became profitable.

the meeting house of the Quakers

he found out that lighting is electricity by taking a kite and attaching in to a metal pole

As to the document bearing that title, yes. As to the proclamation by which the Second Continental Congress actually purported to declaring independence from Great Britain, the Lee Resolution of July 2, 1776, no. Also I try to hard to answer a question....

Then again, the document held in the National Archives is not the document approved on July 4. The word "unanimous" in the title was not added until after the New York delegation finally cast its affirmative vote on July 9. Actually, the title wasn't changed until Congress ordered the modification of July 19. The Dunlap Broadsides had been in circulation by July 5 - one of them having been sent to London. They were never signed. The original sent by the Congress to Timothy Matlock to be engrossed was either lost or destroyed. The engrossed copy was returned on August 2. There was no signing ceremony and it took almost a year to get "all" the signatures. The Congress had ordered that all members present for the vote were to sign. However, several of those members who had voted against the document and the concept of independence (don't forget, only about 20% of the colonial population favored independence in 1776 on only about 1/3 supported the cause at it's peak - excluding the Canadian and Caribbean colonies, of course, who flat out refused the invitation to join the insurrection) had been removed and replace. The lovers of liberty didn't tolerate dissention within their ranks. Those removed were never granted the invitation to sign (not that they would have availed themselves of the opportunity had it been offered). To be fair, others who had nothing whatsoever to do with either the Lee Resolution or the Declaration were allowed to sign. Robert R. Livingston, one of the Committee of Five who wrote the draft that was sent to the Congress for final editing and revision, never did sign. At the time, he didn't support a move for independence. John Dickinson also refused to sign for the same reason. The reason that the document (or, for that matter, the concept of separation and independence) was never put to "We the People" for popular vote was that it would have been resoundingly defeated. Loyal colonials in 1776 outnumbered the rebels by at least 2 to 1, and there were at least as many 'neutrals' as there were rebels. It was not a popular cause. When the Goddard Broadside was printed in January, 1777, some signatures were still missing.

In any case, the document was meaningless as a matter of law or political consequence. Independence achieved only when it was granted by the British in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. At that time, thirteen new nations were created in North America. The independence of those nations was never surrendered by them when they formed alliances under the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution of the United States. In 1865, it was determined by war that the federal government had become the very monster that the Founding Fathers and Framers of the Constitution feared and had tried to prevent. Then, and only then, was it understood universally that the United States of America was a single entity composed of subservient states, rather than an alliance of co-equal independent nation-states united for their general good and who had delegated limited aspects of their autonomy to a central government for very limited purposes which affected them all and over which uniformity of legislation was deemed necessary and appropriate.

The actual history is far more interesting than such mundane issues as who signed what, especially when that which was signed (like the Declaration of Independence) was so very meaningless at the time.

He "helped" write it and he was one of the last to sign it.

january 6 1888

No, Benjamin Franklin did not invent money. Money existed many centuries before Benjamin Franklin lived. You can read in the Old Testament of the Bible about Abraham using money in 2,000 B.C. That was 4,000 years ago. However, Benjamin Franklin invented a number of different things such as bifocals and the Franklin stove and profited from his inventions. When he died, either he or George Washington was the richest man in the United States.

The quote is an analogy that means that Democracy alone is simply Majority Rule (whatever the most people decide, is what the government does); which is basically unfair to any minorities. True freedom comes from the ability of a minority to protect itself from the "wolves" of Democratic government and the majority. For example, American slavery until the Civil War was Democracy in action, because the majority of Americans supported slavery.

The quote often attributed to Ben Franklin (a Founding Father of the US) goes "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch; Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." It has been an anecdote for many years before the Internet. There are so many attributes to Franklin for this quote, that I am inclined to think it came from him, or a later student of his writings. However, I believe the advent of the Internet & the course of time have changed the words from the original quote. Having read a lot of Franklin's writings, I would expect at one time he PROBABLY said something like this: "Liberty should be like two wolves and a well-armed sheep voting on what to have for dinner." Many of his contemporaries probably understood as he did the inherent problems of pure democracy, so there was probably no need for that half of the analogy. He would have known that lambs are baby sheep (not old enough to vote?), and "lunch" was not a term in use during Franklin's time. This quote would have worked well with the situation of British majority rule over colonial America and the minority of independents who wanted self-government and freedom.

German immigrants.

he believed only government had real security for all important rights