Benjamin Franklin — Walter Isaacson
April 2019
Benjamin Franklin is widely seen as the embodiment of the American spirit because he is the historical representation of a societal divergence of values based on an elitist aristocracy, which was the established paradigm in Europe, to one in which a bustling middle class faced social mobility and importance.
He is the only founding father to have signed all four of the United States’ most foundational documents — the Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Commerce with France, Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution — and in all of them his emphasis on giving the people a democratic voice is heard.
As an inventor, his experiments with bifocal lenses, the lightning (grounding) rod, and the Franklin Stove are well recorded, however, his efforts in establishing networks and juntas perhaps contributed more to the America we know today. As the founder of the University of Pennsylvania (America’s first school dedicated to non-religious studies), Pennsylvania’s first volunteer fire department, America’s first public library and the nation’s first postmaster he believed that individuals had a duty to carry out actions that enriched the public sphere, a chief tenant an enlightened society.
Timeline:
- 1706: Born in Boston
- 1754: Write proposals for Albany Conference (first federalist proposal for a united set of states)
- 1765: Stamp Act passes, seen by many as the turning point between Great Britain and its 13 colonies
- 1773: Tea Act
- 1775: Sent as representative of Pennsylvania to second Continental Congressional, proposes Articles of Confederation
- 1776: Declaration of Independence, mostly drafted by Thomas Jefferson, edited by Ben Franklin
- 1779: Appointed sole minister to France, signs Treaties of Commerce with France
- 1782: Peace treaty with Britain
- 1787: Attends Constitutional Convention as President of Pennsylvania and advocates for the spirit of compromise
