by Maurice Sassoon

Created on: July 23, 2008

Benjamin Franklin was a great American. He was responsible for making the United States a free and independent country and is regarded as the oldest of the patriots who were called the Founding Fathers. He was considered to be, not only the wisest American of his time, but also one of the wisest men in the world. The other patriots looked to him for advice in matters of government. The United States relied on him to conduct affairs with European countries. In addition to his statesmanship, he was considered to be the best American writer before Ralph Waldo Emerson. Most of the information about him is contained in his Autobiography wherein he told the story of his own life. He also possessed great skill and knowledge in science, apart from being an inventor.

Franklin was born in Boston in 1706. His father was a candy maker and did not earn much. There were sixteen other children in the family, and this made things harder. He was eight years old when his father sent him to school, hoping that his son would be a minister. But, after realizing that it would cost a great deal to send him to college, he decided that the boy should go to a school where he would learn writing and arithmetic only. At the age of ten, Franklin left school to help his father. He disliked cutting candlewicks and running errands, preferring to read instead, which convinced his father to teach him the art of printing. His half brother, James, had a printing shop where young Benjamin went to work. While learning to be a printer, he had a chance to read some books that were interesting. He began to be so immersed in reading that he requested his brother, James, to give him half the amount he spent for his food. In return for the money, Benjamin promised to eat no meat. With the books he bought, he taught himself grammar and arithmetic, as well as studied hard to write effectively. After mastering the art of writing, he began writing articles for his brother's newspaper, the New England Courant. He did not sign his real name to the things he wrote. Instead, he signed the name, "Mrs. Silence Dogood," before slipping his manuscripts under the door of his brother's shop at night. People enjoyed reading his articles, though they had no idea as to who wrote the articles. The town officials notified Franklin's brother that, since his name did not appear as the writer, he could not publish the newspaper any more, so the name of Benjamin Franklin appeared as the editor. He finally left his brother's

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