Ben Franklin \"The First American,\"

Ben Franklin

"The First American," as Benjamin Franklin came to be known because of the endeavor he put across with the purpose of achieving unity between the American colonies, is particularly notable because of the events that shaped his life, his thinking, and the United States as a whole. His background as an individual who managed to make it from rags to riches in a relatively short amount of time influenced his behavior as a politician, considering that was especially devoted toward having equality reign over the United States.

James Franklin's New England Courant was among the first American newspapers and this made it possible for his brother, Benjamin Franklin, to become connected to the world. Aware that James was unsupportive regarding his devotion to writing, Ben devised a scheme through which he could fool his brother into publishing his articles. He did this through employing a pseudonym, Silence Dogood-supposedly a woman who was interested in supporting the newspaper. As the letters came to be famous and appreciated by the masses, Ben emerged and revealed the true identity of Ms. Dogood, increasing his reputation at the same time and surpassing his brother in creativeness even though he was only fifteen years old at the time. The future Founding Father further increased his influence when he came to be in charge of the newspaper during his brother's stay in jail. Benjamin Franklin's time at the New England Courant was an essential episode of his upbringing, given that it gave him the opportunity of expressing himself freely and exercising his qualities of being a writer and a journalist. His brother's jealousy however had a negative effect on Ben, causing him to runaway (Russell, 1926, p. 42).

His dream of having success in another colony did not came to being as quick as Ben figured they would, as he on his own in a world that gave him little credit for who he was or for what he knew. Consequent to a series of unfortunate happenings that impeded his well-being, Franklin managed to achieve notable progress as a printer, eventually opening his own business in the domain. Philadelphia seemed to be the perfect place for Ben, who was actually appreciated for his qualities, with people in the territory being amazed when seeing the young man's devotion for his work. Not only did the people in the vicinity of his print shop supported him, as he also received assistance from the government, which observed the efficiency he employed in his business and provided him with contracts that virtually boosted his business. His success improved his living style, giving him the chance of marrying the love of his life, Deborah Read. Deborah was equally intelligent when it came to being enterprising, as she supported Ben in his field of work and even in other businesses he thought of. It is difficult to determine if Franklin was actually married to Deborah, since there is no proof as regards this and the woman was apparently already married at the time. Even with that, their union was more powerful than an ordinary marriage, as they came to influence each-other for the rest of their lives (Russell, 1926, p. 124).

Franklin was obviously afraid of opening new businesses as a result of the failures he previously experienced, but this did not stop him from constantly trying to develop new tactics of making money and improving society at the same time. He was also aware that society was particularly interested in one's impresario abilities and did everything in his power in order to insure his position.

In order to secure my credit and character as a tradesman, I took care not only to be in reality industrious and frugal, but to avoid the appearances to the contrary. I dressed plain and was seen at no places of idle diversion. I never went out a-fishing or shooting; a book indeed sometimes debauched me from my work, but that was seldom, was private, and gave no scandal; and to show that I was not above my business, I sometimes brought home the paper I purchased at the stores through the streets on a wheelbarrow (Franklin, 1914, p. 70).

Franklin was uncertain regarding his job, as he could not decide whether he was better at doing business or if he was better at writing and trying to influence the public. This is perfectly exemplified through the fact that he occasionally engaged in writing articles under various pseudonyms in the paper he bought in 1729, the Pennsylvania Gazette. The paper appealed to the public and this became obvious through the fact that it became one of the best selling papers in the colonies, significantly contributing to Franklin's rise in influence. From his behavior and from the articles published in his newspaper people observed how he was particularly interested in the well-being of the general public (Russell, 1926, p. 147).

The year 1733 marked Franklin's first major endeavor at dedicating his work to the public, as he issued Poor Richard's Almanac. This writing was also under a pseudonym, Richard Saunders -- an underprivileged individual who wanted to raise money for his sick wife. The Almanac distinguished itself from other almanacs contemporary to Franklin because of the character of its text.

"I considered it a proper vehicle," he says, "for conveying instruction among the common people, who bought scarcely any other books; I therefore filled all the little spaces that occurred between the remarkable days in the calendar with proverbial sentences, chiefly such as inculcated industry and frugality, as the means of procuring wealth, and thereby securing virtue; it being more difficult for a man in want, to act always honestly, as, to use here one of those proverbs, it is hard for an empty sack to stand upright" (Russell, 1926, p. 132).

While his businesses generated large amounts of money, he directed his attention toward something completely different (even though he had been interested in the subject previously), getting actively engaged in inventing a series of devices. He is responsible for discovering that lightning essentially electricity seen in another way, by experimenting with a kite that he used to capture lightning. This event was much more important than Franklin liked to consider it was, considering that he practically busted a myth that was around for several millennia. However, in spite of his notable contribution to science, Franklin was not (as numerous people think) the person who discovered electricity (Russell, 1926, p. 161).