Ben Franklin Essays (Examples)

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Ben Franklin is famous for being one of the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and a great inventor. He conducted important experiments, fearlessly tracking a kite through a storm to better understand electricity. He even invented bifocals. Thus, every time you see an older (or maybe not so old person) peering through a pair of lenses with a line carefully spanning across the glass, you can thank Ben Franklin. You also have Ben Franklin to thank; if not for the fact that the eagle is America's national bird, at least for his brave though fundamentally misguided suggestion that the turkey should be the United States' national symbol. Ben Franklin, oddly enough, loved turkey, both to watch them and to eat them. Particularly with yams and cornbread, if I recall.
How do I know so much about Benjamin Franklin? Several months ago, on an unusually warm November….

Ben Franklin's Autobiography
How is Franklin a combination of his American roots (In Puritanism and in the relative independence from the society of England) with the Enlightenment ideas of writers like Pope? I.e. -- How is he a particularly American version of Enlightenment Man? Analyze and use examples from BOTH content and style. In answering this question write this question; Write the question on top of the page labeled "your question."

Ben Franklin is perhaps most famous for his aphorisms such as "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man happy, healthy and wise." His Poor Richard's aphorisms often take the form of well-regarded advice regarding health and good, clean living, and this aphoristic, pithy style is characteristic of Franklin's autobiography as a whole.

Yet Franklin is not simply famous as 'Poor Richard.' Franklin is also famous for his experimentation in the fields of optometry and electricity. The world can thank Franklin….

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….

Ben Franklin's writing expresses many ideas and techniques of the Enlightenment that can also be found in Pope's writings, yet is also uniquely American. And the second part analyzes Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth and This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison.
Ben Franklin and Alexander Pope were two great literary writers whose technique comparatively reflected the themes and concepts popular during the age of Enlightenment including individuality and human freedom.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the leading thinkers of the Enlightenment in America. He explored themes of human individuality and natural effect, freedom of will, the rights of man, social structures and progressive ideologies for the new nation. The genius of the man is reflected in his writings, analyzed in this essay, in comparison with another great writer of the era, Alexander Pope.

Franklin's work revealed that the man was unique among his contemporaries, in his approach to philosophy and human nature. During a….

Franklin and the American Dream
Ben Franklin exemplified the sense that if a man just worked hard enough, he could obtain prosperity in America. This abundant gaining of the fruit of one's labor is what became known as "The American Dream." Franklin was certainly a proponent of this dream, as is evident in his Autobiography. This paper will show how Franklin's Autobiography marks him as a man who had a large impact on the formation of the essence of the American Dream.

Franklin's life is one that shows how a young man can arrive in a big city without any money in his pocket and how with the application of his knowledge of a trade can set about amassing his fortune. That is what Franklin did, when he arrived in Philadelphia at the age of 17 after passing through "a squall that tore our rotten sails to pieces" (Franklin 17). The squall….

Native Americans portrayed works Ben Franklin John Smith? Do authors treat a favorable negative light? Be introduction a distinct thesis statement, a body specific supporting elements, a conclusion essay.
Many influential people in the history of the U.S. have played an active role in either improving society's relationship with Native Americans or in damaging it by portraying them as individuals who were savages. Benjamin Franklin was among the people who wanted to emphasize the fact that the masses had a tendency to discriminate natives for no actual reason. In contrast to Franklin, John Smith employed a more practical attitude in dealing with natives and primarily focused on exploiting his relationship with them. To a certain degree, one can say that Smith focused on a rational approach with the purpose of securing his position on the American continent.

Benjamin Franklin was an open-minded individual and he did not necessarily believe that natives….

Benjamin Franklin -- Writer, Inventor, Founding Father, and First True American
George Washington may be the father of his country, but Ben Franklin is the first true American. While George Washington was born a wealthy and propertied Virginia landowner in the European aristocratic tradition, and made his fame as a highborn and commanding military general for the crown during the French and Indian Wars, Benjamin Franklin was born to a poor Boston tradesman. He had no name, title, or fortune to fall back on. Benjamin Franklin worked his way up in the world through his hard work and dedication alone.

Franklin became wealthy in his later life. He made money from his thrift, innate intelligence, and his wit. He was apprenticed as a young man, but ran away to sea and to work his own way, on his own terms at the printing trade. Even in his own early life, Franklin demanded….

Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglas
Indeed, in both Benjamin Franklin's An Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglas's A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, An American Slave, we, as readers, are told the stories of two men who faced adversity, and with much hard work and courage, were able to overcome the obstacles that stood in their way in order to become influential and important men in America. Interestingly enough, both men had points in their early lives that proved pivotal in terms of shaping and molding them into a form that could grow into their later greatness. Interestingly, the experiences that changed both Franklin and Douglas had to do with the importance of education in enabling people to better themselves. In the case of Franklin, this reality was realized when he worked as an apprentice printer with his brother James during his teens. In Douglas's case, he realized….

ork Ethic: Douglass and FranklinIntroductionAlthough they lived in different centuries and had very different backgrounds, Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Franklin share many similarities. Both men were born into humble beginnings but rose to become widely respected leaders. They were both self-educated and used their writing talents to further their causes. And both men were tireless advocates for the rights of others, whether it was Douglass fighting for the freedom of all Americans or Franklin working to secure civil rights for African Americans. In many ways, these two great men were ahead of their times, and their legacy continues to inspire people today. This paper will explore what both men thought about work ethic, how they envisioned it, and what it meant to them, as can be seen in their respective autobiographies and other works like Self-Made Men and ay to ealth.hat is the Self-Made Man?Douglass states quite clearly in Self-Made….

All of the founding fathers of the United States were great because they acted on their values and beliefs, helping to sow the seeds of a new nation. The work of the founding fathers became instrumental for independence from the British Crown. Being willing to stand up to Britain was no small feat, making the deeds of the founding fathers even more admirable. The founding fathers will be celebrated throughout history for their contribution not just to America but to the world. Although many men and women can be considered instrumental to founding the nation, there are seven key players that most historians identify as being the founding fathers. Those seven include George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, and Ben Franklin. All seven of the founding fathers and their contributions are important. Therefore, it can be helpful to compare and contrast three of them—such….

Assigned Readings
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American Literature
Listen to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God preached. Discuss in the discussion group.

Jonathan Edwards gives us a perfect example of the Calvinist beliefs of the Puritan settlers in early New England. Edwards studied theology at Yale University -- where today there is still a dormitory named after him -- but then became a noteworthy preacher in the Great Awakening, which exhorted an entire generation to renew their Christian faith. Edwards' skill in preaching lies in using literary imagery to get across abstract theological concepts. Calvinist theology believes in "total depravity" -- in other words, because of Adam and Eve eating the apple, human beings are fallen, and stained with "original sin." The most memorable image in Edwards' sermon -- the image of the spider being held over a fiery pit -- is meant to be a metaphor to enable the listener to imagine how God feels….

God's Activity In Men's Lives
God's Active Role

How many people look for God's activity in their lives, and never come up with the evidence? Yet, in the lives of Mary Rowlandson, and Ben Franklin, they recognized the working of The Almighty in their every day circumstances. Maybe it was that they didn't look for God to prove himself to them, but they acknowledged that the Almighty God is always at work. Maybe it was their colonial upbringing which emphasized that God is active in the lives of his children which taught them to see the Hand of God in everyday situations.

What could be said with a measure of certainty is that these two did not have a pre-determined list of what they expected god to do for them. In the two readings, Ben Franklin recognized God's hands in protection and providential care throughout his lifetime which grew from one success to….

Franklin's constantly being out of sync with his colleagues is seen once again in Franklin's inability to understand that the next logical progress of his republicanism was liberal democracy. Thus, as the oldest member of the Constitutional Convention, Franklin was unable to anticipate and comprehend the factionalism that was beginning to dominate the American political climate. On the contrary, Franklin even made the wrong political call by viewing liberalism as dangerous and unruly, a political system that would never work in the newly-formed republic.
Other biographers minimized the said failing by emphasizing how Franklin made decisions based on principles. oods, however, presents evidence that Franklin could also be motivated by emotional motives, such as revenge. For example, according to oods, Franklin's opposition to the two-house legislature in Massachusetts was motivated in part to his personal distaste for John Adams, who was a key supporter of the measure. Also, while Franklin….

Sinners in the hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards, and "The Autobiography - Part 1" by Benjamin Franklin. Specifically, it will discuss the major changes in religious belief between the angry God of Jonathan Edwards and the benevolent Deism of Benjamin Franklin. It is quite clear these two men have very different ideas about God, his ideals, and their own religious goals. Both men have a strong and unfailing faith in God, but they show it differently, and they see God very differently.
Ben Franklin sees God as a benevolent and caring overseer of our problems and concerns. He writes, "I desire with all humility to acknowledge that I owe the mentioned happiness of my past life to His kind providence..." (Franklin). Franklin sees God as someone who watches over him and takes care of all his children. He is kindly, and leads people down the right path….

This alone is a powerful image of civil rights, yet the scene evolves into one of the chief antagonist of the film trying to intercept the secret codes from the child. These codes are critical to unlocking the anagram on the back of the Declaration and while the antagonists succeed in learning from the boy what he is doing, Ben Gates' team misses being captured. This tension in the film continues with the conflict centering on knowledge of the treasure, and all along the real treasure is freedom.
The many explosive scenes that Director Jerry Bruckheimer is famous for also underscore the liberalism within this film. Starting with the first explosive scene where the Charlotte, an ancient whaling ship that contains a critical piece of evidence that will be used for solving another clue leading to the location of the map of the Templar's fortune. The center of conflict in….

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3 Pages
Term Paper

American History

Ben Franklin Is Famous for Being One

Words: 1248
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Ben Franklin is famous for being one of the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and a great inventor. He conducted important experiments, fearlessly tracking…

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2 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Ben Franklin's Autobiography

Words: 774
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Ben Franklin's Autobiography How is Franklin a combination of his American roots (In Puritanism and in the relative independence from the society of England) with the Enlightenment ideas of writers…

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4 Pages
Research Paper

American History

Ben Franklin The First American

Words: 1221
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Research Paper

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,…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Ben Franklin and Tintern Abbey and This Lime Tree Bower My Prison

Words: 1271
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Ben Franklin's writing expresses many ideas and techniques of the Enlightenment that can also be found in Pope's writings, yet is also uniquely American. And the second part…

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2 Pages
Essay

History

How Ben Franklin Exemplified the American Dream

Words: 649
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Franklin and the American Dream Ben Franklin exemplified the sense that if a man just worked hard enough, he could obtain prosperity in America. This abundant gaining of the fruit…

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2 Pages
Thesis

Native Americans

Native Americans Portrayed Works Ben Franklin John

Words: 596
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Thesis

Native Americans portrayed works Ben Franklin John Smith? Do authors treat a favorable negative light? Be introduction a distinct thesis statement, a body specific supporting elements, a conclusion…

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2 Pages
Term Paper

American History

Why Is Ben Franklin Seen by Many Other First American

Words: 635
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Benjamin Franklin -- Writer, Inventor, Founding Father, and First True American George Washington may be the father of his country, but Ben Franklin is the first true American. While George…

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3 Pages
Term Paper

Literature

Autobiography of Ben Franklin and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Words: 879
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglas Indeed, in both Benjamin Franklin's An Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglas's A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, An American Slave, we,…

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9 Pages
Essay

American History

Benefits of Work according to Ben Franklin

Words: 2704
Length: 9 Pages
Type: Essay

ork Ethic: Douglass and FranklinIntroductionAlthough they lived in different centuries and had very different backgrounds, Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Franklin share many similarities. Both men were born into humble…

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3 Pages
Research Paper

American History

Washington Hamilton Franklin as founding fathers

Words: 938
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Research Paper

All of the founding fathers of the United States were great because they acted on their values and beliefs, helping to sow the seeds of a new nation. The…

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6 Pages
Essay

Literature

Assigned Readings

Words: 1740
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

American Literature Listen to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God preached. Discuss in the discussion group. Jonathan Edwards gives us a perfect example of the Calvinist beliefs of the…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Family and Marriage

God's Activity in Men's Lives God's Active

Words: 1284
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

God's Activity In Men's Lives God's Active Role How many people look for God's activity in their lives, and never come up with the evidence? Yet, in the lives of Mary…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

American History

Gordon Wood's the Americanization of

Words: 1142
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Franklin's constantly being out of sync with his colleagues is seen once again in Franklin's inability to understand that the next logical progress of his republicanism was liberal…

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2 Pages
Term Paper

Mythology - Religion

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry

Words: 712
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Sinners in the hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards, and "The Autobiography - Part 1" by Benjamin Franklin. Specifically, it will discuss the major changes in…

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Film

National Treasure the Liberalism in

Words: 1198
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

This alone is a powerful image of civil rights, yet the scene evolves into one of the chief antagonist of the film trying to intercept the secret codes…

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