Benjamin Franklin College Essays Samples For Students

There is no question that, as the American colonies grew, a number of hardships were faced and subsequently overcome by its European settlers and later colonialists. Three men, John Smith, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams, are often discussed in the context of the new land they encountered, the new government and its guiding principles they either formed or attempted to form, and the new culture that developed from the efforts they applied. All three men, in their own respective manner, were revolutionary in their approach to facing these challenges and displayed unique skills in the art of literary persuasion.

When ...

In the essay "One Nation, Slightly Divisible" David Brooks argues that despite that fact that America contains individuals with different political, cultural and economic believes, it is still one nation. Brooks examines America’s cultural division after the 2000 election differentiating between blue and red states. Brooks diagnoses the situation of the massive American nation. This author likens two counties namely Maryland Montgomery, which is his home base and is categorized among the blue states and Pennsylvania Franklin, which he rates as a red county in found in a blue state.

Brook explains that he visits Pennsylvania Franklin region because ...

The classic American myth of rags-to-riches can be seen in the lives of Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass. These self-made aspects of their lives can be seen in the narratives of the stories of their lives. Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass became very successful in achieving their goals. Their lives paint a clear picture of self-made individuals who fought odds in their lives and struggled to become famous and highly revered individuals in America. Even though they were separated, by time, place and circumstances, the two writers had a similar chronology of life events in their narratives. Benjamin Franklin is an ...

Christopher Columbus and Leif Ericsson

Every year on October 12, inhabitants of the Americas celebrate one of the greatest event in history – the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Norseman Leif Ericsson was the one who with at least 35 men on boat hit the beach of America five hundred years prior to Christopher Columbus. The connection is the Americas, its discovery.

Benjamin Franklin and Richard Saunders

Benjamin Franklin and Richard Saunders relate to one person – one of the founding fathers of the United States of America – Benjamin Franklin. The connection is the “Poor Richard's Almanac” published between 1732 and 1758.

Mary Dyer and Richard Nixon

Mary Dyer, English Puritan, who joined the Quakers, ...

Book response Essay

The role of biography in understanding historical events and historical personalities is significant. It helps us to get to know more about the certain period of history and about those who act in these periods. It is impossible to imagine events without any notion about personalities who may also develop their feature in certain historical contexts.
One of the prominent historical personalities of the 18th century is the personality of Benjamin Franklin. Many biographies were written about this political leader, and every of them is intended to reflect the hidden truth in the historical context and events that ...

Introduction

Benjamin Franklin is arguably one of the most alluded to individuals by today’s scholars and philosophers. He is a source of inspiration to many people through his literary work, his life as an inventor, politician, a printer and a scientist. It is not fallacious that Benjamin Franklin paved and shone the light for today’s crop of scientists. Yet in his grandeur and spectacular, he believed in very basic ideals. As will be espoused in the paper, he believed in virtue to civic duty and personal life, personal conduct and learning how to read and write. While some of his beliefs ...

Benjamin Franklin, in many ways, represented the essential American character that the newly founded nation was to acquire over the succeeding centuries. From the epoch-making years of the American War of Independence marked by an all-pervading sense of great destiny that awaited us, emerged great personalities like George Washington, the astute general and irresistible leader of men, Thomas Jefferson, a man of over-riding principles and grand concepts, John Quincy Adams, sagacious strategist and many others who together gave voice to the collective aspirations of the thirteen colonies who threw off the yoke of British domination. If they were all building ...

In the letter from Benjamin Franklin’s father written at Twyford, at the Bishop of St. Asaph’s in 1771 he informs Ben that, he was born and his early years in poverty and obscurity, from which he himself to a state of affluence celebrity in the world. He goes on to tell of the good fortune that accompanied him into his later years. Then he thanks Providence and tells how he wants to learn the means he employed to meet with this success. .
Benjamin Franklin’s father thanks Providence for his good fortune, however the remainder of the ...

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin wrote one of the most intelligent and purposeful autobiographies in history. Franklin emerged from the American Revolution one of the most famous men in the world. An inventor/entrepreneur/publisher/writer with a keen sense of self-promotion, Franklin was spectacularly successful at using his celebrity as a platform from which to share the wisdom collected from a life of remarkable achievement. Perhaps the most notable aspect of his memoir is the fact that it combined simple language and personal examples with brilliant, often deceptively complex personal philosophy. The result is a truly “democratic” literary work in that it offers something beneficial for everyone.

Keywords: Benjamin Franklin, autobiography, American Revolution, memoir

Self-Promotion ...

Independence and freedom of the individual helps people to live lives that are free from social expectations. Freedom and independence means that people will not be forced to live in a certain way because they will be allowed to pursue what is important to them. This shows that individual freedom and independence is very essential. Through freedom, people can be supported to do many new things without being told that whatever they are doing is undoable or wrong. They can be supported through the provision of basic requirements such as healthcare and financial requirements.

Independence is very essential to people ...

Introduction

In the American History of 1706- 1790, Benjamin Franklin is an honored figure due to his influence of development of United States of America and how the country would understand itself. Benjamin Franklin is the only famous person who is known and recognized for signing all the key documents of creating the United States of America. These documents include the constitution of United States, Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Alliance with France and Treaty of Paris. The major influence of Benjamin Franklin in these documents is well understood and recognized due to his concept development on America and how ...

Benjamin Franklin was an extraordinary thinker who was forward looking and visionary in his concept of education. Most of all he was a firm believer in the independence of the individual and the harnessing of talents to achieve that aim. His suggestions are definitely hugely intriguing and stimulating if they are to be considered for a school curriculum.
His proposals as espoused in the article certainly provide food for thought in many ways and almost read like a modern school’s curriculum and list of activities. Most importantly he assesses the importance of creating a library in the school thus making it a ...

This site is about the life of a great American, Benjamin Franklin. It is produced courtesy of the PBS Organization, and it aims at giving the various contributions that the individual made to the modern day America, and why he is so famous. It also aims at showing the inspirational quotes that are believed to have come from the man. The main focus of the site is inspiration. As seen in through the various sections of the site, there is no single part that does not have something that is quite inspiring. It starts with the introduction, making the audience ...

The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on the 4th of July 1776 and the signing by the delegates began on the 2nd of August. The Declaration of Independence formally declared that the thirteen American colonies were independent of Great Britain. 56 members signed the Declaration of Independence and Benjamin Franklin was one of them. Benjamin Franklin was not only a member of the Continental Congress that drafted the Declaration of Independence but was an able diplomat who was known for his wit, scientific achievements and kind, unpretentious manners (Benjamin Franklin). Benjamin Franklin was also the ...

When on January 17, 1706 in Boston in the family of a poor soap-boiler fifteenth child was born no one could imagine that this boy would not only glorify the dynasty of Franklins, but also the entire country, that he would become a world-renowned scholar and one of the founders of the new nation – the United States of America. The boy`s name was Benjamin. His life story is an example for any young person entering the life and seeking to make one's way in life.
An active politician, diplomat, writer, educator, scientist, and inventor About this remarkable man many ...

Benjamin Franklin, the Diplomat

In 1753, he was appointed by the British Parliament as the Joint Deputy Postmaster-General of North America.
He appealed to the House of Commons regarding the Stamp Act of 1765. Later, he started his service as a Revolutionary.

Benjamin Franklin, the Revolutionary

He joined the Second Continental Congress with the aim of wining full independence for the colonies.
Later, he was appointed as the first Postmaster General of the United States Post Office.
He advised Thomas Jefferson regarding the Declaration of Independence.
Franklin served as a head diplomat in the American delegation to France.
He succeeded in winning support of the French that ...

Benjamin Franklin and Pocahontas are two outstanding Americans, who made a significant contribution to the development of the American society and its country, in general. Their actions and the course of their lives are recounted in books, documentaries, feature films, and plays and describe the importance of their deeds. Despite the fact that their actions are so important for the national heritage and the development of history, their lives were also highly influenced by the historical developments and the political processes, which took part during their lifetime.
Despite the fact that Pocahontas and Benjamin Franklin lived in different centuries, ...

Literature

In this essay, we will analyze the life and views of two prominent American figures Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin. Despite the fact that they live in the same time period they have completely different lifestyles and views. They both tried to come up to perfection and did it in their own particular way. This is the main question of the essay. The comparison of two views will be presented with the help of the analysis of Jonathan Edwards’ works ‘Resolutions’, ‘Personal Narrative’ and Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Poor Richard’s Almanacks’. In the analysis, the comparison of their views ...

Question 1

The youngest children in any family often have to go an extra mile to compete with their elder siblings since they are more mature and experienced at most things. Benjamin Franklin was the not any exception; he was the youngest son in the family. Therefore, he always tried to stand out from the rest of the siblings.
Firstly, Benjamin Franklin was more eager to read and learn compared to his brothers. He started reading at a very age. As he says “my early readiness in learning to read (which must have been very early, as I do not remember ...

English

Benjamin Franklin was born on the 17th of January, 1706. He was also known as The First American” as he was one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. In addition to this, he was also a dominant author and printer as well as a postmaster, politician, statesman, diplomat and most importantly, a civic activist. Franklin had made many discoveries and inventions in the field of science as well. The invention of the lightning rod, Franklin stove and bifocals were some of them. As a civic activist, he had founded and facilitated a university and Philadelphia’s fire department. He had ...

Benjamin Franklin was an exceptional intellectual personality. He went from being a poor uneducated boy, into a very intelligent and wealthy man. This was through his self improvement and determination in life. Franklin was a diplomat, printer, scientist, political philosopher and a writer. Throughout Franklin’s life, he worked on his self improvement so that others would learn from it. He improved his characters by writing the thirteen virtues which helped him in his moral perfection.
Benjamin Franklin was a genuine and a compassionate man who wanted to help other people. He wanted the world to learn from his own experience, by allocating his ...

Introduction

In his widely read piece of work, The Protestant ethic and the spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber defines the problem he intends to pursue in part one of the book; he tries to establish the link between the general ideals of capitalism and the ethical issues that underlie Protestants. He discusses, in broad terms, the empirical evidence that defines economic prowess of the Protestants as compared to Catholics and also postulates theories from such evidence.

Religious Affiliations and Social Stratifications

In this part of his problem identification and statement, Max Weber looks at the economic differences in the society and tries to compare this ...

Benjamin Franklin role in U.S history

Benjamin Franklin was one of the greatest founding fathers of United States. He had different attributes ranging from author, printer, political theorist, diplomat, scientist, and inventor. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson referred to him as a great philosopher and the greatest man of his age. As a scientist, he played a significant role in the invention of physics and educated Americans on electricity from his theories. In addition, many of his inventions including lightning rod, bifocal glasses, Franklin stove and clock helped in transforming Americans life.
Before Franklin lightning rod invention most grown up men would hide under beds ...

This essay explores the differences in the views of Henry David Thoreau and Benjamin Franklin with regard to individual or personal freedoms. The views expressed here are derived principally from the specified readings provided in the Coursepack:
1. Henry David Thoreau: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
2. Benjamin Franklin: The Autobiography (selections)
These two men had very different ways of expressing their views and beliefs. I intend to describe their separate approaches to freedom, beginning with Thoreau, then finally to highlight the clear differences between the outlooks and philosophies of Thoreau and Franklin.
In ...

Arguably, every country in the world has significant historical figures, whose activities are attributed liberation, independence, revolutions, as well as war. Others have steered the country into radical political, economic, and social changes. Certainly, these leaders are the basis of the contemporary situations. Some of these historical figures include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson is one of the famous and important personality in the history of United States. Jefferson was a philosopher, American political leader, and essayist. He was the third president of U.S. Jefferson was born on 1743 in Albemarle county Virginia, and ...

Introduction

Congress chose the bald eagle as the national symbol of the United States of America in 1782, but this move faces a fierce opposition from Benjamin Franklin, one of the founders of the nation. He was keen to make the turkey as the national symbol. Moreover, the bald eagle has an association with the ancient Roman Republic while the turkey is a true native to the United States.

Body

Congress made many changes to the ancient eagle symbol to accentuate the majestic beauty and strength of the large bird. It is also white –headed i.e. not the one as the ...

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 1706 on Boston, Massachusetts. His father was Josiah Franklin, soap maker and candle maker. He attended Boston Latin School and by the age of ten, he completed his education. He started to working for his father at the age of twelve and then joined his brother in selling of printers. He ran away to Philadelphia by the age of seventeen without permission from his elder brother. He started a new life in the town by working in many printing shops within the town. He was a hard working person who tried his best to improve ...

Slavery was a controversial issue for the Founding Fathers of the USA. For the sake of building an independent country, they preferred to ignore the problems of inequality and injustice that slavery brought into the American society. Moreover, the majority of the Founders owned slaves themselves. There were only 7 Founding Fathers that were not slave owners: Roger Sherman, Thomas Paine, Robert Treat Paine, Alexander Hamilton, Oliver Ellsworth, Samuel Adams and John Adams (Laccarino). They came from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York or Pennsylvania and had to take into account conservative attitudes of the other Founding Fathers some of whom ...

Literature

The Age of Enlightenment. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Introduction In this essay, we would like to dwell on the Age of Enlightenment as a period that has diverted the course of the literature in XVII-XVIII centuries in America. We will discuss the main features and representatives of this period. We chose Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as two of the most prominent writers of this age. With the help of their works, we will describe their view, beliefs, and ideas.
Thesis statement The Age of Enlightenment was a wide ideological movement. It reflected new social, political, cultural, and ...

Benjamin Franklin and Democratic Citizenship

Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706, Boston, Massachusetts. He was the tenth born son of a candle maker and soap. In his early years, Benjamin went through a formal education. However, he was among people who were self-taught and principles at that time. He worked for both his father and his brother as a printer. In the year 1721, he established the New England Courant, which became the fourth paper in the colonies. His first writings were 14 essays which he published in this newspaper. Due to his unconventional beliefs on religion coupled with his disagreements with Bostonians, he ...

The bourgeois was a new social class that emerged during the 19th century, between the working class and the ruling class. As they rose, they brought to prominence a different set of values, and priorities than those seen in other classes. As a result, a variety of writers and thinkers created a written commentary, both positive and negative, regarding the bourgeois values and what those values either offered to society or took for granted. Two writers who specifically criticized the bourgeoisie values included Benjamin Franklin and J.S. Woodsworth.
The bourgeois were made up of merchants, artisans and affluent professionals, ...

Benjamin Franklin discusses how he is astounded by the intellectual capacity of the African Americans. In a letter written to the John Waring by Franklin, he claims that his thinking dynamic has progressed after a first-hand experience in a Negro school (Franklin 37). Franklin was surprised by the progression African Americans had made in the schools in that their reading and writing capabilities had grown immensely. Given that most white Americans believed African Americans were savages, which dehumanized them, he was impressed by the level of their intellectual capabilities. In addition, Franklin was also moved by the fact that the African Americans ...

1. “Notes on Punctuation” by Lewis Thomas - Summary
The writers use punctuation marks in order to set the tone of the text according to Lewis Thomas. This differs from language to language and there are very few marks in English. It is important to use punctuation so that people do not write in an ambiguous manner. Commas are useful more than any other marks because they have many purposes. They should not be used in great amounts although they add a specific meaning. Lewis thinks that semicolons are important as well because they let the writer express themselves ...

Dennis Baron in “Who Owns Global English” opines that English is the new global language. “Baron holds that the English language has established itself as the go-to vessel and medium of communication globally. Baron shows the pervasiveness of the English language in today’s society and shows how the language is slowly rising and evolving to a much larger unanticipated communication platform. In the beginning, “Baron posits what is the composition of proper English.” There is a lot of controversy in Spain where there is a heated campaign that is advocating for English-Spanish speaking schools. The campaign is facing ...

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was originally chartered in the year 1876 as a museum of Art. It was mainly chartered to allow for the Centennial Exposition. The museum’s design started in the year 1876, and it was completed in the year 1928. It is situated in the Philadelphia' Benjamin Franklin Parkway in the region famously known as the Northwest Philadelphia. The museum is important because it contains several objects which add up to about 227,000. These objects originated from the Asia, Europe, and America. The objects range from the paintings, sculpture, drawings, photographs and other decorative ...

Discovery of DNA Structure

Introduction
Discovery of DNA was a landmark period in science history that generated further tremendous discoveries. Thanking to this groundbreaking discovery, it was possible to explore the impact of genetic information on the diseases, behavior, and personality. While there are a lot of disputes around the link between DNA and personality features or the ability to create lively beings with the help of DNA mapping, the discovery of the double helix structure opened the doors to the unimaginable dimensions of scientific abilities. It is believed that DNA has been discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in the 1953, ...

John Winthrop in 1630 as the head of the resettlement expedition crossed the Atlantic in search of a place for a "city upon a hill". There, on the territory of a new continent he was planning to establish a new perfect society, which could serve as an example for the rest of humanity. The religion was of a fundamental role in his belief, since he was a Puritan and was leading others of this faith, and they believed it was God who showed them the way to the new continent where they could start performing his God`s will ...

Passion is a strong and powerful emotion that drives us to further achievements and gives us a sense in life. Life without passion would probably be just a meaningless existence. Emotions have always been a subject of discussions by different philosophers. Such thinkers as Plato, Descartes and Spinoza analyzed passion in different ways and provided their concepts of passion. Passion has been categorized in six categories. These are hatred, wonder, hatred, sadness, and love (Descartes on the Emotions).
When I read a book, I dive into a new, unknown, and undiscovered world. A book makes me worry about the character as if it is my ...

The treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. Benjamin Franklin had insisted on the recognition of American independence by the British Empire. He had also refused to consider a peace separate from France, which was America’s great ally. The insistence was because he had rejected informal peace overtures for a settlement by the Great Britain, which would have provided a settlement for the thirteen states with some measure of autonomy. The cause for the recognition of the independence of America was due to the war between the Great Britain and America, which had lasted almost seven years. The Great Britain had, ...

Constitutional Convention

Constitutional Convention of 1787 was a significant day in the history of the United States. Constitutional Convention set the future course of action for the national and state governments in the United States of America. Diverse factions and delegates from federal and state governments participated to formulate a constitution for the United States. Different factions represented at the Constitutional Convention with wide difference over numbers of issues, however, they all overcame the difference and finalized the American Constitution at the Constitutional Convention.
American Constitution has been the foundation of the United States government for over two centuries. It defines the ...

Religion, or belief in a god or multiple gods as well as belief-related activities, such as praying or worshipping, has various and history-motivated established manifestations in different countries. Religion has existed for centuries, starting with the holy antiquity, and reversed its direction due to a number of reasons ever since then. Religion in Europe changed its course from being politics-oriented to being apolitical, maintaining neutrality, granting political power its much needed laicized status after centuries of the Holy Inquisition and de facto governance of secular affairs. The USA, the country founded by puritan pilgrims seeking opportunities to freely exercise their religious ...

In the history of the United States of America, there were two Treaties of Paris which were signed. The first one signified the end of the American Revolution War in 1783. The second one was signed a century later in 1898 and resulted in the ceding of Puerto Rico, West Indies and the surrender of control of Cuba by Spain to the United States of America. Nevertheless, the paper addresses the former treaty of 1783.
This treaty was signed on the third of September 1783. The signatories were the United States and her allies on one side and the ...

The motivation to settle in the Americas included both economic interest and escape from religious persecution. After Gilbert and Raleigh returned from their expeditions, they urged the queen to challenge Spain's threat of domination in the West. After Spain attacked Antwerp in 1570, thus endangering England's hold on European cloth, England looked at the new world to find a new market for the stuff. As a result, people started to make sojourns to the Americas to try and forge new economic prospects there. People like Frobisher and Gilbert, though they failed, attempted to traverse to America in order to either find ...

Section I

People often have different drives that make them reach given heights of success. These heights are propelled by different factors and the inspiration that an individual has as well as the skill that an individual has. Benjamin Franklin had a great passion for writing and gaining information and that is the reason as to why he was employed in many print and press organizations (58). He even tried to venture in business in the same area. Due to his high regard for information, he knew that storing information for easier use and retrieval could be very important. As such, he ...

[Full Name]

True communication involves the understanding of thoughts and feelings, whether this is between two people directly, or one person talking to another (or many others) through the written word. This idea is expressed in different ways through six short stories: Benjamin Franklin’s "Learning to Write", George Orwell’s "Politics And The English Language", Garrison Keillor’s "How To Write A Letter", Stephen King’s "On Writing", Frederick Douglass’ "Learning To Read", and Edgar Burroughs’ "Tarzan Of The Apes" (Chapter 7). Each of the short stories differs in their approach to achieving this goal of understanding, but ...

The Age of Enlightenment was the time in the eighteenth century where the emergence of intellectuals reformed the society and brought in advanced knowledge in both America and Europe. This time was characterized by rapid Intellectual and scientific inventions through diffusion of ideas and knowledge. In my writing I will focus on Henry David Thoreau and Benjamin Franklin, some key influential figures during this period. Critically examine their personal thoughts and views towards the freedom and independence of other individuals.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

The 84 year old American is a vital image in the American history and always been referred to as the ...

American English began around 1607 when the first English settlement was established in Virginia. During this period, for scholars to distinguish the English language from the present day English, they referred to the language as the Early Modern English (Wolfram and Schilling-Estes 104). Differences between the Early Modern English and the modern English can be seen in the differences in the dialects within the British English language. In addition, these dialects resulted to different dialects in the States as various people from the different speech regions settled in different parts of America.
The colonists who came to Virginia ...

What Are the Concerns of Enlightenment? What Distinguished the Enlightenment From the Baroque World? How Are the Arts, Religion, and Politics Challenged in the Enlightenment And by Whom?

The Age of Enlightenment was a great time of changes for the whole European society. In the middle of 16th century it became obvious that knowledge provided by the Bible and works of ancient authors are not enough to satisfy the demands of inquiring minds. It was time of scientific progress, when Isaac Newton found out and described law of gravitation, Christian Huygens invented pendulum clock and discovered Titan. It was the ...

Introduction

The Romans are known to have rules the world for over three centuries and no other country or ruler is known to have done that ever. The very first Non-commissioned Officers (NCO) group is known to be developed by the Romans, at that time they used to work in a group of ten soldiers having a specially assigned NCO and they used to be extremely well disciplined and efficient.[ CITATION NCO05 \l 1033 ]
The NCO groups have become an integral part of the US Army, the history of NCO groups dates back to some 240 years and since their development ...