Benjamin Franklin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 - April 17, 1790) was one of the most prominent of the Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. One of the earliest Founders, Franklin was noted for his curiosity, writings, ingenuity and diversity of interests. His wise and scintillating writings are proverbial to this day. He shaped the American Revolution, despite never holding national elective office; a leader of the Enlightenment, he gained the reognition of scientists and intellectuals across Europe and the United States. ..."
Born
17 Jan 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts
Biography
Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History -- J.A. Leo Lemay
University of Delaware, English Department
University of Delaware, English Department
Junto Society Founder of the Month, by Monty Rainey, Jan 2003
Articles
Ben Franklin on Liberty, by Gary Galles, Mises.org Daily Article, 3 Feb 2003
"... attention ... deserves to be paid to what Franklin said about America and the liberty it was designed to protect ... It is worth remembering some of those inspirational words. 'They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety ...'"
"... attention ... deserves to be paid to what Franklin said about America and the liberty it was designed to protect ... It is worth remembering some of those inspirational words. 'They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety ...'"
Benjamin Franklin: The Man Who Invented the American Dream, by Jim Powell, The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, Apr 1997
Related Topic: John Hancock
"Benjamin Franklin pioneered the spirit of self-help in America. ... When Franklin saw that something needed doing, he did it. ... Franklin was a late-blooming radical. ... Franklin urged that the Declaration be adopted unanimously, saying we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Related Topic: John Hancock
"Benjamin Franklin pioneered the spirit of self-help in America. ... When Franklin saw that something needed doing, he did it. ... Franklin was a late-blooming radical. ... Franklin urged that the Declaration be adopted unanimously, saying we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Benjamin Franklin - Hero of the Day, The Daily Objectivist, 2000
Franklin's Golden Rules, by Mark Skousen, The Daily Reckoning, 18 May 2006
"Benjamin Franklin made great contributions as an inventor, scientist, writer, and founding father, but he is also offered valuable advice on money matters. ... An incurable optimist, Franklin was always bullish on America, and life in general. ... Franklin continued to live frugally, even during his retirement ..."
"Benjamin Franklin made great contributions as an inventor, scientist, writer, and founding father, but he is also offered valuable advice on money matters. ... An incurable optimist, Franklin was always bullish on America, and life in general. ... Franklin continued to live frugally, even during his retirement ..."
Time Out of Mind, by Christopher M. Montalbano, 12 Mar 2007
"All of us have heard since childhood that Benjamin Franklin was the first to propose 'daylight saving time.' ... The letter is really an example of American satire at its finest — it might have been written by Mark Twain 100 years later, or H. L. Mencken 50 years after that. It is hilarious. It concludes with a pure libertarian reductio ad absurdum of the idea that the state should enforce such an institution."
"All of us have heard since childhood that Benjamin Franklin was the first to propose 'daylight saving time.' ... The letter is really an example of American satire at its finest — it might have been written by Mark Twain 100 years later, or H. L. Mencken 50 years after that. It is hilarious. It concludes with a pure libertarian reductio ad absurdum of the idea that the state should enforce such an institution."
Childhood Ends at Puberty, by Charley Reese, 15 Apr 2006
Related Topics: Children, Compulsory Education, Learning
"From 11 to 12, he worked in his father's shop making candles and soap ... From age 13 to 15, he worked for his brother and wrote broadside ballads. He borrowed books to read, among them John Bunyan, Xenophon, John Locke, various histories and religious polemics ... At age 16, Franklin started his own newspaper, and his career was under way."
Related Topics: Children, Compulsory Education, Learning
"From 11 to 12, he worked in his father's shop making candles and soap ... From age 13 to 15, he worked for his brother and wrote broadside ballads. He borrowed books to read, among them John Bunyan, Xenophon, John Locke, various histories and religious polemics ... At age 16, Franklin started his own newspaper, and his career was under way."
Empire or Liberty: The Antifederalists and Foreign Policy, 1787-1788 [PDF], by Jonathan Marshall, Journal of Libertarian Studies, 1980
Related Topics: Imperialism, John Jay, Robert Morris
"Few Federalists harbored any doubts as to America's future greatness under a centralized, energetic regime. ... Benjamin Franklin, too, had abandoned the ideal of the small Spartan republic, as he began to sense the awesome implications of 'our growing Strength, both in Numbers and Wealth.'"
Related Topics: Imperialism, John Jay, Robert Morris
"Few Federalists harbored any doubts as to America's future greatness under a centralized, energetic regime. ... Benjamin Franklin, too, had abandoned the ideal of the small Spartan republic, as he began to sense the awesome implications of 'our growing Strength, both in Numbers and Wealth.'"
No U-Turns, by Jack Dennon, 29 May 2006
Related Topics: Constitution of the United States, Albert Jay Nock, Lysander Spooner
"... on his way home from Independence Hall, where he had been delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1789, Benjamin Franklin is said to have been asked what kind of government he and the others had created. 'A republic,' answered Franklin, 'if you can keep it.' If the Franklin fable be true, then evidently like many today, Ben had not read the fine print."
Related Topics: Constitution of the United States, Albert Jay Nock, Lysander Spooner
"... on his way home from Independence Hall, where he had been delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1789, Benjamin Franklin is said to have been asked what kind of government he and the others had created. 'A republic,' answered Franklin, 'if you can keep it.' If the Franklin fable be true, then evidently like many today, Ben had not read the fine print."
The Rocky Road of American Taxation, by Charles Adams, Mises.org Daily Article, 15 Apr 2006
Related Topics: Taxation, Samuel Adams, American Revolutionary War, Canada, Thirteen Colonies, Thomas Jefferson, Private Property, Right Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, Voting, War
Adapted from the author's For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization
"The philosophic Dr. Franklin signed the [Constitution] 'with tears, and apologized for doing it at all, from the doubts and apprehensions he felt.' He then observed and predicted, 'that its complexion was doubtful; that it might last for ages, involve one-quarter of the globe, and probably terminate in despotism.'"
Related Topics: Taxation, Samuel Adams, American Revolutionary War, Canada, Thirteen Colonies, Thomas Jefferson, Private Property, Right Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, Voting, War
Adapted from the author's For Good and Evil: The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization
"The philosophic Dr. Franklin signed the [Constitution] 'with tears, and apologized for doing it at all, from the doubts and apprehensions he felt.' He then observed and predicted, 'that its complexion was doubtful; that it might last for ages, involve one-quarter of the globe, and probably terminate in despotism.'"
Writings
The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin, LL.D.: Originally Written by Himself, and Now Translated from the French, 1791
Also known as 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin', addressed to his son
Also known as 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin', addressed to his son