Franklin Autobiography Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is not only a story of his own relentless attempts at self-improvement, but also designed to be an early advice manual for others who intend to follow in his footsteps. He certainly was one of Continue Reading...
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin's autobiography is widely considered to be one of the most important early examples of American literature, because his recollections not only offer important insights into the historical and soci Continue Reading...
Franklin, instead, was able to see the advantages in unfortunate situations, and to use them to his own benefit. He was able to admit that he was a marginal poet and go on to do other things rather than feel injured or insecure. Again, I feel that Continue Reading...
Benjamin Franklin's religious faith in "Autobiography" Benjamin Franklin's narrative accounts in his "Autobiography" provide details surrounding his life as a young man, printer, philosopher, scientist, and eventual framer of the U.S. Constitution. Continue Reading...
But one does not dress for private company as for a publick ball. 'Tis perhaps only negligence" (Chapter One). Here, his humor allows the reader to look at his work in a more lighthearted fashion, in addition to poking fun at his old age. Franklin' Continue Reading...
Franklin Autobiography On Self-Improvement Benjamin Franklin was able to accomplish many things that ordinary men often are not given the opportunity to do. Franklin's father, Josiah, had initially planned for him to serve the Church, however, Fran Continue Reading...
Benjamin Franklin is considered one of the most important men in American history. Among his many contributions to the world were inventions such as the Franklin stove, the bifocal, and the harnessing of electricity. He is also renowned for his writi Continue Reading...
He also related how his small group of friends played tricks with their unwitting neighbors. His friends would set fire on alcohol, rekindled candles blown out, imitate lightning flashes or by touching or kissing and make an artificial spider move ( Continue Reading...
Franklin and the Puritans There were many different aspects to Benjamin Franklin's character and while many Americans like to concentrate on his more lurid, or worldly endeavors, his ethical beliefs were a very important part of his life. In fact, F Continue Reading...
'" (Woolman, Chapter 3). Franklin's Autobiography, in contrast, is a tale not of submission, but self-realization -- Franklin even absconded from the tyrannical rule of his brother to begin his own enterprise because the young Franklin was determine Continue Reading...
"This gentleman, a stranger to me, stopped one day at my door, and asked me if I was the young man who had lately opened a new printing-house. Being answered in the affirmative, he said he was sorry for me, because it was an expensive undertaking, a Continue Reading...
Benjamin Franklin is most often regarded for his role as a founding father. Franklin drafted and then later signed the Declaration of Independence. While this may have been Franklin's most important act, there are many others he should be remembered Continue Reading...
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 me Continue Reading...
American life stories: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Although Benjamin Franklin and Fredrick Douglass began their lives on the opposite sides of the black-white divide in America, their pers Continue Reading...
Benjamin Franklin & John Adams Both Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were 18th Century men, but both also stood out in their time and culture. They had different and unique views on many of the subjects of their day, from conflict to intimacy. S Continue Reading...
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 Continue Reading...
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 lando Continue Reading...
The Revolution was made by those people who could first help themselves in order to help the rest of the world, like the founding fathers. Another American hero, Henry D. Thoreau, can also be easily pinpointed as a self-made man, in the spirit of B Continue Reading...
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 busine Continue Reading...
156). The shift Franklin made from a man dedicated to the alliance of England and America to a man who embraced the American cause has been a puzzle for historians for a long time, and Wood tries to provide some answers to the questions raised. He Continue Reading...
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 Conventi Continue Reading...
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 thei Continue Reading...
American Social Thought on Women's Rights This paper compares and contrasts the arguments in favor of women's rights made by three pioneering American feminists: Judith Sargent Murray, Sarah Grimke, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This analysis reveals Continue Reading...
On a wider scale, the struggle of these immigrants would be familiar to many immigrants around the country. Many of them come to this country to contribute their talents and ideas. On a personal note, for example, my girlfriend's father Farouk is a Continue Reading...
Work 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 Continue Reading...
Frederick Douglass' involvement in the women's rights movement of the nineteenth century, and where Douglass stood on women's rights. Douglass was an orator, a statesman, and an outspoken proponent of civil rights for all who were oppressed, even wo Continue Reading...
Franklin's autobiography demonstrates a truly American kind of businessman, because he so neatly embodies all of the assumptions and logical fallacies that American capitalism depends on in order to justify its dominance in an ostensibly equitable a Continue Reading...
Self-Made Man and the Recipient of Divine Grace: Benjamin Franklin vs. Jonathan Edwards Despite the fact that both Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edwards are honored as two of the greatest authors of colonial America, they could not be more differ Continue Reading...
Yet through his explorations of order, Franklin admits that it is "extremely difficult to acquire" as a virtue (p. 88). Franklin further claims that of all the virtues, "my scheme of order gave me the most trouble; and I found that, tho' it might be Continue Reading...
With his understanding of electricity he designed a metal rod that was attached to the high point of a building. A metal wire or cable ran from the rod, down the side of a building and into the ground. When lighting struck, the electricity followed Continue Reading...
Poe The worth of earlier works of American literature is sometimes proven by their application to later works. Such is the case with Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and his discussion of the Thirteen Virtues. The absence of such virtues can often Continue Reading...
American Lit The Development of the American National Character What is so unique about America? During the early years of this country's existence, America was still a colonial nation with an unclear identity as a collective entity. Was it a mass Continue Reading...
John Locke Employment -- the Morality of the Contract between Employee and Employer Before entering into a contract for employment, an employees' first concern is usually to gain a living wage, then to gain experience in a particular profession, an Continue Reading...
Franklin was a natural scientist, one who was fascinated with the natural world and who was also dedicated to documenting and understanding its workings. Morgan notes that Franklin was "continually designing experiments" and "had the same curiosity Continue Reading...
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 Continue Reading...
American National Character What characteristics are distinctly American, regardless of class, race, background? What is problematic about making these generalizations and inheriting the culture? What have we inherited exactly? What problems arise Continue Reading...
Inner Truth and Outer Truth The forefathers of our country were not known for their emotional clarity. Neither were they known for expressing publicly their private sense of self. Those who became known at all were known for their hard work and dedi Continue Reading...
.. "answers in his autobiography with a quotation from the Bible: "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings. (Proverbs 22:29)." Weber's explanation of the rise of capitalism through the rise of Protestantism in Western Continue Reading...
Fitzgerald wrote his novel during the Roaring 1920s, but his book seems uniquely relevant to our own times. The Roaring 1920s was coming to a rapid slow-down of material prosperity, and questions of who was a 'real' American arose as social mobilit Continue Reading...
American History 1600-1877 In the period from 1600 to 1877, it could be argued that the United States was only basically establishing itself as an independent nation in its own right -- the period in question builds up to the climax of the Civil War Continue Reading...
