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Benjamin Franklin's Accomplishments

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“He was, during his eighty-four-year-long life America’s best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer and business strategist, and he was also one of its most practical…political thinks.” (Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life) Franklin also took to himself to better the public, he founded a college and started libraries. He formed a volunteer fire department and came up with the idea of a matching grant. He also wrote some of the first “self-help” books in colonial America. Franklin was an extremely accomplished man, but at the end of the day he always identified as B. Franklin, printer. Printing was his first trade and one he was extremely successful in due to his writing ability. He began when he was only 22 and slowly grew his business …show more content…

He did not practice or embrace all aspects of religion and this was very off-putting to people at the time. Franklin believed that the only way to truly serve god was to do good by your fellow man. Franklin did not believe that we are at the hands of an angry and complacent god, who will only be satisfied by true grace. (Which was the common belief back then) He also tied his belief of private virtue to civic virtue. As he wrote for one of his libraries mottos “To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine.” Franklin also identified and flagged a belief we all know to be true, but not all be willing to accept. Success isn’t made by huge defining events, it may be defined by them, but it is the small advances that we make every single day that ultimately leads us to success. So keep making a small advance every single day, it is what will lead you to your defining moments. Franklin was also very meticulous on how he spent his time, no matter what task was at hand for the day we would give it about 8 hours. He divided that into 2 halves with about an hour for lunch. He would go all in for those 8 hours, this constant routine allowed him to get far more engaged into any task at hand because each task was part of a set

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841 Words | 4 Pages

In his writing a theme that is most prevalent is that of the American dream. Although not coined that yet, as the United States didn’t exist at the time. But right from the beginning Franklin speaks to the fact that he created his success and fortune from nothing but hard work, and intelligence. When describing Franklin’s Autobiography as a primary source, it is important to note that this theme of the American Dream. Most famously from the Declaration of Independence preamble, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” ( Dec. of Ind. Pre.).

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631 Words | 3 Pages

As a young boy he worked as an apprentice to his brothers print shop. This eventually lead him to open a print shop of his own in Philadelphia. The business became very successful producing a range of materials, including government pamphlets, books and currency. Franklin soon became the owner and publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette, a popular colonial newspaper,  as well as the famous “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he published every year from 1733 to 1758. As his printing business boomed, ben got involved with civic affairs in Philadelphia specifically by establishing a number of community organizations such as a lending library that was founded when books weren’t widely available in the colonies.

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1449 Words | 6 Pages

Benjamin Franklin was an early pioneer in self improvement and self awareness because he had the courage and humility to look at himself in a different perspective, to find flaws and make an attempt to correct them through his scheme for moral perfection. Franklin succeeded in applying his scheme for moral perfection and this is evident because his achievements, accomplishments as well as reputation as a whole are still being held in high regard among people all over the world, even today. It seems Benjamin Franklin's legacy is still influencing generations of Americans as we continue to learn about his life, inventions, and decisions he made as an early American politician. Benjamin Franklin was a great American who strived to improve himself and the world around him and as a result his life continues to inspire people all around the globe who seek moral

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596 Words | 3 Pages

The importance of Ben Franklin has been told all throughout history, along with the famous $100 bill with his face on it. Drafting the Declaration of Independence, foudning universities and libraries, the post office, shaping policies in the U.S., publishing newspapers, making advances in science, and letting us use bifocals and using lighting for electricity. Even if this man never finished school, he did much reading and experiments that help us out today. The reason why I chose to write about Benjamin Franklin was because he was a very important Founding Father and it’s important for people to learn all about

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1639 Words | 7 Pages

In 1730, Franklin decided to build a library for the public to expand their knowledge and help their businesses. After his business was booming, he became very skeptical to the idea of religion and was constantly questioning if it was right. With his business booming, he decided to write a book called Poor-Richards Almanac; he claimed that the thirteen virtues are the pathway to success such as he lived. With these virtues, he insisted, “I included

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664 Words | 3 Pages

During the 1700’s, Benjamin Franklin lived among common men while modestly being far more advanced in the fields of philosophy, science and many more. His unfinished autobiography published in 1793 shows an insight of the knowledge and beliefs that he represented throughout his life. Doubt eventually filled Franklin’s mind as he grew convinced of religious principles misleading men and women to righteousness, and instead rejected too many things made from God himself. For this, he insisted that to reach a complete virtuous state of being, one must become most acceptable in terms of self-reflection. This pragmatic way of understanding religion was inevitable, and he would continue to pave the way of such practical thinking.

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817 Words | 4 Pages

Franklin was known as a perfectionist he wanted everything about himself to be perfect, he thought this might happen if he perfected all 13 virtues. He spent most of his life trying to master all 13 of them. Franklin wanted to take it slow, he wanted to perfect one at a time, this took a very long time he never actually succeeded with perfecting all 13. “But, on the whole, tho’ I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it. (Franklin, Pg.

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1825 Words | 8 Pages

In the description of two virtues - Silence and Frugality - he specifically wrote in the precepts about how the virtues were to only “benefit” and “do good to others”. (89) Another virtue Franklin wanted to perfect was Industry. He wrote that the virtue of Industry was to “[b]e always employ’d in something useful” (89). Engaging in community service is a perfect example of carrying out this virtue. The projects that Franklin were involved in were quite useful to his community and society as a whole.

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461 Words | 2 Pages

“He developed a reputation as one of the hardest workers anyone had ever met” (Benjamin). There was one occasion when Franklin was promised a trip to England in order to buy printing materials and arrived only to find out the the rich man who had sent him didn’t have the amount of money needed to buy the materials. Although most people put in this position would be angry, Franklin took advantage of the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the English printing press. When he returned to Philadelphia, he owned the Pennsylvania Gazette. In addition to the printing press that fed his love for words, Benjamin Franklin along with some friends, started the first public library.

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631 Words | 3 Pages

Much like today’s American fundamentals, Franklin believed in allowing people to worship freely, without discernment or prejudice toward other

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1502 Words | 7 Pages

We have all heard of the famous Benjamin Franklin. From the many history classes, and conversations in general. Benjamin Franklin is famous for many reasons; for example, he was responsible for publishing the very first political cartoon, the author of Poor Richard’s Almanack, inventing the lightning rod and bifocals, and he was one of five who drafted the Declaration of Independence. These accomplishments are great, but only tell part of the story of the great Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. In the biography, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, by Gordon S. Wood, we are educated on the characteristics of his thriving life.

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621 Words | 3 Pages

Franklin made it a huge part of his life to continue bettering his education and himself. Due to Franklins determination, he became a very successful politician along with so much more. Lastly, religion was another large part of Franklin’s book, he speaks thoroughly about his thoughts on different religions and his search for what he truly believed in. Despite leaving his religious group and stating that he doubted the Revelation he still stated that he had respect for other religious groups and supported the

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2055 Words | 9 Pages

Benjamin Franklin is one of the most iconic figures in the history of the United States and even the world. His works and discoveries played a significant role in the evolution of modern technology. In his autobiography, he provides many reasons why he decided to write down his success and life story in general. Benjamin was a religious man and anyone reading his autobiography would attest to that. For example, he said in his book that "I speak of thanking God, I desire with all Humility to acknowledge, that I owe the mentioned Happiness of my past Life to his kind Providence, which led me to the Means I used & gave them Success” (Franklin 3).

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518 Words | 3 Pages

Franklin claims that he has been living long enough to see errors that he made, therefore as he grow older, he tend to “doubt of [his] own judgment” because nobody is perfect due to his past experiences (43). The informations that Franklin presents is to show his reputation that he is not perfect, also his constitution but he is open minded and willing to make what is best for the people. The perspective errors of the constitution have, is being “sacrificed to the public good” meaning all the flaw that constitution have will not be reveal to the people (44). Franklin is very passion about what is best for the people and their happiness, furthermore his characteristic is very respectful toward the citizen and the congress.

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1247 Words | 5 Pages

The first page explains that the future generations might take interest in his life in account of having emerged from the state of “affluence and same degree of reputation in the world” (Perkins). Franklin the printer and self-made man became a figure of American History. He was also unique in the way that he followed 13 virtues that are listed in his autobiography as: (Temperance, silence, order, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, claimless, tranquility, chasisity, and Humidity).

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