Ben Franklin Books

America has never forgotten Benjamin Franklin because he wrote things worth reading, and did things worth writing. He became famous for being a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist. Today, we honor Ben Franklin as one of our Founding Fathers and as one of America's greatest citizens. America. Although he was born in Boston, the city of Philadelphia is remembered as the home of Ben Franklin. In Philadelphia, you can find both Ben's gravesite and the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at the world famous Franklin Institute, as well as his educational legacy, the University of Pennsylvania.

(text source from Franklin Institute Website)

Links
The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
(The Franklin Institute)

Philadelphia
Colonial America

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Ben Franklin's Acquaintances

In 1776, Franklin was appointed by the Continental Congress to a committee charged with drafting a formal document to justify the colonies' decision of severing political ties with Britain. The other members of the committee included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman. The committee gave Jefferson the task of writing the first draft. Franklin, although a talented writer, took a back seat in drafting the document, blaming his lack of participation on poor health.

John Adams and John Jay made an end run around France to negotiate a treaty directly with Great Britain. The British made an incredible offer, one that gave the Americans almost more than they were demanding. Franklin recognized that the British offer was the best that could be had. The French were offended that the Americans had gone behind their back. Franklin used his connections and his diplomatic skills to convince the French that Adams and Jay had acted out of lack of propriety, not hostility.

Although Franklin was eighty-one years old and in generally poor health, he participated as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia with George Washington presiding. Franklin believed that executive power was too great to be placed in the hands of one person and that a committee was a much better option. Alexander Hamilton, on the other end of the argument, wanted a single executive, appointed for life. The convention chose a single executive with a limited term.

Above copy source is from the PBS Website, "Citizen Ben, Founding Father" at http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_citizen_founding.html