Benjamin Franklin as a Self Made Man
As a young man, Benjamin Franklin knew poverty. His family had littlemoney, and he helped in his father's candle and soap factory by the time hewas ten. Young Franklin had little formal schooling. He remembered, "Icontinued, however, at the grammar-school not quite one year, though inthat time I had risen gradually from the middle of the class of that yearto be the head of it" (Franklin 3). He loved to read, and this was one ofthe things that led him to eventual success. He wrote, "From a child I wasfond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was everlaid out in books" (Franklin 5). His rise to fame and fortune is quiteamazing when considering his beginnings, which were quite humble. Hisfather apprenticed him to his brother James when Franklin was only twelve;so much of his early life was spent laboring, rather than learning. Thismakes his later years even more amazing, when he was known for his wit andwritings. By the time he was sixteen, he was writing anonymous essays forhis brother's newspaper, and his writing was already becoming popular withreaders. One historian wrote, "Virtually all of his writing arose fromparticular circumstances, served an immediate p
He noted, "Duringmy brother's confinement, [. If we may judge from the abundant written remains, his thought andphilosophy grew hand in hand with the full life he led" (Ketcham 4). After American Independence, hecontinued to revolutionize the way Americans lived. Franklin notes his humble beginnings early in his autobiography. Historian Ketcham continues, "Franklin's fabulous career and reactions tothe varied output of his pen have been colored by a foreknowledge that allthis came from a self-made man who, the more remarkable, had offeredthousands, perhaps millions, the keys to his success" (Ketcham 58). urpose, and had a deliberateintent. Even before the war,he was planning a new nation. Throughout all his life, hiswritings and the writings of others indicate he taught himself, he was aself-made man who became successful and noteworthy. From his humblebeginnings as the son of a soap and candle-maker with little future, heturned himself into a Renaissance man who traveled to Europe, acted as anambassador and leader, helped create a new nation, invented items we stilluse today, and lived on long after his death in the people's hearts. He created the Philadelphia Library, which became the first lendinglibrary in America, and he revolutionized postal delivery in the countrywhen he took the job of postmaster in Pennsylvania. As a politician, he fought forAmerican rights, and ultimately became the only American to sign all fourdocuments crafting the new American Republic, which were the Constitution,Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, and the Articles ofConfederation for United Colonies. It was in politics whereFranklin's legacy really came into being. Hetruly could define the term "self-made man," and his life clearly showsthat education, upbringing, and early difficulties mean nothing to adetermined and wise individual. He impressed enough people in Philadelphia to receive funds forhis own printing shop, and he sailed to England to buy equipment, but thedeal fell through, and he spent two years in England before returning andsetting up a print shop in Philadelphia.
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