A Different America: Benjamin Franklin's Era Compared to Today
             America has changed in many ways since the age of Benjamin Franklin, over two hundred years ago. Franklin considered morals to be very important and held profound opinions, which are still held in high esteem today. Some of these included the importance of justice, cleanliness, frugality, and education.
             Justice, one of Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues, is the act of doing what is morally right without prejudice. Exerting justice is one of the foundations of democracy and a protocol for society. Justice is more prevalent in the America of today than it was in 1750 to 1800. Enslavement of Africans and African-Americans took place throughout the eighteenth century. This is an obvious infringement of the rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," the rights stated to belong to all human beings in the Declaration of Independence. Slaves were forced to work long hours doing intense labor. They could not own property, hold public office, or vote, and usually their children were forced to become slaves also. Today slavery has been abolished and African-Americans have the same rights as all other citizens of the United States. Another group that has gained franchise in America is women. Prior to 1920, women were denied the right to vote, one of the basic privileges of democracy. The nineteenth amendment to the United States Constitution granted women suffrage. Justice was not executed fairly in America from 1750 to 1800; African-Americans and women did not possess the same rights as Caucasians and men, showing that prejudice was evident.
             Another difference in America between the society of the late eighteenth century and modern society is the issue of cleanliness. The people of the earlier era maintained a necessary level of personal hygiene, although it is low by today's standards. They did not bathe often and did not have the ameni...