Not Your Usual Founding Father: Selected Readings from Benjamin FranklinThis engaging book reveals Benjamin Franklin’s human side—his tastes and habits, his enthusiasms, and his devotion to democracy and the people of the United States. Three hundred years after his birth, we may remember Franklin’s famous Autobiography, or his status as framer of the Declaration of Independence and the peace with Great Britain, or his experiments in electricity, or perhaps his sage advice on diligence and thrift. But historian Edmund S. Morgan invites us to meet the man himself, a sociable, good-natured, and extraordinary human being with boundless curiosity about the natural world and a vision of what America could be. Drawing on lifelong research in the vast Franklin archives, Morgan assembles both famous and lesser-known writings that offer insights into this founding father’s thinking. The book is organized around four major themes, each with an introduction. The first section includes journal excerpts and letters revealing Franklin’s personal tastes and habits. The second is devoted to Franklin’s inexhaustible intellectual energy and his scientific discoveries. The third and fourth chronicle his devotion to serving the people who became the United States both before and after the Revolution and to advancing his democratic vision of their future. Franklin’s humanity and genius have never seemed more real than in the pages of this appealing anthology. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 31
Page ix
... King of Prussia, 1773 To Joseph Galloway, 1775 To David Hartley, 1775 part iv War, Peace, and Humanity 219 15 Independence 221 To Jonathan Shipley, 1775 To Joseph Priestley, 1775 To Admiral Lord Howe, 1776 Sketch of Propositions for a ...
... King of Prussia, 1773 To Joseph Galloway, 1775 To David Hartley, 1775 part iv War, Peace, and Humanity 219 15 Independence 221 To Jonathan Shipley, 1775 To Joseph Priestley, 1775 To Admiral Lord Howe, 1776 Sketch of Propositions for a ...
Page 9
... King William's time entrusted with the government of this island. At his death it appeared he was a great villain, and a great politician; there was no crime so damnable which he would stick at in the execution of his designs, and yet ...
... King William's time entrusted with the government of this island. At his death it appeared he was a great villain, and a great politician; there was no crime so damnable which he would stick at in the execution of his designs, and yet ...
Page 21
... soon as born, to the Enfans-trouvés [foundling homes], with the careless Observation that the King is better able to maintain them. I am credibly inform'd that nine tenths of them die the young man and the old man [21]
... soon as born, to the Enfans-trouvés [foundling homes], with the careless Observation that the King is better able to maintain them. I am credibly inform'd that nine tenths of them die the young man and the old man [21]
Page 23
... King and Wife the best of all possible Wives, Kings & Religions. . . . By Mr Dollond's [John Dolland, a London optician, inventor of the heliometer] Saying that my double Spectacles can only serve particular Eyes, I doubt he has not ...
... King and Wife the best of all possible Wives, Kings & Religions. . . . By Mr Dollond's [John Dolland, a London optician, inventor of the heliometer] Saying that my double Spectacles can only serve particular Eyes, I doubt he has not ...
Page 28
... king of France, is in any way older or wiser than the young woman to whom it is sent. It will scarcely come as a surprise that Franklin got along well with children. The same evenhanded, attentive demeanor that charmed his older friends ...
... king of France, is in any way older or wiser than the young woman to whom it is sent. It will scarcely come as a surprise that Franklin got along well with children. The same evenhanded, attentive demeanor that charmed his older friends ...
Contents
1 | |
Part II Nature observed | 67 |
Part III A continental vision | 141 |
Part IV War peace and humanity | 219 |
Chronology | 289 |
Credits | 291 |
Index | 297 |
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Common terms and phrases
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