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 40
Page 7
... leave it to - morrow . Saturday , July 23 This day we weighed anchor and fell down with the tide , there being little or no wind . In the afternoon we had a fresh gale , that brought us down to Margate , where we shall lie at anchor ...
... leave it to - morrow . Saturday , July 23 This day we weighed anchor and fell down with the tide , there being little or no wind . In the afternoon we had a fresh gale , that brought us down to Margate , where we shall lie at anchor ...
Page 10
... leave us . We were told that it was our best way to go straight down to the mouth of the creek , and that there was a ferry boy that would carry us over to the town . But when we came to the house the lazy whelp was in bed , and refused ...
... leave us . We were told that it was our best way to go straight down to the mouth of the creek , and that there was a ferry boy that would carry us over to the town . But when we came to the house the lazy whelp was in bed , and refused ...
Page 12
... leave of the land this morning. Calms the fore part of the day. In the afternoon a small gale, fair. Saw a grampus. . . . Friday, August 19 This day we have had a pleasant breeze at East. In the morning we spied a sail upon our larboard ...
... leave of the land this morning. Calms the fore part of the day. In the afternoon a small gale, fair. Saw a grampus. . . . Friday, August 19 This day we have had a pleasant breeze at East. In the morning we spied a sail upon our larboard ...
Page 19
... leave the Excuse with you till you arrive at that Age ; perhaps you may then be more sensible of its Validity , and see fit to use it for your self . I must agree with you that the Gout is bad , and that the [ kidney or bladder ] Stone ...
... leave the Excuse with you till you arrive at that Age ; perhaps you may then be more sensible of its Validity , and see fit to use it for your self . I must agree with you that the Gout is bad , and that the [ kidney or bladder ] Stone ...
Page 20
... leave behind him. Was it not as worthy of his Care that the World should say he was an honest and a good Man?—I like better the concluding Sentiment in the old Song call'd the Old Man's Wish, wherein after wishing for a warm House in a ...
... leave behind him. Was it not as worthy of his Care that the World should say he was an honest and a good Man?—I like better the concluding Sentiment in the old Song call'd the Old Man's Wish, wherein after wishing for a warm House in a ...
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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