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Essay Name       : 1603.txt 
Uploader         : Pyramus
Email Address    : 
Language         : english
Subject          : Biography
Title            : Benjamin Franklin
Grade            : A+ (90/90)
School System    : High School
Country          : USA
Author Comments  : A critical outlook on Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
Teacher Comments : Good job!
Date             : 9/17/96
Site found at    : link from the report essay database
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Dost thou love life?  Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
							-Benjamin Franklin

	Benjamin Franklin was correct when he made up this now famous quote.  In fact, his life was run by this ideal, that you should live life to its fullest.  Franklin did quite a lot in his lifetime, contributing many things to the advancement of science, technology, politics, and other important areas of our country’s history.  He started out as a young apprentice in journalism.  He educated himself in his youth, and eventually started his own newspaper.  Franklin engaged in many public projects in his life, and also experimented with new technological advances.
	Benjamin Franklin was first given religious impressions by his parents, even though he doubted many of the points of religion that had been taught to him.  After reading several books on the subject, Franklin turned towards Deism.  Franklin then began to doubt his own beliefs, and turned towards just a basic belief in God.  He rarely attended church, and turned to a form of prayer that he had composed himself.
	Improving society was one of Benjamin Franklin’s main goals in life.  He wanted to make his country a better place to live in.  When, in 1729, the question of creating paper currency came into question, Franklin was on the side of an addition of money into the province.  He backed his side so intensely, that he wrote and printed a pamphlet which described the necessity of paper currency.  Being liked by the public, and suppressing the wealthy men’s opposition, the point was taken to the House, where it won favor by the majority.  Another public affair that Franklin turned to was the corrupt constableship.  He wrote a paper representing the corruptness and the inequality of the six-shilling constable tax.  He proposed the hiring of proper men to serve constantly in that business, and that the tax should be based upon the size of property that the person owned.  Likewise, another problem that bothered Franklin was the amount of fires that were accidentally being set and the means taken to avoid them.  This led to the forming of a company to extinguish fires, and mutual assistance in removing and securing goods when in danger.  Thus the Union Fire Company was started.
	Soon after turning towards his own religious doctrine, Franklin began to strive towards moral perfection.  He wanted to live without performing any wrongdoings at all.  This led him to devise a method for controlling his own manner.  He listed thirteen names of virtues that he would try to follow at all times.  He started with just one at a time, so that eventually, he would have all thirteen down to perfection.  He made a small book in which he made a page for each of the virtues.  He would mark off whenever he faulted in one of the virtues, and gave a week’s attention to each of the virtues in order.  However, he soon found himself with many more faults than he had previously thought.
	Franklin was a great teacher of many sorts.  Through things that he made, he was able to “teach” many people with these devices.  For example, in 1732, he first published his now famous Poor Richard’s Almanack.  He considered this book as a proper vehicle for conveying instruction among the common people.  He filled it with proverbs to convey ideas about obtaining wealth and achieving virtue.  The book, being universally approved, was copied in all the newspapers of North America, distributed in England and France, and distributed among the clergy to hand out to their poor attendees.  Franklin also considered his newspaper as another device of instruction.  In his paper, he put in pieces of moral writers, his own pieces, and excluded all libel and personal abuse.
	Franklin had many humanitarian and philanthropic interests in making his town a better place to live.  In 1744, he established a Philosophical Society.  Throughout his life, he wrote many pamphlets of general information for the public’s basic knowledge.  He proposed and established an academy to be built, and thus the University of Philadelphia was established.  Through this university, many youth were able to receive a good education, thus making them able to perform more successfully in their jobs for their country.	
	An incredible inventor, Benjamin Franklin devised many inventions that contributed to the advance of scientific knowledge.  In 1742, he invented an open stove which furnished greater heat with a reduced consumption of fuel.  Franklin devised a new lamp that had four panes instead of being a globe, allowing smoke to rise out of the lamp.  He also began his electrical experiments with a glass tube that he received from P. Collinson in England.  These experiments soon led to Franklin’s discovery that lightning is an electrical phenomenon, and later, the invention of the lightning rod.
	Benjamin Franklin, being widely known for his amazing knowledge of science and politics, was a man at home all over the world.  His scientific experiments led to his being honored a gold medal of Sir Godfrey Copley in 1753, and his knowledge being spread across the globe.  Franklin, using his scientific reputation, integrity, and wit, was found to be extremely popular in France’s political circle, leading to assistance by the French against the British.  He also spoke to a number of figures of the French Revolution, putting forth a strong influence upon them.  All in all, Benjamin Franklin influenced the history of the world and our country in a multitude of ways.
 
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