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 56
Page viii
... Houses , & c . from Lightning , 1753 Of Lightning , and the Method ... of Securing Buildings and Persons from Its Mischievous Effects , 1767 To Peter Collinson , 1753 9 Geology and Cosmology 132 To the Abbé Soulavie , 1782 Loose ...
... Houses , & c . from Lightning , 1753 Of Lightning , and the Method ... of Securing Buildings and Persons from Its Mischievous Effects , 1767 To Peter Collinson , 1753 9 Geology and Cosmology 132 To the Abbé Soulavie , 1782 Loose ...
Page ix
... House of Commons, 1766 14 The Empire at Risk 199 To David Hall, 1766 To William Shirley, 1754 On the Disputes with America, 1767 New Fables, 1770 To Samuel Cooper, 1770 An Edict by the King of Prussia, 1773 To Joseph Galloway, 1775 To ...
... House of Commons, 1766 14 The Empire at Risk 199 To David Hall, 1766 To William Shirley, 1754 On the Disputes with America, 1767 New Fables, 1770 To Samuel Cooper, 1770 An Edict by the King of Prussia, 1773 To Joseph Galloway, 1775 To ...
Page 10
... house the lazy whelp was in bed , and refused to rise and put us over ; upon which we went down to the water - side , with a design to take his boat , and go over by ourselves . We found it very difficult to get the boat , it being ...
... house the lazy whelp was in bed , and refused to rise and put us over ; upon which we went down to the water - side , with a design to take his boat , and go over by ourselves . We found it very difficult to get the boat , it being ...
Page 18
... house and plantation . We cast anchor when the tide turned , about two miles below Newcastle , and there lay till the morning tide . Tuesday , October 11 This morning we weighed anchor with a gentle breeze , and passed by Newcastle ...
... house and plantation . We cast anchor when the tide turned , about two miles below Newcastle , and there lay till the morning tide . Tuesday , October 11 This morning we weighed anchor with a gentle breeze , and passed by Newcastle ...
Page 20
... House in a Country Town, an easy Horse, some good old Authors, ingenious & cheerful Companions, a Pud- ding on Sundays with stout Ale and a Bottle of Burgundy, &c. &c. in separate Stanzas, each ending with this Burthen May I govern my ...
... House in a Country Town, an easy Horse, some good old Authors, ingenious & cheerful Companions, a Pud- ding on Sundays with stout Ale and a Bottle of Burgundy, &c. &c. in separate Stanzas, each ending with this Burthen May I govern my ...
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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