Unit 2…The New Republic
History by Nick Macchia
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as
you are dead and rotten, write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin is an American hero because he was able to
accomplish both of these tasks by writing down every last bit of detail hat
he could possibly write and by achieving a great deal more. It is difficult
to find words to describe the man who forged America into the most influential
nation of his time, our time, or any time. No person has ever been able to do
what Benjamin Franklin accomplished in one lifetime. He was a man full of surprises.
Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. Being the
fifteenth of seventeen children, one would imagine that growing up was a difficult
obstacle for him to overcome. His father worked as a soap and candle maker.
Since there was a lack of money, Ben Franklin only spent two years in the local
school, but that did not end his education experience. He began to teach himself
algebra, geometry, and he mastered several languages. By age twelve he became
an apprentice in his brothers printing shop. He wrote many of the articles and
gave them to his brother under a different name. When his brother found out,
he stopped printing them. When Franklin turned twenty-two, he opened his own
printing shop, The Pennsylvania Gazette. Three years later he founded one of
the most beneficial institutions in the world, the public library. The library
system provided easy access to books for all people. Ben Franklin’s first
invention was the Franklin stove, which increased a stove’s efficiency
by using less wood to produce more heat. Ben Franklin accomplished these tasks
and many others throughout the course of his life. He did not think about time;
he did not wait for life to pass him by; he lived each day as if it were his
last.
No one has ever been able to live up to what Benjamin Franklin accomplished.
Without him, America would not be the democracy it is today. It would not be
a place for the free to live and for those who long for freedom to dream about.
As America has changed and evolved through the years, its original foundation,
crafted with the influence of Benjamin Franklin, has moved future leaders to
do what is right. The country still is and always will be America- a place of
the people, by the people, and for the people.
All songs and essays are the intellectual property of their respective authors and are protected under United States copyright laws. The image on the inside label is credited to Mark Hess. The CD design is the Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States as reproduced from Our Documents, 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives. History Raps & History Rocks is ™ Peter Mastrota 2001. A Music History of the American People is Copyright © South Studio Productions 2004. Site design is Copyright NuTech Web & Services © 2005. All Rights Reserved.
