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Benjamin Franklin and His Contribution to the American Revolution

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Benjamin Franklin was one of the most influential men of the eighteenth century. He was the only man to sign all of these four major documents: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Constitution of the United States, and the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain. Franklin was an inventor, a philosopher, a writer, a musician, and he actively participated in many congressional articles used by the government of the United States of America. His tombstone, however, simply referred to him as "printer", reflecting his great humility. One of the things he was most influential in was the separation of the American colonies from British rule. In fact, Benjamin Franklin was vital to the success of the American …show more content…

However, Franklin realized that this was mostly a declaration of independence from England, which hadn't gained enough support amongst the Americans for Benjamin to force a vote. So, it can be concluded, Franklin was very much ahead of his time in writing the Articles as America now uses the proportional representation system when electing officials and Congress eventually wrote a declaration against British rule anyway. Franklin would often go on missions for Congress. The first trip was to Cambridge in October 1775. His second mission was to Canada in March 1776. Throughout the second trip, Franklin became severely ill and, upon his return home, he was bedridden for months. While Franklin was still lying sick in his bed, he was appointed as chairman of a committee whose purpose was to draft a declaration of America's independence. The committee also included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Jefferson composed the core of the document. When he had finished his first draft, he asked Franklin to make any alterations that he felt necessary. Franklin made a few changes, such as "We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable" to "We hold these truths to be self-evident". On July 2, the Continental Congress voted for independence. The declaration was passed two days later on July 4. A month later on August 2, the official signing took place. John

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