Benjamin Franklin lived an eventful life. He used literature to broadcast the vast amount of wisdom he had accrued throughout his life. His life began in Boston, Massachusetts as one of seventeen children by Josiah Franklin. Josiah wanted his son to enter into the clergy, but could not afford this route. Benjamin, after a year of school, began to apprentice his brother James, a printer (“Quick”). He loved to read and write so his education would be furthered through his ambition. His brother had started the first American based newspaper The New England Courant. Ben began to write under the alias Silence Dogood, a fictional widow, because his brother would never let him write for the paper (“Quick”). He would begin to write advice columns, …show more content…
Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America was a comedic work that flipped the outlook on how colonists should view Native Americans. He wanted his readers to reevaluate their relationship with Native Americans. He would refer to the colonists as the savages and the Native Americans as being sophisticated. He began the piece stating, “Savage we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs” (Baym). He wanted to get through to the colonists that perception is all in the eye of the beholder and that virtue is not bestowed onto any certain race. Historically, Franklin had helped negotiate with the Indians during the French and Indian War. His protests against the Paxton massacre, where the victims were innocent Indian women and children, went unheard. The Paxton massacre had many Indian victims who had even converted to Christianity. He would display an uncharacteristic anger in another essay titled Narrative of the Late Massacres in Lancaster County of a Number of Indians, Friends of his Province, by Persons Unknown with quotes like, “But the Wickedness cannot be Covered, the Guilt will lie on the Whole Land, till Justice is done on the Murders. THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT WILL CRY TO HEAVEN FOR VENGEANCE!” (Johansen). Franklin, thus, argues that the white Christians were the savages in this context. He would also go on to praise the Indian way of life compared to their own in the Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America, “The Indian men, when young, are hunters and warriors; when old, counselors; for all their government is by counsel for the sages; there is no force, there are no prisons, no officers to compel obedience, or inflict punishment” (Baym). Even going on to point out that white civilians had gone on to live amongst the Indians, yet the opposite of the paradigm was less common. Franklin
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston Massachusetts.His father was a soap and candle maker and he had a total of 15 children and two wives, Ben was the youngest son. Ben Franklin is most influential for being his contributions of science (electricity), his creations of the almanac/newspapers, and him also being one of the founding fathers of the Declaration of Independence.
It is easy to see Benjamin Franklin was no doubt an archetypal American. No one since him has ever had the same amount of success as him. He was a private businessman who made enough money to retire early and to spend the rest of his life in politics. Around this time period only the rich were able to retire early. He was industrious. Franklin continually put forth the idea of the industrious American. He had support from the middle-class who did not care if he was rich but he was a man who was self-made and worked hard. This American attitude was formed early and most of it by him. Franklin was also not judgmental came to decisions and conclusions as a businessman and politician. However, his attitude was non-judgmental with respect to a
“Though I am still of opinion that it, was a practicable scheme, and might have been useful, by forming a good number of citizens: and I was not discouraged by the seeming magnitude of the undertaking as I have always thought that one man of tolerable abilities may work great changes and accomplish great affairs among mankind (pg. 106).” Benjamin Franklin is an archetypal American because everybody wants to be just like him. He wrote this book to show the right way to become the perfect American. Also, he wrote this autobiography to explain to his son and to other people about how to be the ideal American. Benjamin Franklin became a deism because it helped him become more open-minded. A deism is a person that believes that god created the
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is an inspiring tale of his personal, as well as public achievement throughout his life. Franklin’s life embodies the exemplary model of a life composed of discipline, self-reliance and self improvement. From his humble beginnings as an apprentice candle and soap maker in his father’s business to a successful business man, author, philosopher, civil activist, politician scientist, inventor, and diplomat, above all Benjamin Franklin was, and still is, an American Icon and truly a pioneer of the American Dream.
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most successful founding fathers of our nation and helped establish American independence from Great Britain. He was a key member in the development of the political backbone that has shaped this country into what it is today. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most humble and inspirational figures of that time. He was a major factor in the outcome of the war of Independence and in his selfless actions of leaving his family, won the help from the French to assist America in the fight against England. Although Benjamin Franklin never made it to be president he was a leader among his peers. He invented many things that we still use today such as the library, bifocals, and the postal service. He helped
description of native life are described in such a way as to emphasize some of
Having been born in the first month of the year 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin has been regarded an iconic figure not only in the history of America but as well as the world.1 Although he had a deep passion for reading, he could only manage to attend school for two years. He then joined his brother at the age of 12 in apprenticeship at a shop. At the age of 15 people were reading his very first newspaper in Boston. It is after his letters had become a hit that he declared to be the writer. His brother, James, got furious about his writing so he had to run away to Philadelphia at the age of 17. His love for experiments could be seen at an early age for he carried out an experiment on kites during a lighting storm. This one was in regards to lighting and power. Franklin was a famous politician as well as a civil activist during the Enlightenment Era that took place in North America. He was widely known as he played his role as the Ambassador to France and the effort he made to acquire French military assistance when the American Revolution was ongoing. Among other achievements, Benjamin was among the Founding Fathers that put their signatures for the Declaration of Independence besides helping in the drafting of the United States Constitution. Besides being approachable and self-effacing, Benjamin Franklin was an extremely brilliant person.2 he was first a businessman as well as a scientist although he later got involved in civics and politics.
Whereas in Franklin’s distribution of his seventeen-eighty-four satirical document Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America; published eight years after America’s independence. It would be assumed that during Franklin’s time the colonists would have some kind of system in order to deal with the Natives. Instead more mischief continues and conflict between the Natives and colonists increase. The establishment of a biased opinion still sits in the hearts of the colonists, however on Franklin’s account there is a change. For instance, Franklin describes the culture of the Natives as “honorable,” something totally different as
Many people throughought history have helped shape America into what it is today. Some of them can be credited for the founding of the USA, while others are for what they gave or changed in it. In both the 17's and 18's Ben Franklin and others had helped influence America. Stories and Articles have been written about these people involving their lives and achievements. Many events in the United States of America were created and changed by Ben Franklin, Harriet Elisibeth Stowe, and Allan Pinkerton.
From its title, “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America," to its end, Benjamin Franklin’s essay uses satire to how that the Indians are anything but savage. Franklin’s satire uses humor to make readers question the way whites view and treat the Indians. He begins his essay saying, "Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; they think the same of theirs"(Franklin476). He goes on to illustrate the absurdity of thinking Euro-American culture "superior" to Native American culture through several examples.
The purpose of Franklin's "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America" was to increase the tolerance of Native Americans by the English settlers. He uses many forms of "tongue-in-cheek" writing, like sarcasm and irony, to compare the ways of the Natives and the ways of the settlers. He takes on the very uncommon mindset that the Native Americans were not as savage and barbarous of many claimed them to be. He aimed to prove that the Natives were just as civilized as the settlers even at times saying that they were more civilized like in this excerpt here: "Having frequent Occasions to hold public Councils, they have acquired great Order and Decency in conducting them. The old Men sit in the foremost Ranks, the Warriors in the next, and
In the “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” Benjamin Franklin writes about the Native American people and their way of life. In Benjamin Franklin’s essay he shows that the Native American people are far from savages. He explains how they are indeed civilized people. He says “perhaps, if we examine the manners of different nations with the impartiality, we should find no people so rude, as not to have some remains of rudeness.” The reason the Native Americans were called “savages” was because their rules of common civility, religion, laws and culture were different from the American culture and being that we were just socializing we did not understand their way of life.
Many works written at the time of settling America, depict Native Americans poorly. They are referred to as savages and are driven from the lands owned by their forefathers. In Benjamin Franklin's "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America", the reader is shown a new viewpoint of Native Americans. Franklin writes "If a white man, in traveling through our country, enters one of our cabins, we all treat him as I treat you;" (247), by saying
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most celebrated of America’s founding fathers. A man who enjoyed many things and “he had many talents such as a printer a diplomat, a scientist, an inventor, a philosopher, an educator, and a public servant.” (“Benjamin Franklin”) As stated in Britannica, he was born in Boston on January 17, 1706 and died at the age of 84 on April 17, 1790. He was the He was very involved in the American Revolution. What did he do for the American Revolution? Ways that he influenced the War was when he warned the colonists that the French were coming, he stopped the stamp act, and he was a big part of the Declaration of Independence.
It was the year 1706 in Boston, MA when Benjamin Franklin entered the world. Birthed after fourteen other siblings, Franklin's family structure is only one deciding factor in the way that this legendary tale pans out. A hero of American Revolution, this novel depicts 18th century realism accurately while logging Franklin's personal conception on human nature and social community. Many look at Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography as your typical rags to riches tale yet, the truth and falsehood throughout the pages is unknown, raising many questions and concerns. As this book was written in segments over a stretched period of time, we must analyze this account of his life, the struggles and successes which took place, and the outcome of such