As a philanthropist, he supported and encouraged such varied programs as the establishment of public schools and libraries and the installation of street lighting. He was elected a member of the Royal Society in recognition of his scientific achievements, especially for his study of electricity. His scientific renown earned him honorary degrees from Yale and Harvard in and from William and Mary in In Franklin was selected to represent Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress, called to unite the colonies during the French and Indian War.
At the congress, Franklin advanced his Albany Plan of Union, one of the first proposals to bring the colonies together under some form of central authority. The plan was adopted by the congress, but rejected by the colonial legislatures because they believed it encroached upon their powers. Franklin then entered what was to be a pivotal period in his life. He went to London as an agent representing the interests of Pennsylvania, and then later as an agent for Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts and Beginning as a contented Englishman who favored Royal rule and distrusted popular movements, he emerged as a leading spokesman for American rights.
When the Stamp Act crisis arose, he demonstrated his new political sentiments by speaking out against the Act. He gradually adopted the theory that Parliament did not have the power to tax or to legislate in the colonies, and that the colonies and Great Britain were united "as England and Scotland were before the Union, by having one common Sovereign, the King.
Returning to America, he advanced to the forefront of the Patriot cause as a member of the Continental Congress He served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. It has been said that he was not chosen to draft the document for fear that he might conceal a joke in it. He was the eldest signer of the Declaration of Independence, and when he finished signing the document, he joked, "Gentlemen, we must now all hang together, or we shall most assuredly all hang separately.
Now, we are called upon to do the same, to keep this Republic. Sincerely, Sam Graves. Skip to main content. Search form. Take a Quick Survey. In his will, he left money to Boston and Philadelphia, which was later used to establish a trade school and a science museum and fund scholarships and other community projects.
More than years after his death, Franklin remains one of the most celebrated figures in U. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. He only had two years of formal education.
The man considered the most brilliant American of his age rarely saw the inside of a classroom. Franklin spent just two years attending Boston Latin School and a private academy before joining the family candle and soap making While his support for protective tariffs led to rising prices for consumers and arguably paved Franklin Pierce , the son of a onetime governor of New Hampshire, entered politics at a young age.
He served as speaker of the state legislature before winning election to the U. House of Representatives in After two terms in the House and one in the Senate, When armed conflict between bands of American colonists and British soldiers began in April , the Americans were ostensibly fighting only Franklin D. With the country mired in the depths of the Great Depression, Roosevelt immediately acted to restore public confidence, proclaiming a bank holiday and Thomas Paine was an England-born political philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and Europe.
From to , the Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States. The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures A member of a committee of five that also included John Adams of Live TV.
This Day In History. History Vault. Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher. Recommended for you. Benjamin Franklin. The Eventful Life of Benjamin Franklin. Advice from the Founding Fathers: Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Harrison.
0コメント