Benjamin Franklin
During the American Revolution
Early Life
In Boston, Benjamin Franklin was born in to a big family with nine siblings. He received little formal education; however, Benjamin knew how to read very well. Because of this skill Benjamin obtained through ten years of schooling, he taught himself how to write to compliment his reading. Printing and publishing interested him, so he made his way to Philadelphia to become a printer and later to London, England to continue his work.
Involvement in American Revolution 1775-1783
Benjamin Franklin suggested the colonies become one united nation under a separate congress from the British Parliament at a meeting in 1754, but the idea was brushed away (History.com Staff 2). Over a decade after the suggestion, Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765 which upset the colonies. Franklin testified, and the Act was repealed one year later; however, Parliament passed the law that they could make rules as they please. In 1775, Benjamin Franklin participated in the 2nd Continental Congress. Then, one year later, a committee, including Franklin, drafted the Declaration of Independence. Later in 1776, he traveled to France where he would obtain the agreement of their help in the war. There, Ben Franklin helped draft the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the war.
Declaration Committee
Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, John Adams
Inventor, Writer, Publisher, Scientist, Printer
Signatures of 1783 Treaty of Paris
John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, William Temple Franklin
After the War
The war ended, so Benjamin Franklin returned to his nation in Philadelphia in 1785. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he persuaded the others to ratify the U.S. Constitution, so the required states approved and signed the document. Sadly, Franklin did not have the chance to experience the new country he helped to create. Soon after the war ended, Franklin passed away in April of 1790.
Bibliography
"Benjamin Franklin Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2014. Web. 23 Sept.
2014.
Donohue, Keith. "Celebrating Benjamin Franklin's Birthday on Founders Online." TheWhiteHouse.com. The White House, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
History.com Staff. "Benjamin Franklin." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web.
19 Sept. 2014.
"People." Early America.com. Archiving Early America, 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
Streufert, Duane. "Declaring Independence: Drafting the Document." USFlag.org. Duane Streufert, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
West, Benjamin. "Treaty of Paris 1783." KingsAcademy.com. N.p., 2011. Web 23 Sept. 2014.