Ben Franklin Reports Essay, Research Paper

There was a man named Josiah Franklin. He owned a candle and

soap shop in Boston, Massachusetts. The sign for the shop was

shaped like a blue ball. Josiah had children, but there were often

not living at home. Josiah invited guests to his home to talk and

teach his children, but the guests were not aware that they were

invited to teach the Franklin children. Both Josiah and his wife

felt strongly about educating their children; they took their

children?s education very seriously. Benjamin, one of their

children, always listened to the guests; he was a very bright

child. Benjamin taught himself to read when he was only five years

old. His parents wished that they could send Ben to school, but

they were very poor.

Once three very important men visited Josiah and told him of a

new law which said that children must attend school. Josiah sent

Ben to the Boston Latin School because the only expenses were books

and fire wood. At the Latin School all the children were expected

to learn fables by heart. The fables had lessons which the school

master thought was an important part of learning. Ben’s best

friend’s name was Nathan. Ben helped Nathan learn the fable “The

Wolf and the Kid”, while Ben learned “The Dog and his Shadow”. At

the time of the recital of the fables the school master said, “and

Ben will recite “The Wolf and the Kid”, which was Nathan’s fable.

Ben thought, “If I say that it is Nathan’s fable, then the school

master will get into trouble. If I recite the fable, then Nathan

will get into trouble.” Ben did nothing; he simply stood there

looking up into the sky. Everyone said that Ben was lazy and that

he could not even learn one fable. Josiah Franklin stood up and

explained his son’s behavior and the school master was very

embarrassed.

Josiah and Nathan’s father both took their sons to the Writing

School. Ben was good in every subject except math. An example of

the type of math that Ben had trouble with is; 848 plus 262 equals

101010. Poor Ben would get a zero but his teacher would not

explain the math to him.

Ben loved science and frequently did experiments. His first

experiment was paddles to make him swim faster. When he tried his

newly invented paddles he found that although he could swim faster

the paddles hurt his wrists. Next he made a kite which could pull

him across the pond and he found this an enjoyable experience. Ben

and Nathan bought parts of a sailboat which they repaired and made

perfect.

When Ben got older he became his father’s apprentice in the

candle and soap shop. Ben, the only son who worked in the family

business, treated the customers well and helped his father. After

working with his father for several years Ben became his brother’s

apprentice in a print shop. Ben made a deal with his brother. His

brother would pay for half the cost of Ben’s dinner and Ben would

pay for his own food, and the leftover money would be spent on

books.

Ben wrote stories for the local newspaper about the problems

Boston was having. When he wrote these articles he used a pen name

and even his brother did not know that Ben was the author of the

articles. Ben thought that if he wrote about the problems of the

city, the other Bostonians would be embarrassed and would fix the

problems before other people made jokes about Boston. Eventually

people found out that Ben was the author of these articles and

Ben’s brother became jealous and mean to him.

Ben left Boston and moved to Philadelphia where he set up his

own printing business. He printed the famous “Poor Richard’s

Almanac” a best seller and decided that he would be print it every

twenty-five years. He never stopped experimenting and is known for

inventions such as; bifocal glasses, the rocking chair and his most

famous experiment showing how lightening can produce electricity.

Ben became a famous politician, a minister to France, and traveled

to Europe and talked about the American cause. He died on April

17, 1790.

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