Benjamin Franklin and His Relation to American Identity
To be an American means a lot of things. Being American is about having freedom. You have the freedom to vote, the freedom to try to better yourself financially, the freedom to worship whatever religion you want, the freedom to voice your opinions, and the freedom to overthrow an oppressive government. America is a united nation run by a government that is “for the people, by the people, and of the people.” America has a varied society and a huge number of rights, which gives America its identity. Being American is about giving every individual a chance to pursue and catch happiness. Combined, all of these traits make up the “American Identity.” One person who helped shape the “American Identity” by showing all of these characteristics was Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin, one of our five most esteemed founding fathers, was one of the biggest reasons that American values are as they are today. If it wasn’t for Benjamin Franklin, there is a very good possibility that the United States of America would still be run by England. Franklin was an ambassador during the American Revolution. He secured the French alliance which was one of the main reasons that America beat England. Franklin was recognized as being the roots of American values. Franklin portrayed the characteristics of education, hard work, patriotism, self-government, anti-slavery, and disagreement to dictatorship. America was built around these principles and beliefs.
In the time period that Benjamin Franklin lived in, there were many events that occurred that would allow him to greatly influence the structural integrity of the United States of America. During the year 1776, Franklin was dispatched to France as the “Commissioner of the United States.” He spent time in France trying to convince French that they needed to help the Americans in this war against England. Soon after Franklin arrived back in America, he served as a delegate of the Philadelphia Convention. Franklin was the only one of
Benjamin Franklin, one of our five most esteemed founding fathers, was one of the biggest reasons that American values are as they are today. If it wasn’t for Benjamin Franklin, there is a very good possibility that the United States of America would still be run by England. Franklin was an ambassador during the American Revolution. He secured the French alliance which was one of the main reasons that America beat England. Franklin was recognized as being the roots of American values. Franklin portrayed the characteristics of education, hard work, patriotism, self-government, anti-slavery, and disagreement to dictatorship. America was built around these principles and beliefs.
In the time period that Benjamin Franklin lived in, there were many events that occurred that would allow him to greatly influence the structural integrity of the United States of America. During the year 1776, Franklin was dispatched to France as the “Commissioner of the United States.” He spent time in France trying to convince French that they needed to help the Americans in this war against England. Soon after Franklin arrived back in America, he served as a delegate of the Philadelphia Convention. Franklin was the only one of
Cited: page 1. http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/index.htm 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin 3. http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/ 4. http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm