Benjamin Franklin's Hardships In Colonial American History

Colonial American faced several hardships in the new land, it was very challenging for any individuals who came by to either escape poverty, achieve their dream or to gain religious freedom. However, that didn’t stop them in what they wanted to do. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Phillis Wheatley are great set of examples. Therefore today, I will be discussing what they communicate about the hardships of this new land, new government, and new culture. You may perhaps recognize Ben Franklin as the man who successfully discovered electricity, was a printer, writer and a scientist. But, you may not know his humble background and the hurdles he overcame to be successful. After all, most of our well-known Founding Fathers came
Franklin surpassed many problems at a young age. In 1722, his brother was imprisoned for offending the Massachusetts officials, and by 1723, Franklin ran to Philadelphia to be independent with barely any money having his brother upset and angry since it was a defiant act for an apprentice (Baym, 234). Though he didn’t start off great, made multiple mistakes as he would call it, “errata”, with his time and patience lead him to be a great business man. With that, he took what he had learned from past experience and created a technique to improve upon his character by what he called, “13 Virtues” (Inside American History, 2007). It was something that he decided to work towards the rest of his life. Franklin’s plan was to center on only one of the virtue each week. Though, Franklin confessed that he fell short of these virtues numerous times, he truly believed that honestly trying his best made him a better man, and contributed to his success and happiness. Franklin’s creative, hardworking nature had brought him from rags-to-riches, allowing him to retire early from
Although, it was uncommon for woman of that era to be highly educated, it was unheard of for a slave to be able to read and write. Nevertheless, Phillis Wheatley was a slave girl whose education helped her to become recognized and published poet in the mid-1700s. Born in Senegal, West Africa, Phillis was taken from her native land and brought to Boston on a slave ship in 1761 (Baym, 401). That same exact year she was sold at the auction in Boston by John Wheatley, a wealthy tailor. The family treated her with respect and gave her the opportunity to learn to read and write. Therefore, leading the publication of 'Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral' in London, 1773. Becoming the first African woman to get a book printed under her name (Carretta, 2015). 'Poems on Various Subjects' contained thirty nine of Wheatley's original poems. With the publication she soon became an instant hit in Boston and received great respect and praise for her work. Yet, her literary abilities stunned many Caucasians, for whose intellect was not the same with black people. Besides the fame she received, the writer also gained freedom from slavery, the year 1773 (Baym, 402). During that time wasn’t so great due to the fact, that she was shattered by the death of the Wheatley’s family member, John and Susanna. Five years later, she married to John Peter, with whom she had 3 kids whom all died to infancy. Her