Benjamin Franklin: The Most Significant Of Our Nation's Founding Fathers

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Benjamin Franklin, one of the most significant of our nation’s founding fathers, was also one of American History’s most unique and influential figures. Born the fifteenth son of a candle and soapmaker on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin rose from humble beginnings to reach unimaginable success in an era where movement between social classes was exceedingly uncommon. As a student in the prestigious Boston Latin School, Franklin excelled in many of his studies and showed a particular aptitude for reading. Despite this promising beginning to his educational career however, Franklin’s schooling was forcefully cut short at age ten so he could aid his father, Josiah Franklin, in his candle and soap shop. This early start in the world of business proved to be invaluable to Franklin, whose …show more content…
As the youngest boy (and fifteenth child overall) in a Bostonian middle-class family of seventeen, Franklin always had a desperate yearning to stand out. This craving for attention was clearly evident in his adult years as he became one of the most flamboyant figures of the revolution, uttering many brash statements and flirting with countless women during his extended stays in France as an American ambassador. Unlike many other prominent political figures of the day, did not enjoy the pampered, upper-class childhood that many of his colleagues experienced. As a result of his family’s questionable financial security, Ben was introduced to the raw struggles and experiences that he would later encounter in his professional life. These early hardships and issues in Ben’s childhood proved to have a lasting influence on Franklin and helped introduce his gritty “self-help” attitude that became one of his trademarks over the course of his numerous
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