Benjamin Franklin S Last Bet

Author : Michael Meyer
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 414 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2022-04-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781328569110

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Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet by Michael Meyer Pdf

The incredible story of Benjamin Franklin’s parting gift to the working-class people of Boston and Philadelphia—a deathbed wager that captures the Founder’s American Dream and his lessons for our current, conflicted age. Benjamin Franklin was not a gambling man. But at the end of his illustrious life, the Founder allowed himself a final wager on the survival of the United States: a gift of two thousand pounds to Boston and Philadelphia, to be lent out to tradesmen over the next two centuries to jump-start their careers. Each loan would be repaid with interest over ten years. If all went according to Franklin’s inventive scheme, the accrued final payout in 1991 would be a windfall. In Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet, Michael Meyer traces the evolution of these twin funds as they age alongside America itself, bankrolling woodworkers and silversmiths, trade schools and space races. Over time, Franklin’s wager was misused, neglected, and contested—but never wholly extinguished. With charm and inquisitive flair, Meyer shows how Franklin’s stake in the “leather-apron” class remains in play to this day, and offers an inspiring blueprint for prosperity in our modern era of growing wealth disparity and social divisions.

Author : Everest Media,
Publisher : Everest Media LLC
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2022-04-25T22:59:00Z
Category : History
ISBN : 9781669390565

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Summary of Michael Meyer's Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet by Everest Media, Pdf

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Franklin’s death was reported in the Pennsylvania Gazette on April 21, 1790. The notice omitted his biography, and instead printed his physician’s account of Franklin’s last days. #2 Franklin was an early fitness guru, and he dabbled in vegetarianism. He believed that exercise was most effective through intensity rather than duration. He also believed that the common cold was spread by contagion, and that ventilation and air circulation were the solution. #3 Ten months after Franklin’s death, his last will and testament was read aloud in court. It was revealed that he had left money to the Pennsylvania legislature to be employed for making the river Schuylkill navigable. This barely concealed an undercurrent of rectitude. #4 Franklin was a printer who had profited from public service. He refused to be paid when he was appointed as Pennsylvania governor for consecutive one-year terms in 1785. He wanted to show people that it was more advantageous to give than to receive.

Author : Benjamin Franklin
Publisher : Peter Pauper Press, Inc.
Page : 76 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 1998-03
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1441300597

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Benjamin Franklin Wit and Wisdom by Benjamin Franklin Pdf

Author : Stacia Deutsch,Rhody Cohon
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2014-09-02
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781442493476

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Ben Franklin's Fame by Stacia Deutsch,Rhody Cohon Pdf

When Benjamin Franklin decides to quit, it’s up to the Blast to the Past friends to find him and get history back on track in this sixth book in the Blast to the Past series. Abigail and her friends can’t believe it—Babs Magee has finally convinced someone to quit, and that someone is Benjamin Franklin! Not only is he an important Founding Father, he invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and more. Babs is making a terrible mess of history, and it’s up to the third-grade time travelers to put things right. But no matter how far back the kids go, Babs is always one step ahead of them. Will they be able to find Ben and stop Babs in time to save history?

Author : Benjamin Franklin
Publisher : Books of American Wisdom
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2016-09-27
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1429093552

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Benjamin Franklin's Book of Virtues by Benjamin Franklin Pdf

A Pocket-Sized Collection of Benjamin Franklin's Thirteen Virtues in an Elegant Hardcover Edition

Author : Brad Meltzer
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 40 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2020-10-13
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 9780525555926

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I am Benjamin Franklin by Brad Meltzer Pdf

The 21st book in the New York Times bestselling series of biographies about heroes tells the story of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. who helped draft the Declaration of Independence while making important scientific contributions. (Cover may vary) This friendly, fun biography series focuses on the traits that made our heroes great--the traits that kids can aspire to in order to live heroically themselves. Each book tells the story of an icon in a lively, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers and that always includes the hero's childhood influences. At the back are an excellent timeline and photos.Driven by his curiosity from a young age, Benjamin Franklin's observations about the world led to key discoveries about electricity and other contributions that remain important today. This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big. Included in each book are: • A timeline of key events in the hero’s history • Photos that bring the story more fully to life • Comic-book-style illustrations that are irresistibly adorable • Childhood moments that influenced the hero • Facts that make great conversation-starters • A virtue this person embodies: Benjamin Franklin's commitment to self-improvement is the highlight of this biography You’ll want to collect each book in this dynamic, informative series!

Author : Benjamin Franklin
Publisher : Google Auto-narrated Demo
Page : 195 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2019-12-31
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin Pdf

Franklin's Autobiography has received widespread praise, both for its historical value as a record of an important early American and for its literary style. This work has become one of the most famous and influential examples of an autobiography ever written. This title is based on the Harvard Classics edition.

Author : Michael Bundock
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 291 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2015-03-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780300213904

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The Fortunes of Francis Barber by Michael Bundock Pdf

This compelling book chronicles a young boy’s journey from the horrors of Jamaican slavery to the heart of London’s literary world, and reveals the unlikely friendship that changed his life. Francis Barber, born in Jamaica, was brought to London by his owner in 1750 and became a servant in the household of the renowned Dr. Samuel Johnson. Although Barber left London for a time and served in the British navy during the Seven Years’ War, he later returned to Johnson’s employ. A fascinating reversal took place in the relationship between the two men as Johnson’s health declined and the older man came to rely more and more upon his now educated and devoted companion. When Johnson died he left the bulk of his estate to Barber, a generous (and at the time scandalous) legacy, and a testament to the depth of their friendship. There were thousands of black Britons in the eighteenth century, but few accounts of their lives exist. In uncovering Francis Barber’s story, this book not only provides insights into his life and Samuel Johnson’s but also opens a window onto London when slaves had yet to win their freedom.

Author : Edmund Sears Morgan
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2003-01-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0300101627

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Benjamin Franklin by Edmund Sears Morgan Pdf

Draws on Franklin's extensive writings to provide a portrait of the statesman, inventor, and Founding Father.

Author : Joyce Chaplin
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 434 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2007-08-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9780465008858

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The First Scientific American by Joyce Chaplin Pdf

Famous, fascinating Benjamin Franklin -- he would be neither without his accomplishments in science. Joyce Chaplin's authoritative biography considers all of Franklin's work in the sciences, showing how, during the rise and fall of the first British empire, science became central to public culture and therefore to Franklin's success. Having demonstrated in his earliest experiments and observations that he could master nature, Franklin showed the world that he was uniquely suited to solve problems in every realm. In the famous adage, Franklin "snatched lightning from the sky and the scepter from the tyrants" -- in that order. The famous kite and other experiments with electricity were only part of Franklin's accomplishments. He charted the Gulf Stream, made important observations on meteorology, and used the burgeoning science of "political arithmetic" to make unprecedented statements about America's power. Even as he stepped onto the world stage as an illustrious statesman and diplomat in the years leading up to the American Revolution, his fascination with nature was unrelenting. Franklin was the first American whose "genius" for science qualified him as a genius in political affairs. It is only through understanding Franklin's full engagement with the sciences that we can understand this great Founding Father and the world he shaped.

Author : Edward J. Larson
Publisher : HarperCollins
Page : 400 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2020-02-11
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780062880178

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Franklin & Washington by Edward J. Larson Pdf

"Larson's elegantly written dual biography reveals that the partnership of Franklin and Washington was indispensable to the success of the Revolution." —Gordon S. Wood From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian comes a masterful, first-of-its-kind dual biography of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, illuminating their partnership's enduring importance. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • One of Washington Post's "10 Books to Read in February" • One of USA Today’s “Must-Read Books" of Winter 2020 • One of Publishers Weekly's "Top Ten" Spring 2020 Memoirs/Biographies Theirs was a three-decade-long bond that, more than any other pairing, would forge the United States. Vastly different men, Benjamin Franklin—an abolitionist freethinker from the urban north—and George Washington—a slaveholding general from the agrarian south—were the indispensable authors of American independence and the two key partners in the attempt to craft a more perfect union at the Constitutional Convention, held in Franklin’s Philadelphia and presided over by Washington. And yet their teamwork has been little remarked upon in the centuries since. Illuminating Franklin and Washington’s relationship with striking new detail and energy, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Edward J. Larson shows that theirs was truly an intimate working friendship that amplified the talents of each for collective advancement of the American project. After long supporting British rule, both Franklin and Washington became key early proponents of independence. Their friendship gained historical significance during the American Revolution, when Franklin led America’s diplomatic mission in Europe (securing money and an alliance with France) and Washington commanded the Continental Army. Victory required both of these efforts to succeed, and success, in turn, required their mutual coordination and cooperation. In the 1780s, the two sought to strengthen the union, leading to the framing and ratification of the Constitution, the founding document that bears their stamp. Franklin and Washington—the two most revered figures in the early republic—staked their lives and fortunes on the American experiment in liberty and were committed to its preservation. Today the United States is the world’s great superpower, and yet we also wrestle with the government Franklin and Washington created more than two centuries ago—the power of the executive branch, the principle of checks and balances, the electoral college—as well as the wounds of their compromise over slavery. Now, as the founding institutions appear under new stress, it is time to understand their origins through the fresh lens of Larson’s Franklin & Washington, a major addition to the literature of the founding era.

Author : Paul Zall
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 198 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2005-12-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813171869

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Benjamin Franklin's Humor by Paul Zall Pdf

Although he called himself merely a “printer” in his will, Benjamin Franklin could have also called himself a diplomat, a doctor, an electrician, a frontier general, an inventor, a journalist, a legislator, a librarian, a magistrate, a postmaster, a promoter, a publisher—and a humorist. John Adams wrote of Franklin, “He had wit at will. He had humor that when he pleased was pleasant and delightful . . . [and] talents for irony, allegory, and fable, that he could adapt with great skill, to the promotion of moral and political truth.” In Benjamin Franklin’s Humor, author Paul M. Zall shows how one of America’s founding fathers used humor to further both personal and national interests. Early in his career, Franklin impersonated the feisty widow Silence Dogood in a series of comically moralistic essays that helped his brother James outpace competitors in Boston’s incipient newspaper market. In the mid-eighteenth century, he displayed his talent for comic impersonation in numerous editions of Poor Richard’s Almanac, a series of pocket-sized tomes filled with proverbs and witticisms that were later compiled in Franklin’s The Way to Wealth (1758), one of America’s all-time bestselling books. Benjamin Franklin was sure to be remembered for his early work as an author, printer, and inventor, but his accomplishments as a statesman later in life firmly secured his lofty stature in American history. Zall shows how Franklin employed humor to achieve desired ends during even the most difficult diplomatic situations: while helping draft the Declaration of Independence, while securing France’s support for the American Revolution, while brokering the treaty with England to end the War for Independence, and while mediating disputes at the Constitutional Convention. He supervised and facilitated the birth of a nation with customary wit and aplomb. Zall traces the development of an acute sense of humor throughout the life of a great American. Franklin valued humor not as an end in itself but as a means to gain a competitive edge, disseminate information, or promote a program. Early in life, he wrote about timely topics in an effort to reach a mass reading class, leaving an amusing record of early American culture. Later, Franklin directed his talents toward serving his country. Regardless of its origin, the best of Benjamin Franklin’s humor transcends its initial purpose and continues to evoke undying laughter at shared human experiences.

Author : Brandon Marie Miller
Publisher : Chicago Review Press
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2009-10-01
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 9781613741306

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Benjamin Franklin, American Genius by Brandon Marie Miller Pdf

Benjamin Franklin was a 17-year-old runaway when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1723. Yet within days he'd found a job at a local print shop, met the woman he would eventually marry, and even attracted the attention of Pennsylvania's governor. A decade later, he became a colonial celebrity with the publication of Poor Richard: An Almanack and would go on to become one of America's most distinguished Founding Fathers. Franklin established the colonies' first lending library, volunteer fire company, and postal service, and was a leading expert in the study of electricity. He represented the Pennsylvania colony in London but returned to help draft the Declaration of Independence. The new nation then named him Minister to France, where he helped secure financial and military aide for the breakaway republic. Author Brandon Marie Miller captures the essence of this exceptional individual through both his original writings and hands-on activities from the era. Readers will design and print an almanac cover, play a simple glass armonica (a Franklin invention), experiment with static electricity, build a barometer, and more. The text also includes a time line, glossary, Web and travel resources, and reading list for further study.

Author : Robert Middlekauff
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2023-11-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9780520921030

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Benjamin Franklin and His Enemies by Robert Middlekauff Pdf

In this engaging study of the much-loved statesman and polymath, Robert Middlekauff uncovers a little-known aspect of Benjamin Franklin's personality—his passionate anger. He reveals a fully human Franklin who led a remarkable life but nonetheless had his share of hostile relationships—political adversaries like the Penns, John Adams, and Arthur Lee—and great disappointments—the most significant being his son, William, who sided with the British. Utilizing an abundance of archival sources, Middlekauff weaves episodes in Franklin's emotional life into key moments in colonial and Revolutionary history. The result is a highly readable narrative that illuminates how historical passions can torment even the most rational and benevolent of men.

Author : Philip Dray
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
Page : 306 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2005-12-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9780812968101

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Stealing God's Thunder by Philip Dray Pdf

“Dray captures the genius and ingenuity of Franklin’s scientific thinking and then does something even more fascinating: He shows how science shaped his diplomacy, politics, and Enlightenment philosophy.” –Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin: An American Life Today we think of Benjamin Franklin as a founder of American independence who also dabbled in science. But in Franklin’s day, the era of Enlightenment, long before he was an eminent statesman, he was famous for his revolutionary scientific work. Pulitzer Prize finalist Philip Dray uses the evolution of Franklin’s scientific curiosity and empirical thinking as a metaphor for America’s struggle to establish its fundamental values. He recounts how Franklin unlocked one of the greatest natural mysteries of his day, the seemingly unknowable powers of lightning and electricity. Rich in historical detail and based on numerous primary sources, Stealing God’s Thunder is a fascinating original look at one of our most beloved and complex founding fathers.