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Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography is one of the greatest autobiographies of all time&mdahs;but it was incomplete. Franklin ended his life’s story in 1757, when he was fifty–one. He lived another thirty–three eventful years, serving as America’s advocate in London, Pennsylvania’s representative in the Continental Congress, and… See more details below
Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography is one of the greatest autobiographies of all time&mdahs;but it was incomplete. Franklin ended his life’s story in 1757, when he was fifty–one. He lived another thirty–three eventful years, serving as America’s advocate in London, Pennsylvania’s representative in the Continental Congress, and America’s wartime ambassador to France. Here is the rest of the story, in Franklin’s own words. One of the most fascinating of our founding fathers, Franklin was a polymath, a practical statesman, and an incomparable cynic and wit. The Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, faithfully compiled and edited from Franklin’s papers, reveals why he became a spokesman for American independence as well as his views on the Constitution, such fellow patriots as Adams and Jefferson, on French women, and more. Mark Skousen is a descendant of Benjamin Franklin through Franklin’s grandson Louis Bache.
A sample of the humor, wisdom, and patriotism of Benjamin Franklin
On God intervening in the American Revolution: “If it had not been for the justice of our cause, and the consequent interposition of Providence in which we had faith, we must have been ruined.”
On freedom in America: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters. America is too enlightened to be enslaved.”
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