Grade 5 Advanced Readers CollectionLesson_19_-_Benjamin_Franklin_-_A_Man_of_Many_Talents

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? B enjamin Franklin was a man of many talents and interests. Besides being an inventor, a writer, and a scientist, Ben was a leader who helped the United States become a great nation. All of this would probably make you think that Ben went to the fi nest schools and had the best teachers. The truth is that Ben actually had very little schooling. His family was poor and could not afford tutors or classes for him. Most of what he learned came through his own hard work and dedication. Ben educated himself in the fi elds of math, science, and English, as well as several foreign languages. His own curiosity led him on a constant search for information. Bens interest in educating himself was often fueled by his irrepressible need to fi gure out how things worked. He liked to take things apart in his workshop and see whether he could come up with better ways to make them work. This led Ben to improve upon existing inventions and create his own new ones as well. 3 RXENL08ARD5A19_ALR.indd 310/18/06 9:44:54 AM ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Publisher At the age of seventeen, Ben craved independence. He was a fully skilled printer, able to work in any print shop. With this skill, Ben left Boston and found work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia was the largest colonial city at the time, and there were many more opportunities available to Ben there. By the age of twenty-three, Ben owned his own newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. Ben did most of the writing for the paper himself. He had many new ideas for publishing. In fact, he was credited as the fi rst publisher to print cartoons, illustrated news stories, and letters to the editor. He believed in the power that the printed word had and used his printing press as a way to bring the news to all people. He used cartoons and pictures so that everyone could understand the news, including those who could not read. Ben worked very hard so that his business and writing would become the most famous throughout the colonies and within the newspaper industry. 5 RXENL08ARD5A19_ALR.indd 510/18/06 9:45:17 AM ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Political Activist Ben helped achieve freedom for the American colonies and shape the future of the United States. In 1757, he was sent to Britain to speak out against taxes and for fair treatment of the colonists. Though it was diffi cult making progress, Ben was able to do some great work. In 1765, he helped end the Stamp Act. This was a law that forced the colonists to buy stamps from the British for newspapers and other literature. These stamps were really just another tax the colonists had to pay. Ben stayed in Britain for many years, trying to keep peace between the colonists and the British. However, in 1775, Ben left Britain, feeling dis- appointed because he was unable to succeed in maintaining peace. When he returned to America, the Revolutionary War had already begun. Even though Ben was not happy about the war, he was still a patriotic American. He made the decision to support his country and the war. He was chosen to sit on the Second Continental Congress, which was a small group of men representing each of the thirteen colonies. They tried to fi gure out solutions to the war in an