American Literature

Introduction
Benjamin Franklin was born on 17th January, 1706 in America. He was a successful man, hardworking and a focused man. He was a publisher, printer, politician and a smart diplomat. Franklin was the tenth son of a Massachusetts soap and candle maker (Brux, pp 10). Largely self-taught, Franklin displayed an intellectual ability, readily apparent to those around him, that would earn him an international reputation in various fields. According to Franklin (pp 24), he began his career as a printer, going on to found the New England Courant, the fourth newspaper in the colonies.

This research paper will focus on the achievements of Benjamin Franklin, his dreams and his contributions towards the declaration of independence. In an attempt to establish the founders of America as a United State, this paper will analyze the life and accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin.

Historical background
Following a serious argument with his brother in 1723, Franklin left Boston to start a new life in Philadelphia. There, he quickly became an honored citizen and began his lifelong participation in political affairs. He served in Pennsylvanias colonial legislature (1736-64), both as delegate and elected clerk of the general assembly. In 1737, he also became postmaster of Philadelphia. He rose to prominence throughout the colonies when he became deputy postmaster general of British North America (1753-74) (Franklin, pp 29).

His contribution to the declaration of independence is in the books of history even though he was never in the battle fields, he was an eloquent man with practical ideals and principles on how America was to be governed.

Congress Representatives
According to Franklin (pp 28), there were thirteen states that were against the British monopoly and policies. The thirteen states had to unite and oppose the British rule since the British government had a strong military and a lot of resources to marshal war against the colonies. The colonies were Rhode Island, New York, North Carolina, Hampshire, Viginia, Delaware, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and Georgia. According to Brux (pp 12), the reason why they had to come together was because the British army was well organized and the British government did not allow the colonies to bring forward the names of the representatives in the parliament to air their views and to follow the proceedings in the parliament. This led to animosity among the colonies and even the royal officials were not allowed in the parliament hence felt neglected and none represented.

The thirteen states had to come up with the representatives to negotiate with the British government over certain issues that were raising controversy. When American colonists began to vie for freedom in 1775, Benjamin Franklin had many reasons for supporting the revolution. At first, however, he made no comment on which side he supported. In truth, he was waiting to publicize his opinion until he could convert two loyalists who were very dear to him. First were his longtime friend and ally Joseph Galloway and his own son, William Franklin (Hamilton, pp 46). Benjamin revealed his loathing for Englands recent atrocities to his son in private. He despised British rule because of the corruption in the system.

According to Rider (pp 14), Benjamin Franklin was one of the people that were selected by the congress to represent America in Britain. The other members of the committee were Robert Livingstone, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Roger Sherman. The committee of experts had several meetings with the British government of all the representatives that were sent by the Congress, Benjamin Franklins ability to articulate issues posed a serious worry among the representatives from the British government. His presence in the meeting was viewed as a plus to the American government. He was a tactful leader who had the ability to handle tough questions rationally (Rider, pp 14). His ability to reason logically and to come up with positive recommendations contributed a lot during the French-Indian war. He was selected to represent Pennsylvania in 1754. During this time, the thirteen colonies were not united Franklin came up with Albany Plan of Union. This was a plan to bring all the colonies together under one central authority. The plan was accepted by the majority and was approved by the congress though it was rejected by the colonial legislatures since they believed it could usurp their powers as legislatures.

According to Rider (pp 18), Franklin was a radical thinker who was opposed to colonial policies. He was an intelligent, out spoken man who never kept quiet in times of crisis. He was opposed to Stamp Act he openly opposed the Act and argued that the colony had no mandate to impose new Acts on the people. He emerged to be a leading spokes man for American rights. During the time he was representing Pennsylvania, he went to London to represent the state and later after successful representation, he became an agent for Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. After series of negotiation with the British government led by Benjamin Franklin, there was an urgent need to come up with a working constitution after independence to define how the government was to operate and to ensure that no State violates the principles behind the new constitution. John Jay and his two friends Robert Livingstone and Gouverneur Morris were acknowledged a lot for coming up with a new constitution that was accepted by the majority (Brux, pp 13).

It is worth noting that the draft was more of English laws and never acknowledged most principles that were initially valued before the declaration of independence. The system of governance was almost similar to that of England. However, most of the experts argued that the constitution was drafted by people who had little experience on constitutional matters and were not old enough to understand the deeper meaning of certain ideologies in governance thereby adopting a system that had similar context with the England constitution. According to Brux (pp, 12) by the time Franklin returned to America from London, he became a member of the Patriotic cause of the Continental Congress (1775-1776). He served in the committee that was responsible for the drafting of the document (Declaration of Independence). He was a man who liked joking and most people believed that the reason that led to omission of his name among the people who were responsible for coming up with the draft, was because he could include jokes in the document.

However, he was the eldest signer of the declaration of independence document. After signing the document that liberated the thirteen states he cracked a joke to the committee members making an ironical statement, Gentlemen, we must now all hang together, or we shall most assuredly all hang separately, (The Independence Hall Association, pp 12). Ironically, the time he was signing the document to liberate the Americans, his son William was incarcerated in Connecticut. Franklin left Continental Congress and expressed his ambitions to become the president of Pennsylvania constitutional convention in the year 1776.

As an ambassador, Franklins public career became so instrumental to the people of America.

His work as minister to France (1776-85) was critical to the achievement of the nations first foreign alliance, so essential to the success of the Revolutionary War effort. The respected and admired old statesman obtained loans, negotiated treaties of commerce and alliance, and, along with John Jay and John Adams, negotiated the Treaty of Paris that ended the War for Independence (The Independence Hall Association, pp 12). Once independence was achieved, Franklin came home to Pennsylvania to serve as the president of the Supreme Executive Council of Philadelphia (1785-88). Some of the treaties that were signed by Franklin were important in ensuring peace in America. The treaty of Paris that was accepted and signed had a great impact on the new constitution since important documents on governance were handed in to the former colonyGreat Britain and this brought a peaceful atmosphere for the adoption and the operation of the new constitution in the United States of America (The Independence Hall Association 2001 pp 12).

According to Brux (pp 13), it helped to reduce tension on territorial boundaries that had been a stalemate in governance, for instance, Spain and France on the ownership of the Islands such as Minorca and Bahamas Island. As a result, there was peace and good relationship between the two States. It also helped a lot in creation of new terms of agreement among the warring states and promoting conducive atmosphere for political development in the United States of America.

His contribution to Constitution
The constitution proposed a republican form of governance and the concept was well explained in a more republican form and ignored the democratic principles that were highly valued by some of the delegates during the fight for independence (Hamilton, pp 45). It is therefore true that most of the people depending on the State of origin, were not fully satisfied with the form of governance or system that was proposed in the constitution but they just had to accept it since there was an urgent need to form a new government that could ensure unity of different States.

Franklin was at the age of 81 when he was appointed as a senior states man of the constitutional convention. His old age was relevant in coming up with positive recommendations that were necessary in coming up with a good constitution that could represent the interests of every state (Middlekauff, pp 72). His few formal discourses were written out and read since he was not a good orator and none of his major ideas such as single-chambered legislature, executive board rather than the president, service in public without pay was ever implemented. However, Franklin ensured that the amendments were made. To ensure that the interests of different States were protected, for instance, the amendments on appointment of the council were necessary in providing a clear guideline on the method of appointment and the requirements for appointments.

He remained among the most influential figures due to his unique ability to settle disputes and encourage compromise whenever controversy arose. According to Middlekauff (pp, 72), Franklin achieved his objectives during the negotiations due to his prestige, humor and power of diplomacy. When a deadlock developed over the question of how the states should be represented in Congress, Franklin rephrased the problem in simple yet direct terms If a property representation takes place, the small states contend their liberties will be in danger. If an equality of votes takes place, the large states say their money will be in danger, (The Independence Hall Association, pp 12).

In the end, Franklin was an important member of the committee that adjusted the matter of representation, thus working out the good joint that was to be the most important prerequisite to the adoption of the Constitution by the thirteen states. When the time came to sign the document, Franklin encouraged his fellow delegates to take this spirit of compromise to its conclusion by lending the Constitution their unanimous support (Brux, pp 13).

Despite the fact that he himself did not approve of every aspect of the new plan of government, he concluded On the whole  I cannot help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention . . . would with me, on this occasion, doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to the instrument, (Brux, pp 14). According to Rider (pp 14), Franklins last public act was his open opposition to slavery, a cause with which he had opposed since 1730. He died on April 17, 1790, his funeral was well attended and his death was marked with heroic achievements.

Conclusion
Of all the people that contributed to American liberation from the British rule, Franklin Benjamin stands tall. He never went to the battle field but spent most of his time in boardrooms as others were fighting in the battle fields. He was a great diplomat who knew how to take compromise and to settle disputes. He was a tactful leader, who was ready to discuss controversial issues with the British government. He contributed a lot to the implementation of the American constitution by the thirteen states and his reputation was national and world wide. He emerged to be the founder of American independence though he never went to the battle fields. He died on April 17, 1790, his funeral was well attended and his death was marked with heroic accomplishment.