Quotes by Benjamin Franklin
1706 – 1790
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a Founding Father of the American republic, an author, inventor, and diplomat whose life and ideas came to be identified with the new American nation. He wrote the best selling Poor Richard’s Almanac (1733), a posthumously published Autobiography, and many articles advocating American independence from Great Britain. From 1776-1785 he was the American ambassador to France, and from 1785-1788 he was governor of Pennsylvania.
The State
Benjamin Franklin on the “superstructure” of Good Government (1736)
Food & Drink
Benjamin Franklin on killing and cooking a turkey with electricity (1748)
Revolution
Benjamin Franklin on the trade off between essential liberty and temporary safety (1775)
Colonies, Slavery & Abolition
Benjamin Franklin on making the transition from slavery to civil liberty (1789)
Colonies, Slavery & Abolition
Benjamin Franklin and the Need for Unity among the Colonies
Society
Benjamin Franklin’s List of Virtues for “Clean” Living