Review question 5 lecture Best Man in the Colonies

Benjamin Franklin

What statements that

BF made stick with us
today?

What did he do or write

that resonates with you….personally (not academically)

What will you remember about BF

in ten years?
Was BF born with
‘a silver spoon’ in his
mouth?...how are his
Humble roots typical
Of many journalists?

What influences did his

background, his mother, father,
Brother have on little Ben?
How did young Ben learn the
journalism trade?

What was characteristic of his

Thinking as young man on his
way up?
Who was Mrs. Silence Dogood?

what do her writings reveal?

The essential insights of
Apologies of a Printer (1731)
are:?????

Make sure to read the Apologies

Make sure to read and personally
relate to a couple of BF’s sayings
(both in Blackboard)
At first BF
was
reluctant to
rebel from
Great
Brit…explain
his
Evolution.
What is significance and enduring

Relevance of BF’s legendary remark:

“A Republic if you can keep it?”

This founding father invented many
things….name Three?

Did he invent electricity?

Did he invent the electric light bulb?

Who did…Thomas Edison (1878-1880)
BF died in 1790….he was a very
18th century man and electric lighting
was a very 19th century industrial age
Thing.
What is different about the work of a
journalist (a printer)
from that of blacksmith, a tailor, or a
shoemaker according to BF?
What will you remember about BF in five
years? How is that different from what you
Learned about this man in high school?

How do you explain that difference?

What does BF have in common with Bill Gates

Or Matt Drudge, or the people behind VICE
News or Christiane Amanpour or David
Remnick?