Who was Benjamin Franklin?

Destined to be a founding father and important part of American history, Benjamin Franklin starts out as a lowly son of a tallow-chandler. As a youth he is clever and impetuous, excelling as an apprentice and later as a printer. His style of writing is wry and folksy and he creates many characters and anecdotes throughout the years to express his opinions. He is a practical man not given to romanticism. He focuses his actions on usefulness and the public good.

Even as a scientist and inventor, Franklin seeks for his discoveries to be useful, not just interesting blurbs or tidbits. He creates Poor Richard's Almanack, an archetype for the wry American voice. Though many of his ideas are excluded from the cannons of philosophy because of their simplicity, Franklin's version of America goes down in history. Many of his traits evolve into American identity—the backwoods sage and the wise middling man among them. Franklin always champions the middle class and prefers it to the pretensions of aristocracy. He excels at gaining others' favor and learns early on that flattery can get him where he wants to be, whether in his personal or professional life.

Though he makes friends easily, Franklin is rarely able to keep up lasting relationships, especially with males. He enjoys flirtatious relationships with females and has many lifelong correspondences. Franklin's marriage to Deborah is not a great love affair but a partnership based on mutual respect and regard, and she is aware of the correspondences he has with other women. Franklin enjoys intellectual stimulation and a comfortable domesticity. There is no evidence that Franklin is unfaithful to her, though he does spend much of their marriage away in England and France. Franklin's illegitimate son William does not champion the middle class, but instead is prone to upper class pretensions. He and Franklin irrevocably split over the Revolution and William's illegitimate son Temple is caught in the middle. Temple is perhaps the family member who is closest to Franklin.

Franklin always believes he can best serve God by serving man, though his shaky ideas about God morph over the years. He focuses his life on doing good works on earth rather than preparing for heaven, like many of his contemporaries. His belief in democracy and the ability of man to do good works helps shape America, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the general attitudes of the newly formed country. His pragmatism, tolerance, willingness to compromise and focus on common sense shape the nation, allowing differences of opinion and respect for the individual.