Presentation

9/24/12

Essay #6

Jessica Brooks

Pd. 2

The essay Citizen Ben: A worldly American’s Seven Great Virtues by Walter Isaacson is an essay begins talking about Benjamin Franklin. When we think of Benjamin Franklin our minds automatically turn to the story about him flying a kite in a lightening storm with a rod on to prove that lightening was electricity. This is one thing that Franklin did but he did many more as well, in fact it says that he was an inventor diplomat, writer and business strategist. He helped bring the country that we live in today about. There are many views on him that show him in a good light and some that show him in a bad light. There are some that saw that he was shallow and didn’t show great …show more content…

When America wanted to gain its Independence from England Franklin went to France to try and get them on our side of the war. In order to do this he used a couple of tactics. The fist being the calculations of national interests and the second being he wanted them to see America as exceptional and unique. He began by publishing documents from America to try and win over the hearts of all of the French people. He echoed many great writers in order to do so. Franklin also thought his appearance was a very important part of this process. He made sure to wear his powdered wig and formal dress instead of the fur cap he got from Canada. This style helped the people see the person that they imagined he would be from his background. All of these factors worked too, and he decided to stick with them even after the treaty had been signed. Many believed that Franklin never had the background as a “printer’s foreman” because of the status he had achieved in Europe. Benjamin Franklin saw the importance of the balance between idealism and realism. Without these two ideas combining the treaty with France may never have come about.

Compromise is the key to success in any area where there are two sides. Franklin saw that compromise would be a necessary step during the Constitutional Convention if America was going to come about with everybody happy. In fact the motto that he lived a lot of this life by was, “Both sides must part with some of their demands.” He used this motto