How Did Benjamin Franklin Contribute To The Enlightenment

Born in 1706 as the eighth of 17 children to a Massachusetts soap and candlestick maker, the chances Benjamin Franklin would go on to become a gentleman, scholar, scientist, statesman, musician, author, publisher and all-around general genius were astronomically low, yet he did just that. Franklin wrote in the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution in the 18th century. The ideals of the enlightenment are still thought of today, as they are a part of the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When one remembers Benjamin Franklin very few people are aware of the fact that he worked as a printer until the age of 42. As a printer he had access to substantial amounts of literature. During this time he was inspired

Twain said that he knew that if his father allowed him to be late to bed and late to rise that he would be in the same spot that he is in as he wrote the critique. In his critique, Twain pokes fun at Franklin 's story of entering Philadelphia with nothing but two shillings in his pocket and four loaves of bread under his arm. Twain believes that “anybody could have done it” (“Late Benjamin” 140). Twain also points out the forgotten detail that Benjamin Franklin executed his kite flying experiment on a Sunday, calling him a “hoary Sabbath-breaker.” He believes that this should bother people more than it currently does. Altogether Twain thought Franklin was a dimwitted, ignoramus fruitcake that walked around “flying his kite and fooling away his time in all sorts of such ways, when he ought have been foraging for soap-fat, or constructing candles.” (“Late Benjamin” 140). Twain does have legitimacy with his critique, although he may have been a little rude presenting his points, it was still a valid argument. Franklin does get more credit than he deserves, but unlike Twain, I don 't think we should forget that he ever