Y € ACHtEVEBoSo. Printedby: LauraGodlesky Printedon: August24,2015
Birthof Nation,Constitution: Found-Ben Franklin'sLetters
BeforeReading Poll
BenjaminFranklin had manytalents. He was verygood at talkingto peopleand solving problems..\7171tat do youthink about this?
Workingwell with differentpeople is importantif you wantto be successful. Agree
Disagree
Expla.inwhy y_ouvoted the w.ayy__o_ir 4ig,
l,
Afticle
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sAN DlEGo, california (Achieve3000,June 12, 2009). Alan Houston is a professorin califomia.He hasmade an amazingdiscovery: copies of 47lettersto, from,and about Benjamin Franklin.
Houstonhad traveled to London,England, to gatherinformation for a bookhe was writing.The bookwas aboutFranklin's political ideas. one afternoon,Houston was readingover manuscripts in the BritishLibrary. He foundcopies of lettershaving to do with one GeneralEdward Braddock.
AP photo The letters caughtHouston's attenlion. He knewthat Franklinhad worked Copies of 47 letterswere found in with Braddock.Franklin had done this immediatelybefore the general's London.They tell about Benjamin failed1755 march to the Forksof the ohio. There,British colonists Franklin. foughtagainst French and Indian soldiers. Braddock was killedin the fight' Historiansthink the battleone of the key eventsthat started the Frenchand lndian War. Houstonwas surprisedto discoverthat the first letterhad beenwritten by noneother than BenjaminFranklin. Houston thoughtthat he had readeverything Franklin had ever written. However, he had not seenthis letterbefore. He quickly lookedthrough his files. He also checkedthe Papersof BenjaminFranklin. Houston found no mentionof the letter.He lookedthrough the other46 lettershe found.Houston realized that they wereall unknownto historians.
"l felt kindof a lumpin my chest,"Houston said. "l startedto bounce.I wantedlike a rocketto shootout of my chair."
What Houstonhad found was the handwrittenwork of ThomasBirch. Birch was a copyistof manuscripts.He had dinedoften with Franklinin Londonduring the summerof 1757.By then,Franklin was a famousscientist. This was thanksin partto his experimentswith electricity. Still, Franklin wanted the Britishto knowthat he was alsopolitically importantin the colonies.To this end,he caniedwith him a boundbook of letters.These letters had beenwritten by him,to him,and about him during the Braddockaffair.
Franklinmet Braddockin 1755.This was shortlyafter Braddock anived in the colonies.At this time,the Britishand Frenchwere arguing. Both countries wanted the landwest of the colonies.Braddock had beensent to leadan attack on the Frenchin Pennsylvania.Colonists were often asked to givesupplies to the Britisharmies. Braddock believed that he had beenpromised 250 wagons and 2,500horses for his plannedattack. Instead, he receivedonly one-tenth of that number.Braddock complained that the Pennsylvanianswere not supportinghis efforts.
Franklinsmoothed things over. He gathered public support. He madedeals with farmers. Franklin also rounded up wagons,horses, and peopleto helpBraddock. The eventis a well-knownpart of Franklin'slife. lt is calledthe "wagon affair."The newletters explain the anxietythat the colonistsfelt uponbeing asked to supplythe army.The new lettersalso shed light on the problemsthat Franklinfaced.
Franklinwrote a bookabout his life. In the book,he mentionedthat he usedto carrya bookof letters.That bookof lettershas neverbeen found. However, historians are excitedto study Birch'scopy of it. lt showswhat Franklinwas like.lt alsoshows his powerto get peopleto worktogether.
"lt's an exampleof Franklin'sskill of workingwith [different types ofl people,"Houston said.
The discoverynot onlygives detailsabout the life of BenjaminFranklin. lt makeshistorians wonder if thereare other missingmaterials having to do withthe foundingfathers. lt is possiblethat otherimportant papers have been put in the wrongplace or stashedaway in anothercountry. lnformationfor this story came from AP.
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Dig Deeper BenjaminFranklin was manythings. He was a scientist,a musician,a writer,and one of America'sFounding Fathers. Franklinwas also a diplomat,wtrich means he was goodat helpingpeople get along.He usedthese skiils to helpthe Britishand the peoplein theircolonies work togelher in 1755,during a war igainst France.
Thenin 1776, Franklintraveled to Franceto try to win Frenchsupport for the peopleliving in the colonies.lt was not longafter the colonistshad helpedthe Britishfight the French.So wiry lookfor Frenchsupport in 1TT6?By this time, manypeople livingin the colonieswanted to be free from Britain.Britain was very powerful.The coloniesneeded help from powerful another country.France was a goodchoice, because the Frenchand the Britishraere still enemies.
Butwould Franceagree with the colonists?The colonists wanted to be rid of the Britishking. France had a king,too. He was pourerful.
Franklin'sjob was to be niceto the French.He would say nothingagainst their king. Instead, he wouldremind the Frenchthat they didn't like Britain.Wouldnt they liketo see Britainlose a war?
Franklinconvinced France to givemoney to the colonistsfor theirwar against Britain. And not longafter, France had its ownrevolution -against the Frenchkingl
Dictjonary
affair (noun) an eventthat is knov,nabout or hasbeen talked about
colonist(noun) someonewho settlesin a landthat is run by or claimedb,v his or herhome countly
founding father (noun) someonervho creates a group or govemment
historian (noun) someonervho rlrites aboutor studieshistory
manuscript (noun) text that hasbeen rvritten by hand,often materialwritten beforeprinting machinesu,ere used
politicaf (ad-iective) having to do n"irhgovemment
revolution(noun) an actiondesigned to causea turnoverof government
Activity
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Benj:rminFranklin fbught in a key battle againstFrench and incliansol S n.r.ju*in Franklinworked with GeneralEdward Braddock. S e.nlorin Franklinled an excitinglifb in poliricsand science S ne6amin Franklincaried a book of lettersn'ith him in London S eenjamin Franklinwas known for his experimentswith electricity 6. Thearticle states: Franklinhad done this immediatelybefore the general'sfailed 1755 march to the Forksof the Ohio' There, Britishcolonists fought againstFrench and Indiansoldiers. Braddock was killed in the fight. Wfrichwould be the closestantonym for the wordfailed? S Do.rg..ouu @ Important B Upcoming @ Successflil 7. Let,ssay that Andreawants to find out aboutBenjamin Franklin's experiments with electricity.She would find the most informationby @ W"t.tling a T'Vshorv about the Frenchand Indian War @ Vi*iting a Website about science fair expenments S Lookingup BenjaminFranklin in an encyclopedia s nearlinga book calledPolitical L'iewsof BeniamiuFranklin B.The article states: It showswhat Franklin was like.lt also showshis powerto get peopleto worktogether. Theauthorusesthesesentencesmostlytohe|pthereadertounderstand-. [:{owhistorians know that Franklinwas politically important S flo*'Franklinwas able to getpeople to u'ort together 6 WflVFranklin was so wellliked by peoplein London @ WfrVhistorians are excited to studycopies o1'Franklin's letters Nowthat you haveread the article,indicate whether you agreeor disagreewith this statement. Workingwell with differentpeople is importantif you wantto be successful. Agree Disagree