David Barton Andnita Thomason

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER PRESENTS

STUDENT EDITION

David Barton andNita Thomason

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Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character Student Edition Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character Homeschool Edition

Edited by Stephanie Voiland

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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School Curriculum Kit: ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1205-7 ISBN-10: 1-4143-1205-9 Homeschool Curriculum Kit: ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1183-8 ISBN-10: 1-4143-1183-4 Student Edition: ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1204-0 ISBN-10: 1-4143-1204-0

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12 11 10 09 08 07 06 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents

Introduction vii Time Line viii Lesson 1: Faith and Freedom 1 Lesson 2: Benjamin Franklin 15 Lesson 3: Dr. Benjamin Rush 31 Lesson 4: George Washington 47 Lesson 5: Benjamin Banneker 63 Lesson 6: Haym Salomon 75 Lesson 7: Abigail Adams 87 Lesson 8: Noah Webster 99 Lesson 9: John Quincy Adams 113

Introduction

Like the Pilgrims in the early days the map, you will enter school zones of our country, you are embarking designed to pace your journey and on an adventure—a drive through help you avoid dead-end streets. Your American history. As you cruise route will lead you down highways along this journey, you will meet where you can investigate the many historical figures who paved worldview of our nation’s Founders the way to freedom. Looking in and examine your own views as you your rearview mirror, you will map out the route you will travel. read about the experiences of their So put the key in your ignition, youth. You will pass by historical fasten your seat belt, and get ready markers highlighting major to Drive Thru History America! contributions made by these men and women, and the tolls they willingly paid along the way. During your travels, you will have opportunities to examine the personal character of eight key players in this historical drama. At roadside stops, you will ponder your own quest, and you will also dodge your own roadblocks. As you follow

vii Time Line

Time Line

1500 1534 King Henry VIII demands that all English people be members of the Church of England

1600 1620 Pilgrims travel to America on the Mayflower 1621 Pilgrims and Wampanoag hold a Thanksgiving celebration 1630 Puritans found Massachusetts Bay Colony 1700

Benjamin Franklin (1706 –1790) 1710

1720

1730 Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) George Washington (1732–1799)

1740 Haym Salomon (1740 –1785) Abigail Adams (1744 –1818) Benjamin Rush (1745 –1813) 1750

Noah Webster (1758 –1843)

1760

John Quincy Adams (1767–1848)

1770

1776 Muhlenberg and 300 local men enlist in the Virginia regiment

1780

viii Benjamin Franklin Abigail Adams (1706–1790) (1744–1818) 1732 publishes Poor Richard’s Almanack 1764 marries John Adams 1746–52 conducts electricity experiments 1775 sends letters reporting on the Revolutionary War 1776 signs Declaration of Independence 1776 lobbies against slavery and for women’s 1778 negotiates treaties with France rights 1787 attends Constitutional Convention 1784–85 reunites with John overseas while he works in foreign relations with England and France 1800 becomes the first woman to live in the Benjamin Banneker White House in Washington DC (1731–1806) 1737 becomes joint landowner 1753 builds wooden clock Benjamin Rush 1789 correctly predicts solar eclipse (1745–1813) 1791 surveys land for Washington DC 1760 graduates from Princeton College 1792 publishes his first almanac 1768 receives medical degree 1776 signs Declaration of Independence 1777 serves as physician general of the George Washington Continental Army (1732–1799) 1793 gives medical care during Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic 1753 goes on a diplomatic mission to the French 1754 begins serving as a colonel in the French and Indian War Noah Webster 1775 is named commander in chief of the Continental Army (1758–1843) 1777 leaves Yale to join the local militia 1787 serves as president of the Constitutional Convention 1778 begins teaching career 1789 is elected first president of the 1783 publishes The Blue-Back Speller United States 1785 embarks on his book tour 1828 completes the first American dictionary Haym Salomon (1740–1785) 1772 moves from Poland to New York John Quincy Adams 1778 is sentenced by British to die for (1767–1848) treason 1777 travels to France with his father 1782 buys subscriptions in the National 1825 becomes America’s sixth president Bank 1830 is elected to the House of 1781–84 loans over $200,000 to United States Representatives 1785 dies virtually penniless, holding 1841 defends Africans who seized the ship $353,000 in almost worthless Amistad certificates of indebtedness and Continental currency 1846 gets bill approved creating Smithsonian Institution

Lesson 1: Faith and Freedom

Lesson 1: Faith and Freedom the Delphi, at Great. the

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Faith and Freedom

the Delphi, at Great. Lesson 1:the Hill,

Questions to Ask Yourself Did You Know . . . ? throughout This Unit During a battle in the French and On what foundations did Indian War, four bullets pierced the the Founding Fathers coat of Colonel George Washington base the new nation? and two horses were shot under him, How did the Founders but he escaped without a wound. understand the relationship Haym Salomon, a Jewish immigrant between church and state? from Poland, loaned his own money What worldview guided to support the Revolutionary cause, the Founders as they and Congress designated him created a government “financier of the revolution.” for the new nation? The first woman to live in the White Can freedom flourish House, Abigail Adams, was both a without faith? wife and mother of U.S. presidents.

Thomas Jefferson, although not a mainstream Christian, considered Jesus the most important philosopher to have ever lived.

Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

Fasten Your Seat Belt American experiment. The Pilgrims On September 17, 1796, President understood and first demonstrated that George Washington delivered a speech religion and morality were inseparable known as his Farewell Address. In it, he from civil society. They laid the original emphasized two foundations, or “pillars,” foundations for what has become the upon which this nation was built. world’s most successful civil government. They had a greater purpose—one that was beyond themselves. They believed “I believe that religion is the only solid base of they were part of a larger story. morals and that morals are the only possible support of free governments.” A Look in the Rearview Mirror Gouverneur Morris, signer and penman of the Constitution The Pilgrims of Plymouth In 1534, a new law made King Henry VIII the leader of the church in England; What were these foundations—these it also required all English people to be critical supports? The first and primary members of the Church of England (the pillar was religion, and the second was Anglican church), over which Henry morality, which Washington said was a had just become the absolute authority. product of the first. Virtually all of the Many objected to being members of that Founding Fathers consistently declared Church or being expected to worship that these two elements were vital in a certain way; they believed that the for continued political success. In his Bible specified other ways of worship Farewell Address, Washington said: as well. Those who objected became known as “Dissenters.” As punishment Of all the dispositions [viewpoints] for refusing to worship the way he and habits which lead to political mandated, Henry burned the Dissenters prosperity, religion and morality are at the stake or beheaded them. When indispensable supports. Henry’s daughter Elizabeth became queen, she took his position as head of He went on to say that no one the Church and continued his policy who tried to overthrow religion that all citizens attend Anglican services and morality could claim to be only. Those who disobeyed were fined, patriotic. He considered religion imprisoned, exiled, or executed. and morality to be “great pillars of There were two major groups of human happiness . . . firmest props Dissenters. Some tried to purify the of the duties of men and citizens.” Church of England to remove the We must flash back to the beginning, corruption and help it better align with to the Pilgrims of Plymouth Plantation, the teachings of the Scriptures. This in order to understand the key to the group became known as the Puritans.

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Others decided that it could not be who is a temporary resident on earth, purified—that the corruption was too traveling through life on a journey deep and the persecution too severe. to his or her real home in heaven. This group decided to withdraw from Many difficulties challenged the sea the Church, and they became known travelers, including crowded condi- as Separatists (later called Pilgrims). tions, sickness, and disagreements. The The Separatists honored God, studied Mayflower averaged only two miles an the Bible, tried to live godly lives, and hour on its journey to the New World. took their faith seriously. They wanted Furthermore, a terrible storm battered to worship freely and disapproved the ship for days, pouring waves of cold of the corruption that existed in the ocean water across the deck. As the Church of England. Their homes were storm raged, a deafening crack shook the watched night and day by British Mayflower, and a main beam splintered. authorities. Since remaining in England The passengers waited in terror for was dangerous, a group of Separatists the storm to subside, but the turbulent moved to Holland, where they could waves continued to pound the vessel. Af- enjoy greater religious freedom. They ter sixty-six days and nights at sea, they worked hard in Holland and made a finally spotted land. However, they were decent living, but life in their newly not where they had expected to land; adopted country proved difficult. The the storm and fierce winds had blown Separatists wanted to maintain their the ship more than one hundred miles English identity, and they regretted north of their intended location. that their children were being raised Despite that shocking sur- as Dutch rather than English citizens. prise, the Pilgrims believed that God had Some American customs we can thank the used the storm Pilgrims for: to direct them • self-government to Massachu- • the free enterprise system setts instead • a workfare system (rather than a welfare of Virginia. system) Before • the antislavery movement they went • the practice of purchasing private property ashore they drafted a document Therefore, in their continuing quest (now for religious freedom, they decided called the to move to America. In September Mayflower 1620, after many difficulties, the forty- Compact) one Separatists joined with other that formed travelers, including hired help and a government other “strangers,” as they were called, by setting forth to form a group of 102 men, women, both the reason and children who began the voyage to for their voyage and America aboard the Mayflower. When the process they would use the group left Europe on their long in selecting their leaders. After the voyage to America, Governor William document was read aloud, the men Bradford named them Pilgrims. This (both Separatists and “strangers”) title comes from Hebrews 11, kjv, in signed it. Based on the teachings of which a pilgrim is described as someone the Bible (such as Exodus 18:21), the

Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

colonists chose their own governor 1. Why did the Pilgrims come to and established self-government rather America? than the monarchal form they had experienced in Great Britain. They 2. How did the plan of government named their new colony Plymouth. outlined in the Mayflower In the Compact, they also listed four Compact differ from the English reasons for coming to America: (1) to government? bring glory to God by spreading the Christian faith across America, (2) to 3. Describe the worldview (core plant a colony in the New World, (3) to beliefs) held by William Bradford form a united self-government, and (4) and the Pilgrims of Plymouth. to make just laws that applied equally to everyone. The Mayflower Compact provided for government by mutual School Zone Ahead agreement—a revolutionary idea for Using Primary Sources that time period and a forerunner of (Research Activity) what would later be captured in the Declaration of Independence, which A primary source is a firsthand or calls for “the consent of the governed.” eyewitness account of an event. William Bradford, who would be Letters, diaries, books, speeches, elected governor more than thirty and journals written by people who times, wrote a book about the Plymouth participated in the event are considered colony called Of Plimoth Plantation. He primary sources. Other types of recorded that when the Pilgrims landed primary sources include paintings, their ship in November of 1620, they photographs, and newspapers. These “fell upon their knees and blessed [the] sources help historians and students God of heaven, who had brought them gain an understanding, not only of over [the] vast and furious ocean.” events, but also of how people felt The Pilgrims discovered that the land about and reacted to those events. where they arrived was unoccupied. It had belonged to the Patuxet tribe, “Moral habits . . . cannot safely be trusted on which had been destroyed four years any other foundation than religious principle earlier by an unknown illness. The nor any government be secure which is not Pilgrims found themselves in a land supported by moral habits.” where they did not know how to live; Daniel Webster, known as “Defender of the Constitution” they did not know how to hunt, fish, or farm in the New World, and they were unprepared for the ruthless and Primary sources from the colonial unforgiving climate. During their period, such as William Bradford’s book first three months in North America, Of Plimoth Plantation, are sometimes nearly half of the colonists died. difficult to read because of language How would those who were left be able and spelling changes. For example, to survive? God provided an answer for a letter that looks similar to an f is them through two Native Americans used in place of s in sixteenth- and who befriended them and taught seventeenth-century writing. This them how to live in the New World: is because the alphabet at that time Samoset and Squanto. These men used two different symbols for s—one also helped the Pilgrims make a peace symbol for a soft-sounding s and a treaty with the nearby Wampanoag different symbol for a hard-sounding s. tribe—a pact that lasted forty years.

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Secondary sources are derived from The Original Version: original documents. Sometimes modern historians change the meanings of the We whose names are under-written original texts when they write about having undertaken, for the glory of historical events or delete certain God, and advancement of the Chris- sections of the text. This altering of history is called revisionism, and tian faith and honor of our king it means the deliberate alteration of and country, a voyage to plant the historical facts to portray a new view first colonie in the northern parts of of history. Compare the following Virginia do by these presents solemnly statements from the Mayflower and mutually in the presence of God, Compact. Does the modern version alter and one of another, covenant and com- the original meaning of the document? bine our selves together into a civil The Modern Version: body politick, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of We whose names are under-written the ends aforesaid. . . . do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and Returning to primary sources helps us understand the original intent of one of another, covenant and combine historical documents. On the following our selves together into a civil body pages, read each quotation and use the politick, for our better clues to figure out who said it. Then ordering and preserva- answer the corresponding questions. tion and furtherance of the ends aforesaid. (Kenneth Davis, Don’t Know Much About History, 1990)

Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

Who said it? Who said it? “The only foundation for . . . a republic is “Without morals, a republic cannot subsist to be laid in Religion. Without this there any length of time; they therefore who can be no virtue, and without virtue there are decrying the Christian religion . . . can be no liberty, and liberty is the object are undermining the solid foundation and life of all republican governments.” of morals, the best security for the B duration of free governments.”

H C S Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical, 1798 C R R Hints: Letter to James McHenry, 1. He has a medical college and November 4, 1800 countless hospitals across the Hints: country named after him. 1. This person was the last survivor of 2. He shares a first name with two the signers of the Declaration. He died other Founding Fathers. in 1832, at the age of ninety-six. 3. This man’s last name can also mean 2. He shares a last name with the author “to move forward with haste” or “to of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. advance a football by running.” 3. This man has a first name in common with the Prince of Wales, a former What did this signer of the NBA basketball player (Barkley), Declaration of Independence consider and a cartoon character (Brown). necessary for virtue? What does this signer of the What do you think is necessary for Declaration of Independence consider virtue today? Explain your answer. essential for a solid republic?

What do you think are the most important requirements for a successful government?

Lesson 1: Faith and Freedom the Delphi, at Great. the

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Who said it? Historical Marker The Puritans of the “The great pillars of all government and Massachusetts Bay Colony of social life [are] virtue, morality, and The Pilgrims were not the only religious religion. This is the armor, . . . and this group that had difficulty with the Church of England. But while the alone, that renders us invincible.” Pilgrims decided to leave the Church, the Puritans wanted to stay and reform, T C or “purify,” the Church. However, as a reward for their efforts, they became the victims of harsh persecutions, including H having their noses slit or ears cut off, Letter to Archibald Blair, getting a brand on their foreheads, January 8, 1799 and being imprisoned. Consequently, many of the Puritans (almost twenty Hints: thousand) moved to the New World in 1. This Patriot is famous for saying, search of religious freedom. Led by John “Give me liberty or give me death.” Winthrop, they landed near the Pilgrims 2. This man shares a first name with in 1630 but formed their own separate the patron saint of Ireland. colony: the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 3. This man’s last name is the same as where they established the city of that of eight former kings of England. Boston. They wanted to set an example by building a godly kingdom—what According to this Founding Father, Winthrop had described as a “city on what are the pillars of government a hill” in his 1630 sermon “A Modell and social life? of Christian Charity.” In that work, Winthrop reminded his fellow Puritans: Do you think it’s possible to have a government and society based We are a company professing our- on virtue, morality, and religion? selves fellow-members of Christ . . . Explain. knit together by this bond of love. . . . We are entered into covenant with Him for this work. . . . For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world.

Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

John Winthrop’s phrase “city on a the Massachusetts Bay Colony brought hill” comes from Matthew 5:14-16, in a them to trial and eventually banished section of the Bible called the Sermon them from the colony. Williams and on the Mount. Winthrop patterned his Hutchinson went to other locations, life on the teachings of the Bible. He and helping establish new colonies with the other Puritan leaders (who served greater religious liberty. The right both as religious and governmental to worship freely was eventually officials) crafted civil laws based on established because of individuals their interpretation of the Bible. such as Williams and Hutchinson, who willingly placed their lives in “The laws of nature and of nature’s God . . . danger. They did this because they of course presupposes the existence of a God, insisted on religious freedom—even the moral ruler of the universe, and a rule of from others of the Christian faith. right and wrong, of just and unjust, binding upon man, preceding all institutions of human 1. Compare and contrast the Pilgrims society and of government.” and the Puritans. John Quincy Adams 2. Where did the phrase “city on The Puritans emphasized not only a hill” originate, and what did the spiritual side of life but also the John Winthrop mean when he importance of an educated mind. As a used this phrase to describe the result, they not only established the first Massachusetts Bay Colony? successful college in America (Harvard) but also passed laws establishing a 3. Why did Roger Williams and system of public education. Boston also Anne Hutchinson leave the became one of the most prosperous Massachusetts Bay Colony? cities in the world at that time, and it became the center of publishing in Stop and Ponder (for America, producing schoolbooks and Group Discussion) other books for children and adults. The Pilgrims and Puritans left their Yet despite the Puritans’ enlightened homes, suffered hardships, and attitudes in many areas, they enforced sacrificed comfort in their quest for stiff and serious penalties for those who religious freedom. The First Amendment failed to obey the laws of the colony. in the Bill of Rights to the U.S. One example is the treatment religious Constitution guarantees American individuals such as Roger Williams citizens freedom of religion. How do and Anne Hutchinson received for these protections impact your life? disagreeing with the Puritan leaders over the rights of conscience (or the right to hold beliefs that differed from the Puritan religion). The leaders of

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leadership linked the early colonists The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights to the Revolutionary generation. “Congress shall make no law respecting an Christian ministers influenced establishment of religion, or prohibiting the thinking from Plymouth Rock to free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom Independence Hall by preaching that of speech, or of the press; or the right of the fundamental law was the basis of all people peaceably to assemble, and to petition rights—in other words, natural and the government for a redress of grievances.” Christian rights were legal rights Right of Way: Faith because they were a part of the law While the search for religious freedom of God. The story of Revolutionary brought English Pilgrims and Puritans War–era pastor John Peter Gabriel to the New World, religious persecution Muhlenberg illustrates the link between in other European countries also faith and freedom in the minds of the brought people to America. For example, early colonists and the Patriots. ancestors of John Jay, an author of the Federalist Papers and the first “History will also afford frequent opportunities chief justice of the United States, fled of showing the necessity of a public religion France due to the persecution of the . . . and the excellency of the Christian religion Huguenots (members of the Reformed above all others, ancient or modern.” Protestant Church of France) in the Benjamin Franklin late seventeenth century. The primary motivation for European immigration to the New World during the seventeenth On January 21, 1776, as armed century was loyalty to faith and the conflict was breaking out across the desire to worship according to personal colonies, Rev. Muhlenberg stepped to conscience. The influence of pastors the pulpit wearing his pastoral robes. during this search for religious freedom He read a biblical passage from was significant. Clergymen fanned Ecclesiastes 3: “There is a time for the flames of religious passion during everything, and a season for every the colonial period, and this pastoral activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die . . . a time for war and

Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

a time for peace.” As he closed his Bible, International Christian Concern he stepped away from the pulpit and 2020 Pennsylvania Ave. removed his robe, revealing the blue NW #941 uniform of the American soldier. He Washington DC 20006-1846 called on the men of his congregation http://www.persecution.org to stand with him and fight for the cause of liberty. Outside the church, 2. Mock Trial the pastor ordered drummers to play Separation of church and state issues as three hundred local men enlisted have sparked controversies in the in the Eighth Virginia Regiment. United States for centuries. Choose Reverend Muhlenberg led these men an issue that has been brought to and eventually earned the rank of major media attention in recent years, and general in the Revolutionary army. create a mock trial to determine By the time the Founders wrote the constitutionality of a particular the defining documents of the new incident. Some possibilities include country, many issues regarding faith prayer in schools, the inclusion of and freedom had been tested, but evolution and/or intelligent design still the Founders struggled to define in the curriculum, the posting of the the relationship between church and Ten Commandments, the recitation state. Clearly the government they of the Pledge of Allegiance in designed did not separate religion and schools, and the display of nativity politics. The influence of Christianity scenes at government buildings. and the Bible was pivotal from the earliest flight of colonists from religious 3. Religious Persecution Map persecution to the refusal by the On a world map, identify various Revolutionary generation to submit to countries where groups were British oppression. Faith and freedom discriminated against during colonial were central forces in colonizing times. (Some such countries include and establishing the new republic. the Netherlands, Great Britain, Choose one of the following Austria, France, Germany, and project options: Brazil.) Shade in each country with a different color. Next to each country, 1. Modern-Day Religious Persecution write the name of the group or groups Religious discrimination is not that were persecuted there (such as merely a problem of the past. Find Jews, Quakers, Puritans, Mennonites, out more about countries where Huguenots, Pilgrims, Catholics, and people are persecuted for their Schwenkfelders). Do some research faith, and then write a letter to to determine where these groups an elected official alerting him or settled in the New World, and draw an her of the human rights violations arrow (in the color that corresponds and religious persecution in one with each country) to that location. of these countries. You can find more information and addresses 4. Statuary Hall Bio through one of these organizations: A statue of John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg is located in the National Voice of the Martyrs Statuary Hall Collection of the P.O. Box 443 United States Capitol. There are two citizens selected for the exhibit by Bartlesville, OK 74005 each of the fifty states; Muhlenberg http://www.persecution.com

10 Lesson 1: Faith and Freedom the Delphi, at Great. the

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represents Pennsylvania. Using the documentaries. They prepare a Internet or an encyclopedia, choose storyboard before they begin filming. one historical character honored 1. In a small group, choose a person in the Capitol collection and write from the list of colonial leaders a paragraph describing the person your teacher provides. Research and why he or she was chosen. (See the historical figure and write www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/index.cfm.) down a list of important facts You’re in the Driver’s Seat about each of the following topics:

Exercising Faith A formative incident from this Filmmakers often present historical person’s youth or childhood events, cultural phenomena, and factual information through His/her faith heritage

Difficulties faced

Sacrifices made

Main contributions to society

Lasting legacy

2. Make a storyboard by drawing pictures to illustrate four significant incidents in the life of your historical character. Be sure to include captions that describe what is happening in each frame.

3. Presentation: Share your storyboard with your class. If time al- lows, you might want to consider assigning parts and filming your documentary.

Clearly, faith not only played a critical role in the lives of many significant colonial leaders but also was foundational to the governments they designed. As the early colonies drafted their civil laws, most declared that the Bible was the basis of their laws and thus their foundation for right and wrong. The ultimate source of American law was the revelation of God as found in his creation and his Word. The Christian worldview played a critical role in the lives of the colonial

11 Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

leaders and in the establishment of Map Your Way the great American political system. “I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, “The people of this . . . country, profess the as the opening of a grand scene and general doctrines of Christianity, as the design in Providence [God], for rule of their faith and practice. . . . We are . . . mankind all over the earth.” a Christian people, and the morality of the John Adams, in a diary entry, 1765 country is deeply engrafted upon Christianity, and not upon the doctrines or worship of those It is obvious that faith played a critical impostors [other religions].” role in the formation of governmental U.S. Supreme Court, 1892 systems during the colonization of America. In the following lessons, we Worldview will see that it was the Founding Fathers and Mothers of the eighteenth century History: What Can I Learn who considered the relationship between from the Past? faith and freedom foundational for the great experiment they designed. God directs the course of history An important question for Americans through the lives of individual men and today is whether freedom can survive women. The story of America explodes without faith. As you begin this with meaning when we realize that God study of the Founders of this nation, used people—the Pilgrims, the Puritans, think about these questions: the Founders, and millions of ordinary citizens—to achieve his purposes What is the relationship between for humanity. The biblical worldview faith and freedom? on which this nation is founded led Americans to see that no separation Can a free society succeed without existed between the sacred and the people of faith? secular. Every area of life was sacred and was to be lived “as working for the What role should religion play in Lord” (Colossians 3:23). The key to the government? American experiment was the people’s deep conviction that underneath their How can a religiously diverse nation individual lives was a deeper purpose. balance respect for all backgrounds They were part of a larger story—a story with its moral foundation? well beyond their own little stories, well beyond their own place in history. “Religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness.” Samuel Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence

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DVD Reflection Watch the DVD segment for Lesson 1 and complete the following activities:

DriveFoundations Through History of Character America

Dave Stotts describes eight American citizens who helped build this nation. Which person sounds most intriguing to you? Benjamin Franklin Haym Salomon

Dr. Benjamin Rush Abigail Adams

George Washington Noah Webster

Benjamin Banneker John Quincy Adams

Up until now, what has been your opinion on learning about history?

What is one freedom you are glad for in this country?

13 Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character Lesson 2: Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

the Delphi, at Great. Lesson 2:the Hill,

Questions to Ask Yourself Fasten Your Seat Belt throughout This Unit “My grandfather is not like other old people.” This is what Benjamin How did the values and Franklin’s grandson Benny Bache wrote virtues of Benjamin in his journal about one of America’s Franklin shape the new most beloved Founding Fathers. It’s American nation? no wonder—when Benjamin Franklin was almost eighty years old (at a time How did Franklin’s when the average life span in the organizational abilities and colonies was only thirty-five years), interactions with others he swam across the broad and deep promote the common good? Seine River near Paris—just to teach his grandson Benny how to swim! How did Benjamin Franklin’s Benjamin Franklin was a man of scientific experiments diverse talents. He was a scientist, transform society? business strategist, diplomat, writer, What twenty-first century printer, humorist, inventor, governor, and statesman. Yet despite his notable lessons can this eighteenth- achievements, Franklin considered century man teach? himself just an ordinary individual; he trusted the common people and was comfortable with the idea that everyday citizens made America strong. Much of this attitude can be attributed to his religious upbringing as a Quaker, for Quakers did not place a strong emphasis on external differences

15 Drive Thru History America: Foundations of Character

or class distinctions. Rather, they A Look in the Rearview Mirror emphasized the equality of all people and the ability of each individual to hear Water, Wind, and Fire: The from God and then do what was right. Elements of Invention Franklin’s fingerprints can be The group of boys tramped across the found on many of the most important marsh to a favorite swimming hole near government documents of America’s Boston Bay. Their leader, Benjamin early years: the Albany Plan of Union Franklin, splashed into the water, eager (1754), the Declaration of Independence to show the others his new invention. (1776), the treaty of alliance with France By pulling large, flipperlike sandals onto (1778), the peace treaty with England his feet and by fastening oval paddles to (1783), and the U.S. Constitution his hands, Ben glided through the water (1787). Through his writings and his with increased speed. His friends were life, he exalted middle-class virtues impressed, as usual. Ben was always and was known in America and across experimenting with new devices. the world as “the first American.” His ingenious ideas sometimes led to He initially worked tirelessly to trouble, however—such as the day when help Britain resolve her differences the boys took stones that were intended with the American colonies and avoid for the construction of someone else’s the American Revolution. But when house. He said in his autobiography, “In those early efforts failed, Franklin the evening when the workmen were threw himself wholeheartedly into the gone home, I assembled a number of my Revolution. He not only served the playfellows and we worked diligently, cause with distinction as a statesman like so many emmets [busy ants], in America and in Europe but also, sometimes two or three to a stone, as a member of the Constitutional until we brought them all to make our Convention, helped build the little wharf.” Franklin told the story governmental foundations that have of this shameful theft not because he caused our country to be a world was proud of his actions but in order leader for more than two centuries. to illustrate his father’s lesson that The United States—unlike so many “nothing was useful which was not other nations—has not had a national honest.” Franklin quickly learned this revolution every few decades; on the lesson and put aside dishonest ways. contrary, we are now the longest ongoing Ben’s early interest in water and in constitutional republic in the history of kites remained with him throughout his the world, having thrived for more than life and led to future endeavors of great two centuries under the Constitution usefulness to the entire world. One of that Benjamin Franklin helped write. those famous endeavors began when he

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Hill, was an adult and watched a performance the kite string, and had then shocked that “surpris’d and pleased” him. A him when he touched the metal key traveling scientific showman rubbed a tied to the string. Other scientists had glass tube to create static electricity. previously hypothesized a relationship Then he moved the tube close to the between lightning and “electrick feet of a boy who was hanging from fire” [electricity], but Franklin was the ceiling by silk cords. This caused the first to design an experiment to large sparks to shoot between the tube prove the connection. His experiment and the boy’s feet. The sparks were showed that electricity was a force caused by electricity, but no one at of nature and—like gravity—could that time knew much about electricity have enormous benefits if it could be or understood how it operated. tamed and made practical. Franklin’s The show fascinated Franklin, and he scientific experiments with electricity and his friends started experimenting made him famous in America and with the unknown phenomenon of a celebrated hero across Europe. electricity too. Ben realized that Franklin emphasized the usefulness electricity acted like a fluid, and he of science, and his many inventions thought up words associated with were designed for practical uses—to the brand-new concept of electricity benefit mankind. For example: that we still use more than two and a half centuries later—words such In order to be able to see his dinner as positive and negative, charges, plate right in front of him battery, condense, and conductor. He as well as the person also discovered what he called “the sitting across wonderful effects of points,” which the table, he inspired him to invent the lightning rod invented bifocal to protect houses and barns from bolts eyeglasses to of lightning. This invention prevented help correct the lightning fires that previously his poor had destroyed so many structures. eyesight so Ben’s most famous discovery involving he could electricity was performed with an see both audience of only one other person: near and his twenty-one-year-old son, William. far. Turbulent clouds were gathering over Philadelphia in June 1752, when To maxi- Benjamin and William hoisted a silk mize heat kite into the sky during a lightning from fire- storm. Benjamin had attached a sharp- places (heat tipped metal wire to the top of the kite often escaped and tied a key to the bottom of the kite up the chimneys string. The kite was flying high; the in homes built in lightning was flashing around it. When the 1700s) and to Ben noticed the filaments of the kite minimize the smoke cre- string begin to bristle, he extended his ated by fireplaces, he invented knuckle toward the key at the end of the wood-burning stove (called the the string, and an electric spark jolted Franklin stove). his body. Electricity had traveled from the lightning, into the metal wire at the top of the kite, and down along

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When he worked as postmaster celebrity status as an inventive scientist of the colonies, he invented an actually gave him a political platform odometer to count the revolutions and made him a credible spokesman of wagon wheels so that he could before many governments, where he calculate the shortest and most advocated for the rights of average efficient routes for all wagons to citizens. Franklin not only helped the travel. common people by freeing them from monarchs and giving them republican He poured a teaspoon of oil into a self-government, but he also helped pond and observed that it not only them by his many inventions. Turgot, a spread for half an acre but also that famous Frenchman, described Franklin’s oil smoothed the surface ripples in impact on both science and government: water; he invented a “magic cane” “He snatched lightning from the sky that emitted droplets of oil to still and the scepter from tyrants.” turbulent water. 1. The idea that Franklin had “snatched lightning from the In order to extend working hours for sky” prompted debate among the farmers, he invented daylight saving French. They wondered whether time, which called for setting clocks the lightning rod was a victory ahead an hour in the summer to of man over nature or of man allow an additional hour of daylight over God. In our modern world, in the evening. scientific developments sometimes surpass ethical understanding. What recent scientific He explored medical issues, such as accomplishments challenge ethical the cause of colds and the effects of positions? lead poisoning.

2. Explain how Franklin’s religious He made calculations about the views affected his decisions. Gulf Stream that were useful to navigators. 3. In a spirit of cooperation, Franklin shared his discoveries He designed an organlike musical with other scientists. How does instrument called an armonica. Its this compare with scientific pleasant sounds were the result investigations today? What does of various amounts of water filling his refusal to obtain patents for several small glass containers. his Philadelphia fireplace and his electrical inventions say about his As a young child, Franklin had character? been taught the principle in Romans 14:7 that “none of us lives to himself alone,” so Franklin sought to benefit all 4. List advantages of cooperation in humankind in the scientific realm just the arenas of sports, government, as he did in the political realm. In his education, and the workplace. scientific endeavors, Franklin did not request patents for his inventions but 5. The maxim “If you build a better instead developed strong international mousetrap, the world will beat friendships and encouraged an atmos- a path to your door” leads to phere of scientific cooperation. His the conclusion that competition promotes excellence. Give three

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examples of how competition can Probably the most famous of all of his lead to improvement. printing works was Poor Richard’s Almanack. This almanac was the most Stop and Ponder (for popular one ever in American history. Group Discussion) Almanacs were small pamphlets that contained calendars, typical weather What position do you hold on various information (such as the average scientific and ethical issues, such as amount of rain per month and the usual physician-assisted suicide, stem-cell time of the first frost or snowfall), and research, partial-birth abortion, and astronomical information (including cloning? the time of sunrise and sunset on each day, the schedule of solar or lunar What standards do you use to make eclipses, and the cycles of the moon those decisions? from new to full). This information was especially useful for farmers to decide when to plant and when to Historical Marker harvest, as well as for business owners A Time to Work to know when to open and close their Franklin was not only a statesman and shops. (Many of the guidelines for a celebrated scientist known for his business owners were outlined in “blue inventions, but he was also a famous laws”—rules that dictated citizens’ printer characterized by homespun conduct and morals.) Additionally, humor and middle- almanacs usually had a number of class values. This was interesting short stories and often significant in a society contained wise proverbs and sayings. that often emphasized a Franklin published his almanac kind of social snobbery. under the pen name Richard Saunders. Franklin was an Hence, it was “Poor Richard’s” rather outspoken advocate than “Poor Ben’s” almanac. One of our nation being of the characteristics of Franklin’s led by “the middling almanac was its use of humor to people,” as he deliver wise truths. Here are two of called them, not “Poor Richard’s” witty statements: rich elitists.

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Three may keep a secret if two of other printers set the speech into type them are dead. and only moments later delivered a freshly printed copy of the eulogy. He’s a fool that makes his doctor Franklin was a hero celebrated his heir. across the world at his death; and even though many nations grieved his Benjamin’s career as a printer spanned passing, the displays of admiration and several decades, and he became one of honor would have astonished the young the most famous printers not only in this Benjamin Franklin who first straggled country but also in the world. In fact, into Philadelphia as a novice printer. when word of Franklin’s death reached In telling the story of how he became Paris, the National Assembly of France a printer, Franklin described himself as declared three days of mourning, and “the youngest son of the youngest son French printers organized a printing for five generations back.” His father ceremony to show their respect for arranged for him to learn a trade by the noted American printer. As one placing him as an apprentice under printer read a eulogy for Franklin, the an older brother who was involved in the printing business. Franklin clicked Although many eulogies and speeches of praise instantly with the printing business and were delivered about Franklin, he himself had even worked diligently to improve his written the eulogy that he wanted inscribed on own writing style. Under the pseudonym his tombstone: Silence Do-good, he submitted satirical essays attacking the Boston pro- The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, monarchal aristocratic establishment. (Like the cover of an old book, However, the bright and innovative Its contents torn out, teenager often clashed with his older And stripped of its lettering and gilding,) brother, and following a series of Lies here, food for worms. disagreements, seventeen-year-old But the work shall not be lost, Ben left his brother and headed to For it will, as he believed, appear once more, Philadelphia. Arriving in the city, In a new and more elegant edition, the dirty, hungry traveler sauntered Revised and corrected up Second Street almost completely By the Author penniless, with only “a Dutch dollar and a copper shilling” in his pocket, as he says in his autobiography. He bought three puffy rolls and “having no room in my pockets, walk’d off with a roll

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Hill, under each arm, and eating the other.” During his years as a printer, Franklin He passed by the home of a prestigious acquired a valuable communication family (the Reads) and was seen by skill that would aid him in his endeavors his future wife, Deborah, who thought the rest of his life: He learned how he made “a most awkward, ridiculous to engage in conversations without appearance.” It was a Sunday, so he directly contradicting others and how joined many “clean-dressed people” and to present his own opinions with an sat down in a Quaker meetinghouse. attitude of modesty. He honed his After trying to get himself established communication skills and ideas through in Philadelphia through forays into a network of friends he had organized. several business ventures, the young That group discussed a wide range of printer eventually managed to establish topics and strove to improve themselves his own printing business. With the and their community. As Franklin help of his wife, Deborah, Franklin wisely noted, “The good [that] men achieved considerable success, which he may do separately is small compared attributed to “industry and frugality.” with what they may do collectively.” As a young printer, he followed Poor Richard’s maxim “Early to bed and Detour: The Junto early to rise, makes a man healthy, Franklin’s group of working-class peers was wealthy, and wise.” Following a strict known as the Junto—a word that means regimen, he got up before sunrise and “joined.” This group of civic-minded friends worked long hours. Often he was seen met together for discussions and planning pushing his own cart of paper through every Friday. They created the first public the Philadelphia streets. (He knew that library in America and started the first his own industrious habits would make volunteer fire department, night-watchmen a favorable impression on those who corps, and insurance program. watched.) Franklin worked hard in an effort to achieve an early retirement from business, which freed him to spend his time in activities he considered to Another one of Franklin’s early be of greater worth. His diligence was endeavors to serve his fellow Americans rewarded with remarkable success, and was the establishment of the Philadel- in his early forties he retired (although phia Hospital to care for those in need. he kept his printing business) and Franklin chose an interesting logo for pursued other interests—science, the hospital seal—it was a picture of politics, and diplomacy. However, the biblical Good Samaritan caring for regardless of his successes in so many the injured stranger and placing him other arenas, he always considered on his donkey; around the seal were himself a printer, signing his name words from Luke 10:35 (kjv): “Take “Benjamin Franklin, printer.” Care of Him and I Will Repay Thee.”

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Create your own junto by breaking Choose one of the following activities into small groups. Answer the about Franklin’s maxims: following questions, which were used by Franklin and his friends: 1. Translate Maxims Write ten of the maxims in modern- 1. What new story have you lately day language. Analyze whether you heard agreeable for telling in agree with each and how you could conversation to benefit others? (Have apply its message to your life. you heard a story lately that would 2. Narrate a Maxim be helpful for all of us to hear?) Choose one of these maxims and 2. Do you know of any fellow citizen write a fictional parable to illustrate who has lately done a worthy action the lesson the maxim teaches. deserving praise and imitation? Or 3. Act Out a Maxim who has committed an error proper Create a mime or a script for a skit for us to be warned against and avoid? that communicates the message (Has anyone in our community of one of Franklin’s maxims. Then done something that would be good perform the skit for the rest of for us to do too? Has anyone in your class or another audience. our community done something 4. Draw a Maxim that we should try to avoid?) Create a poster or a comic strip 3. Have you lately observed (or seen in that depicts someone experiencing the media) any encroachments on the truth contained in one the just liberties of the people? (Have of these proverbs. you seen or heard about something Innocence is its own defense. [in the media or live] that took away someone’s rights or freedom?) He does not possess wealth; it School Zone Ahead possesses him. Maxims (Language Eat to please thyself, but Arts Activity) dress to please others. Benjamin Franklin’s maxims appeared throughout his writings. His maxims Do good to thy friend to are like bite-size pieces of wisdom. keep him, to thy enemy to Consider the following sayings, gain him. and write short definitions of their meaning. Then analyze whether you Deny self for self’s sake. agree with the maxim and how you could apply its message in your life. The rotten apple spoils his companions.

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He that can have patience can have Who is rich? He that rejoices in his what he will. portion.

The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise. The first female editor in America was Benjamin Franklin’s sister-in-law, Ann As we must account for every idle Franklin. She became editor of the Newport word, so we must for every idle Mercury when her son died, and she continued silence. her work there until her death in 1763.

An empty bag cannot stand upright. Right of Way: Commitment

When the well’s dry, we know the A Time to Laugh, a Time worth of water. to Pray Dr. Benjamin Franklin (now an adult Little strokes fell great oaks. and a statesman for America) stood for nearly an hour in front of Alexander Necessity never made a good Wedderburn, the solicitor general of the bargain. British Privy Council, who raked the American diplomat over coals hotter Work as if you were to live a hundred than a Franklin stove. It was January 29, years; pray as if you were to die 1774, nine days after news of the Boston tomorrow. Tea Party had hit the London papers. (Years before that event, Franklin had To err is human, to repent divine; been sent to Europe by the Continental to persist devilish. Congress to advocate for the rights of the American colonists.) Wearing Well done is better than well said. his old-fashioned full-bottomed wig and a suit of blue velvet, Dr. Franklin stood silently in the amphitheater of Whitehall (the British government)

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as the furious Wedderburn leveled Franklin used his personal influence angry, inflammatory, and irrational to gather 150 wagons with four horses charges against the American diplomat. each, an additional 259 packhorses, The British solicitor general accused and an assortment of food and Franklin of being the “prime conductor” supplies to aid in General Braddock’s of the troubles in Massachusetts, even quest. And in 1765—a decade before though Franklin had not been in his encounter with Wedderburn in America at the time! The British Privy Britain—Franklin successfully argued Council blamed all their problems in the British parliament on behalf of in the colonies on Franklin, who the Americans against the hated Stamp stood silently and did not show a Act, which was eventually repealed. trace of emotion, even as the hostile Franklin penned many humorous crowd jeered and laughed at him. essays to make political points, and his jokes and clever antics brought him many social invitations and connections that he used to lobby for the Patriot cause. In fact, after Wedderburn’s scalding attack against him, Franklin wrote several more pieces using satire and sarcasm, but he was unable to achieve an understanding with the British. Franklin realized that the time had come to go home to Philadelphia. The Second Continental Congress was already gathering in Philadelphia when Franklin arrived in 1775. The The crowd may have laughed at day after he returned, he was selected Franklin, but the actions of the British as a delegate to Congress—the oldest in 1774 had been no laughing matter of its sixty-three members. Although for the colonists. Yet through all their a few suspicious members believed difficulties, there could have been no Franklin was secretly a British loyalist, better representative in England for most did not, and Congress therefore the Americans than Ben Franklin. appointed him to serve on a select Franklin had frequently proven his committee of five distinguished ability to assist the American colonists members to write a document in the most adverse circumstances. announcing America’s independence In 1753 during the French and Indian from England. The document they wrote War (when it was the colonists and was the Declaration of Independence. the British fighting the French and the The Continental Congress approved Native Americans), Franklin had been the separation from Great Britain on sent on his first diplomatic mission July 2, 1776, and then voted to approve to the Native American chiefs of the the Declaration on July 4, knowing powerful Six Nations along the American that those votes might cost them their frontier. Then he organized a volunteer lives because King George would surely militia to protect Pennsylvania from send troops against them once he saw French and Native American attacks. the Declaration. When the document When British general Braddock was officially signed a month later, on needed supplies for his army, which August 2, the Congress’s president, was protecting Pennsylvanians from John Hancock, said, “There must be the French and Native Americans, no pulling different ways. We must

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Hill, all hang together.” To which Franklin advantage of the colonies. Wearing his replied, “Yes, we must, indeed, all soft fur cap and bifocal glasses, Franklin, hang together—or most assuredly it’s been said, created an image of purity we shall all hang separately!” and other virtues promoted in the When America embarked on its quest New World. Using both his humor and for independence, the leaders of the new his adept diplomatic skills, Franklin nation realized that in order to defeat engaged in a campaign to win the hearts the British, they would need assistance and minds of the French. As a result, from other nations. To secure the help the United States and France signed of the French, Congress dispatched two treaties: a treaty of commerce and Benjamin Franklin to France for a a treaty of military alliance. On the dangerous, complex, and secret mission. evening of the treaty signing, Franklin Paris welcomed the famous American, wore his old blue velvet suit. When and he used his celebrity status to the asked why he had chosen to wear that suit, Franklin replied, “To give it a little revenge: I wore this coat on the day Wedderburn abused me at Whitehall.” Now he had worn it on the day the French became the colonists’ allies against the British. Franklin’s ability to use humor and be flexible enhanced his effectiveness as a diplomat and Patriot for more than thirty-five years. By the time Benjamin Franklin was in his eighties, many considered him to be the greatest philosopher of the age. The American Revolution was over and America had established its own government, but citizens feared that the government they had created during the American Revolution under the Articles of Confederation was in crisis and that the stability of the new republic was in danger. The Articles of Confederation had proved too weak; America was still too divided. It needed something stronger and better—something more unifying. A gathering of fifty-five of the nation’s leading statesmen (including Franklin) was therefore called to propose a solution. That gathering was called the Constitutional convention, and it eventually produced the U.S. Constitution. The wise old sage was driven by a desire for stability and unity during that convention. He willingly compromised several of his own ideas and proposals (such as a single legislature rather than a plural legislature, a multiple executive rather than a single executive, and

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nonpayment of government officials) in His speech seemed to change the order to bring unity to the gathering. tone of the convention. A three-day There were many debates—often recess was called, during which time heated; many of the delegates and states many of the delegates attended church held strong and often opposing opinions, together. When they returned to the and the discussions grew rancorous. convention, delegates commented After listening to the controversies, the on the new positive attitude among eighty-one-year-old Franklin offered the group; tempers had calmed, his advice in a stirring speech and and instead of the convention suggested that the delegates begin breaking apart, it held together. sessions each morning with prayer. Franklin’s desire that reliance on Here is part of his speech, addressed God be a part of official governmental to George Washington, president of actions became reality. For more than the Constitutional Convention: two centuries since Franklin’s speech, the U.S. Congress has opened each day’s Mr. President: work in the House and the Senate with— I have lived, sir, a long time, and as Franklin described it—“prayers the longer I live, the more convincing imploring the assistance of Heaven, and proofs I see of this truth—that God its blessings on our deliberations.” governs in the affairs of men. . . . I Many people today are surprised to firmly believe this; and I also believe learn that Benjamin Franklin offered that without His concurring aid we such religious recommendations, shall succeed in this political building for some describe him as one of the no better than the builders of Babel least religious Founding Fathers. Yet [Genesis 11:6-9]. . . . I therefore beg religious faith was very important to leave to move that henceforth prayers Ben Franklin. In fact, when Thomas imploring the assistance of Heaven, Paine was in the process of preparing and its blessings on our deliberations his Age of Reason attacking religion be held in this Assembly every morning. and urging a secular society, it was Benjamin Franklin who rebuked Paine for his secular ideas. Franklin warned:

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The consequence of printing this piece to these men and their families. will be a great deal of odium [hate] (Some possibilities include the drawn upon yourself, mischief to you, following signers: Carter Braxton, and no benefit to others. He that spits John Hart, Francis Lewis, Arthur into the wind, spits in his own face. . . . Middleton, Edward Rutledge, and Think how great a portion of mankind Richard Stockton.) . . . have need of the motives of religion to restrain them from vice, to support 3. What were Benjamin Franklin’s their virtue. . . . I would advise you, views on the role of religious therefore, not to attempt unchaining faith? Give at least two examples the tiger, but to burn this piece before to substantiate your answer. it is seen by any other person. . . . If men are so wicked with religion, what Stop and Ponder (for would they be if without it? Group Discussion)

Franklin strongly objected to a secular Tell about a person you know who society that would exclude religion has made a sacrifice for something from public life. He not only drafted a or someone important to him or her. statewide prayer proclamation for his own state of Pennsylvania, but he also How much would you be willing to recommended Christianity in the state’s sacrifice to preserve liberty for your public schools and worked to raise country? church attendance in Pennsylvania as well. Benjamin Franklin was a supporter of many American ideals: science and invention, liberty and individual Detour freedom, and the role of religion Those fifty-six signers of the Declaration of in daily life. Independence did “hang together”—and it 1. Explain the double meaning of cost them greatly. In the Declaration, they the pun Wedderburn used when announced that they were “appealing to the he described Franklin as “prime Supreme Judge of the world,” and then they conductor.” pledged their “lives, fortune, and sacred honor” to achieve American independence. Nine of 2. Many of the signers of the those who signed that document did not live Declaration of Independence to see independence become a reality. Another suffered great losses as a result dozen lost their homes, estates, and every of their efforts for the new material belonging when their property and nation. Find out what happened possessions were deliberately destroyed by the British. Three lost their children to British bullets. Several of those who signed were tortured as prisoners of war—as were several of their wives. It was costly for them to protect freedom for our sakes (as it has been for many Americans since then), but they were willing to make those sacrifices so that we could enjoy the liberties we now possess.

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You’re in the Driver’s Seat Gaining Insight Franklin’s Thirteen Moral Virtues Benjamin Franklin wrote the Temperance Industry Tranquility story of his life in his now-famous Silence Sincerity Chastity Autobiography—he wanted other Order Justice Humility people to learn from his lessons and Resolution Moderation experiences. He examined his life, and Frugality Cleanliness near the end of it he wrote, “I would rather have it said, ‘He lived usefully,’ Examining one’s life gives insights than, ‘He died rich.’” Franklin also for growth. Answer the questions sought to strive for “moral perfection” on the following four topics as by acquiring thirteen virtues. you think about your own life. 1. Heroes Name people who have influenced you positively. What attributes caused you to admire or respect them? How are you different because of them? 2. Hard Times What difficulties have you faced? How did these challenges shape you as a person? What did you learn from the hard times? 3. Highlights What do you consider the best times of your life? Why? How can you use these good times to strengthen yourself and others? 4. Hopes What are your hopes for the future? List career, family, citizenship, and community goals. Choose one of the following projects to help you think more about what your own autobiography might include. 1. Collage Autobiography Divide a piece of twelve- by-eighteen-inch manila paper into four parts, titling each section with one of the above topics. Make a collage from magazine pictures and printed words or phrases to illustrate each section of your autobiography.

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2. Virtues Autobiography Contrary to the popular view of his day that Look over Benjamin Franklin’s list women should be trained only in household of thirteen virtues. If you had to matters and the arts, Benjamin Franklin choose thirteen attributes that you supported education for women. He worked would consider the most important with a woman in Holland who ran a printing for “moral perfection,” what would press after her husband’s death, and this led they be? On a calendar or daily him to recommend “education for our young planner, assign one virtue each day females, as likely to be of more use to them for the next thirteen days. Each and their children, in case of widowhood, day, try to focus your actions and than either music or dancing, by preserving thoughts on that particular trait, and them from losses by imposition of crafty men, keep a journal of your progress (both and enabling them to continue, perhaps, a successes and failures). At the end of profitable [business].” the thirteen days, write a reflection on the experiment, thinking about Map Your Way these questions: What did you learn “Here is my Creed. I believe in one about yourself from this project? God, the Creator of the Universe. Do you think moral perfection is That He governs it by His Providence. possible? Is it something we should That He ought to be worshipped.” strive for? Explain your answers. Benjamin Franklin

3. Talk-Show Autobiography When Franklin touched the key Create a talk-show script, imagining during his kite experiment, an electric a talk-show host interviewing two spark jolted his body and he learned guests for today’s show: you and a truth about electricity. Similarly, Benjamin Franklin. Come up with when he considered the key concept questions for the host to ask based of his life philosophy, he turned on the four questions on page 28, and to God in order to know what was decide how each of you would answer true. Consider these questions: the questions. You can act out the talk show in front of a live audience Why are you here? or record the production on camera. Where are you going? Worldview Philosophy: What’s Real, and How Do I Know What’s True? Benjamin Franklin used at least nine pseudonyms (pen names) when writing Many people attempt to discover how newspaper articles or letters to the editor. Six the world works through philosophy. of these were women’s names, and he used one They try to answer such questions as, of them in particular—Polly Baker—to examine Who am I? Why am I here? Where the negative way women were treated in the am I going? Benjamin Franklin’s eyes of the law. scientific experiments indicated his understanding of who he was and why he was here; his epitaph indicates his understanding of where he thought he was going after he died.

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DVD Reflection Watch the DVD segment for Lesson 2 and complete the following activities:

BenjaminThe First AmericanFranklin

Dave Stotts says that Ben Franklin’s inventions were designed for usefulness and to benefit people. Three benefits you enjoy as a result of Franklin’s ingenuity and creativity: 1.

Franklin understood the value of working cooperatively. He said, “The good men do separately is small compared with what they may do collectively.” Two positive results from Franklin’s work with others: 1.

If Ben Franklin thumbed a ride in your Hummer, where would you take him?