Benjamin Franklin Speech Flash Cards

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Good Day. I am Benjamin Franklin. I’m here to tell you about my life. Hmm.. Where shall I start? Oh, yes:

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I was born January 17, 1706 in Boston Massachusetts. Aaaaaand... My father, Josiah, was a poor soap- and candle maker. My mother, Abiah, was my father’s second wife. He had 7 children with his first wife, Anne Child, and 10 with Abiah. I was the youngest son and the 15th of all my 17 siblings.

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*Clear Throat*

When I was 8, I went to school for 2 years (until I was 10). When I was 10 I began to help in my father’s soap-and-candle making shop. I HATED it. I cut candle wicks and filled molds. Though I was no longer in school, I was fond of books and spent much of my spare time reading.

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When I was 12, my father let me work as an apprentice in the print shop of my half-brother, James. I studied every night after work. I soon became a professional printer, but I was not happy in my brother’s shop.

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I made very little money and was forced to sign a contract that made me stay on the job for nine years. I soon became unhappy and I wanted to be on my own. Not only that, but my brother was impatient and quick-tempered.

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When James started a weekly newspaper called The New England Courant, I secretly wrote a series of humorous letters and sent them to the paper. I signed them “Mrs. Silence Dogood.” James angered the city magistrates by printing articles with which they disapproved, and he was forbidden to publish his newspaper.

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He decided to print the Courant in my name. James then canceled my contract so that the officials could not accuse him of using an apprentice as a front. We secretly signed another contract. Later James discovered the truth about the “Dogood” papers and was furious. He got way too violent and BEAT ME.

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I took the advantage of the canceled contract and left. I first went to New York City. I found no work. Then in October I went to Philadelphia. When I arrived, I was hungry and tired and had only one silver dollar in my pocket.

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I soon found a job in the print shop of Samuel Keimer. Because of my skill at typesetting, Keimer paid me well. The governor of Pennsylvania soon took an interest in me and encouraged me to open up my own shop. He sent me to London, England, to buy a printing press and type.

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The governor promised to pay the expenses. He did not keep his promise, however, and in 1724 I was stranded in London with no money.

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I found a job as a printer and saved enough money to return to Philadelphia in October 1726. I worked as a sales clerk but soon went back to Keimer’s print shop.

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When I was 22, I started my own print shop with a partner, Hugh Meredith. We published a weekly newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette.

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Not too long later, in 1730, I married Deborah Read. She was an uneducated woman who did not share my interest in books and science. She was devoted to me, however, and was a cheerful and thrifty wife.

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We had three children: Francis Folger, who died in childhood of smallpox; Sarah, who married a merchant; and William, who became governor of New Jersey.

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From 1730 to 1748, I worked hard in the printing business and became very successful. I was made official printer for Pennsylvania. By 1734 I was a public printer for New Jersey and Delaware as well. Later I became Maryland’s official printer as well.

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My most popular publication was Poor Richard’s Almanack, which first appeared in 1732. The Almanack was a calendar and weather forecast for the year, and it contained amusing stories, jokes, and proverbs. Soon 10,000 copies were sold every year.

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I worked hard and ignored my own advice about going to bed early. I taught myself several languages and was awake late every night studying English, French, and German scientific books. I enjoyed a good conversation and in 1727, organized a debate club called the Junto. Backed by this group, I started the first circulating library in America.

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At my insistence, Philadelphia’s streets were paved and kept clean and better lighted. I formed Philadelphia’s first volunteer fire company and I raised the money for organizing the first hospital in America.

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I also believed that the schools of my time were out of date. I printed a booklet presenting this view. The suggestions that I made in this booklet brought about the founding of an academy, which later became the University of Pennsylvania.

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By 1748 I had earned enough money to leave my printing business. I bought a 300-acre farm near Burlington, New Jersey, and retired as a printer to give my time to science.

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I was a postmaster and filled many offices. I soon became deputy postmaster in 1753 for all the colonies after I retired from my print job but lets just skip that and get right into the science: my favorite part.

Front 22

Personally I think I was an active inventor all my adult life. I mean, I’ve made so many things without even realizing it. One of my most famous inventions was the Franklin stove. My stove stood in the fireplace, but it's warmth extended out into the room in all directions.

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In my lifetime I was recognized as one of the greatest scientific thinkers of the world. My contributions included pioneer studies of heat conduction and the origin of storms. My most important work, however, was done with electricity.

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When a European scientist found a way to store electricity in a special tube, I ordered some of the tubes and set up a laboratory in my house. I made many experiments and published a book about electricity which was one of the most widely reprinted scientific books of my time.

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In 1752 I sent an account of my experiments to the Royal Society of scientists in London and to French scientists. The foreign scholars were so impressed with my work that I was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1756 and awarded its Copley Medal.

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Now, I want to tell you a little bit about the lightning rod, another one of my most famous inventions...Where do I begin!? Well, I realized that lightning must be a discharge of electricity from the clouds. In my book I had suggested an experiment to test this. With the help of my son William, I made the experiment in 1752.

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We went to a shed in a meadow during a thunderstorm, flew a kite high in the air, and brought a charge of electricity down the kite’s wet string. I noticed the loose threads of the kite string standing up.

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I put my knuckle to a key at my end of the string and saw an electric spark. This proved my theory that lightning is electricity. I followed up this discovery by inventing the lightning rod to protect buildings from lightning bolts.

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For the next 20 years I have been busy with work and accomplished many more things. I helped with the French and Indian war, I went to England to help pay for the expenses of the war, I helped with the Stamp Act, and I continued to fight for peace until in 1774 my wife had died. I was nearly 70 years old then but I continued to work and do what I loved most.

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In the autumn of 1775 Congress made me one of three men to go to George Washington’s headquarters to confer on problems of the Continental Army. I helped draft the Declaration of Independence and later the Articles of Confederation.

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In 1776 Congress sent me on my most important diplomatic mission. I was asked to persuade France to help America in its fight for independence. Well, that I did and I ended up staying in France for 9 whole years.

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I then returned to Philadelphia in September 14, 1785. A great welcome awaited me. Cannons were fired and bells were rung. For an entire week the welcoming ceremonies went on as the city celebrated my return. Wow, I guess I am that important.

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Old and frail, I became president of the Pennsylvania Assembly. With a bad disease and a kidney stone, I served as president for three years. Not only that, but I was a member of the Constitutional Convention.

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I spent the last five years of my life in Philadelphia. Even then I was not idle. I made a device for getting books down from high shelves. I wrote letters to many friends and political leaders.

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I wrote newspaper articles and my famous autobiography. My final public act was to sign a memorial to the state legislature as president of the Pennsylvania society for the ending of black slavery.

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I, Benjamin Franklin died at the age of 84 on April 17, 1790. After an impressive public funeral given by the city, I was buried beside my wife in Christ Church cemetery, in Philadelphia.

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And this is where I tell you my secret. Shh! Don’t tell anyone. Here I go: *Say fast* I’m not actually Benjamin Franklin. I am... Meghan Howell.