During a time when colonial American culture was just beginning to develop, very few citizens were concerned with contributing to this blossoming civilization. Benjamin Franklin, whether he knew it at the time or not, was one of the exceptions. An inventor, printer, scientist, poet, Postmaster General, philosopher, politician, economist, ambassador, and author, Franklin contributed to many aspects of the prospering American colonies' culture. Many Englishmen as well as colonists knew him as the ideal American. Though Franklin was responsible for many advancements in colonial society, he was especially influential as a scientist, author, and ambassador.

Ben Franklin, the scientist, was very able as well as versatile in the field, and his interests included electricity, mathematics, medicine, meteorology, astronomy, oceanography, invention, and countless other areas of research (Wertenbaker 69). Science, though very rarely studied by most early colonial Americans, was a field in which Franklin was well recognized by many scientists throughout Europe and received many awards therein. For instance, in 1753, the Royal Society awarded him the Copley medal, and Oxford University ga

As an author, Franklin also acquired substantial recognition. As a publisher of several newspapers throughout the colonies, Franklin found a knack for journalism. His Pennsylvania Gazette was unlike other papers in that he devoted several columns solely to European affairs as well as poems, letters, and discussions of local problems (Wertenbaker 73). Franklin, being a notable politician also drafted several municipal bodies of writing such as the "Albany Plan" and "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union." The "Albany Plan" called for the first united government of the American colonies and it set up an American plan for defense. Even though the bill was rejected by Parliament, its impact as a precursor to the Constitution is undeniable. The "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union" is somewhat of a revised version of the "Albany Plan." In it, Franklin asks for the repealing of the Intolerable Acts, reparations for the injuries to Boston, and the removal of the troops from America (Schoenbrun 27). Though he knew England would not meet his conditions, his general purpose for suggesting such was to imprint the minds of Congress with the forthcoming of independence. Franklin also wrote the annual Poor Richard's Almanac, whose popularity in the colonies was second, only to the Bible (Charleton 147). The

Some common words found in the essay are:
Oxford University, Bible Charleton, Ben Franklin, Author Wright, Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Gazette, Albany Plan, America Schoenbrun, Europeans Americans, Paris British, albany plan, articles confederation, daylight saving's, franklin found, confederation perpetual, perpetual union, articles confederation perpetual, confederation perpetual union, ben franklin, author franklin,
Approximate Word count = 888
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)