"We must all hang together, or we shall all hang separately"
Ben Franklin was born January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. At a very young age Ben wanted to become a sailor. He didn't like his father's trade of candle making. Ben would rather be fighting pirates.
Ben was the best in his class and after two years he was moved to Mr.Brownells School to prepare for his trade. Teachers were impressed that a son from a candle maker's family could read so well.
At age 12 Ben decided to go into the printing business, he was fascinated by the way books were created. This was a very important decision in his life. Ben decided to work as an apprentice for his brother, James. The contract stated Ben had to stay till he was 21.
James was very strict on Ben even through he was his brother. Ben had a lot of work for a 12 year old.
ben and his pigeon
Deborah Read Franklin (1708–1774)
English: A Franklin stove. Category:Technology ima...Ben still took the time to read through. One of the books he read showed the benefits of not eating meat. Their Ben decided he would become a vegetarian. Later Ben met a friend, named John Collins, who enjoyed reading as much as Ben did.
The boys spent their time discussing issues and sending each other letters, Ben showed his father some of the letters. His father told him he had to work on expressing his thoughts in writing. So Ben worked on it and soon he found he could write better then others. One morning James told Ben he was going to publish a newspaper. His paper was planned to be controversial.
Ben's brother, James, started the newspaper, "The New England Courier," In 1720. It came out once a week. It was popular because it dared to go against the...