David+-+CRD+-+SP13

Benjamin Franklin

Political party: Federalist

He represented Pennsylvania, which was primarily made up of English, Germans, and Scot-Irish immigrants. Agriculture was very prevalent in the state, in fact Pennsylvania was a leader in agriculture in the colonies/states. With the abundance of resources, manufacturing was also very important to the Pennsylvanian economy. The utilization of the plethora of streams made many types of industry possible. Like wise, rivers made trade a crucial part of the states economy as well. There was an abundance of culture in Pennsylvania due to the religious tolerance of the the founding Quakers. Home to many innovative thinkers, Pennsylvania was a place of firsts in the colonies/states (like the first hospital, the first library, and the first insurance company).

Benjamin Franklin held a number of different occupations and jobs throughout his life. His occupations outside of politics included being an inventor, lender, publisher, and real estate agent. His printing business was very successful and eventually lead him to getting involve with politics and serving the community due to his wealth and stature. Franklin began working in the postal service, and eventually was promoted to postmaster of all the colonies. The British revoked his position for being too interested in colonial patriotism. After the U.S. gained their independence, Congress made Franklin the postmaster general. In 1757, he went to London to settle disputes with the owners of Pennsylvania. He remained in London until 1775 working to help the American cause and do what he could to try and prevent taxes and get them repealed. When he returned to America, he was almost immediately asked to go to France to enlist their help in the revolution and was one of the three that helped get the treaty signed to end the war.

Franklin was the oldest member of the Constitutional Convention at eighty-one years of age. Many of the delegates only paid attention to his suggestions out of respect, and didn't give him much thought. He proposed a few ideas that were brushed aside rather swiftly, but did help with some compromises.

He was NOT a member of the Pennsylvania ratifying convention

Of all the delegates, it's said that Franklin was the least happy with the way the structure of the federal government turned out. He pushed for an executive branch with a committee rather than an individual leader. This was more to give power to the people than to be an example of checks and balances. Franklin even suggested that the Constitution ban salaries for positions of power in the government. At first he was set on a Congress with one house with representation based on population, but later planted the seeds for the "great compromise" when it became apparent that a one-house Congress wouldn't satisfy the smaller states. It was important to note that Franklin was highly distrusted by his fellow delegates and often ran his mouth when it was inappropriate. For this reason the delegates assigned "chaperones" that would follow him around and make sure he didn't say anything that wasn't supposed to be uttered outside of the convention. At the end of the convention, when the Constitution was practically complete, Franklin delivered a speech to the delegates. In it, he said that he was unsure if there were faults in the Constitution at this point, but it was the closest thing to perfection that they would ever reach. Poking fun at himself, he said that he had kept his mouth shut during the duration of the convention and he hoped that the arguments and discussions they had wouldn't be discussed to anyone else so as to not influence anyone else in their decision. In conclusion to his speech, Franklin stated that if anyone still had doubts in the Constitution, like he did, that they should "doubt a little of his own infallibility" and sign it. Probably the only thing that Franklin saw wrong with the Constitution was that it didn't grant freedom to slaves, so he took that up as his mission in his remaining years.

Friend(s): James Madison

Bibliography: "Benjamin Franklin." //History.com//. A&E Television Networks, 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. "The Debates in the Convention of the State of Pennsylvania, On the Adoption of the Federal Constitution." //Debates in Pennsylvania Convention on Ratification of the Constitution//. Constitution Society, 20 Nov. 1787. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. "Founding Father." //PBS//. PBS, 2002. Web. 12 Feb. 2013. Pangle, Lorraine Smith. //The Political Philosophy of Benjamin Franklin//. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 2007. Print. "Pennsylvania History." //Pennsylvania History//. Pennsylvania General Assembly, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.
 * Franklin, Benjamin. "Final Speech." //PBS//. PBS, 2002. Web. 12 Feb. 2013.