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Benjamin Franklin / Edmund S. Morgan.

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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Morgan, Edmund S. (Edmund Sears), 1916-
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
Inventors--United States--Biography.
Inventors.
Printers--United States--Biography.
Printers.
Scientists--United States--Biography.
Scientists.
Statesmen--United States--Biography.
Statesmen.
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790.
Franklin, Benjamin.
Physical Description:
1 online resource (352 pages)
Edition:
First edition.
Place of Publication:
New Haven : Yale University Press, c2002.
Language Note:
English
Summary:
The best short biography of Franklin ever written.Gordon S. WoodBenjamin Franklin is perhaps the most remarkable figure in American history: the greatest statesman of his age, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the American republic. He was also a pioneering scientist, a bestselling author, the countrys first postmaster general, a printer, a bon vivant, a diplomat, a ladies man, and a moralistand the most prominent celebrity of the eighteenth century.Franklin was, however, a man of vast contradictions, as Edmund Morgan demonstrates in this brilliant biography. A reluctant revolutionary, Franklin had desperately wished to preserve the British Empire, and he mourned the break even as he led the fight for American independence. Despite his passion for science, Franklin viewed his groundbreaking experiments as secondary to his civic duties. And although he helped to draft both the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution, he had personally hoped that the new American government would take a different shape. Unraveling the enigma of Franklins character, Morgan shows that he was the rare individual who consistently placed the public interest before his own desires.Written by one of our greatest historians, Benjamin Franklin offers a provocative portrait of Americas most extraordinary patriot.
Contents:
An exciting world
"A dangerous man"
An empire of Englishmen
Proprietary pretensions
The importance of opinion
Endgame
Becoming American
Representing a nation of states
A difficult peace
Going home.
Notes:
Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:
0-300-13022-8
OCLC:
923593589

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