Benjamin Franklin

We're reading excerpts of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in the eleventh grade as part of our seminar on American Literature. Not only was Franklin a founding father, printer, diplomat, benefactor and inventor—he was also a very talented writer whose autobiography is considered to be the first book in the cannon of American Literature.

Here is a lecture by Walter Isaacson that was given at the University of Pennsylvania about Franklin.

In his autobiography, Franklin discusses his life and his beliefs. This lecture helps you to understand what about his life set him up to be the first literary example of "the American Dream in action."

Here is a another video that discusses Franklin as a writer:

This video discusses the The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin as a work of literature:

Here is a video about Frankin's wit:

You can download The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin here or here.