Once in Philadelphia, Benjamin really started trying to apply himself but it was not an easy road for him. He was working at a few printing shops around the area, but was not satisfied. He wanted more than his equipment could handle, so he was eventually shipped overseas by Pennsylvania Governor Sir William Keith to London to get the necessary equipment needed to make another newspaper in Philadelphia. Once he was ready to buy the equipment, Keith backed out of being his backer, so Ben was stuck in England and found work at another print shop.
After about a year of living abroad, Benjamin returned to Philadelphia and founded Junto, a group of "like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community", in his own words. It was basically a discussion group for those within the community that talked about important issues that affected them on a daily basis. Plus, they would talk about books they have read and told stories. Junto evolved into the first American Library, and we have Benjamin Franklin to thank for this. See what happens next week, as we learn more about this man and his accomplishments.
Picture Citation: http://www.thechemistrynerd.com/benfranklin/BenjaminFranklinDiscoversElectricity.jpg
http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/thisday/april/17539-b.jpg
Works Cited: Franklin, Benjamin & Skouser, Mark. The Compleated Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New York, New York: Viking Press,1938
Junto quote off page 38.
No comments:
Post a Comment