by Benjamin Franklin

From a childhood of poverty, Benjamin Franklin rose to become a successful businessman and a founding father of the United States. Born in 1706 as the son of a candlemaker, Franklin earned a position of wealth and respect in the Philadelphia community through hard work and thrift. He filled Poor Richard's Alrnunach, a bestseller for more than twenty years, with advice on how to acquire wealth through industry.

Events in History at the Time of the Almanacs

Franklin as an early example of the American dream. America has always been considered a land of freedom and economic opportunity. Immigrants who possessed nothing in Europe dreamed of coming to the American colonies to make their fortunes. This concept of working one's way out of poverty into wealth has been a driving force since the early colonists stepped off their vessels onto the raw...