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118-467: The Frontier Guard was a provincial military unit organized by New Jersey's colonial legislature in 1755 to man a series of frontier fortifications along the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey. Members were paid two shillings per day, provincial currency, and were supposed to provide their own firelock, blanket, hatchet or cutlass, cartridge box, knapsack or haversack, and powder horn. As

236-597: A planter from Barbados , in London. In 1763, he was appointed as the last royal governor of New Jersey. A Loyalist to the king, William Franklin saw his relations with father Benjamin eventually break down over their differences about the American Revolutionary War , as Benjamin Franklin could never accept William's position. Deposed in 1776 by the revolutionary government of New Jersey, William

354-407: A 1756 letter to his English friend Peter Collinson . The men serving on the frontier, Franklin clarified, were not militia but full-time soldiers enlisted to fight for a specific period of time, and paid by the colonial governments. In contrast, the militia were men following their normal business, mustering on specific days to train, and ready to fight only in case of an emergency. Massachusetts Bay

472-628: A Freemason for the rest of his life. At age 17 in 1723, Franklin proposed to 15-year-old Deborah Read while a boarder in the Read home. At that time, Deborah's mother was wary of allowing her young daughter to marry Franklin, who was on his way to London at Governor Keith's request, and also because of his financial instability. Her own husband had recently died, and she declined Franklin's request to marry her daughter. Franklin travelled to London, and after he failed to communicate as expected with Deborah and her family, they interpreted his long silence as

590-600: A band of Cherokees for frontier service. Three militia companies were also mobilized and sent to Fort Frederick as garrison. Maryland participated in the Forbes Expedition 1758 with the frontier force under Colonel Dagworthy, about 500 men. To replace them the militia of the western counties were mobilized, and marched under Governor Sharpe to take control of Fort Cumberland, when the Virginia Regiment under George Washington left it. Maryland raised

708-585: A breaking of his promises. At the urging of her mother, Deborah married a potter named John Rogers on August 5, 1725. John soon fled to Barbados with her dowry in order to avoid debts and prosecution. Since Rogers' fate was unknown, bigamy laws prevented Deborah from remarrying. Franklin returned in 1726 and resumed his courtship of Deborah. They established a common-law marriage on September 1, 1730. They took in his recently acknowledged illegitimate young son and raised him in their household. They had two children together. Their son, Francis Folger Franklin ,

826-529: A class for four years, and there would be no religious test for admission. Johnson went on to found King's College (now Columbia University ) in New York City in 1754, while Franklin hired Smith as provost of the College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1755. At its first commencement, on May 17, 1757, seven men graduated; six with a Bachelor of Arts and one with a Master of Arts. It was later merged with

944-570: A full year if necessary, for the Bay of Fundy Campaign , under John Winslow. The soldiers from Johnson's expedition returned in the fall of 1755, except 600 men posted at Fort William Henry and Fort Edward over the winter. In 1756 the General Court voted 3,000 men to dislodge the French from Crown Point , and the commander-in-chief, governor William Shirley appointed John Winslow to command

1062-653: A leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher . Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States ; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence ; and the first postmaster general . Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia,

1180-729: A major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics . He also charted and named the Gulf Stream current. His numerous important inventions include the lightning rod , bifocals , glass harmonica and the Franklin stove . He founded many civic organizations , including the Library Company , Philadelphia 's first fire department , and the University of Pennsylvania . Franklin earned

1298-471: A majority of provincial troops, although most of the fighting was done by the regulars. The capture of Fort Frontenac in 1758, was done by a force dominantly provincial. The main task of the provincials, with the exception of multiple ranger companies, during this campaign in the war was largely as pioneers , fort garrisons and transportation troops. The General Assembly in March 1755 authorized 1,000 men in

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1416-497: A mounted troop of volunteer militia, the First Troop of Horse Militia, consisting of men of substance who could equip and mount the troop at their own expense. Reynolds successor, Henry Ellis raised another ranger company under William Francis , but lack of appropriations forced him to pay the rangers out of his own pocket. The Province of Maryland built Fort Cumberland in 1754 and a ranger company protected its borders at

1534-542: A patriotic stand in the growing crisis with Great Britain. Franklin's Connecticut Gazette (1755–68), however, proved unsuccessful. As the Revolution approached, political strife slowly tore his network apart. In 1730 or 1731, Franklin was initiated into the local Masonic lodge . He became a grand master in 1734, indicating his rapid rise to prominence in Pennsylvania. The same year, he edited and published

1652-494: A postal system. The report of the committee, providing for the appointment of a postmaster general for the 13 American colonies, was considered by the Continental Congress on July 25 and 26. On July 26, 1775, Franklin was appointed postmaster general, the first appointed under the Continental Congress. His apprentice, William Goddard , felt that his ideas were mostly responsible for shaping the postal system and that

1770-643: A provincial force of 200 men to garrison these fortifications. In the fall of 1756 they appropriated more moneys for raising and maintaining 300 men for the Royal American Regiment , and another 100 men for a company to be incorporated in Dagworthy's battalion; one third of the battalion to be on constant duty at the frontier as rangers. In the spring of 1757 the Assembly introduced tax credits for those who enlisted in provincial service, and hired

1888-663: A provincial regiment from South Carolina, as well as Oglethorpe's own regiment of the British army . The South Carolina regiment had a strength of 500 soldiers, and was partly recruited in North Carolina and Virginia. The land forces of the Louisbourg expedition in 1745 were entirely a colonial affair, with Massachusetts contributing 3,000 provincial soldiers, Connecticut 500, New Hampshire 500, and Rhode Island 300. Pennsylvania had refused to raise any soldiers, but after

2006-533: A quota system applied to the militia; drafts would only be used when enough volunteers didn't sign up. Bounties were used to boast volunteer enlistment. The officers were appointed by the provincial governments; the field officers were mostly men of political importance and members of the legislatures with many years service in the militia, while the junior officers were efficient and popular militia officers. The provincial troops were enlisted for specific campaign seasons, and organized anew each spring, yet most of

2124-664: A scheme for the Academy, Charity School, and College of Philadelphia ; however, the person he had in mind to run the academy, Rev. Richard Peters , refused and Franklin put his ideas away until 1749 when he printed his own pamphlet, Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania. He was appointed president of the Academy on November 13, 1749; the academy and the charity school opened in 1751. In 1743, he founded

2242-562: A scientist and statesman, he habitually signed his letters with the unpretentious 'B. Franklin, Printer.' In 1732, he published the first German-language newspaper in America – Die Philadelphische Zeitung – although it failed after only one year because four other newly founded German papers quickly dominated the newspaper market. Franklin also printed Moravian religious books in German. He often visited Bethlehem, Pennsylvania , staying at

2360-462: A subject of conversation around town. Neither James nor the Courant 's readers were aware of the ruse, and James was unhappy with Benjamin when he discovered the popular correspondent was his younger brother. Franklin was an advocate of free speech from an early age. When his brother was jailed for three weeks in 1722 for publishing material unflattering to the governor , young Franklin took over

2478-532: A total of seventeen children with his two wives. He married his first wife, Anne Child, in about 1677 in Ecton and emigrated with her to Boston in 1683; they had three children before emigration and four after. Following her death, Josiah married Abiah Folger on July 9, 1689, in the Old South Meeting House by Reverend Samuel Willard , and had ten children with her. Benjamin, their eighth child,

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2596-647: Is evidently a portrait of his rival, Samuel Keimer . Franklin had mixed success in his plan to establish an inter-colonial network of newspapers that would produce a profit for him and disseminate virtue. Over the years he sponsored two dozen printers in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New York, Connecticut, and even the Caribbean. By 1753, eight of the fifteen English language newspapers in the colonies were published by him or his partners. He began in Charleston, South Carolina , in 1731. After his second editor died,

2714-559: Is the present-day Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great in the Smithfield area of London. Following this, he returned to Philadelphia in 1726 with the help of Thomas Denham , a merchant who employed him as a clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper in his business. In 1727, at age 21, Franklin formed the Junto , a group of "like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community." The Junto

2832-533: The $ 100 bill and in the names of warships , many towns and counties, educational institutions and corporations , as well as in numerous cultural references and a portrait in the Oval Office . His more than 30,000 letters and documents have been collected in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin . Anne Robert Jacques Turgot said of him: "Eripuit fulmen cœlo, mox sceptra tyrannis" ("He snatched lightning from

2950-746: The American Philosophical Society to help scientific men discuss their discoveries and theories. He began the electrical research that, along with other scientific inquiries, would occupy him for the rest of his life, in between bouts of politics and moneymaking. During King George's War , Franklin raised a militia called the Association for General Defense because the legislators of the city had decided to take no action to defend Philadelphia "either by erecting fortifications or building Ships of War." He raised money to create earthwork defenses and buy artillery. The largest of these

3068-485: The American Revolution . From 1785 to 1788, he served as President of Pennsylvania . At some points in his life, he owned slaves and ran "for sale" ads for slaves in his newspaper, but by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery , became an active abolitionist , and promoted the education and integration of African Americans into U.S. society. As a scientist, his studies of electricity made him

3186-526: The Battle of Signal Hill . As a response to the attack and abduction of a family of settlers by hostile Indians in 1754, the province of New Hampshire hastily raised a company of provincial soldiers pursuing the perpetrators, but to no avail. Under royal command the province also garrisoned the provincial forts in the Connecticut River valley from the summer of 1754, to the spring of 1755, when

3304-541: The Charles River , Franklin recalled that he was "generally the leader among the boys." Franklin's father wanted him to attend school with the clergy but only had enough money to send him to school for two years. He attended Boston Latin School but did not graduate; he continued his education through voracious reading. Although "his parents talked of the church as a career" for Franklin, his schooling ended when he

3422-687: The College of William & Mary , called a "new-model" plan or style of American college. Franklin solicited, printed in 1752, and promoted an American textbook of moral philosophy by Samuel Johnson, titled Elementa Philosophica , to be taught in the new colleges. In June 1753, Johnson, Franklin, and Smith met in Stratford. They decided the new-model college would focus on the professions, with classes taught in English instead of Latin, have subject matter experts as professors instead of one tutor leading

3540-457: The French and Indian War the imperial government in London took an increasingly more leading part, relegating the provincial troops to a non-combat role, largely as pioneers and transportation troops, while the bulk of the fighting was done by the regular British Army. However the contributions of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were essential. Those Men, posted on

3658-592: The Instructor and made it The Pennsylvania Gazette . The Gazette soon became his characteristic organ, which he freely used for satire, for the play of his wit, even for sheer excess of mischief or of fun. From the first, he had a way of adapting his models to his own uses. The series of essays called " The Busy-Body ," which he wrote for Bradford's American Mercury in 1729, followed the general Addisonian form, already modified to suit homelier conditions. The thrifty Patience, in her busy little shop, complaining of

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3776-503: The Military Road . The area where these blockhouse forts were constructed was composed of sparsely-populated frontier settlements that during the years before the American Revolutionary War were subjected to frequent raids and attacks by Native American warriors. New Jersey Frontier Guard — a reenactment and demonstration group dedicated to preserving New Jersey's French and Indian War history. Provincial troops in

3894-643: The Moravian Sun Inn . In a 1751 pamphlet on demographic growth and its implications for the Thirteen Colonies, he called the Pennsylvania Germans "Palatine Boors" who could never acquire the "Complexion" of Anglo-American settlers and referred to "Blacks and Tawneys" as weakening the social structure of the colonies. Although he apparently reconsidered shortly thereafter, and the phrases were omitted from all later printings of

4012-612: The University of the State of Pennsylvania to become the University of Pennsylvania . The college was to become influential in guiding the founding documents of the United States: in the Continental Congress , for example, over one-third of the college-affiliated men who contributed to the Declaration of Independence between September 4, 1774, and July 4, 1776, were affiliated with the college. In 1754, he headed

4130-748: The province of Carolina during Queen Anne's War were conducted by Indian allies, such as the Yamasee and the Creeks , although Carolinians participated in the St. Augustine expedition 1702 and defense of Charles Town 1706. The militia, which in war time included armed slaves, was supplemented by a small provincial full-time force of garrison troops and rangers. The expeditions to Port Royal in 1707 were made up entirely of provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island: The expedition to Port Royal in 1710 contained both regular troops from

4248-519: The British Army, and four provincial regiments from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Hampshire: In addition to the regular troops of the British Army, the expedition to Quebec 1711 contained two provincial regiments from Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire: The militia was the ultimate line of defense for the province of Georgia . Yet it was too small, and its members too occupied in civil pursuits, to efficiently protect

4366-584: The British Crown Point), took place in 1755. Phineas Lyman of Suffield, Connecticut was appointed major-general, and second-in-command. The Province of Connecticut initially sent 1,000 men in June in two regiments in the pay of Connecticut and one in the pay of New York Colony to General Johnson for the Crown Point expedition. The expedition never made it to Crown Point, but were surprised by

4484-539: The British Plantations in America. He used the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales as the cover illustration. Franklin wrote a letter, " Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress ," dated June 25, 1745, in which he gives advice to a young man about channeling sexual urges. Due to its licentious nature, it was not published in collections of his papers during the 19th century. Federal court rulings from

4602-442: The British attack on Montreal : For the campaign season 1761 Connecticut voted 2,300 officers and men in two regiments; of these 2,000 were actually raised. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general: Two companies were raised for service during the winter of 1761/1762: For 1762, the province also voted 2,300 officers and men in two regiments. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general: Two companies were raised for service during

4720-577: The Crown took control of them. Further depredations by hostiles in 1754, was met with mobilization of detachments from the companies and regiments of the organized militia. Temporary ranger companies were also raised for short-term emergencies. In 1755, New Hampshire voted 600 provincial soldiers for William Johnson's expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric, who participated in the Battle of Lake George. After that battle, another regiment of 300 men were raised by

4838-591: The French and Indian War and it's possible that the social composition changed over time. Source: The first provincial forces in British North America were organized in the 1670s, when several colonial governments raised ranger companies for one year's paid service to protect their borders. Port Royal in French Acadia was taken in 1690, by one provincial regiment of foot from Massachusetts under William Phips . The regiment

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4956-518: The French and Indian Wars The first provincial forces in British North America were organized in the 1670s. The major operations during King William's War were conducted by provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay. During Queen Anne's War provincial troops from Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, and New Hampshire made up the bulk of the English forces. During King George's War the land forces that took Louisbourg were entirely supplied by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. During

5074-465: The French at the Battle of Lake George . In August 1755, an additional 500 men in the pay of Connecticut were mobilized. However these arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Lake George. They were added as additional companies to the First and Second Regiments. Connecticut now had 1,800 provincial soldiers in the Crown Point expedition. In late August 1755 two new regiments of 750 men each in

5192-618: The Frontier, are not the Militia, but what we call our Provincial Troops, being regularly inlisted to serve for a Term, and in the Pay of the Province; and do nothing but bear Arms like your Regulars. During the French and Indian Wars, provincial troops separate of the militia were raised by the colonial governors and legislatures for extended operations. These forces were often recruited through

5310-701: The General Assembly authorized the raising and payment of two additional regiments to be mobilized in September, each to consist of 750 men divided into nine companies. According to the future Governor and then militia Colonel Jonathan Trumbull , by October 1755, a total of 3,975 Connecticut militia had been mobilized and sent to four fronts. Some 900 of these were paid by Massachusetts and New York and placed in their regiments, but served under their own captains. William Johnson's expedition to take Fort Saint-Frédéric on " Pointe à la Chevelure " (called by

5428-510: The General Court voted only 1,800 soldiers for the campaign season of 1757. The Massachusetts provincials served at Fort William Henry and Fort Edward, under British superior officers, fed by the British commissary, and subject to the Articles of War. About 800 Massachusetts provincial were part of the garrison of Fort William Henry and suffered the siege and massacre in the summer of 1757 . When William Pitt became prime minister in 1757,

5546-603: The Loyalist cause, was held in solitary confinement at Litchfield for eight months. When finally released in a prisoner exchange in 1778, he moved to New York City, which was occupied by the British at the time. While in New York City, he became leader of the Board of Associated Loyalists, a quasi-military organization chartered by King George III and headquartered in New York City. They initiated guerrilla forays into New Jersey, southern Connecticut, and New York counties north of

5664-614: The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency in 1729, and his printer printed money. He was influential in the more restrained and thus successful monetary experiments in the Middle Colonies, which stopped deflation without causing excessive inflation. In 1766, he made a case for paper money to the British House of Commons . As he matured, Franklin began to concern himself more with public affairs. In 1743, he first devised

5782-838: The Pennsylvania delegation to the Albany Congress . This meeting of several colonies had been requested by the Board of Trade in England to improve relations with the Indians and defense against the French. Franklin proposed a broad Plan of Union for the colonies. While the plan was not adopted, elements of it found their way into the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution . In 1753, Harvard University and Yale awarded him honorary master of arts degrees. In 1756, he

5900-615: The Pennsylvania legislature to establish a hospital. Pennsylvania Hospital was the first hospital in the colonies. In 1752, Franklin organized the Philadelphia Contributionship , the Colonies' first homeowner's insurance company. Between 1750 and 1753, the "educational triumvirate" of Franklin, Samuel Johnson of Stratford, Connecticut , and schoolteacher William Smith built on Franklin's initial scheme and created what Bishop James Madison , president of

6018-416: The Province had spent its available funds in equipping the Jersey Blues , the Frontier Guard was not a uniformed unit. At the time of the French and Indian War (1756–1763), the population of New Jersey largely was centered around Atlantic seaports in Elizabethtown (present-day Elizabeth, New Jersey), Newark and Perth Amboy and the colonial legislature authorized the construction of blockhouse forts in

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6136-424: The alarm created by the fall of Fort William Henry the province mobilized five thousand men of the organized militia and sent them north as a temporary reinforcement against a feared French invasion: As a response to Prime Minister Pitt's call for troops, the General Court of Connecticut voted to raise five thousand provincial troops in four regiments, for the campaign season of 1758. They came to participate in

6254-420: The appointment should have gone to him, but he graciously conceded it to Franklin, 36 years his senior. Franklin, however, appointed Goddard as Surveyor of the Posts, issued him a signed pass, and directed him to investigate and inspect the various post offices and mail routes as he saw fit. The newly established postal system became the United States Post Office, a system that continues to operate today. From

6372-446: The area of present-day Sussex and Warren Counties , New Jersey to serve as a first line of defense in the event of an incursion by the French army and the forces of French-allied native tribes. The New Jersey Frontier Guard was organized to man those forts as the state militia fought elsewhere within the colonies of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Supplies were provided to the Frontier Guard from Elizabethtown, transported by way of

6490-402: The attitudes toward the war made a remarkable change in the colonies, and in 1758, the Massachusetts General Court voted to raise 7,000 provincial soldiers to serve until November unless released earlier. The Massachusetts provincials participated in Abercrombie 's expedition against Ticonderoga . The failed attack on Fort Carillon stalled further advances, and the provincials spent the rest of

6608-416: The beginning of the war. That company participated in the Braddock Expedition, and its place as frontier guards were taken by paid volunteers from the militia: After Braddock's defeat in July 1755, the militia was mobilized but relieved in October by paid volunteers. In the spring of 1756 the General Assembly appropriated moneys for erecting Fort Frederick and several frontier blockhouses , and to raise

6726-432: The burning spirits, and Daniel Rees died of his burns two days later." While Franklin did not directly participate in the hazing that led to Rees' death , he knew of the hazing before it turned fatal, and did nothing to stop it. He was criticized for his inaction in The American Weekly Mercury , by his publishing rival Andrew Bradford . Ultimately, "Franklin replied in his own defense in the Gazette. " Franklin remained

6844-477: The city. When British troops evacuated from New York, William Franklin left with them and sailed to England. He settled in London, never to return to North America. In the preliminary peace talks in 1782 with Britain, "... Benjamin Franklin insisted that loyalists who had borne arms against the United States would be excluded from this plea (that they be given a general pardon). He was undoubtedly thinking of William Franklin." In 1732, Franklin began to publish

6962-459: The colonial post office. When the lands of New France were ceded to the British under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the British province of Quebec was created among them, and Franklin saw mail service expanded between Montreal , Trois-Rivières , Quebec City, and New York. For the greater part of his appointment, he lived in England (from 1757 to 1762, and again from 1764 to 1774)—about three-quarters of his term. Eventually, his sympathies for

7080-408: The colony. James Oglethorpe therefore created a small paid provincial force of "soldiers recruited for combat," containing a Highland company and some 130 rangers, as well as boatmen manning scout boats and some smaller ships. During Oglethorpe's offensive against Spanish Florida , the siege of St. Augustine , and the battle of Fort Mose , the British force contained the Georgia provincials and

7198-426: The community. Legislation often excluded several categories of men from the militia that the colonial governments were perfectly willing to enlist as provincial troops, such as settled Indians, free persons of color , servants, and vagrants . The provincial troops were recruited from the elements of the population that were easiest to do without; young men without property, with no stake in the society. In order to fill

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7316-712: The construction of a printing network based on a chain of partnerships from the Carolinas to New England. He thereby invented the first newspaper chain. It was more than a business venture, for like many publishers he believed that the press had a public-service duty. When he established himself in Philadelphia, shortly before 1730, the town boasted two "wretched little" news sheets, Andrew Bradford 's The American Weekly Mercury and Samuel Keimer 's Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences, and Pennsylvania Gazette . This instruction in all arts and sciences consisted of weekly extracts from Chambers's Universal Dictionary . Franklin quickly did away with all of this when he took over

7434-430: The disastrous expedition against Fort Carillon . Phineas Lyman appointed major-general: For the campaign season of 1759, the province voted 5,000 soldiers in four regiments. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general. The troops participated in the Ticonderoga expedition : The province voted five thousand men in four regiments for the campaign season 1760. Phineas Lyman appointed major-general. The troops participated in

7552-480: The disease that subsequently killed him. Deborah wrote to him in November 1769, saying she was ill due to "dissatisfied distress" from his prolonged absence, but he did not return until his business was done. Deborah Read Franklin died of a stroke on December 14, 1774, while Franklin was on an extended mission to Great Britain; he returned in 1775. In 1730, 24-year-old Franklin publicly acknowledged his illegitimate son William and raised him in his household. William

7670-407: The failure of this mission. At this time, many members of the Pennsylvania Assembly were feuding with William Penn's heirs, who controlled the colony as proprietors. After his return to the colony, Franklin led the "anti-proprietary party" in the struggle against the Penn family and was elected Speaker of the Pennsylvania House in May 1764. His call for a change from proprietary to royal government

7788-471: The fall of the French fortress the province appropriated moneys for the maintenance of an occupying force. For the ultimately aborted intercolonial operation against Canada in 1746, Massachusetts would mobilize 3,500 provincial troops, New York 1,600, Connecticut 1,000, New Hampshire 500, New Jersey 500, Pennsylvania 400, Rhode Island 300, Maryland 300, and Virginia 100. The province of New Hampshire kept paid ranger units or scouts in provincial service during

7906-428: The first Masonic book in the Americas, a reprint of James Anderson 's Constitutions of the Free-Masons . He was the secretary of St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia from 1735 to 1738. In January 1738, "Franklin appeared as a witness" in a manslaughter trial against two men who killed "a simple-minded apprentice" named Daniel Rees in a fake Masonic initiation gone wrong. One of the men "threw, or accidentally spilled,

8024-463: The following provincial units annually from 1755 to the end of the war: In 1754 Massachusetts Bay voted 800 provincial soldiers under John Winslow , who built Fort Halifax and Fort Western on the Kennebec River . In 1755, the province first voted 1,200 provincial soldiers for William Johnson 's Crown Point expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric , who participated in the Battle of Lake George . Then another 2,000 to serve for two months, but

8142-442: The following year he became the publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette , a newspaper in Philadelphia. The Gazette gave Franklin a forum for agitation about a variety of local reforms and initiatives through printed essays and observations. Over time, his commentary, and his adroit cultivation of a positive image as an industrious and intellectual young man, earned him a great deal of social respect. But even after he achieved fame as

8260-462: The force. The capture of Fort Oswego , and the bad feelings between the new British commander-in-chief, Lord Loudon , and the provincial officers, led to the ultimate failure of this expedition without any serious fighting. The following Massachusetts regiments were raised in 1756: Lord Loudon's attitudes toward the provincial soldiers, seeing them as subordinate auxiliaries instead of brothers-in-arms, created political dissent in Massachusetts, and

8378-435: The help of fortified places. Two hundred rangers were needed to hold the line of communications open. In addition regular troops in peacetime, supported by militia and friendly Indians in wartime, were needed to hold the required forts. This plan was rejected by the Board of Trade , and nothing came out of it. Yet, Governor Reynolds organized a company of 40 rangers under Captain John Milledge . The rangers were supplemented by

8496-631: The leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack , which he wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle , a newspaper known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the policies of the British Parliament and the Crown . He pioneered and

8614-476: The least well-established groups. Those who were recruited to the provincial troops in Connecticut and Virginia were men that had been outside the organized militia and hence lacking the social status suggested by militia membership. In Massachusetts, however, the provincial soldiers came from segments of the population more reflective of the society at large, although research done only covers the first year of

8732-670: The mid-1750s to the mid-1770s, Franklin spent much of his time in London. In 1757, he was sent to England by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the Penn family , the proprietors of the colony . He remained there for five years, striving to end the proprietors' prerogative to overturn legislation from the elected Assembly and their exemption from paying taxes on their land. His lack of influential allies in Whitehall led to

8850-524: The mid-to-late 20th century cited the document as a reason for overturning obscenity laws and against censorship. In 1736, Franklin created the Union Fire Company , one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in America. In the same year, he printed a new currency for New Jersey based on innovative anti- counterfeiting techniques he had devised. Throughout his career, he was an advocate for paper money , publishing A Modest Enquiry into

8968-462: The newspaper and had Mrs. Dogood proclaim, quoting Cato's Letters , "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech." Franklin left his apprenticeship without his brother's permission, and in so doing became a fugitive. At age 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia , seeking a new start in a new city. When he first arrived, he worked in several printing shops there, but he

9086-421: The noted Poor Richard's Almanack (with content both original and borrowed) under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, on which much of his popular reputation is based. He frequently wrote under pseudonyms. The first issue published was for the upcoming year, 1733. He had developed a distinct, signature style that was plain, pragmatic and had a sly, soft but self-deprecating tone with declarative sentences. Although it

9204-606: The office until 1753, when he and publisher William Hunter were named deputy postmasters–general of British North America, the first to hold the office. ( Joint appointments were standard at the time, for political reasons.) He was responsible for the British colonies from Pennsylvania north and east, as far as the island of Newfoundland . A post office for local and outgoing mail had been established in Halifax, Nova Scotia , by local stationer Benjamin Leigh, on April 23, 1754, but service

9322-406: The officers served year after year. The colonial governments also appointed persons in charge of logistics, often prominent merchants who had the business acumen and knowledge to run the extensive logistic operations required. The distinction between the militia and the provincial troops was not always understood in contemporary Britain, and Benjamin Franklin tried to explain the differences in

9440-511: The pamphlet, his views may have played a role in his political defeat in 1764. According to Ralph Frasca, Franklin promoted the printing press as a device to instruct colonial Americans in moral virtue. Frasca argues he saw this as a service to God, because he understood moral virtue in terms of actions, thus, doing good provides a service to God. Despite his own moral lapses, Franklin saw himself as uniquely qualified to instruct Americans in morality. He tried to influence American moral life through

9558-409: The pay of Connecticut Colony to be mobilized in late May in two regiments of six companies each. They also empowered the governor to raise 500 additional men should it become necessary. This additional force was raised at the end of August in consequence of letters received from Major-General William Johnson. These six companies were added to the two regiments already raised. Around the end of August,

9676-402: The pay of Connecticut were newly authorized and mobilized. This brought the total of Connecticut militia serving in the first Crown Point expedition to 3,300. For the 1756 expedition against Crown Point , the province voted 2,500 troops. Phineas Lyman was again appointed major-general, and second-in-command: Connecticut voted 1,400 provincial soldiers for the campaign season of 1757. After

9794-480: The province. In the fall, a ranger company was raised for two months, protecting the frontier. Another company was later the same year raised, as New Hampshire's quota for garrisoning forts Edward and William Henry over the winter: Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [ O.S. January 6, 1705]  – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath :

9912-403: The quotas assigned to them by the imperial government, the several colonies used bounties as carrots, and draft as a stick. Offering money induced propertyless men to enlist, while the draft often was directed at the elements of society that the colonial governments saw as problematic, such as vagrants or disorderly young men. Drafted men could hire substitutes, and they were most often belonging to

10030-667: The rebel cause in the American Revolution led to his dismissal on January 31, 1774. On July 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress established the United States Post Office and named Franklin as the first United States postmaster general . He had been a postmaster for decades and was a natural choice for the position. He had just returned from England and was appointed chairman of a Committee of Investigation to establish

10148-406: The sky and the scepter from tyrants"). Benjamin Franklin's father, Josiah Franklin , was a tallow chandler , soaper , and candlemaker . Josiah Franklin was born at Ecton, Northamptonshire , England, on December 23, 1657, the son of Thomas Franklin, a blacksmith and farmer, and his wife, Jane White. Benjamin's father and all four of his grandparents were born in England. Josiah Franklin had

10266-500: The southern colonies for large, but unspecified numbers. The response to this call was met with varied enthusiasm; Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York were as always willing to do their share and more. The northern colonies furnished about 17,000 men for 1758 and the following years; the southern colonies much fewer. There were provincial forces participating in the sieges of Louisbourg in 1758 and Quebec in 1759. The British army that operated against Fort Carillon in 1758 contained

10384-459: The southern colonies. In 1760 the province appropriated a sum of money to the governor for warlike purposes, but did not raise any soldiers. At the beginning of the hostilities, the Province of Georgia had a population of less than seven thousand free inhabitants, and an organized militia of 750 men in eight companies. Governor John Reynolds argued that the province could only be defended with

10502-408: The strength of them, from a hundred men each to fifty, in order to complete the recruitment. The Rhode Island contingent was thereby belated by a month, and did not reach Cape Breton Island in time to participate in the siege and victory. In 1757 and again in 1758 Prime Minister Pitt requested the northern colonies in British North America to furnish 20,000 men for the coming campaign seasons, and

10620-583: The summer at Lake George , building Fort George as a replacement for William Henry. The good feelings continued in the colonies, and for the campaign season 1759 Massachusetts voted 7,000 and Connecticut 5,000 soldiers. The Massachusetts troops were used to garrison Louisbourg and other Atlantic forts; freeing regular soldiers for field operations. But the provincials also participated in Wolfe's expedition against Quebec , and Amherst's against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The fall of Quebec did not lessen

10738-803: The title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity . He was the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Paris , peace with Britain and the Constitution . Foundational in defining the American ethos, Franklin has been called "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become". His life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored for more than two centuries after his death on

10856-471: The useless visitors who waste her valuable time, is related to the women who address Mr. Spectator. The Busy-Body himself is a true Censor Morum, as Isaac Bickerstaff had been in the Tatler . And a number of the fictitious characters, Ridentius, Eugenius, Cato, and Cretico, represent traditional 18th-century classicism. Even this Franklin could use for contemporary satire, since Cretico, the "sowre Philosopher,"

10974-471: The whole war, as well as raising five hundred provincial soldiers for the Louisbourg expedition; two hundred of whom served as part of a Massachusetts regiment, while the rest formed a regiment of seven companies: Massachusetts Bay organized seven regiments of foot for the Louisbourg expedition: King George's War also saw the birth of Gorham's Rangers , a Massachusetts provincial ranger company that

11092-404: The whole. This did not suffice, however. Franklin conceived the idea of a subscription library , which would pool the funds of the members to buy books for all to read. This was the birth of the Library Company of Philadelphia , whose charter he composed in 1731. Upon Denham's death, Franklin returned to his former trade. In 1728, he set up a printing house in partnership with Hugh Meredith ;

11210-579: The widow, Elizabeth Timothy , took over and made it a success. She was one of the colonial era's first woman printers. For three decades Franklin maintained a close business relationship with her and her son Peter Timothy , who took over the South Carolina Gazette in 1746. The Gazette was impartial in political debates, while creating the opportunity for public debate, which encouraged others to challenge authority. Timothy avoided blandness and crude bias and, after 1765, increasingly took

11328-586: The winter of 1762/1763: The General Assembly voted in 1764, to raise 265 men for participating in the campaign against Pontiac : It was not until 1755 that the Lower Counties on Delaware enacted a militia law. They supported the Braddock Expedition with provisions, but not with any troops. In 1758 the province raised 300 men for service as provincial soldiers: The following year the General Assembly decided to raise 106 men to serve in

11446-530: The zeal of Massachusetts, and the province voted 5,000 men for 1760, and reenlisted as many as possible of the provincial garrison troops in the Atlantic forts. The Massachusetts soldiers in the field belonged mainly to Haviland's expedition over Lake Champlain to Montreal . The following year 3,000 Massachusetts provincials saw service, mainly as garrison troops. In 1762 3,220 garrison troops were voted, but 2,637 actually raised. A Massachusetts regiment fought at

11564-522: Was "the sort of rebel destined to transform colonial America." As clerk of the court , he was arrested on February 10, 1676, and jailed on February 19 for his inability to pay bail. He spent over a year and a half in jail. Franklin was born on Milk Street in Boston , Province of Massachusetts Bay on January 17, 1706, and baptized at the Old South Meeting House in Boston. As a child growing up along

11682-594: Was Josiah Franklin's fifteenth child overall, and his tenth and final son. Benjamin Franklin's mother, Abiah, was born in Nantucket , Massachusetts Bay Colony , on August 15, 1667, to Peter Folger , a miller and schoolteacher, and his wife, Mary Morrell Folger , a former indentured servant . Mary Folger came from a Puritan family that was among the first Pilgrims to flee to Massachusetts for religious freedom , sailing for Boston in 1635 after King Charles I of England had begun persecuting Puritans. Her father Peter

11800-564: Was a discussion group for issues of the day; it subsequently gave rise to many organizations in Philadelphia. The Junto was modeled after English coffeehouses that Franklin knew well and which had become the center of the spread of Enlightenment ideas in Britain. Reading was a great pastime of the Junto, but books were rare and expensive. The members created a library, initially assembled from their own books, after Franklin wrote: A proposition

11918-405: Was a permanent organization until its disbandment in 1762. Connecticut participated in the Louisbourg expedition with one regiment: Rhode Island and Providence Plantations mobilized three provincial companies for the Louisbourg expedition. The enthusiasm for the undertaking was very low in the province, and it was difficult to fill the ranks of the three companies. The Assembly had to lower

12036-552: Was a rare political miscalculation, however: Pennsylvanians worried that such a move would endanger their political and religious freedoms. Because of these fears and because of political attacks on his character, Franklin lost his seat in the October 1764 Assembly elections. The anti-proprietary party dispatched him to England again to continue the struggle against the Penn family proprietorship. During this trip, events drastically changed

12154-570: Was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. Franklin became a hero in America when, as an agent in London for several colonies, he spearheaded the repeal of the unpopular Stamp Act by the British Parliament. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired as the first U.S. ambassador to France and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco–American relations . His efforts proved vital in securing French aid for

12272-563: Was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary . Later in 1756, Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia . He used Tun Tavern as a gathering place to recruit a regiment of soldiers to go into battle against the Native American uprisings that beset the American colonies. Well known as a printer and publisher, Franklin was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737, holding

12390-429: Was born in October 1732 and died of smallpox in 1736. Their daughter, Sarah "Sally" Franklin , was born in 1743 and eventually married Richard Bache . Deborah's fear of the sea meant that she never accompanied Franklin on any of his extended trips to Europe; another possible reason why they spent much time apart is that he may have blamed her for possibly preventing their son Francis from being inoculated against

12508-445: Was born on February 22, 1730, but his mother's identity is unknown. He was educated in Philadelphia and beginning at about age 30 studied law in London in the early 1760s. William himself fathered an illegitimate son, William Temple Franklin , born on the same day and month: February 22, 1760. The boy's mother was never identified, and he was placed in foster care. In 1762, the elder William Franklin married Elizabeth Downes, daughter of

12626-533: Was irregular. Franklin opened the first post office to offer regular, monthly mail in Halifax on December 9, 1755. Meantime, Hunter became postal administrator in Williamsburg, Virginia , and oversaw areas south of Annapolis, Maryland . Franklin reorganized the service's accounting system and improved speed of delivery between Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. By 1761, efficiencies led to the first profits for

12744-440: Was made by me that since our books were often referr'd to in our disquisitions upon the inquiries, it might be convenient for us to have them altogether where we met, that upon occasion they might be consulted; and by thus clubbing our books to a common library, we should, while we lik'd to keep them together, have each of us the advantage of using the books of all the other members, which would be nearly as beneficial as if each owned

12862-611: Was no secret that he was the author, his Richard Saunders character repeatedly denied it. "Poor Richard's Proverbs," adages from this almanac, such as "A penny saved is twopence dear" (often misquoted as "A penny saved is a penny earned") and "Fish and visitors stink in three days," remain common quotations in the modern world. Wisdom in folk society meant the ability to provide an apt adage for any occasion, and his readers became well prepared. He sold about ten thousand copies per year—it became an institution. In 1741, Franklin began publishing The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all

12980-419: Was not satisfied by the immediate prospects in any of these jobs. After a few months, while working in one printing house, Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith convinced him to go to London, ostensibly to acquire the equipment necessary for establishing another newspaper in Philadelphia. Discovering that Keith's promises of backing a newspaper were empty, he worked as a typesetter in a printer's shop in what

13098-479: Was organized in seven companies and contained 446 officers and men at the time of the French surrender, although it had a strength of about 700 when leaving Boston. The land forces of the Quebec Expedition 1690 were entirely composed of provincial troops from Massachusetts under William Phipps. The 2,300 foot soldiers were organized in four regiments and one Indian company: Most combat operations of

13216-634: Was placed under house arrest at his home in Perth Amboy for six months. After the Declaration of Independence , he was formally taken into custody by order of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey , an entity which he refused to recognize, regarding it as an "illegal assembly." He was incarcerated in Connecticut for two years, in Wallingford and Middletown , and, after being caught surreptitiously engaging Americans into supporting

13334-423: Was relegated from a prospective combat force, to "a combination of home guard, draft-board, and [...] supply network," forming the base from which the provincial troops were recruited and supplied. During the eighteenth century militia service was increasingly seen as a prerogative of the social and economic well-established, while provincial troops came to be recruited from different and less deep-rooted members of

13452-410: Was selected as a councilman; in June 1749, he became a justice of the peace for Philadelphia; and in 1751, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly. On August 10, 1753, he was appointed deputy postmaster-general of British North America . His service in domestic politics included reforming the postal system, with mail sent out every week. In 1751, Franklin and Thomas Bond obtained a charter from

13570-460: Was ten. He worked for his father for a time, and at 12 he became an apprentice to his brother James, a printer, who taught him the printing trade. When Benjamin was 15, James founded The New-England Courant , which was the third newspaper founded in Boston. When denied the chance to write a letter to the paper for publication, Franklin adopted the pseudonym of " Silence Dogood ," a middle-aged widow. Mrs. Dogood's letters were published and became

13688-510: Was the "Association Battery" or "Grand Battery" of 50 guns. In 1747, Franklin (already a very wealthy man) retired from printing and went into other businesses. He formed a partnership with his foreman, David Hall , which provided Franklin with half of the shop's profits for 18 years. This lucrative business arrangement provided leisure time for study, and in a few years he had made many new discoveries. Franklin became involved in Philadelphia politics and rapidly progressed. In October 1748, he

13806-437: Was the colony that made the largest contribution to the war effort during the French and Indian Wars. In the seventeenth century provincial forces were first raised for offensive operations through volunteers from the militia regiments. After King William's War , the colonial legislature enacted new laws that embodied the basic principles that would govern the colony's military forces during a century of warfare. The militia's role

13924-472: Was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia , which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected its president in 1769. He was appointed deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network. He

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