Ben Franklin
...ek. It was popular because it dared to go against the British government. They would sign articles under witty names. From watching people buy the paper Ben got the idea he could write for it. He knew that if James realized he had written anything he would never publish it. So Ben signed his name as Silence Dogood and slipped in under the door. One of James friends said to make Ben the publisher so that the paper could keep running. To do this James had to release Ben from his contract. James made Ben a promise that he would stay. Ben was seventeen now and healthy and strong. Ben and James argued all the time. Ben took the matter to his father but he said that James was right. The brothers tried to work together but they kept getting on each other's nerves. Soon Ben started to think of leaving, he loved Boston but he had made many enemies. Ben sold his books and set sail for New York. As Ben arrived in New York he found the owner of the local print shop, William Bradford. Ben was told he would love to send him to another printer but there were no others in the area. William told Ben that his son had an opening through in Philadelphia from a recently dead person. So Ben was off to Philadelphia. Once Ben had arrived he headed for Andrew Bradford's print shop. When he arrived he got some bad news, the position had already been filled. After talking to the Bradford's for a while they decided Ben should go work for Samuel Keimer who was starting his own printing business. While working at the shop Ben stayed at a boardinghouse that was next to a show owned by Jack Read. His daughter Deborah would later become Ben's wife. While working for Samuel and courting Deborah, Ben began to associate with the elite of the community. As a strange twist of fate Ben's brother-in-law, Robert Holmes, wrote Ben a letter urging him to go back to Boston. When Ben wrote back telling him of his goals and what happened, by chance Robert showed the letter to his close friend, Governor Keith of Pennsylvania. He struck the governor with surprise; he even took a visit to Keimer's shop to meet him. The governor, impressed with Ben's skills, asked if he would print in Phil...