Benjamin Franklin
...merican because he knew that it was civilization’s future. He was also a deist, which was unusual for that period. He did not attend church or accepted the sacredness of the Bible and the divinity of Jesus. What sets him apart from other aristocrats is his attitude toward family values. As a young man, he consorted with women of lower status and fathered an illegitimate child. He also was not partial to powdered wigs and other formalities of his age. He believed in the idea of a natural aristocracy and knew where he was positioned within the hierarchy. He was easy to interact with and spoke easily with commoners as well as kings, though he preferred conversing with those on the same intellectual level as himself. Because he was socialistic, he immersed himself in public interests. He believed that all property belonged to “the public, who by their laws have created it.” He founded the library, fire company, insurance company, hospital and university in Philadelphia. He was a “tribune of the masses” and aided in the R...