PBS
Pbs Liberty!: Independence! Philadelphia 1776
The newspaper layout makes it simple to read the accounts of the reaction to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The article includes valuable links including an introduction to Thomas Paine and his role in this event.
![Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary: Franklin and the American Enlightenment [Pdf] Primary](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary: Franklin and the American Enlightenment [Pdf] Primary")
Franklin and Marshall College
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary: Franklin and the American Enlightenment [Pdf]
Essay on the Enlightenment as typified in America by Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin and Marshall College
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary: Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World
This attractive, well-designed site, developed to mark the three-hundredth anniversary of Franklin's 1706 birth, tells the story of Franklin's life and accomplishments. Learn how his roots as an ambitious, outspoken teen helped him to...
Other
Indiana University: Secrets of the Hellfire Club
An excellent collection of published articles, and a video, on the Hellfire Club, its history, and the people involved with it, including Benjamin Franklin.
Other
Hillcrest High School: The Colonies Come of Age: The Commercial North [Pdf]
A chapter from a history text that looks at the Northern colonial economy, colonial town life, the immigrant groups who settled there, slavery in the North, the role of women, the Salem witchcraft trials, and the influence of the...
![Glencoe Literary Library: "Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" Study Guide [Pdf] Activity](https://content.lessonplanet.com/knovation/original/103610-a0f5f9acb7f0b00ad819bba2d25b56e2.jpg?1661498571 "Glencoe Literary Library: \"Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin\" Study Guide [Pdf] Activity")
McGraw Hill
Glencoe Literary Library: "Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" Study Guide [Pdf]
Explore Benjamin Franklin and his "Autobiography" with the help of background information, vocabulary lists, brainstorming exercises, and thought-provoking writing prompts on Franklin's talents and contributions. Also, use what you have...
Yale University
Avalon Project: Albany Plan of Union
Read the text of the Albany Plan of Union which advocated a union of the colonies under a royal governor. Although not adopted, it was the first step in colonial unification.
The Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute: Franklin's Lightning Rod
See a picture of the lightning rod Benjamin Franklin used in 1746 and learn about his discovery of electricity.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge History of Eng and Am Lit: Colonial Newspapers
Describes the writing style and content found in Colonial newspapers during the first half of the 1700s. Clicking on the link at the bottom of each page will take you to information about individual newspapers and journalists.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg: Audio Books
A special subcollection of Project Gutenberg's online book catalog: audio books, recorded by real people (there is also a computer-generated audio books collection). Currently includes 35 or so selections ranging from fairy tales,...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Benjamin Franklin
This is a brief biography of businessman, politician, scientist, and author Benjamin Franklin. Click "Benjamin Franklin Activities" for related materials.
Other
Library Company of Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin: Writer and Printer
An extensive exhibition of Benjamin Franklin work as a printer and as a writer, with comprehensive coverage of the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: Benjamin Franklin's Satire of Witch Hunting
Lesson uses primary resource to explore Benjamin Franklin's satire of a witch trial and his argument that human affairs should be guided, above all, by reason.
Other
Flickr: The Lives and Times of the Hell Fire Club
A article on the Hell-Fire club, its history, what they did, and the people involved with it, including possibly Benjamin Franklin. Published in BEYOND magazine in 2008.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Electric Ben Franklin
If it has to do with Benjamin Franklin, then you will probably find it here. There is much information about Franklin, his lightning experiment, Philadelphia, the Declaration, and more.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: Rationalism
This is an introduction to a unit on Rationalism, also known as The Age of Reason or Enlightenment, was set during the American Revolutionary period. It focuses on the belief that the power of reason and science would further human...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning:american Literature and Comp:rationalism: Benjamin Franklin
This lesson focuses on Benjamin Franklin's life by providing background information about Franklin including his apprentice to his brother, his "Silence Dogood" column, his autobiograpy, "Poor Richard's Almanack," and his political...
US Department of State
U.s. Department of State: Albany Plan of Union, 1754
Learn all about the Albany Plan of Union from this article from the U.S. Department of State. Find out why it was proposed, what the plan would provide for, and the results.
US National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration: Founders Online
This site provides the texts of nearly 200,000 historical documents related to six Founding Fathers, including the papers of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. The...
US National Archives
National Archives: Benjamin Franklin: Politician and Diplomat
Benjamin Franklin was the only man to help shape all the major documents that established the United States. Students will review those documents and match the correct document to its description. Upon completion, students will choose...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Weather Alert
Students discuss the characteristics of storms, including the relationship of weather fronts and storms. Using simple materials, the students develop a model of a simple lightning detection system and analyze their model to determine its...
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania Libraries: Penn in the Age of Franklin, 1740 90
In celebration of the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth, the Penn Library and University Archives offers a look at the university as it was during Franklin's lifetime. Content includes original documents and manuscripts, a...
Other
Benjamin Franklin Writer and Printer: Inventing Poor Richard
See pages from Poor Richard's Almanack over several years of its publication. Read about the contents of the almanacks Benjamin Franklin's comments about writing the yearly production.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Pennsylvania Colony: The Holy Experiment [Pdf]
In this lesson, 5th graders learn about the people who founded the Pennsylvania colony and the role that religion played in shaping it. Includes background information for the teacher. Students explore primary resource readings on the...