In answer to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: 'Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?' as he came out of the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin answered:
“A REPUBLIC, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT.”
Benjamin Franklin was an American original — printer, inventor, diplomat, scientist, and mischievous penman of revolution. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence, secured French support for the Revolution, and still found time to invent bifocals and tame lightning. A believer in shared knowledge, he built libraries, fire departments, and postal systems to serve the common good. More than the genial face on the $100 bill, Franklin was a sharp wit who distrusted unchecked power and mocked hypocrisy. Curious, irreverent, and endlessly pragmatic, he embodied the restless, inventive spirit of a nation in the making.
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