... old when he was pressed into his father's trade. At twelve Ben was apprenticed to his half brother James, a printer of The New England Courant. He generally absorbed the values and philosophy of the English Enlightenment. At the age of 16, Franklin wrote some pieces for the Courant signed "Silence Dogood," in which he parodied the Boston authorities and society ... even formed a voluntary militia (#1). Franklin had steadily extended his own knowledge by study of foreign languages, philosophy, and science. He repeated experiments of other scientists and added his own ideas that led to in...

• Word Count: 1646
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate