portrait by Joseph Siffred-Duplessis
Avarice and ambition are strong passions and, separately, act with great force on the human mind but when both are united...,their violence is almost irresistible, and they hurry men headlong into factions and contentions, destructive of all good government. One day, the people shall have become so corrupted by liberty as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other.
Founder, inventor, author and printer, Franklin's guidance and
wisdom were indispensible to the cause of declaring independence
from the king of England, and for writing a constitution for the
new American republic.
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