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Opinion

The Founders and the Constitution, Part 12: Benjamin Franklin

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The Founders and the Constitution, Part 12: Benjamin Franklin
"Benjamin Franklin," circa 1785, by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis (1725–1802). National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Public Domain
Rob Natelson
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Commentary

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on Jan. 6, 1706, the youngest son among a tradesman’s 15 children by two successive wives. He had two years of formal education. At the age of 12, he was apprenticed to his older brother James, a printer. Five years later, he ran away to New York. He couldn’t find a job there. He was forced to travel on to Philadelphia, arriving with one Dutch dollar and about 20 pence in copper.

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Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor, is Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence at the Mountain States Policy Center and the Independence Institute. He authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025) and is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
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