Franklin was a printer, a publisher, a writer, an inventor, and a scientist. He was also one of his country’s greatest leaders.
In 1736, Franklin became clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly, which governed the colony. He was elected to Philadelphia’s City Council in 1748. In 1751, he joined the Pennsylvania Assembly as one of the city’s representatives. There, he worked out a major treaty with Native Americans. Later, he organized the defense of the Pennsylvania frontier. He was also a colonel in Philadelphia’s militia regiment. In 1754, Ben drew up the first plan to unite the colonies under one government. The colonial assemblies rejected his plan. The British crown rejected it, too. But it laid the foundation for what was to become the United States of America.
