Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin at his death was probably the most well known person in the world, more widely known than even Voltair. His curiosity took him from the longhouses of the Iroquois Confederacy - where he learned about a freedom loving system of government that captured his imagination and some suggest played a role in his contributions to the Constitutional Convention in 1787; to the palaces of England and France where he served as a diplomat on behalf of the young American nation.

Ben Franklin's Prescription for Today's Congressional Gridlock
http://usabeginnings.blogspot.com/2010/07/ben-franklins-prescription-for-todays.html

From eJunto.com
From his dogged determination to master prose to his spectacular achievements in civic improvement, Franklin's scientific approach to self-improvement captures the spirit of revolutionary America.

Free download - Franklin Autobiography

Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress - Benjamin Franklin.

Conceived in Liberty - (A History of America with a Libertarian viewpoint)
The Emergence of Benjamin Franklin - a less flattering view of the role of Franklin in the founding of the Republic.

Leaves around a dolly - Click here.

John Muir and the American Idea

Probably no man more defined the notion of wilderness as an integral part of the American idea than John Muir. Librivox has released a seven hour podcast of John Muir's Guide to Yosemite. It is a beautifully written, as lush and vibrant as the scenes of the Yosemite that Muir describes.

Download Muir's Yosemite

Listen as streaming video

Muir is considered one of the major figures in the birth of environmentalism, though the term itself would not be created for another 3/4 of a century. Muir represented the preservationist philosophy, while Gifford Pinchot, a contemporary of Muir represented the conservationist philosophy, the view that sustainable use of the resource was its highest and best purpose.



I Believe - New Hampshire's Mountain Lions. Print and cards here.