
In 1760, Franklin gave a young friend this advice about studying difficult books: “I think it would be well for you to have a good dictionary at hand, to consult immediately when you meet with a word you do not comprehend the precise meaning of. Through this program of self-education he eventually became an internationally acclaimed scholar and inventor, receiving honorary degrees from several universities on two continents. He had only two years of schooling as a child, but as he grew to young manhood he taught himself through reading, writing, hard work, travel, and scientific experimentation.

Signers of the United States Constitutionīenjamin Franklin, one of the few men to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, is among the greatest statesmen America has ever produced.Article VII: Ratifying the Constitution.


Article VI: The “Supreme Law” and Other Provisions.Article IV: The States and the Federal Government.Signers of the Declaration of Independence.Efforts to Obtain Justice from Great Britain.The definitions are based on dictionaries used during the early years of the United States, the records of the Constitutional Convention, and the writings of the Founding Fathers. Freedom Defined addresses this problem by providing instant access to the definitions of words and phrases used in these documents. The difficulty comes with the changes in the English language that have occurred since they were written, making both documents more difficult to decipher. The Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were written with the intent that they could be easily read and understood by ordinary citizens. As the American statesman Henry Clay said, “The Constitution of the United States was not made merely for the generation that then existed but for posterity – unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.” They are just as meaningful now as when they were written. These documents have been a beacon to all men and women who value freedom. Later, the Constitution outlined our style of government and defined the rights that are protected from intrusion by government. The Declaration of Independence marked the birth of our republic and set forth our “unalienable rights” to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No documents have had a greater influence on the citizens of our country than the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Introduction to America’s Founding Documents
