Skip to Main Content

Lesson

Benjamin Franklin Mini DBQ

Duration
55 min
Grade
9–12
Published
Nov 15, 2020
Benjamin Franklin holding a kite and key, surrounded by cherubs, depicting his experiment with electricity.
This Lesson should follow the Colonial Identity: English or American? Point-Counterpoint.

Objectives:

  • Students will explain how philosophical and scientific ideas have developed and shaped American society by examining documents pertaining to the life of Benjamin Franklin.
  • Students will systematically analyze primary sources by answering targeted sourcing and comprehension questions for each document.
  • Students will write a thesis statement that responds to a document-based question prompt.

Materials

Lesson Components

ActivityBenjamin Franklin: The First American?

A set of three primary sources that seek to answer the question: To what extent and in what ways did Benjamin Franklin reflect the conviction that “merit” or “talent” ought to bring rewards?

Lesson plan

55 minClick a phase to open it

More Information

Because this is the first DBQ included in this resource, only three primary source excerpts are used in the activity, and students are provided targeted questions for each source. Later DBQs will provide more documents with the option for teachers to include targeted questions as best fits their teaching situation.

Standards

Advanced Placement

  • Topic 2.7 · Colonial Society and Culture
  • Theme · American and National Identity
  • Learning Objective · Unit 2I
  • Historical Development · 2.2.I.D
  • Reasoning Skill · Developments and Processes
  • Reasoning Skill · Sourcing and Situation
  • Reasoning Skill · Claims and Evidence in Sources
  • Reasoning Skill · Contextualization
  • Reasoning Skill · Making Connections
  • Reasoning Skill · Argumentation

Check whether this resource aligns with your state’s standards →

Related materials

A man in 18th-century attire reads a document, seated at a table with a bust and books nearby.
EssayBenjamin Franklin and the First Abolitionist Petitions

How did Benjamin Franklin fight for the abolition of slavery?

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin, featuring him with glasses and wearing 18th-century attire against a dark background.
EssayBenjamin Franklin and the American Enlightenment

How did Benjamin Franklin contribute to his community?

A document titled "Benjamin Franklin and Civic Virtue" with suggested launch activities for teachers.
ActivityPrimary Source Activity: Benjamin Franklin and Civic Virtue
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin alongside text discussing his values and contributions to moral philosophy and civic responsibility.
ActivityA Project of Moral Perfection: Benjamin Franklin’s List of Virtues and Purpose – Handout A: Narrative
Text excerpt from a document discussing Benjamin Franklin, abolitionism, and justice in the context of the American Revolution.
ActivityAn Atrocious Debasement of Human Nature: Benjamin Franklin, the First Abolitionist Petitions, and Justice – Handout A: Narrative
Document about Benjamin Franklin, featuring a portrait and discussing his contributions to American governance and leadership.
ActivityHandout A: Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

Although his voice was weak, it could be clearly heard throughout Convention Hall in Philadelphia. The delegates had temporarily ceased their bickering as Benjamin Franklin, at eighty-one years the oldest member of the group, read one of his proposals. With the exception of George Washington, Franklin was probably the most esteemed member of the remarkable group of statesmen who filled Convention Hall that hot summer of 1787. Franklin had repeatedly called for harmony in the proceedings. This newest proposal, like his previous ones, sought to forge a compromise among the delegates.

A document titled "Vocabulary and Context Questions" with excerpts from the Albany Plan of Union and the U.S. Constitution.
ActivityHandout B: Vocabulary and Context Questions – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Document examining the Albany Plan of Union and the United States Constitution with headings and text details.
ActivityHandout C: In His Own Words: Benjamin Franklin and the Albany Plan of Union
Illustration depicting the historical context of slavery in America, featuring text and imagery related to the topic.
ActivityThematic Essays – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
A man in a suit stands in front of bookshelves, speaking at the Bill of Rights Institute event.
VideoThomas Kidd: Benjamin Franklin and Enlightenment | BRI Scholar Talks

BRI Senior Teaching Fellow Tony Williams will sit down with historian and author Thomas Kidd to discuss his fascinating essay on the American Enlightenment and Benjamin Franklin in our new digital history textbook, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Kidd touches on everything from Franklin’s impressive printing and scientific exploits to his nuanced views on education, religion, and civic virtue. He also explains the ways Franklin used his determination to educate himself and others against the vibrant backdrop of the American Enlightenment.