Bibliograph

Benjamin Franklin's last bet, the favorite founder's divisive death, enduring afterlife, and blueprint for American prosperity, Michael Meyer

Type

Label

Benjamin Franklin's last bet, the favorite founder's divisive death, enduring afterlife, and blueprint for American prosperity, Michael Meyer

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-317) and index

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Benjamin Franklin's last bet

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1308983336

Responsibility statement

Michael Meyer

Sub title

the favorite founder's divisive death, enduring afterlife, and blueprint for American prosperity

Summary

"Benjamin Franklin was not a gambling man. But at the end of his illustrious life, the Founder allowed himself a final wager on the survival of the United States: a gift of two thousand pounds to Boston and Philadelphia, to be lent out to tradesmen over the next two centuries to jump-start their careers. Each loan would be repaid with interest over ten years. If all went according to Franklin's inventive scheme, the accrued final payout in 1991 would be a windfall. In Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet, Michael Meyer traces the evolution of these twin funds as they age alongside America itself, bankrolling woodworkers and silversmiths, trade schools and space races. Over time, Franklin's wager was misused, neglected, and contested--but never wholly extinguished"--, Provided by publisher

Target audience

adult

Classification