“There seem to be but three ways for a nation to acquire wealth. The first is by war...This is robbery. The second by commerce, which is generally cheating. The third by agriculture, the only honest way, wherein man receives a real increase of the seed thrown into the ground, in a kind of continual miracle, wrought by the hand of God in his favor, as a reward for his innocent life and his virtuous industry.”

A polymath and Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin’s career spanned politics, science, and publishing. He is best known for his contributions to early American democracy, including the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, as well as his pioneering work in electricity and his influential writings on self-improvement. His wit and practical philosophy remain widely influential today.