Few people can stand for the spirit of earlier America as much as Benjamin Franklin. He lived through almost the whole of the 18th century. He was born six years after the century began, (1)______________________.
During this time, he saw the American colonies grow from tiny settlements into a nation and (2)____________________. He was deeply interested in science and natural history and his experiments with electricity and lightning (3)_______________________. He was also interested in improving the conditions of his fellow men.