Changes

In response to British conquest of French-speaking Quebec in 1759, he wrote "The Canada Pamphlet." It stands as one of the most complex and sophisticated pieces of pre-Revolutionary American thought. In it, Franklin entertained ideas of a homogeneous American population in manners, language, and religion as a reaction against ethnic and political warfare within Europe. Drawing on the ideas of [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[David Hume]], and [[Baruch Spinoza]], Franklin believed that political and ethnic relations were exclusively dominated by power, leaving no room for multiculturalism in America, preferring instead the implementation of the British Crown model to foster internal peace in the colonies.  Having a reputation as anti-German hurt Franklin politically, and he dropped the nativism after 1765.<ref> Alberto Lena, "Benjamin Franklin's 'Canada Pamphlet' or 'The Ravings of a Mad Prophet': Nationalism, Ethnicity and Imperialism." ''European Journal of American Culture'' 2001 20(1): 36-49. 1466-0407 </ref>

In response to British conquest of French-speaking Quebec in 1759, he wrote "The Canada Pamphlet." It stands as one of the most complex and sophisticated pieces of pre-Revolutionary American thought. In it, Franklin entertained ideas of a homogeneous American population in manners, language, and religion as a reaction against ethnic and political warfare within Europe. Drawing on the ideas of [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[David Hume]], and [[Baruch Spinoza]], Franklin believed that political and ethnic relations were exclusively dominated by power, leaving no room for multiculturalism in America, preferring instead the implementation of the British Crown model to foster internal peace in the colonies.  Having a reputation as anti-German hurt Franklin politically, and he dropped the nativism after 1765.<ref> Alberto Lena, "Benjamin Franklin's 'Canada Pamphlet' or 'The Ravings of a Mad Prophet': Nationalism, Ethnicity and Imperialism." ''European Journal of American Culture'' 2001 20(1): 36-49. 1466-0407 </ref>

===Demography===

===Demography===

In 1751 Franklin wrote "Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, Etc." in which he both anticipated the [[Robert Malthus|Malthusian]] theory of population growth and quite accurately predicted the rate of American population increase for the following century and a half. He showed that the American population doubled every 25 years, while Europe and Asia were static or grew very slowly. England's population supposedly took 360 years to double.  There is a paradox in Franklin's treatment of population. He maintained that the tendency of populations to expand until checked by the lack of subsistence was a cause of European miseries, yet he advocated rapid population growth for the American colonies. When his population theory is highlighted, he appears as a Malthusian pessimist; when his population values are highlighted, he appears as an ardent expansionist. <ref>Dennis Hodgson, "Benjamin Franklin on Population: From Policy to Theory," ''Population and Development Review,''  Vol. 17, No. 4 (Dec., 1991), pp. 639-661 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1973600 in JSTOR]; Alfred Owen Aldridge, "Franklin as Demographer," ''Journal of Economic History,'' Vol. 9, No. 1 (May, 1949), pp. 25-44 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2113719 in JSTOR] </ref>

In 1751 Franklin wrote "Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, Etc." in which he both anticipated the [[Robert Malthus|Malthusian]] theory of population growth and quite accurately predicted the rate of American population increase for the following century and a half. He showed that the American population doubled every 25 years, while Europe and Asia were static or grew very slowly. England's population supposedly took 360 years to double.  There is a paradox in Franklin's treatment of population. He maintained that the tendency of populations to expand until checked by the lack of subsistence was a cause of European miseries, yet he advocated rapid population growth for the American colonies. When his population theory is highlighted, he appears as a Malthusian pessimist; when his population values are highlighted, he appears as an ardent pro-natalist. <ref>Dennis Hodgson, "Benjamin Franklin on Population: From Policy to Theory," ''Population and Development Review,''  Vol. 17, No. 4 (Dec., 1991), pp. 639-661 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1973600 in JSTOR]; Alfred Owen Aldridge, "Franklin as Demographer," ''Journal of Economic History,'' Vol. 9, No. 1 (May, 1949), pp. 25-44 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2113719 in JSTOR] </ref>

==Science and invention ==

==Science and invention ==