From kindergarten to high school, students in the United States learn about their founding fathers. Textbooks written with an American audience in mind reflect the struggles and accomplishments the United States has endured. The Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin, however, reflect the ideals our forefathers created America, from a man who helped build its foundation. Unlike other US history books, the memoirs describe Benjamin Franklin's life of hard work and modesty indicating what ideals he wants future generations to uphold in the country he helped create. The ideas expressed in his memoirs give meaning to the word patriotism for the people of today. Franklin embodies the "ideal" American: possessing freedom, modest, educated and successful.

Benjamin Franklin writes about his open mindedness when he discusses religion. Franklin was brought up in a religious home without question of any of his parents' believes, but at the age of...