"Probably there can nowhere be found, within the same limits, so vivid a picture of Life in America, one hundred years ago, as the career of Franklin presents." -John S.C. Abbott, Preface, 1876 American historian John S.C. Abbott wrote Benjamin Franklin-A Picture of the Struggles of our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago (1876) as part of his American Pioneers and Patriots series. American icon Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, published the famous Poor Richard's Almanac, helped found the University of Pennsylvania, and was the first Postmaster General of the United States.