Abstract
Benjamin Franklin is an important yet enigmatic figure in American cul ture, often more honored abroad than at home. Praised generations ago as the first "father of his country, " he is often scorned as the epitome of smugness and American capitalist self-aggrandizement. A look at his deep interest in the open-ended powers of communication to move humans and improve the flow of ideas (symbolized by the movement of electrically- charged particles) may help to set his contributions in better perspective.
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