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Author:

Meyer, Michael J., 1972- author.

Title:

Benjamin Franklin's last bet : the favorite founder's divisive death, enduring afterlife, and blueprint for American prosperity / Michael Meyer.

Edition:

First edition.

Publisher:

Mariner Books,

Copyright Date:

2022

Description:

xxiii, 338 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Subject:

Franklin, Benjamin,--1706-1790--Death and burial.
Legacies.
Endowments.
Working class--Philadelphia.--Philadelphia.
Working class--Boston.--Boston.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-317) and index.

Summary:

"Benjamin Franklin was not a gambling man. But at the end of his illustrious life, the Founder allowed himself a final wager on the survival of the United States: a gift of two thousand pounds to Boston and Philadelphia, to be lent out to tradesmen over the next two centuries to jump-start their careers. Each loan would be repaid with interest over ten years. If all went according to Franklin's inventive scheme, the accrued final payout in 1991 would be a windfall. In Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet, Michael Meyer traces the evolution of these twin funds as they age alongside America itself, bankrolling woodworkers and silversmiths, trade schools and space races. Over time, Franklin's wager was misused, neglected, and contested--but never wholly extinguished"-- Provided by publisher

ISBN:

132856889X
9781328568892

OCLC:

(OCoLC)1308983336

Locations:

BOPG851 -- Ames Public Library (Ames)

UQAX771 -- Des Moines Area Community College Library - Ankeny (Ankeny)

TYPH572 -- Cedar Rapids Public Library (Cedar Rapids)

XXPH787 -- Council Bluffs Public Library (Council Bluffs)

BAPH771 -- Des Moines Public Library (Des Moines)

FXPH314 -- Carnegie-Stout Public Library (Dubuque)

CAPH522 -- Iowa City Public Library (Iowa City)

YEPF572 -- Marion Public Library (Marion)

DAPG173 -- Mason City Public Library (Mason City)

GDPF771 -- Urbandale Public Library (Urbandale)

SMPE094 -- Waverly Public Library (Waverly)

KQPC446 -- Winfield Public Library (Winfield)