SP Library: Spring Munch & Learns - Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet: Author Michael Meyer

From
South Park Township

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When
Wed, Apr 5, 2023 from 12pm to 1pm

Where
2575 Brownsville Rd, South Park Township, PA 15129, USA

Details
The incredible story of Benjamin Franklin’s parting gift to the working-class people of Boston and Philadelphia: a deathbed wager that captures the Founder’s American Dream and his lessons for our current, conflicted age. 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," author, 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. With charm and inquisitive flair, Meyer shows how Franklin’s stake in the “leather-apron” class remains in play to this day, and offers an inspiring blueprint for prosperity in our modern era of growing wealth disparity and social divisions.

Michael’s book can be purchased on Amazon or your local book store for $15.99.

Adults can register for this program online at https://www.eventkeeper.com/code/ekform.cfm?curOrg=SPARK&curID=632439.

Change History

  • Wed, Mar 8 @ 3:55pm - The event's description was changed.
  • Wed, Mar 8 @ 3:55pm - The event's time and description were changed.

This event was posted by South Park Township. South Park Township is solely responsible for this event and unless specifically indicated, no other community or individual utilizing Savvy Citizen is sponsoring, responsible for, or endorsing this event.

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