Most Americans understand that Benjamin Franklin was an important founder of our country. However, they do not fully know his common law-based perspectives.
Although he grew up in a poor family, he naturally had a knack for writing. He would often take news articles and rewrite them in poetical form! He is also said to have taught himself to swim and to read books in five languages.
At one time, he really wanted to see his work in print. His brother James published a newspaper, The New-England Courant, and young Benjamin first published several articles in 1722 under the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood.
When Benjamin revealed that he was behind the Silence Dogood letters, his brother became angry and jealous of the attention they had received. Years later, Franklin began publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack, which ran from 1732 to 1758, writing under the pen name Richard Saunders this time. Necessity was indeed the mother of invention.
Using some Poor Richard’s sayings, we find out that Benjamin Franklin really knew more about common law than the average American does today. His Almanac is full of wise, yet witty expressions that encourage simple and upright living. Some of them include “A penny saved is a penny got” and “Little strokes fell great oaks.”
From a common law standpoint, these could possibly be the most important proverbs pulled from Poor Richard’s Almanack. They reflect the principles of common law — following through with agreements and never harming people.
“Little strokes fell great oaks”
Let’s start with “Little strokes fell great oaks.” A little government overreach causes many problems for everyone. The little strokes today could be represented by the many laws the state government in California, to name one example, made up for arbitrary reasons.
Spencer Pratt, who lost in June in the race for mayor of Los Angeles, was not able to rebuild his home. Due to the 2025 wildfires, his Pacific Palisades home burned down. California’s building permit policies were arbitrary laws causing Pratt to be unable to rebuild his home.
Even in 2025, Mayor Karen Bass (D) allegedly only approved one building permit, but the permit only applied to a house that was simply a mockup for real estate sales.
When he campaigned during March 2026, Pratt told an interviewer:
Losing my home in the fire and my parents’ home and watching neighbors down the street, knowing they burned alive, it taught me the current city leaders do not care about you. They will let you die. They will let your house burn down. And then when you try to call them out for it, they will lie and cover it up.
The building permit policies may have looked like little oaks — little walls of text created in “bureaucratic procedure language” — on paper, but they caused many celebrities and citizens to be left without homes after their homes were destroyed by the wildfires.
The California laws compounded to fell the great oaks — us and our property. Benjamin Franklin, when he wrote this quote, was years ahead of his time.
“A penny saved is a penny got”
Now, for “a penny saved is a penny got.” This idiom seems based on common law’s rendition of contract law — that is, adhering to one’s end of a contract, wherein the original contract is legally binding.
One may only earn the initial penny if he follows workplace instructions and continues with all agreements made with his employer, provided that the agreements are not illegal or against his conscience. Obviously, this is the only way to consistently obtain any pennies to save every week.
These profound Poor Richard’s Almanack sayings show that Benjamin Franklin apparently understood more about common law than the average American does today. This is obscure, but useful knowledge about Franklin and common law itself.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media’s conservative reporting exposing the radical left and woke media? Support our work so we can keep bringing you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
