Benjamin Franklin was a man who seemed to dabble in everything-- from science, to politics, to inventing, you name it. And one of the subjects he devoted himself to was population studies, or demography.
Franklin's findings on population influenced some of the other great minds of the day, including Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith. In particular, his 1755 essay, 'Observations on the Increase of Mankind,' was a highly valuable work.
In the essay, Franklin noted that the American population was among the fastest growing on Earth. Since the Colonies had lots of open land and more was sure to be discovered as the nation pushed westward, Franklin thought the Colonies could sustain a large population because of all the farmland, unlike the situation in Britain.
He was in favor of European settlement of the New World, especially by Anglo-Saxons; there was plenty of room, and he feared Europe was too crowded.
At the time, the population in the Colonies was doubling every 20 years. Franklin warned that within 100 years, the Colonial population would surpass that of the mother country.
His writings led to the British imposing more regulations on the Colonies because they were afraid they would lose their control over them. And those regulations…well, we know how well those worked out for the British.
