 He was, I think, the first self-help author in the U.S. Coming up, Eric Weiner explains how Franklin's travels made him an ambassador of the new American nation. I would argue that there would be no United States of America if it were not for Ben Franklin's great seduction of France in the late 1770s. Some parts of the U.S.A. have come up with local comfort foods that you just won't find anywhere else. Matthew Gavin Frank explores delicacies from the sweet, sunny South.