WASHINGTON — Documents from the National Archives are going on view to explore the life of Benjamin Franklin as a scientist, diplomat, philanthropist and founding father.

A new exhibit, “Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World,” will follow Franklin’s life from his youth in Boston where he was surrounded with Puritan traditions to his political career on the world stage.

One section explores Franklin’s life as a printer in Philadelphia where he made a fortune and another looks at his scientific pursuits.

The archives will show Franklin’s letters, journals from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, and the original Treaty of Paris he negotiated to end the Revolutionary War. A rare 1787 printing of the Constitution also is displayed.

The exhibit opening Friday will be on view through May 6.