for john mureith

Benjamin Franklin

Be sure to read the introduction in the textbook. Access the notes on the Age of Reason

(Eighteenth Century) posted on the Background Study Notes. Your textbook has an essay

“Reason and Revolution 1725-1800.” The page numbers are in the Table of Contents and

also on your syllabus of Works to Read.

Franklin is a major representative of the Age of Reason, which is also called the

Enlightenment. This era dates roughly from 1700-1800, the 18 th

century.

Franklin was born in Boston and died in Philadelphia. He lived for the majority of the

18 th

century through exciting times in American history. He was a crucial influence on

the development of this country.

Franklin was apprenticed as a printer when he was 12 years old. He was basically self-

educated. As a teenager he became the editor of a newspaper. He moved to Philadelphia

when he was 17 and began to make his fortune in that city.

He retired when he was 42. He made wise investments, worked hard, and saved his

money. You can see some of the achievements in the introduction. He was a scientist, a

diplomat, a businessman, a writer, a politician, an inventor. He had many interests and

talents.

Franklin spent many years in France and England, working on the American cause. He

worked on the Declaration of Independence and served the Constitutional Convention.

Look at the footnote to the beginning of “The Autobiography.” The work was written

when he was 65 years old and his son was an adult. I have asked you to look at only a

small section. Look at the list of Works to Read for the pages.

He first listed 12 virtues but was told by a Quaker friend that he needed another one, so

he added #13. He tells the reader that he wants to arrive at moral perfection. He develops

a list of moral virtues, which he wants to possess. They are listed in the pages you are to

read. He stresses that he intends to acquire the habit of these virtues and that trying to do

them all at once would be difficult. He decides to try them one at a time. He also

organizes his schedule so that nothing is wasted. You can see that schedule. Notice

especially the questions he asks himself each morning and each evening.

He says that he did not acquire the reality of humility but did work on the appearance of

virtue.

In “The Way to Wealth,” Franklin uses a pen name to write. Richard Saunders is the

author, but it is actually Franklin. Almanacs were popular reading material. The sayings

were used for filler in the almanac and have been the part that is important. The sayings

were not original for the most part, but Franklin gave them new emphasis for the

American experience. The most famous collection of these sayings was “The Way to

Wealth.”

You can read this section to get the idea of the sayings. You will recognize many of

them. They are common sense approaches to life. They deal with subjects like laziness,

time management, money management. The advice is practical.

Franklin spent many years in France as a diplomat. He had married Deborah Read when

he arrived in Philadelphia. She was not educated, but the two seemed to have a respectful

marriage. He was often away from home on diplomatic missions.

In the “Letter to Ezra Stiles,” Franklin responds to questions regarding his personal

beliefs. In a time when there was no instant communication, letters were crucial in

sharing with others. Letters were used for more than factual news—they also contained

philosophical, religious, political, and other insights. Stiles had asked Franklin about his

religion in a previous letter. In paragraph 3 Franklin addresses this.

Be sure you access the posted notes in Background Study Notes that discuss Deism.

Deism is a philosophical attitude that was prominent in the 18 th

Century Age of Reason.

The notes give you a definition and discussion. You need to have that information.

Franklin, like most of the founders of the nation (including Jefferson and Paine), was

Deist. Paragraph 4 of the letter begins Franklin’s account of his own beliefs. He also

responds to the question about the nature of Jesus. Franklin says that Jesus left the best

system of morals if people would only follow it. However, corrupting changes have

occurred.

Franklin says the issue of divinity is not something he will have to expend much energy

on because at his elderly state, he will have the opportunity of knowing firsthand the truth

of the situation. Since he has prospered in this life, he has no reason to doubt its

continuation in the next. Franklin died five weeks after he wrote this letter as you see in

the footnote.

The “Speech in the Constitutional Convention” was delivered on September 17, 1787,

when the Constitution was signed. It is important to notice that he says he does not

entirely approve of the document, but that does not mean he will never approve. He does

agree to the Constitution even with its faults because government is necessary. It is

powerful that Franklin says he has found with his long life that he has been wrong about

things he once thought were true.