Benjamin Franklin

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*...that amongst Franklin's many public literary works is an essay entiled ''Fart Proudly''?
 
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Revision as of 19:01, 2 October 2008

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790), printer, scientist, inventor, philosopher, and diplomat, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a tallow-maker.

Contents

Formative years

Early in life, Franklin developed a love of reading. As he recalled in his autobiography, "From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. Pleased with the Pilgrim's Progress, my first collection was of John Bunyan's works in separate little volumes. My old favorite author, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress ... has been translated into most of the languages of Europe, and suppose it has been more generally read than any other book, except perhaps the Bible."

As a youth, Franklin was apprenticed to his older brother James, as a printer. Using several different pen names, Benjamin contributed many articles to Jame's newspaper. However, Benjamin felt his brother mistreated him and in 1723, he ran away to Philadelphia, then the largest city in British North America.

In Philadelphia, Franklin began publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette, which was the longest lived and most successful of colonial newspapers. He published his Poor Richard's Almanack for twenty-five years; it was filled with witty sayings penned by Franklin and others. Franklin often borrowed material and rewrote it as he saw fit.

Franklin became one of Philadelphia's leading citizens, founding a sanitation department, a fire brigade, the American Philosophical Society, and the first circulating library in British North America.

Religious views

For a solid counter-argument to this section, see Schlafly statistics

He recalled that his "parents had early given me religious impressions, and brought me through my childhood piously in the Dissenting way. But I was scarce fifteen, when, after doubting by turns of several points, as I found them disputed in the different books I read, I began to doubt of Revelation itself. Some books against Deism fell into my hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's Lectures. It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist." [1]

Franklin remained a deist until the end of his life. In a letter dated March 9, 1790, a little more than a month before his death, Franklin outlined his beliefs to Ezra Stiles, president of Yale:

"Here is my Creed: I believe in one God, Creator of the Universe. That he governs it by Providence. That he ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable Service we render to him is doing good to his other Children. That the soul of Man is immortal, and will be treated with Justice in another Life respecting its conduct in in this. These I take to be the fundamental Principles of all sound Religion, and I regard them as you do in whatever sect I meet with them.
"As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of Morals and His Religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupting Changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some doubt as to his Divinity; tho' it is a question I need not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an Opportunity of knowing the Truth with less Trouble. I see no harm in its being believed, if that belief has the good Consequence, as probably it has, of making his Doctrines more respected and better observed; especially as I do not perceive, that the Supreme takes it amiss, by distinguishing the Unbelievers in his Government of the world with any peculiar Marks of his Displeasure." [2]

This quote reflects Franklin’s leanings toward deism. In the first paragraph, Franklin professes a belief in a god, but does not name thatdeity. In the second paragraph, Franklin acknowledges that Jesus Christ existed, but he doubts he is the son of God. While he recognizes the value of Christ’s moral teachings, he thinks they may have been corrupted over time.

As Franklin grew older, he recognized that Christianity had positive effects on colonial society, yet he never became a Christian himself. Franklin befriended George Whitefield, the best known of the Great Awakening evangelicals. The two also had a business relationship, with Franklin printing nearly all of Whitefield’s North American sermons. After one of Whitefield's sermons, Franklin noted the "wonderful...change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families ofevery street."[3][4]

Later life

By age 42, Franklin was wealthy enough to retire from newspapering, and devoted most of his time to his scientific pursuits. Franklin invented bi-focal lenses, a heat efficient stove, and the swivel chair. His famous experiment with a kite won him membership in the prestigious Royal Society, but it also had a practical effect. It also led to Franklin’s invention of the lighting rod, and increased his fortune when he was contracted to outfit all the ships in the Royal Navy with lighting rods. By 1750, Franklin was easily the most famous of the King’s North American subjects. While Franklin thought of himself as a loyal subject, he did question some of the Crown’s actions. In 1754, he proposed the Albany Plan of Union, which would have united the colonies (and the Iroquois League as well) under a Royal governor, and given the colonies the power to tax themselves. Many of the colonies did not send representatives to Albany, and nothing came of the plan.

Franklin put his prestige on the line to assist the expedition of British general Edward Braddock to capture Fort Duquesne (present day Pittsburgh) from the French. Pennsylvania’s Quaker dominated legislature refused to help provide supplies for the expedition, so Franklin made an appeal for colonists to provide provisions, horses, and wagons for Braddock’s army. In his autobiography, Franklin recalled questioning Braddock about the expedition’s chances of success. Braddock assured him he would easily capture the fort. After the disaster that Braddock met on the Monongahela, Franklin was less sanguine about accepting professional military opinion.

In 1757, Franklin went to London to represent Pennsylvania in its quarrel with William Penn’s heirs (Pennsylvania was the last of the propriety colonies). He remained abroad for eighteen years, not returning to American until 1775.

During Franklin’s tenure in England, he also represented several other colonies and became a regular observer, and unofficial representative of the colonies. In 1765, he assured British politicians that Americans would accept the Stamp Act, but news of colonial protest caused him to back away from that position. Afterwards, Franklin regularly opposed English attempts to tax the colonies.

American Revolution and legacy

Returning from England in 1775, Franklin surprised some by coming out in favor of independence. For Franklin, this stance carried a personal price. His son William, the Royal Governor of New Jersey, remained loyal to the Crown, and father and son never reconciled.

Until the end of the American Revolution, he was easily the most famous American in the world. He was one of the most prominent of the Founding Fathers, early political figures and statesmen of the United States.

He served as the Continental Congress ambassador to France, where he was instrumental in obtaining military and economic support for the struggle against England. In Paris, Franklin attracted attention by attending many of the salons and downplayed his status as Dr. Franklin. Instead, he sometimes cultivated the image of a rustic American, sometimes wearing a coonskin cap. Franklin's popularity helped in securing monetary and later military support from the French.

Franklin is one of the few non-presidents whose likeness appears on U.S. currency. Franklin graces the $100 bill while Alexander Hamilton appears on the $10 bill.

Did you know...

  • ...that amongst Franklin's many public literary works is an essay entiled Fart Proudly?

Footnotes

  1. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Fra2Aut.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=all The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, p.57
  2. http://personal.pitnet.net/primarysources/franklin-stiles.html
  3. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, p.104-108
  4. At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Franklin proposed a prayer for divine intervention to aid the troubled proceedings.
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