Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

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Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

• American Literature I
• 10 /18/2004
• Cecilia H. C. Liu

2
The Age Of Reason

• Enlightenment thought was, in part, a product of
  the Scientific Revolution.   There is
  justification to present the Enlightenment as the
  Age of Reason because of intellectual
  advancements that promoted a scientific approach
  to political, social, and economic issues,
  because of the development of the concept of
  human progress, and because of the acceptance of
  the state as its instrument. 
• Newtonian science , seventeenth century
  empiricism, and enlightened thought are
  "progressive" steps in the western intellectual
  tradition fostering the belief in universal order
  and natural law .

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Franklin as an Inventor (1)

• Franklin has made important discoveries and
  advancements, and invented the lightning rod.
• In colonial America, most people warmed homes by
  building a fire in a fireplace and Franklin made
  an invention of an iron furnace stove to allow
  people warm their homes less dangerously and with
  less wood. The furnace stove that he invented is
  called a Franklin stove. Interestingly, Ben also
  established the first fire company and the first
  fire insurance company in order to help people
  live more safely.

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Franklin as an Inventor (2)

• Franklin has figured out routes for delivering
  the mail, and invented a simple odometer and
  attached it to his carriage.
• Franklin retired from business and public service
  and wanted to spend his time reading and
  studying. He found, however, that his old age had
  made it difficult for him to reach books from the
  high shelves, called a long arm to reach the high
  books.

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Franklins Inventions
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Franklin as an Economist

• Ben Franklin's personal ideas about economy
  helped to shape our country's economy. We are
  lucky that they did because Franklin believed
  that the only true way to wealth was through hard
  work. This noble idea became the soul of the
  "American Dream," the idea that all people are
  created equal and each person has the same
  opportunity to achieve success.

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Franklin and Deism

• Deism is defined in Webster's Encyclopedic
  Dictionary, 1941, as "From Latin Deus,
  God.Deity The doctrine or creed of a Deist." And
  Deist is defined in the same dictionary as "One
  who believes in the existence of a God or supreme
  being but denies revealed religion, basing his
  belief on the light of nature and reason."
• This common sense approach to God and a spiritual
  philosophy can not only bring a lasting profound
  sense of peace and happiness to the individual,
  but it also has the potential to go light years
  in eradicating religious fear, superstition and
  violence.

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Franklin as a Statesman

• Benjamin Franklin stands tall among a small group
  of men we call our Founding Fathers. Ben used his
  diplomacy skills to serve his fellow countrymen.
  His role in the American Revolution was not
  played out on the battlefields like George
  Washington, but rather in the halls and
  staterooms of governments. His clear vision of
  the way things should be, and his skill in both
  writing and negotiating, helped him to shape the
  future of the United States of America.
• Ben stands alone as the only person to have
  signed all four of the documents which helped to
  create the United States the Declaration of
  Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance,
  Amity, and Commerce with France (1778), the
  Treaty of Peace between England, France, and the
  United States (1782), and the Constitution
  (1787). He actually helped to write parts of the
  Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
  No other individual was more involved in the
  birth of our nation.

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Questions for Discussion 1

• Read Franklin's 1757 text, "The Way to Wealth."
  Then, select any three of Poor Richard's maxims,
  and write "imitations" of them that is, "plug
  in" your own words at the appropriate points.
  Example for "He that hath a trade, hath an
  estate," one could write, "She that hath a
  husband, hath a curse."
• Note how Franklin frames "The Way to Wealth." It
  opens upon Poor Richard, eavesdropping on a
  village elder, called Father Abraham, who has
  been asked a question involved with civic
  matters "Won't these taxes quite ruin the
  country?" (page 214/ A 517). But does Father
  Abraham provide a direct answer to that question?
  Indeed, does he even speak of civic matters at
  all? Endlessly quoting Poor Richard, Father
  Abraham addresses what sphere of human activity?
  Why? Does he persuade the people? Answer and
  discuss these questions, in several paragraphs.

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Questions for Discussion 2

• What does Franklin learn from his sojourn among
  the English, for example about their habits of
  work, self-management, and the like? Throughout
  Part I we see Franklin attaching himself to a
  series of older, more powerful men. Now, what if
  we considered this series as the "plot" of Part
  I? In two or three paragraphs, write a summary of
  that plot, showing how and why it leaves him on
  the verge of public projects (the Junto, and the
  Subscription Library) at the end of Part I.

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Questions for Discussion 3

• In what instances does Franklin insist that he is
  chosen, or called, to public service? How are
  such moments significant?
• In what instances, and by what means, does
  Franklin seek to vigorously persuade, and shape,
  public opinion? What do these moments teach?
• What does Franklin have to say about factions, or
  parties, in politics and how does he justify his
  view of them?

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References

• Enlightenment and Revolution http//idcs0100.lib.i
  up.edu/modernera/favorite.htm
• Deism http//www.deism.com/deism_defined.htm
• Benjamin Franklin Glimpse of the Man
  http//sln.fi.edu/franklin/
• Benjamin Franklin Reading Assignments
  http//www.uky.edu/AS/English/courses/online/eng25
  1/assignment08.htmlhttp//www.uky.edu/AS/English/
  courses/online/eng251/assignment09.html
• http//www.uky.edu/AS/English/courses/online/eng25
  1/assignment10.html