Masonic Founding Father

1
Ben Franklin

• Masonic Founding Father
• 1706-1790

2
Early Life

• Born in 1706 in Boston
• 15th of 17 children
• Raised as a Christian
• Worked for his older brothers
• printing press
• Deceived his brother by writing
• with an alias
• Fled to Pennsylvania
• Spent three years in London working as a printer
• Returned and began work for the Pennsylvania
  Gazette.

3
Founding Father / Politics / Diplomat

• Only person to sign the Constitution, The
  Declaration of Independence, and the Treaty of
  Paris, along with other important founding
  documents and added significant sections to each.

• One of oldest Members of the Continental Congress
• Wrote Albany Plan of Union
• Americas Diplomat to France
• Essential in the outcome of the Revolutionary War

4
Science

• Countless useful inventions including
• Lightning Rod
• Flexible Catheter
• Bifocals
• Franklin Stove
• Glass Armonica http//youtube.com/watch?veQemvyyJ
  --gfeaturerelated

5
Spiritual Life

• "I think vital religion has always suffered when
  orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. The
  scriptures assure me that at the last day we
  shall not be examined on what we thought but what
  we did."Benjamin Franklin, letter to his
  father, 1738
• Born and baptized a Presbyterian
• Not raised orthodox like his parents wished
  because they couldnt afford religious education
  for him
• At 25, created his list of virtues temperance,
  silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry,
  sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness,
  tranquility, chastity, and humility
• Married, he and his wife changed allegiance to
  Anglican Church.
• Temporarily became an atheist.
• Became a Deist, and by old age, believed plainly
  in the virtues of being a good person and helping
  others

6
Societies

• Created the Society called The Junto, a club
  for mutual improvement with Franklins most
  ingenious acquaintances.
• They were dedicated to learning and societal
  improvement and were the first society
  illustrating Franklins intellectual curiosity.
• In 1743, created the American
• Philosophical Society which still
• exists today
• a group dedicated to science where
• scientists discuss experiments and discoveries.
• The Freemasons

7
A Mason Undisputed Facts

• Franklin was a member of the
• fraternal organization of the
• Freemasons, and in 1731, he was
• inducted into the Masonic lodge of
• St. John in Philadelphia, the first
• recognized Masonic Lodge in America
• The following year, Franklin helped to create the
  bylaws of his lodge
• By 1734, he had risen to the highest rank of a
  Grand Master. 
• Grew to be the highest ranked Mason in
  Pennsylvania
• Became Grand Master of the Lodge of Nine Sisters
  in 1778 in Paris, where he initiated Voltaire.

8
Lesser Known Details of Franklins Masonic
Involvement

• Franklin used his position as a publisher to
  become a member of the Freemasons, in order to
  gain prestige within his community.
• At first he wrote good things about them in his
  newspaper, but they denied him as a candidate.
• He wrote this in his newspaper just weeks before
  he was initiated
• Their Great Secret is THAT THEY HAVE NO SECRET AT
  ALL and when once a man is entered he is himself
  obliged, se defendendo, to carry on the Jest with
  as solemn a Face as the rest. We shall not use
  many Words to persuade the Publick that the
  following Piece is genuine it carries all the
  Marks of Truth in itself
• Franklin, with his publishing power, made the
  Masons realize that he could use The Gazette
  either to help them or to destroy them.

9
Loyal Mason Nonetheless

• Though he used deceit to become
• a member of the fraternal
• organization there are many ways
• to look at what he did.
• Maybe it was simply to gain prestige
• But
• He became as loyal a Mason as any and
• valued what they stood for
• Was a member for 60 years from his initiation
• to his death in 1790
• He was very concerned with the betterment of
• society
• Was he an opportunist or a man of integrity?
• Did he work for himself or for society?
• A patriot or conspirator?
• A believing practicing Mason or an impostor?

10
ConclusionSolomon Key?

• In a sense, Franklin might be argued to embody
  the definition of an influential figure.
  Franklin was a complex man, but with simple
  goals. He wanted success, but more importantly,
  it seems he wanted success because he knew that
  with success, he could accomplish more. And
  there was so much that he wanted to accomplish.
  He had faith in science and faith in a supreme
  being. He believed in the future of humanity and
  in progress. As a result, he became an important
  member of society and an influential founding
  father and scientist. His extraordinary
  qualities as a person, his boundless intellectual
  curiosity, his desire to create a better society,
  and his genuine morals of doing good and helping
  others, are what have and will continue to
  inspire thinkers and authors of nonfiction and
  fiction alike around the world. It is for this
  reason that it would not be a surprise to see
  Franklins name appear in the lines of The
  Solomon Key, whether he is presented at the heart
  of a Masonic conspiracy or not.