The

Autobiography of
Benjamin
Franklin
Study Guide by Course Hero
are subject to Franklin's point of view and editorial choices.
What's Inside
TENSE
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is written in the past
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 tense.

d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 ABOUT THE TITLE

a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3
h Key Figures ................................................................................................. 4
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 8
c Part Summaries ........................................................................................ 11
g Quotes ......................................................................................................... 15
The use of the word the at the beginning of the title The
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin suggests that this is the
one authoritative account of Franklin's life because the subject
is also the author. Originally, Franklin referred to the text as
Memoirs because the term autobiography was not yet in use.
The first part of the text, originally published in French, was
titled The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin, suggesting
a posthumous intimacy with the subject.

l Symbols ...................................................................................................... 18

m Themes ...................................................................................................... 20 d In Context

e Suggested Reading ............................................................................... 21

Revolutionary Times
j Book Basics Many historians have commented that the seeds of the
American Revolution (1765–83) were planted during the
French and Indian War (1754–63). Benjamin Franklin was
AUTHOR
nearing age 50 when this conflict broke out in North America.
Benjamin Franklin
The war, which pitted England against her arch-rival France for
YEARS WRITTEN control of overseas colonies and territories, spanned three
1771–90 continents, with battles in Europe and India as well as in the
New World. The British won a decisive victory, formalized by
GENRE the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
Autobiography
The war's result spelled the end to French hopes for primacy,
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR or even influence, in North America. At the same time, however,
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is told in the first the conflict left the British hamstrung by colossal,
person by Benjamin Franklin. As such, the events he relates unprecedented debt. Britain's solution was to tax the American
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
colonies—a policy that led, in little more than a decade, to the
American Revolution against British rule of the colonies.
According to American historian Gordon S. Wood, there was a
change in Britain's mindset as well: the English began to think
of the colonists in America as "less ... fellow Englishmen across
the Atlantic than ... another set of people to be ruled."
Franklin was slow to fathom the trend. Widely praised for his
judgment and finesse, he fell awkwardly behind the curve on
the steep increase of colonial resistance and alienation: he did
not seem to understand the depth or intensity of colonial
opposition to the British. A passionate admirer of Britain as late
as the 1760s, he badly underestimated colonial reaction to the
Stamp Act of 1765, and until the early 1770s, he seems to have
cherished hopes for an Anglo-American reconciliation. It was
not until 1774 or 1775 that he began to see revolution as
inevitable and even desirable.
America's First Autobiography
Franklin wrote his autobiography in several widely separated
stints, beginning in 1771 and continuing until close to his death
in 1790. He had few models for such a project and none from
American writers. In Western literature, two of the best-known
precedents for Franklin's work were the Confessions
(397–400 CE) of Christian theologian St. Augustine and the
autobiography of the Swiss-French philosopher Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, also known as the Confessions (1782 and 1789).
Franklin first titled his work Memoirs, which now describes a
personal experience narrative. At the time he wrote, the word
autobiography was not in common English usage.
Franklin's work, in fact, was deeply original, having little in
common with the autobiographies of his predecessors:
It was the first autobiography to be widely popular.
It is still engaging to modern readers more than 200 years
later.
It can be read as a guide to achieving success.
It revealed information about his trade, printing, along with
his civic career.
In addition Franklin wrote with a keen understanding of his
readers. Even a cursory reading of the Autobiography should
leave no doubt that Franklin was a master at public relations.
While autobiography is, by nature, self-centered, Franklin
instinctively knew the temptations and dangers of envy and
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In Context 2
egocentrism. To succeed in persuading and influencing people,
Franklin argues, let others think that a project or proposal
results from their common effort, rather than from one's own
initiative. He suggests putting aside vanity and letting others
take the credit to best achieve the realization of one's goals.
Time and again in the Autobiography, Franklin stresses this
theme. Paradoxically, the fact that he declines to take credit
for numerous civic improvement projects actually burnishes his
reputation with us, his readers. Clearly, Franklin enjoyed being
credited for his very substantial achievements. But just as
plainly, he was psychologically savvy enough to know that envy
could destroy even a brilliant person's reputation.
Enlightenment-Age Media
In an age when newspapers were in their first generation,
when pamphlets and advertisements were making their way as
the new media, Franklin was on the cutting edge. Franklin's
work as a printer, writer, and editor in the publishing industry
projected him into a multifaceted career that epitomized the
Enlightenment—an age of scientific inquiry and rational
debate—and that placed him at the epicenter of a new nation's
birth.
The Enlightenment was an intellectual and cultural movement
that began in Europe, primarily in France and England, during
the 1600s and swiftly spread to various other European
countries and then overseas. Enlightenment values
championed reason, experimentation, and scientific inquiry,
rather than religious faith, trust in divine Providence, and the
authoritarian decrees of monarchies.
The great philosophers of the Enlightenment—Frenchmen
René Descartes, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis
Diderot; Englishmen Thomas Hobbes and John Locke; and
Scottishman David Hume—laid the foundations for a rationalist,
experience-based approach to human existence and social
relations. Such philosophical assumptions as the essential
equality of human beings, the social contract between
government and the individual, and popular sovereignty or rule
by the people became key concepts for the American founders
in the Revolution (1765–83): George Washington, Thomas
Jefferson, and James Madison. Whatever their formal
education, these figures were all children of the Enlightenment.
Benjamin Franklin was a man of the Enlightenment in almost
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
every respect. He was dedicated to reason and individual
ethics rather than to organized religion. He harbored a lifelong
commitment to self-betterment and community improvement.
In his most famous scientific endeavor, he trusted documented
experimentation to determine the identities of lightning and
electricity. In addition, in the course of his long life, he invested
boundless energy into the new media that served the
Enlightenment so effectively: the printed pamphlet, the letter,
the newspaper essay, the almanac, and the public appeal.
Before and during the American Revolution, it was media such
as these that enabled the British colonies in America to
develop shared principles, a common outlook, and concerted
action.
a Author Biography
Early Life and Apprenticeship
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on
January 17, 1706, the youngest son of a candle and soap
maker, Josiah Franklin. The large size of the Franklin family (17
children) limited Ben's choices for an education, so he was
apprenticed at age 12 to his older brother James, who trained
him as a printer.
At several points in the Autobiography, especially in Part 1,
Franklin stresses the essential role reading and writing played
in his life. He declares, for example, that he spent all his spare
money on books when he was a youth. Writing, he asserts, was
integral to his success. In these avowals Franklin carefully
avoids pedantry or any appearance of narrow, scholastic
specialization. It is always clear that he is practical,
businesslike, and intensely social. Yet, reading and writing are
his nuts and bolts, from early childhood onward throughout his
career.
When Benjamin was 17, however, a bitter quarrel between the
brothers resulted in Ben's decision to leave Boston and strike
out on his own. Virtually penniless, he traveled to New York and
subsequently to Philadelphia, which was at that time the
largest city in the American colonies.
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Author Biography 3
Success in Philadelphia
Writing when he was in his mid-60s, nearly half a century after
the events he describes, Franklin provides in the opening
pages of his Autobiography a vivid account of his arrival and
early employment in Philadelphia. After an uneven beginning,
he established himself in the printing profession and made
gradual but steady progress. His circle of contacts expanded,
and his participation in civic improvements—a hallmark of his
career for many decades—increased. Such projects included
the foundation of a lending library, the paving of city streets,
and eventually the establishment of an academy that later
became the University of Pennsylvania. By his early 40s,
Franklin had become wealthy enough to retire from an active
role in his business activities.
Science, Public Service, and
Diplomacy
One of Franklin's most prominent and persistent character
traits was his curiosity. In the Autobiography he remarks that
his lifetime spanned "the age of experiments." This observation
was true in several senses. Politically, the young American
republic was an unparalleled experiment—and one whose fate
was far from certain in Franklin's later years. Philosophically
and scientifically (the terms were closely related in Franklin's
time), experimentation was everywhere. Franklin's own
curiosity about lightning and electricity resulted in one of the
most famous experiments in the history of science, proving
that the two phenomena were one and the same. In 1751 a
book of Franklin's papers on the topic made him a worldwide
celebrity when he was 45. In due time prestigious universities,
including Oxford in Britain, conferred honorary degrees on him,
and he became known as Dr. Franklin.
A gentleman of leisure in retirement, Franklin kept busy during
his middle years not only with scientific pursuits but also with
public service. For many years, he had ingeniously engineered
schemes for civic improvements, usually acting behind the
scenes. But, in his 40s, he was officially appointed or elected
to various posts: membership on the Philadelphia City Council
(1748), justice of the peace (1749), membership in the
Pennsylvania Assembly (1751), and deputy postmaster general
of North America (1753).
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
Franklin's membership in the colonial assembly, roughly
equivalent to today's state legislature, led directly to another
milestone in his life when he was 50: his appointment as that
body's agent in London. Franklin's task was to persuade the
British government to remove the Pennsylvania "proprietors,"
or the heirs of the colony's founder William Penn, from their
positions of authority and to transform Pennsylvania into a
royal province, accountable directly to the British monarch.
Many Pennsylvanians—including Franklin—detested the
proprietors for their inequitable and self-serving taxation
policies. Arriving in London in 1757 Franklin spent the next 18
years living abroad, with the exception of a two-year interval
back in Philadelphia (1762–64).
Although Franklin was unsuccessful in his primary diplomatic
mission, he became enamored with British sophistication and
the lifestyle of the British elite. After the Stamp Act crisis
(1765–66), when Britain attempted to impose a hugely
unpopular set of taxes on the colonies, he focused his
diplomatic and writing efforts on trying to reduce tensions
between the colonies and the British government. Again,
however, his efforts proved unsuccessful.
Elder Statesman
After a humiliating run-in with British officials in early 1774,
which forced Franklin to respond to intensely hostile
questioning by the British government, he returned the
following year to Philadelphia, now convinced that revolution by
the colonies against the ruling British was inevitable. He turned
70 six months before signing the Declaration of Independence
(1776), which declared American independence from British
rule. He and his illegitimate son William quarreled bitterly over
their loyalties in the Revolution, with William continuing to
support the British. Father and son never reconciled.
In 1776 the Continental Congress sent Franklin to France as
the leading agent of a commission charged with securing
French aid for the War of Independence. This time, Franklin
succeeded brilliantly. Lionized by the French, Franklin
persuaded the ministers of King Louis XVI to grant crucial
financial and military aid to the revolutionaries. His eight-year
stay in France, by many accounts, was the happiest time of his
life.
Franklin returned to the newly independent United States in
1785 when he was nearing 80. Although his diplomatic mission
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Key Figures 4
probably swung the tide in the colonies' favor during the
Revolution, he remained controversial on his home ground.
Just as some Americans had thought him too British in former
years, some of his compatriots now viewed him as too French.
Nevertheless, in 1787 Franklin played a key role in the
Constitutional Convention (he was by far the oldest delegate).
After his death on April 17, 1790, his reputation steadily
magnified his position as a heroic exemplar of the rags to
riches American dream.
h Key Figures
Benjamin Franklin
Historians and critics agree that the earliest portions of
Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography give the clearest and most
vivid picture of his talents, personality, and temperament. Even
in his youth, Franklin emerged as a mercurial, paradoxical
character who mingled inspiration, curiosity, dedication, pride,
and ambition in a unique, often charming but somewhat
mystifying combination. The young Franklin clearly harbored an
intense drive for success. Just as clearly, however, he did not
want to be perceived as too pushy. Many of his life-long
preferences and habits were conspicuous in his early years: his
willingness to work hard, for example, as well as his
playfulness, curiosity, and genuine openness to friendships and
cooperation with others.
William Franklin
William Franklin owed his appointment as Royal Governor of
New Jersey to his father Benjamin's congenial relations with
Lord Bute, one of the most powerful advisers to King George
III. Nepotism of this sort was extremely common in Franklin's
time, and was considered merely as looking after one's own.
Nevertheless, Franklin took great offense at William's refusal to
support the colonies in 1775, especially since Franklin had
experienced a hugely painful humiliation by British officials.
Several years later, in mid-1775, William and his father
quarreled bitterly, and William remained a Loyalist. This quarrel
divided father and son for the rest of Benjamin Franklin's life.
William Franklin was ousted as governor and was imprisoned
for several years; he then lived out his life in exile in Britain.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Key Figures 5

James Franklin
The brief but striking portrayal of James Franklin in his younger
brother's autobiography is notable for its presentation of
strongly felt, conflicting emotions. On one level, James had no
scruples in exploiting Benjamin; on another, Benjamin's vanity
and injured pride made him easily angered and defensive. The
quarrel between James and Benjamin motivated the latter's
running away from Boston to Philadelphia, where he struck out
on his own and achieved great success. Even with half a
century's perspective, the quarrel between the two seems
fresh and raw. James, of course, was the loser, and Benjamin's
summary mentioning his "aversion to arbitrary power" is
tantamount to a condemnation. However, the reconciliation
between the brothers years later (1735) in Newport, Rhode
Island, showed Benjamin in a more flattering light. And the rift
did not permanently mar the relationship: upon James's death,
Benjamin educated his brother's son and took him into the
printing business.

Samuel Keimer
Keimer and Franklin eventually quarreled, and Franklin struck
out on his own to work as a printer. Franklin reports that
Samuel Keimer's business and credit declined steadily. He was
compelled to sell his printing house to pay his debts, and he
later died in reduced circumstances on the island of Barbados.

Dr. John Fothergill

Fothergill, who was a Quaker, played an important role in
Franklin's career by supporting Franklin's studies of electricity.
He possessed considerable prestige as a member of the Royal
Society, and he was thus one of Franklin's most influential
supporters. Franklin calls Fothergill "one of the best men I have
known" and "a great promoter of useful projects."

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Key Figures 6

Key Figure Map

Samuel Keimer
Philadelphia printer

William Franklin
Dr. John
British official;
Forthergill
loyalist during
British physician
the Revolution Employer

Father

Friend and
supporter

Benjamin Franklin
Printer and writer;
Opponent
businessman; diplomat
Abbé Jean- Spouses
Deborah Read
Antoine Nollet
Industrious, frugal woman
French scientist

Brothers
Son

Josiah Franklin
James Franklin Maker of soaps and
Domineering Boston printer Son candles; emigrated from
England to America

Main Key Figure

Other Major Key Figure

Minor Key Figure

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
Full Key Figure List
Key Figure Description
Benjamin Franklin is the subject, author,
and narrator of the Autobiography, which
he wrote at three separate points in later
life, beginning in 1771 at the age of 65; he
wrote Part 2 in 1784 at 78, after the
Benjamin
American Revolution; and he continued
Franklin
the work with Parts 3 and 4 from 1788
until his death in 1790 at 84. Thus, the
Autobiography is unfinished, covering
only a part of the narrator's life, from his
birth until roughly 1757.
William Franklin was the son of Benjamin
Franklin and the official addressee of his
father's autobiography, as indicated by
William the author's introductory letter, dated
Franklin 1771. At the time, William Franklin served
as the Royal Governor of New Jersey, a
post that he owed largely to his father's
influence.
James Franklin was one of Benjamin
Franklin's older brothers. Almost nine
years Ben's senior, James plays an
important role in the Autobiography,
James
acting as both mentor and quasi-
Franklin
employer of Ben in the writing and
production of one of the first
independent colonial newspapers, the
New England Courant.
Samuel Keimer was a Philadelphia printer
Samuel
who was Franklin's first employer in that
Keimer
city.
Dr. John Dr. John Fothergill was an English
Fothergill physician and supporter of Franklin's.
General Edward Braddock was a British
General
military commander who headed colonial
Edward
forces in the early stages of the French
Braddock
and Indian War.
Peter Collinson was a Quaker British
merchant and scientist who was a friend
Peter
of Franklin and a fellow of the elite Royal
Collinson
Society. He corresponded regularly with
Franklin on the subject of electricity.
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Key Figures 7
Mr. Denham was an older benefactor
who befriended the young Franklin in
Mr. Denham
London and offers him good advice and
mentorship.
Abiah Abiah Franklin was Benjamin Franklin's
Franklin mother.
Josiah Franklin was Benjamin Franklin's
Josiah father. Benjamin evidently had great
Franklin respect for him. Josiah Franklin
emigrated to New England about 1682.
John Carteret, Earl Granville was a British
politician who was the President of the
Lord King's Council in London. Granville coldly
Granville announced to Franklin at their first
meeting that "the King is the legislator of
the Colonies."
Rev. Samuel Hemphill was a young
Rev. Samuel Presbyterian preacher from Ireland who
Hemphill visited Philadelphia in 1734. Franklin
wrote several pamphlets for him.
Sir William Keith was the colonial
governor of Pennsylvania when Franklin
was just beginning his career in
Sir William Philadelphia. Keith promised to help the
Keith young Franklin, but his assurances prove
to be empty and vain; whether Keith is
malicious or just empty-​headed is left up
to the reader to decide.
Lord Loudon was a British nobleman and
Lord military officer. He treated Franklin
Loudon shabbily and delayed him on his journey
to London in 1757.
Hugh Meredith was a friend and short-
term business partner of Franklin.
Hugh
Meredith was overly fond of strong drinks
Meredith
and eventually he and Franklin had a
parting of the ways.
Abbé Jean-​Antoine Nollet was a French
clergyman and scientist whom Franklin
describes as "an able experimenter."
However, Nollet published a volume of
Abbé Jean-
letters opposing Franklin's conclusions
Antoine
on electricity, to which Franklin decided
Nollet
not to reply, preferring "to let [his] papers
speak for themselves;" in the end,
Franklin's theories on electricity replaced
those of Nollet.
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
James Ralph was a friend whom Franklin
knew both in Philadelphia and in London;
James Franklin writes admiringly of Ralph's
Ralph abilities at conversation. Franklin loaned
Ralph money, which Ralph neglected to
repay, and the friendship broke down.
The daughter of Benjamin Franklin's first
landlord in Philadelphia, Deborah Read
became Franklin's common-​law wife in
1730. Franklin describes her as
Deborah industrious and frugal, but it seems that
Read their relations were somewhat distant,
though she bore him two children (it is
unlikely that she was the mother of
William, Ben's illegitimate son). Deborah
predeceased her husband, dying in 1774.
"Richard Saunders" is a pseudonym: the
Richard supposed author of Franklin's Poor
Saunders Richard's Almanack, first published in
1732.
Sir Hans Sloane was a wealthy
Englishman who buys a "curiosity" (an
Sir Hans
asbestos purse) from Franklin when
Sloane
Franklin first visits London. Sloane went
on to found the British Museum in 1753.
Benjamin Vaughn was a British politician
and scientist with whom Franklin dealt in
the treaty negotiations of 1783 in Paris.
Benjamin
He wrote Franklin an admiring and
Vaughan
supportive letter, which Franklin includes
at the beginning of Part 2 of the
Autobiography.
Rev. George Whitefield was a British
clergyman, one of the founders of the
evangelical movement and a major
Rev. George participant in the First Great Awakening
Whitefield in America. Whitefield visited the
American colonies in 1739–40, and
Franklin met him and admired his
preaching.
k Plot Summary
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Plot Summary 8
Part 1
Franklin opens his autobiography with a letter to his son
William. After some discussion of his research into the Franklin
family history in England, the author focuses on his own
immediate family roots and his childhood in Boston. After only
a few years of grammar school, at the age of 12 he was
apprenticed to his older brother James to learn the printing
trade. However, after a few years the brothers quarreled and
Ben left Boston to settle in Philadelphia.
Franklin found employment as a printer in his adopted city, but
he soon journeyed to London, lured by empty promises of
support from Pennsylvania's governor, Sir William Keith. After
18 months in England, Franklin returned home, where he
resumed work in the printing trade. However, sharp conflicts
with his employer, Samuel Keimer, led him to strike out on his
own as an independent printer. He married Deborah Read in
1730, formed a club of his acquaintances called the Junto, and
commenced a series of civic improvement projects, including a
subscription library. Franklin remarks that he was always
careful to avoid taking the credit or the limelight in these
efforts.
Part 2
Writing after the American Revolution in 1784, Franklin opens
this part of his autobiography by citing the text of a letter he
received from a friend and admirer, the British politician
Benjamin Vaughan. Franklin then reverts to his efforts to
establish a public library in Philadelphia. The core of Part 2 is
Franklin's description of his effort to "arriv[e] at moral
perfection." He identifies 13 virtues and describes the
meticulous system of cultivating each one that he devised. The
system involves maintaining a daily chart of his progress.
Part 3
Franklin resumes writing his life story in 1788, even though
many of his papers and records have been lost in the
Revolution. He recounts his first publication of Poor Richard's
Almanack in 1732, his reactions to the sermons of the
Presbyterian preacher Samuel Hemphill, and the studies of
languages he began in 1733. On a visit to Newport, Rhode
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Plot Summary 9

Island, he reconciled with his older brother James, who was

seriously ill. In 1736 Franklin lost his four-year-old son to
smallpox. He increasingly undertook civic activities in the later
1730s.

Part 4
Franklin describes how, in 1757, he embarked on a diplomatic
mission in London as the agent of the Pennsylvania Assembly.
His first two meetings, however, were not promising. Lord
Granville, the President of the King's Council, told him that King
George III's decisions about the colonies are binding. The
proprietors, or hereditary trustees of the colony, indulged in
delaying tactics and complex legal maneuvers.

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Plot Summary 10

Timeline of Events

1706

Benjamin Franklin is born in Boston.

1723

Franklin leaves Boston for Philadelphia.

1724–26

Franklin spends 18 months in London.

1727

Franklin and his friends found the "Junto," a club for the
"mutual improvement" of its members.

1730

Franklin marries Deborah Read.

1748

Franklin retires from full-time business activities.

1757

Franklin travels to London as an agent for the

Pennsylvania Assembly.

1771

Franklin begins the Autobiography with a letter to his son

William.

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
c Part Summaries
Part 1
Summary
Writing in 1771 when he was on holiday at a friend's country
house in England, Franklin opens the Autobiography with a
letter to his son William. He was 65 years old when he began
this account. He expresses general satisfaction with his life so
far, and he comments that, although it is impossible to relive
one's life, the next best thing may be to recollect it in writing.
Franklin reports on his research about the family ancestry in
England, dating back to the year 1555. He states that his
father, Josiah Franklin, emigrated from England to the
American colonies about 1682. Josiah Franklin fathered 17
children, of whom Benjamin, born in 1706, was the youngest
son and the third-youngest child.
Benjamin's father was a candle and soap maker, a "chandler,"
and his older brothers all became employed in various trades.
Such a large family necessarily limited young Ben's choices for
education. After assisting his father in the chandler trade,
which did not appeal to Ben, the youngster was finally
apprenticed at the age of 12 to his older brother James in the
printing business. Josiah Franklin judged this appropriate
because of Ben's love, even when young, of reading and
writing.
Franklin spent every spare penny he had on books. As a youth
he happened on a spare copy of The Spectator, the
periodically published pamphlet of essays by the British writers
Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. He adopted The
Spectator as a model for his own prose style.
According to Franklin, in either 1720 or 1721 his brother James
decided to establish a newspaper, the New England Courant,
one of the very first papers in the colonies. As James's
apprentice Ben played an important role in this enterprise.
Franklin, a creative and playful teenager, determined to make a
pseudonymous contribution to the paper, penning an essay
and disguising his handwriting. James and his friends
commended the essay, which was signed with the name
"Silence Dogood." But Ben's subsequent admission of
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Part Summaries 11
authorship provoked envy and disputes between him and
James. The older brother believed himself to be the master of
the younger, and the younger brother chafed under his senior's
arbitrary power.
Discord between the brothers eventually led to Ben's decision
to escape from James's domination and leave home. His
journey from Boston to Philadelphia, via New York, was a
dangerous and suspenseful adventure for a virtually penniless
youth of 17.
Franklin then vividly describes his "first entry" into Philadelphia.
Fatigued, weak, ill, and hungry, he could scarcely have cut
much of a figure, even with three large rolls of bread under his
arms. But, he notes that Deborah Read, his future wife, caught
a brief sight of him when he first arrived in the city.
After some tentative explorations of various printers, Franklin
acquired employment with Samuel Keimer, even though he
regarded Keimer as somewhat unqualified. He amassed a
circle of acquaintances in Philadelphia and came to the notice
of the provincial governor, Sir William Keith. Over the following
few months, Keith led Franklin to understand that the young
man could depend on his support for backing in the printing
industry, and the governor encouraged Franklin to undertake a
journey to London. Depending on Keith's promises, Ben made
the journey, but he was disappointed to discover in London
that Keith had proffered empty assurances.
Franklin remained in London for about a year and a half. He
gained employment in the printing trade, made a number of
good friends (including Mr. Denham and James Ralph), and
practiced swimming, at which he was proficient.
Back in Philadelphia Franklin returned to work for Samuel
Keimer. He founded a club named the Junto, intended for
"mutual improvement" and discussion of current issues in
politics, morals, and science. He contemplated founding a
newspaper. Using his connections, he acquired printing jobs
and split with Keimer, going out on his own. Together with his
friends, he planned on establishing a lending library in
Philadelphia.
Analysis
At the start of the Autobiography, Franklin phrases the
dedicatory letter to his son William carefully. Behind the mask
of proud fatherhood and due modesty, there is the firm will of a
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
self-made man eager for both appreciation and
acknowledgment of mentorship. Franklin comes close to
complacency but rescues himself from such an accusation
with his thanks to God for a fruitful life and with his apparently
humble admission of occasional faults.
Franklin's quest for details about his ancestors will surprise no
one in the modern age of genealogical research. His results
amount to a solid, middle-class British ancestry, with most of
his male forebears situated in the trading professions, dating
back to 1555. For five generations, Franklin was descended
from the youngest son of youngest sons. In an era of
primogeniture, with only the eldest son in a family able to
receive a substantial inheritance, this meant that Franklin's
ancestors were increasingly compelled to earn a living.
In the discussion of his immediate family, Franklin plainly
reserves special honor for his father, Josiah Franklin: he had,
he says, "a good deal of respect for his judgment and advice."
Franklin furnishes a special testimony to the memory of his
parents by including the text of the memorial he later created
for their burial place.
Franklin's admiration for Joseph Addison's Spectator is
noteworthy. The paper began publication in 1711, when Franklin
was five years old, with a stated aim "to enliven morality with
wit, and to temper wit with morality." The readership, Addison
estimated, reached 60,000, or 10% of London's population at
the time. Addison made a special pitch for woman readers, and
his efforts seem to have been successful.
The Spectator combined a number of important attractions for
a youthful aspirant to a career in writing and printing. The
essays had the twofold goal of "instructing by pleasing." They
appeared just at the time when popular readership was
growing to include much of a newly emergent middle class.
The spirit of The Spectator showed Franklin that writing for
newspapers could be fun, widely popular, and financially
profitable. Perhaps most important for the young writer, the
prose style of Joseph Addison and his collaborator Richard
Steele offered a model of energy and clarity that has seldom
been equaled. Addison and Steele also regaled their audiences
with assumed character types that drew upon well-known
fixtures and customs of British society. Such lightly humorous
satires would doubtless have appealed to Franklin as well.
Franklin gives a detailed description of his methods of imitation
of The Spectator. For his particular purposes, he could not
have adopted a more instructive model.
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Part Summaries 12
The quarrel between Ben Franklin and his older brother James
constitutes one of the central episodes of Part 1 in the
Autobiography. Franklin's account, though naturally biased in
his own favor, allows for more than one perspective: in
particular, he admits that he was somewhat at fault. At the
same time, he criticizes James for employing "arbitrary power"
and harshly remarks that his brother took care to "prevent my
getting employment in any other printing-house of the town."
In the brief anecdotes that occupy a substantial portion of Part
1, Franklin gives us persuasive, vivid vignettes of a young man's
experiences in his early career: the forging of friendships
(James Ralph as an "inseparable companion"), the naiveté of a
protégé misled by a patron (Franklin and Governor Keith),
novel experimentation (vegetarianism and a new sect with
Keimer), exhilaration in athletic activity (swimming in the
Thames), public embarrassment (the quarrel with Keimer), and
self-confession (doubts that led Franklin to become "a
thorough Deist").
Thematically, the most important event in the remainder of Part
1 is Franklin's founding of the Junto. This association, like
Samuel Johnson's Literary Club in London some years later,
had both social and serious aims, being focused on "mutual
improvement" and "points of morals, politics, or natural
philosophy." It is noteworthy that the members were
encouraged to produce and read aloud an original essay once
every three months on a topic of their choice. There have been
numerous modern-day Juntos founded in imitation of Franklin's
club.
Part 2
Summary
Franklin introduces Part 2 by citing two letters, written to him
by Abel James and Benjamin Vaughan, respectively. The letter
from Vaughan, by far the longer, pays elaborate tribute to
Franklin's achievements and exhorts him to continue writing
his autobiography. In a somewhat exaggerated encomium,
Vaughan proclaims that Franklin's story of his life will "be worth
all of Plutarch's Lives put together."
Writing in 1784 from Passy (near Paris) in France, Franklin
returns to the subject of founding the Philadelphia subscription
library, a project of the Junto. The library was open one day a
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Part Summaries 13

week, imposing a fine of twice the value in the case of any It is in the same spirit that he presents his plan for the
unreturned books. Franklin himself put aside an hour or two achievement of moral perfection, which, he specifically points
each day to devote to his studies, which afforded him "the out, "might be serviceable to people in all religions." Franklin is
means of improvement" and served to make up for the loss of at pains to explain the order of the 13 virtues, commenting that
a learned education. temperance holds the prime position because it "tends to
promote the coolness and clearness of head, which is so
After a brief discussion of religion and the "utility" of public necessary where constant vigilance [is] to be kept up."
worship, Franklin turns to his principal topic in Part 2: his quest
for "moral perfection." This effort involved the description and
tabulation of 13 virtues, beginning with temperance, silence,
and order, and continuing with resolution, frugality, industry,
Part 3
sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity,
and humility. In an extended discussion, Franklin analyzes
these virtues and then explains how he was able to keep track
Summary
of his progress in the cultivation of each one on a daily basis.
Once again Franklin resumes writing the Autobiography after a
significant interval. It is now August 1788, around the time of

Analysis the ratification of the Constitution, with Franklin approaching

his 83rd birthday in the coming January. He begins by quoting

Franklin's inclusion of the two letters in his own praise at the a brief paper he wrote in 1731, entitled "Observations on My

beginning of Part 2 might be viewed as egotism, but in an Reading History, in Library." There we find that Franklin, at the

eighteenth-century context his display of plaudits would be age of twenty-five, harbored a somewhat pessimistic view of

favorably received. As long as others were the source of men's actions, at least in public affairs. Few people in public

praise, advertisement of one's own virtues and achievements service, he declares, are motivated by the public good; instead,

was acceptable. they act from self-interest.

Once again, Franklin stresses tact and restraint when he Franklin turns next to his ideas regarding an ideal sect that

discusses the effort to solicit subscriptions for the new would contain the essentials of every known religion. Franklin's

Philadelphia public library. The chief concern of any would-be universal creed specifies the existence of God, a creator

philanthropist or community benefactor, Franklin notes, should whose Providence governs the world; the doing of good to

be to avoid other people's envy and resentment. This can be fellow human beings as the most acceptable service of God;

accomplished by taking a back seat and by characterizing a the immortality of the soul; and the eventual reward of virtue

project as "a scheme of a number of friends." As Franklin and punishment of vice.

crisply says, "The present little sacrifice of your vanity will be

Franklin's next topic is the first publication, in 1732, of his
amply repaid."
annual compendium entitled Poor Richard's Almanack. This

Before he delves into the discussion of his effort to achieve calendar, which contained weather forecasts, poems, sayings,

moral perfection, Franklin devotes some space to the way he and other entertaining pieces, was exceptionally popular,

spends his Sundays. He declares that Sunday is his "studying- selling continuously for over 25 years. Together with Franklin's

day" and that he seldom attends any public worship—although newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, it provided the author

he believes in both the propriety and the utility of people's with considerable income. Franklin notes that he scrupulously

church attendance. Characteristically, however, Franklin finds excluded all libel and personal abuse from his newspaper.

the limitations of his own sect, Presbyterianism, too

Franklin then describes how in 1733 he significantly expanded
confining—at least as they are defined in the sermons of a
his printing business by sending an assistant to set up a press
preacher whom he considered both unimaginative and
in Charleston, South Carolina. In the following year, he
uninspiring. So, he uses instead a liturgy that he himself
befriended a young Presbyterian minister named Samuel
compiled.
Hemphill, who was visiting Philadelphia from Ireland. Some
churchgoers objected when they discovered that Hemphill

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
delivered plagiarized sermons, but Franklin supported the
clergyman, remarking that he would rather hear good sermons
written by others than bad ones "of his own manufacture."
In this period Franklin describes, he also began his study of
foreign languages, focusing on French, Italian, and Spanish,
whereupon he found his comprehension of Latin increased. He
also journeyed to Newport, Rhode Island, where he had a
reconciliation with his brother James, who was then very ill and
died shortly afterwards. Franklin helped James's young son get
a footing in the printing business. He reports as well that he
lost his own young son to smallpox at this time, having
neglected to have had the boy inoculated.
Meanwhile, Franklin continued in his civic and public activities,
participating in the City Watch and forming a fire department.
In 1739 he reacted enthusiastically to the visit of the Rev.
George Whitefield, an influential English clergyman with whom
Franklin formed a lifelong friendship. Franklin calculated that
the huge attendance at Whitefield's outdoor sermons
exceeded 30,000 people.
Franklin then reports that in the early 1740s he retired from
full-time participation in business activities, but he still
maintained his involvement in public affairs. He was especially
concerned that Philadelphia lacked infrastructure in defense
and education. To bolster the first, he authored a pamphlet
called "Plain Truth" and then succeeded in persuading
Governor Clinton of New York to lend 18 cannons to
Philadelphia. In the field of education, he published another
pamphlet promoting the establishment of an academy, with the
result that an initial subscription of five thousand pounds was
raised. As usual, he did not advertise himself as the initiator of
such a plan, but attributed it instead to "some public-spirited
gentlemen." Regarding the trustees of the future University of
Pennsylvania, Franklin was careful to ensure that no particular
religious sect would predominate.
Franklin busied himself with a broad range of projects in the
early 1750s. One of the most important was his scientific
exploration of the nature and characteristics of electricity. In
this area Franklin's friendships with Peter Collinson and Dr.
John Fothergill, both Quakers who resided in London, were
especially important. Another project was Franklin's
collaboration with Dr. Thomas Bond in plans for the
establishment of a hospital in Philadelphia. A third interest was
a project for paving the city's streets. In 1753 Franklin was
appointed co-Postmaster General of America.
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Part Summaries 14
Franklin then moves into discussing the opening years of the
French and Indian War (1754–1763), which saw him engaged
on a variety of fronts. He encouraged the Albany Plan of
Union—a system of inter-colonial cooperation doomed by
British lack of enthusiasm. Franklin was also active in
negotiations with the Indians at Carlisle and in raising arms and
supplies for the British military effort. He even went so far as to
advance a sizable amount of his own funds for the war effort.
Franklin's account of his electricity experiments is especially
intriguing. This field of endeavor made him a worldwide
celebrity. Yet, acknowledgment of his achievement was not
unobstructed. In particular, a French clergyman named Abbé
Jean-Antoine Nollet opposed Franklin's theories, in large part
because they contradicted his own, and he published a volume
of letters denying the validity of Franklin's conclusions. Franklin
made up his mind not to reply in print, and ultimately he
prevailed. Franklin was honored by a medal from the Royal
Society in London and by degrees from several prestigious
universities.
In the concluding section of Part 3, Franklin recounts his
appointment as agent for the Pennsylvania Assembly to
represent the colony's interests in London. For practical
purposes, this meant that Franklin would try all expedients to
release Pennsylvania from the grip of the "proprietors"—the
descendants of the original founder, William Penn. Many
Pennsylvania colonists, including Franklin, believed that the
proprietors were unjustly abusing their tax-exempt status and
ignoring the legitimate interests of the colony. Franklin
accepted this mission in 1757, but his departure for England
was greatly delayed by the British official Lord Loudon, who
prevaricated on the issue of Franklin's reimbursement for his
financial advances earlier in the French and Indian War.
At the close of Part 3, Franklin describes his arrival in England
at the end of an eventful sea voyage, commenting with typical,
concrete pragmatism on "the utility of lighthouses," since
shortly before Franklin's ship landed in port, a lighthouse had
saved his vessel from shipwreck.
Analysis
Poor Richard's Almanack, first published by Franklin in 1732,
employed a pseudonym, Richard Saunders, for its authorship.
This was one of the many aliases that Franklin used
throughout his career, By American standards of the era, the
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
almanac was a best-seller, with annual print runs of 10,000
copies.
George Whitefield, an itinerant preacher, travelled from place
to place, up and down the eastern seaboard. He was one of
the most eloquent, popular voices of the religious movement
known as the First Great Awakening. This movement
downplayed ceremony and ritual in religious observance,
emphasizing instead every individual's need to be "reborn" and
to achieve salvation in Christ. Other influential figures in the
Great Awakening included Samuel Davies and Jonathan
Edwards, whose sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God" (1741) became an American classic. (Both Davies and
Edwards served as presidents of Princeton University.)
Franklin's retirement from active business was accompanied
by several symbolic acts. He moved to a larger house, for
example—one that was not connected to the premises of his
business. (In the 18th century, tradesmen usually lived where
they worked.) He left the printing house and the shop in the
hands of a new partner, David Hall. He acquired several slaves.
And, he had his portrait painted. Though he doesn't discuss
these things in the Autobiography, they are markers of his
rising status and financial success.
The Albany Plan of Union (1754), though never implemented, is
historically important because it was the first significant
proposal to place the colonies under a centralized government.
The plan, drawn up by Franklin, was occasioned by the
uncertainties of the French and Indian War, rather than by any
desire to gain independence from Great Britain. One of the
most significant features of the plan was that it separated the
executive and legislative branches of government.
Part 4
Summary
In Part 4, the briefest section of the Autobiography, Franklin
tells of the opening days of his diplomatic mission to London
on behalf of the Pennsylvania Assembly. As soon as he was
settled in his lodging, Franklin took care to call on Dr. Fothergill
and on Peter Collinson, his correspondents whom he greatly
respected. He then met with Lord Granville, who served the
British government as President of the King's Council. Granville
coldly informed Franklin that the King was "the legislator of the
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Quotes 15
colonies," meaning that the American colonial assemblies
lacked the right to make their own laws.
Dr. Fothergill serving as intermediary, Franklin then met with
the Pennsylvania proprietors. This meeting, too, was less than
satisfactory. The proprietors seemed bent on delay and on
legal counter-strategies.
Analysis
The two meetings recounted by Franklin in Part 4 provide a
brooding, somewhat pessimistic end to the Autobiography. Of
course, it should be remembered that Franklin left his work
unfinished. Lord Granville, in particular, treated Franklin with
studied arrogance, asserting a tyrannical view of the way the
colonies should be governed. The proprietors seemed
altogether unwilling to negotiate. The reader may very well
conclude that Franklin, as a diplomat, has his work cut out for
him in London. He was, with one minor interval, to remain there
for the better part of the next 18 years.
Diplomacy dominated Franklin's later life, which is not covered
in the Autobiography. Although he failed to achieve colonial
reconciliation with the British, he was brilliantly successful at
securing French aid to the colonies during the Revolution. After
the American victory, Franklin was instrumental in framing the
Treaty of Paris, whereby the British officially recognized
American independence.
g Quotes
"I should have no objection to a
repetition of the same life from its
beginning, only asking the
advantages authors have in a
second edition to correct some
faults of the first."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
In this quotation Franklin reveals himself as generally satisfied
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
with his life so far. He was 65 when he wrote this passage,
which occurs in the introductory letter to his son William at the
beginning of the Autobiography. The deep and permanent rift
between father and son over the Revolution had not yet
occurred. As always, Franklin carefully manages his image,
even in what on the surface appears to be an intimate letter.
He is satisfied with his life, but he admits mistakes and faults,
using an amusing figure of speech drawn from printing, his own
profession.
"From a child I was fond of
reading, and all the little money
that came into my hands was ever
laid out in books."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
Franklin's enormous appetite for books lasted his whole life.
Largely self-educated, he amassed a great store of learning
that was nearly encyclopedic. It is relevant to note that
Franklin's lifetime (1706–1790) coincided almost exactly with
those of two other polymaths of the Enlightenment: Samuel
Johnson in England (1709–1784), who authored a landmark
dictionary of the English language, and Denis Diderot in France
(1713–1784), who was the principal editor of another famous
milestone, the multivolume Encyclopédie. And, in a letter to
John Adams in 1815, Franklin's younger contemporary Thomas
Jefferson wrote, "I cannot live without books."
"As prose writing has been of
great use to me ... I shall tell you
how in such a situation I have
acquired what little ability I have in
that way."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
Literary critics, historians, and biographers have emphasized
the broad spectrum of Franklin's writings, which ranged from
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Quotes 16
political satire to fundraising advertisements, from
philosophical letters to scientific research, from collections of
proverbs to humorous essays. An example of the latter, drawn
almost at random, is Franklin's essay "The Art of Procuring
Pleasant Dreams," written when he was 80 years old (in 1786).
As usual, in this quotation Franklin plays his own achievements
down: note the phrase "what little ability."
"If you ... express yourself as firmly
fixed in your present opinions ...
you can seldom hope to
recommend yourself in pleasing
your hearers, or to persuade those
whose concurrence you desire."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
The rolling cadences of this piece of practical advice suggest
by their very rhythm and sound the kind of smug inflexibility
that Franklin deplores. In Franklin's view, "modest sensible
men" (in whose numbers he seems to have counted himself)
will go out of their way to avoid disputes. Note Franklin's own
assertion that he "hat[es] disputes" in quotation 12. Just as
important is Franklin's observation that pleasing others, rather
than contradicting them, is a far more practical strategy if one
wants to persuade them.
"I fancy his harsh and tyrannical
treatment of me, might be a means
of impressing me with that
aversion to arbitrary power that
has stuck to me through my whole
life."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
Franklin is here talking about his older brother James, with
whom he had a bitter falling out. Jealousy, pride, and talent all
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
played a part in this pivotal quarrel, which propelled Franklin on
his way from Boston to Philadelphia. Much later in life, the
brothers had a reconciliation. Franklin's "aversion to arbitrary
power" was to surface many times during his life—and not only
in his eventual opposition to British rule of the colonies. He
detested, for example, the arbitrary treatment of the
Pennsylvania Assembly by the descendants of William Penn,
the original proprietor of the colony.
"You may in your mind compare
such unlikely beginning with the
figure I have since made there."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
This quotation touches on one of the most archetypal
elements of the Autobiography: Franklin's from rags to riches
account of a poor, jobless teenager making good in
Philadelphia, which was then the big city of the American
colonies. It was, indeed, an "unlikely beginning."
"This was another of the great
errata of my life, which I should
wish to correct if I were to live it
over again."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
Here, Franklin is speaking of his relationship with Deborah
Read, the Philadelphia woman who became his wife in 1730. He
regrets his failure to correspond more often with her. In the 45-
year marriage between the two, they often lived apart, largely
because of Franklin's diplomatic and negotiating
responsibilities in Britain and in France.
"In the autumn of the preceding
year, I had formed most of my
ingenious acquaintance into a
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Quotes 17
club, for mutual Improvement,
which we called the Junto."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 1
The key phrase here is "for mutual improvement"—always a
goal that Franklin kept in view. The word junto means joined or
linked, another concept that Franklin held dear throughout his
career. A political cartoon he created in 1754 gives the concept
visual expression. It shows a snake divided into separate
sections. The head is labeled "N.E." for New England; the other
pieces are each labeled with the abbreviation for one of the
colonies, with the caption "Join, or Die." The cartoon was
published in Franklin's newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette.
Some 22 years later, in 1776, Franklin is said to have broached
the same idea when he remarked, after the signing of the
Declaration of Independence: "We must all hang together, or
most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
"The present little sacrifice of your
vanity will afterwards be amply
repaid."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 2
The context for this pithy quotation is a discussion of the
establishment, through the Junto, of a public lending library in
Philadelphia. Franklin stresses the importance, for the success
of any project, of creating the impression that the objective is a
shared goal, rather than the product of any particular individual
initiative.
"It was about this time that I
conceived the bold and arduous
project of arriving at moral
perfection."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 2
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Symbols 18

This famous sentence concisely sums up Franklin's habitual

fortune that seldom happen, as by
preoccupation with self-improvement and the improvement of
all those around him. little advantages that occur every
day."
"There is perhaps no one of our
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 3
natural passions so hard to
subdue as pride ... For even if I The quotation underlines Franklin's belief that hard work,
persistence, and continuing dedication are far more important
could conceive that I had elements for success than outsized strokes of good luck.
completely overcome it, I should
probably be proud of my humility." "This gave me occasion to
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 2 observe, that when men are
employed they are best
The wry verbal irony of Franklin's observation here is typical of
contented."
the clear-eyed detachment with which he was able to view
himself and others.
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 3

"This is not the only instance of The context for this observation is Franklin's discussion of his
experiences during the French and Indian War (1754–1763).
patents taken out for my Franklin's belief in the efficacy of industry, civic service, and
Inventions by others ... which I the practical application of one's talents seems to have been
unwavering throughout his life.
never contested, as having no
desire of profiting by patents
"This is the age of experiments."
myself, and hating disputes."
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 3
— Benjamin Franklin, Part 3

This brief quotation sums up some of the most important—and

Franklin, in fact, became an outstandingly wealthy man, largely productive—facets of Franklin's personality: his curiosity and
through his connections, his hard work, and his ability to spot openness to innovation.
favorable opportunities in important fields. Here, however, he
remains detached, asserting that inventions for the good of
humankind should not be a source of undue profits or a
battleground of conflict.
l Symbols

"Human felicity is produced not so

much by great pieces of good

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide
Printing
Franklin's apprenticeship in printing and his early career in the
profession had a profound impact on his mind-set. Not only did
printing provide him with an increasingly profitable living, but it
also became a metaphor for the way Franklin chose to live his
life. Printing dispensed information and opinion, as in a
newspaper. It also formed a record of events, as in an almanac
(or, indeed, an autobiography). Finally, it served as a set of
memories, which could be revisited, revised, or perhaps even
corrected. All these facets of printing are either explicit or
implicit in the Autobiography. It is not too much to say that
Franklin viewed his life as a book, which might be read,
imitated, or corrected by future generations.
The Junto
The Junto (meaning joining or club in Spanish) was the
Philadelphia club founded by Franklin and some of his
"ingenious acquaintance[s]" in 1727. Franklin was only 21 at the
time. Franklin explicitly asserts that the club was established
"for mutual improvement." The details he provides are
instructive. The club's meetings were scheduled for Friday
nights, when the members would take turns in presenting
"queries on any point of morals, politics, or natural philosophy."
Once every three months, each member would have to present
an original essay, which the members would then discuss.
Franklin declares that the Junto members gradually acquired
"better habits of conversation" because of these rules. The
Junto comes to symbolize collective intellect and improvement
in the Autobiography. It is a visible sign of Franklin's belief in
cooperative effort and progress.
Books
Books played a pre-eminent role in Franklin's long life, from
early childhood until his death. For young Ben books were
almost like charms or talismans, worth the expense of all his
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Symbols 19
extra pocket money. Books were repositories of information.
They were also sources of inspiration. Perhaps most
importantly, they offered models of style in communication. In
this regard Franklin's singling out of Joseph Addison's
Spectator essays, published when he was a young child, is
especially significant. Franklin says he went to elaborate
lengths to imitate Addison's prose style. For three centuries,
literary critics have characterized Addison's style as concise,
clear, and elegantly balanced. Franklin's identification of these
qualities as especially desirable in his own prose is noteworthy.
What Addison offered him was an effective means to either
inform or persuade—purposes that would serve Franklin well in
his newspapering and pamphleteering career. Thus, books
were symbols for young Ben Franklin of the communication
methods he would use to influence readers in later life.
Public Image
Many historians have remarked on Franklin's frequent
assumption of masks, personas, or disparate images—in the
Autobiography, in his essays, and in his letters. Who was
Franklin, exactly? One of his leading biographers, Gordon S.
Wood, has remarked that he is not an easy man to get to know.
This intentionally kaleidoscopic view of Franklin is not, in fact,
unique to him among the founders. George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson were also acutely conscious of being on
stage or acting a role, and each assiduously managed his
public image.
For Franklin specifically, his public image can be said to
symbolize reputation or honor, that most precious quality of an
18th-century gentleman—particularly for a first-generation
gentleman like Franklin, who had risen from humble origins. At
dozens of points in the Autobiography, Franklin lets it be known
that other people's opinions need to be carefully managed,
steered, or directed. Otherwise, envy or malicious
misinterpretation may easily skew the desired picture.
Toward the end of Part 1 of the Autobiography, Franklin makes
the following comment on his image, revealing how important
appearances were to him: "In order to secure my credit and
character as a tradesman, I took care not only to be in reality
industrious and frugal, but to avoid all appearances of the
contrary."
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Themes 20

library, street paving, an academy, upgrading of the postal

m Themes service, a fire department, and a newspaper. Some of these
activities contributed handsomely to Franklin's income. It is
therefore accurate to say that he did well by doing good. The

Self-Improvement motivations, style, and results of philanthropy in the 18th

century are interestingly comparable to the leading features of
philanthropy in modern times.

Beginning in childhood, Franklin remained consistently and

intensely dedicated to self-improvement. In the Autobiography
he describes his continual reading and his writing practice, his Scientific Inquiry
study of Joseph Addison's prose style in the periodical essays
of The Spectator, his determination to "arrive at moral
perfection," and his careful observation and grasp of
Franklin's scientific curiosity made him one of the central
opportunities for work and income.
figures of the 18th-century Enlightenment—a cultural flowering
that affected almost every field of human endeavor in Europe
On the civic level, Franklin stays ever on the watch from an
and North America. Perhaps the clearest epitome of
early age for opportunities to improve the life of the community
Enlightenment thinking was the effort in France, led by Denis
through joint action. Indeed, he specifically declares that the
Diderot, to create a compendium of all human knowledge and
Junto, the club he founded with his friends, was established
arts, known as the Encyclopédie (or Encyclopedia). This work,
"for mutual improvement." The Junto begins a string of
which involved the labors of hundreds of editors and writers,
successes when it organizes and maintains a public
appeared in a multivolume first edition between 1751 and 1773.
subscription library in Philadelphia.
Not unlike the ancient library at Alexandria in Egypt (or the
Franklin's persistent goal of self-improvement was not founded modern attempt by Google to make available all the world's
on the principles of any particular religious denomination: in knowledge), the goal of the Encyclopédie was, in Diderot's
fact, he explicitly declares that he was of no sect at all. Just as view, to change the way people think. Its subtitle was "a
importantly, however, he was convinced of the existence of a systematic dictionary of the sciences, arts, and crafts."
Deity, and that "the most acceptable service of God was the
Franklin's thinking, as demonstrated in the Autobiography, was
doing good to man." He reasoned that self-improvement
completely in tune with that of the French philosophes, as they
enlarged one's capacity to do good to others.
were known. His famous (and dangerous) experiment with a
kite in a thunderstorm in Philadelphia in June 1752 was only the
tip of the iceberg. In 1739 he invented split-lens bifocal
Public Spirit spectacles. In 1741 the Franklin stove came on the market. The
lightning rod was a byproduct of Franklin's studies of
electricity. In the 1770s Franklin became the first person to
chart the course of the Gulf Stream. And the list goes on.
Franklin's zealous involvement with public-spirited endeavors
closely relates to his belief in self-improvement. A realist,
Franklin concedes that "those who govern hav[e] much
business on their hands" and therefore do not often "take the Useful Living
trouble of considering and carrying into execution new
projects." All the more reason, then, that men of leisure—such
as he considered himself from his early 40s onward—should
This theme is closely linked to "self-improvement" and "public
join together and expend the effort that made useful municipal
service." Time and again, the words "useful" and "utility" occur
improvements a reality.
in the Autobiography, always in a positive context. Franklin
Franklin's career furnishes countless examples: a lending describes his friend Dr. Fothergill, for example, as "a great

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Study Guide Suggested Reading 21

promoter of useful projects." In his childhood young Ben was

compelled to juxtapose usefulness with honesty in the episode e Suggested Reading
of building a wharf with stolen stones. In adulthood, however,
Franklin's scale of values and priorities places usefulness at or Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. Simon,
near the top. 2004.

In an intriguing paragraph near the end of Part 2 of the
Autobiography, Franklin discusses his "scheme" to achieve
moral perfection in terms of its sect-blind utility. He says that
his plan, though it was "not wholly without religion ... might be
serviceable to people in all religions." Franklin therefore
contemplated writing a short book entitled The Art of Virtue,
noting the practical advantages of each virtue and the
corresponding drawbacks of its opposite vice.
Morgan, Edmund S. Benjamin Franklin. Yale UP, 2002.
Seavey, Ormond. Becoming Benjamin Franklin: The
Autobiography and the Life. Penn State UP, 1988.
Wood, Gordon S. Revolutionary Characters: What Made the
Founders Different. Penguin, 2007.
Wood, Gordon S. The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin.
Penguin, 2005.

Curiosity and Innovation

One of the chief pleasures in reading Franklin stems from his

infectious enthusiasm for exploration and his openness to new
ideas, fresh inventions, and original ways of doing business.
Franklin would be comfortably at home, one feels, in the age of
digital technology. His appreciation of efficiency and
convenience never tramples on his respect for the individual:
he is (usually) just interested in an approach that will provide
the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

In this respect Franklin benefited enormously from the long

stretches of his experience abroad, especially in London and
Paris. Today, it is hard for us to conceptualize the gulf—in
economic, political, and social terms—between life in the
colonies and life in continental Europe. Even prosperous, high-
income earners like Franklin and George Washington led
lifestyles in the colonies that were pitifully modest by
comparison to their counterparts in Britain and France. A man
of great ambition and outstanding talent, Franklin was
psychologically ready to embrace almost any expedient to
bridge the civilization gap between the Old World and the New.
For Franklin, curiosity and innovation formed an effective
strategy to level the playing field between two disparate,
unevenly endowed cultures.

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