The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

A Book Review

History

5 March 2010

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Introduction
"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing." - Benjamin Franklin
Written over a period of nearly 30 years and covering his life only until 1759 (he died in 1790), “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” is actually tells approximately half of his life story as everyone knows of this great man. The dominant idea of the American character found its apotheosis in the person of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin can be considered as the typical American whose philosophies, beliefs, and principles are exemplified in one’s attitudes towards life, wealth, and happiness. The evidence of all these and more can be read in the “Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. What he calls as “rambling digressions,” Franklin uses a very unpretentious writing style, almost like a conversation, with anecdotes interspersed in the pages.
America will never forget Benjamin Franklin because he was able to accomplish both feats that he mentioned in this famous saying. He was able to live the words of wisdom that he has proliferated by writing lots of sensible and usable things, and more. Everyone in this country knows Benjamin Franklin as a scientist (predicting weather conditions and studied the use of hot air balloons, an inventor (bifocals, flexible urinary catheter, watertight compartments in ships, lightning rods, iron furnace stove, odometer, and many more), statesman (the only person who signed all four documents that became the basis for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, he set up the Postal system and the first fire insurance system in America, helped create a militia in Philadelphia to protect its residents, and proposed the Daylight Saving Time). He was also printer (he was an apprentice in his brother’s printing shop at 12, at 17 he was a fully skilled printer, at 22 he opened his own printing shop, and printed the popular newspaper the Philadelphia Gazette as well his 3

annual Poor Richards Almanac). Among his works as a printer included making cartoons, illustrated news stories, and letters to the editor. For those books to read even though they might not have been able to afford to buy books to read. Again, Ben wanted to use his printing press to help people understand the world around them. As a philosopher, Benjamin Franklin never wasted his time, so surely he must have loved life. He is remembered as one of America 's great thinkers. His ideas and visions helped to lay the foundation for the United States of America as we know it today. He had a clear vision of the way America should be and he spent his time helping to make sure that it would be. Less people knew of Benjamin Franklin as a musician. Ben Franklin found simple beauty in simple tunes. He played several musical instruments, including the violin, harp, and guitar. His great interest in music leads him to build his own glass harmonica. This simple musical instrument was played by touching the edge of the spinning glass with dampened fingers. The harmonica 's beautiful tones appealed to many composers, including Mozart and Beethoven. As an economist, his 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. Ben used his printing skills to print paper money, helping to establish the paper currency system in America. Today, we honor Ben 's contribution to the economy every time we use a hundred dollar bill. Ben 's face appears on it (Morgan, 2002).
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Massachusetts. When he was 12 years old he became apprentice in his brother James’ printing shop in Boston. He was 17 years old when he left his family for some personal reasons, and ran away to Philadelphia, 4

Pennsylvania. He got an opportunity to go to London where he trained as a printer. Three years later, in 1726, he went back to Philadelphia and opened his own printing shop two years after. The Pennsylvania Gazette became a quick delight of readers as Franklin became its sole owner and published in 1729. A year after, he married Deborah Read Rogers and his son William was born the following year. It was in 1931 that he founded the first Circulating Library. The next year, his second son Francis was born and this year marked the start of his publication of the annual Poor Richard’s Almanac which ran for 26 years, up to 1758. A disaster happened to his family in 1736 when his young son Francis died. It was this year the he founded the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. The following year, Franklin was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia. Being an educated and intellectual person, he proposed the idea for the University of Pennsylvania in 1942. Sarah “Sally” Franklin was born the year after and two years later, Benjamin’s father, Josiah died. It was in 1747 that Franklin first wrote about electrical experimentation and organized the first militia in Philadelphia, aiming at protecting its residents. He decided that he had enough of the printing business, so in 1748 he sold his printing ship and retired. This signaled his spending full time in the other roles that he became famous for. His book “Experiments and Observations on Electricity” was published in London in 1751. The following year, he did his famous kite experiment and also founded the first American fire insurance company. Then his stint being a statesman started to form. He traveled to London many times from 1757 to 1962 as a representative of the Pennsylvania Assembly. He was elected as president of the American Philosophical Society in 1769. It was in 1774 that Benjamin Franklin’s reputation got damaged with Hutchinson Letters Affairs (Clark, 1983).
The Hutchinson Letters Affair began in December, 1772 when Ben anonymously received a packet of letters. The letters were written to the British government by Thomas 5

Hutchinson, the royal Governor of Massachusetts. In the letters, Hutchinson urged his superiors to send more troops to Boston to fight the American rebels. Ben felt that his friends in Boston should know what Hutchinson was planning. He allowed his American friends and colleagues to read the letters on the condition that they not be circulated or published. However, the content of the letters did get published in the Boston Gazette in June of 1773. The citizens of Boston were furious and forced Hutchinson to flee to England. The British government demanded to know who leaked the letters. In December of 1773, three innocent men were accused. In order to protect them, Ben admitted his guilt. As a result, Ben 's reputation in England suffered. In January of 1774, Ben was publicly reprimanded. Later that year, Ben left England and returned to America to help write the Declaration of Independence (Clark, 1973). That same year (1774), Franklin’s wife died. He resumed living his normal life as a statesman as he returned to Philadelphia in 1775 and was elected to Continental Congress and submitted articles of Confederation of United Colonies. The following year, he signed the Declaration of Independence and presided over the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention. That same year, he went to France as American Commissioner where he was one of the responsible persons who negotiated and signed the Treaty of Alliance with France two years after. He was then appointed Minister to France in 1779. He was also one of those who negotiated the Treaty of Peace with the United Kingdom in 1982. Two years later, he also was part of the negotiation for the signing of treaties with Prussia and other countries in Europe. He was elected president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery in 1787 and served as a representative to the Constitutional Convention. In 1790, Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia at age 84.

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Benjamin Franklin as a Writer/Author
It was in 1733 that Benjamin Franklin started to publish the popular Poor Richard’s Almanac whose contents were both original and borrowed. He used the alias Richard Saunders that earned it much reputation. Many of Franklin’s writings were written using pseudonyms. It was a known fact that Richard Saunders was Benjamin Franklin yet he never admitted to it. With the yearly publication of the Poor Richard’s Almanac were wise sayings and adages that are still being quoted today. In its peak, the publication sold approximately ten thousand copies every year. In 1758, he stopped writing and publishing of Poor Richard’s Almanac and shifted to printing “Father Abraham’s Sermons” which is more popularly known as the “Way to Wealth.” His autobiography was posthumously published after his death and became one of the classics (Krensky, 2008). Aside from these two popular writings that Benjamin Franklin is known for, he has penned many articles, journals, letters, and books that are very useful in daily living. The history books that he wrote were all very timely and full of well-researched facts that concern the building of the American nation and its people. “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” is unmistikably one of his masterpieces because it contains very comprehensive and significant events of his life. Although he did not complete his life story, it is still considered to be full of insights and revelations that many Franklin admirers will find.
Conclusion
Review of “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”
When Benjamin Franklin wrote this autobiography for his son as a guide for life, and partly as a source of family history. This writing is not written as a kind of finished material that any reader would expect any autobiography to be. An autobiography usually covers the complete story of a person’s life span over a continuous time frame. However, Benjamin’s 7

autobiography is actually written over a specific time periods separately. He wrote one part while he was in another continent without the cop of the other parts of the text. What makes this autobiography unique is that Franklin penned it as a letter of instruction in the ways of the world for his son who was then forty years old. The whole writing spans approximately only the first half of what everyone knows of his life. Many famous parts of Benjamin the people already know are not even existent in this autobiography, making it incomplete. One reason that Benjamin did not mind having to finish half an autobiography is because he never intended it to be published. But even with this book’s incompleteness, the reader still finds a rich strove of anecdotes and life instructions that are practical even in this modern day. Benjamin Franklin remains to be an incredible awesome personality and he still is on of the great person in the entire American history. One would know not really get to know him fully by reading this autobiography, but it does not really matter. Many historians have satisfactorily and comprehensively written about his life in other books. In the pages of “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” one would learn what really make this great person tick, what his beliefs are, and why they believe in them. And that is more than enough. It is thought that anyone who enjoys history will find “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” a rare treat. He was very up-close and personal with many of the most popular personalities in the pre-revolutionary America. In fact, he seemed to have associations with virtually the most important people in the world during his time. Although written in quite an archaic language, this autobiography is still a classic. After all are said and done about Benjamin Franklin and his autobiography, further emphasizing him as one of the prolific Founding Fathers of the United States, it is sufficed to deduce that he had been successful in bringing about a difference in our country. Aside from being a noble statesman that he is more famous for, he had given a lasting legacy of written 8

works that are rich and useful even in this modern world. As an author, Benjamin Franklin has proven to be as prolific as he is a statesman, scientist, inventor, businessman, and philosopher. To view Benjamin Franklin as a writer is not all hard to do considering his numerous works of literature although this role of his has been overshadowed by other bigger and nobler endeavors. Students who are studying the totality of Benjamin Franklin as he is known are sometimes challenging for teachers to convince. In order to persuade people to consider Franklin as a writer, it is good to show through literary analysis of his works and issues of organization, style, and other elements of literary genre. Benjamin Franklin’s contribution to the creation of what we now know as American literature is as significant as the others, especially on the genre that he chose to focus on: that of national identity. He has showed through his writing that anyone can be like him and can accomplish things that he did in his lifetime. His style of writing is concentrated on the universal and practical uses as is read in “The Ways to Wealth.” In addition, he has shared personal insights taken from experience; thus, making his writings sought after in the world of business acumen. Even after he was lost to death, the memory of Benjamin Franklin still lingers on and can still be read and reviewed in the words that he left. While the rest of this autobiography may not be as emphatic and cohesive, it still provides interesting information and insight into Benjamin Franklin. Loaded with moralistic and seemingly pedagogic writings about life, it is the driving force of the personality of this man. No matter how he was judged in the following generations after him, it cannot be denied that Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the dynamic and growing America will forever be etched in the annals of history.

References
Franklin, Benjamin. 1972. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Harperaudio.
Clark, Ronald William. 1983. Benjamin Franklin: A Biography. New York: Random House.
Franklin, Benjamin, and John Bigelow. 1904. The Works of Benjamin Franklin, Including the Private As Well As the Official and Scientific Correspondence Together with the Unmutilated and Correct Version of the Autobiography. New York: G.P. Putnam 's Sons, the Knickerbocker Press.
Krensky, Stephen. 2008. Benjamin Franklin. DK biography. New York: DK Pub.
Morgan, Edmund Sears. 2002. Benjamin Franklin. New Haven: Yale University Press.

References: Franklin, Benjamin. 1972. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Harperaudio. Clark, Ronald William. 1983. Benjamin Franklin: A Biography. New York: Random House. Franklin, Benjamin, and John Bigelow. 1904. The Works of Benjamin Franklin, Including the Private As Well As the Official and Scientific Correspondence Together with the Unmutilated and Correct Version of the Autobiography. New York: G.P. Putnam 's Sons, the Knickerbocker Press. Krensky, Stephen. 2008. Benjamin Franklin. DK biography. New York: DK Pub. Morgan, Edmund Sears. 2002. Benjamin Franklin. New Haven: Yale University Press.