Revealing Picture of Franklin - Case Study Example

Benjamin Franklin – Role Model for America Once in a long while, a child is born and at its birth, he is already faced by great odds – poverty, ignorance, obscurity. Yet, by dint of his own efforts, his native intelligence and resolve, he surmounts all difficulties, wins recognition and honor in his country and abroad. In the long run, he could hold his head high and walk abreast with dignitaries – statesmen and kings. In addition to his genuine and resolve, we add character. This wonderful person at a very early age sought to cultivate character with the aid of a plan of thirteen virtues which he intended to practice as he was growing up. He is no other than Benjamin Franklin, the “First American”. He has been given this title since he was an early proponent of Colonial unity He owes his personal integrity, the respect of his fellowmen as well as foreigners, not to mention his financial success over the years to the thirteen virtues listed in his Autobiography and his strict adherence to them. They are as follows: 1. Temperance. “Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation” 2. Silence. “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.” 3. Order. “Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.” 4. Resolution. “ Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.” 5. Frugality. “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e. waste nothing.” 6. Industry. “Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.” 7. Sincerity. “Use no harmful deceit; think innocently and justly and if you speak, speak accordingly.” 8. Justice. “Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.” 9. Moderation. “Avoid extremes, forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.” 10. Cleanliness. “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation.” 11. Tranquility. “Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.” 12. Chastity “Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.” 13. Humility “Imitate jesus and Socrates. When Franklin framed his 13 virtues, he meant them not for himself alone but also for others to follow, particularly his progeny. He is said to have stated: “Having emerged from the poverty and obscurity at which I was born and bred, to a state of affluence and some degree of reputation in the world and having so well succeeded, my posterity may like to know as they may find some of them suitable to their own situations, and therefore fit to be imitated.” (Franklin, 1791) Benjamin Franklin living out the 13 virtues, embodied the American identity. This is how he envisioned his compatriots to live out their lives. Today, for most Americans, most, if not all of the aforementioned character traits are lived out in their daily lives – whether or not they have patterned their actions on the example of Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin who lived from January 17, 1706 to April 17, 1790, was possibly the most famous 18th century American, next only to George Washington. He authored Poor Richard’s Almanac under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, which writing contained advice on how to get ahead in the world. Apparently, he followed his own advice and by 1757 made a small fortune for himself. His reports on electrical experiments and theories brought him fame among European scientific circles. It was about this time that he was starting a lengthy career as a politician. He became chief spokesman for the British colonies in their debates with the king’s ministers. In 1776, he was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He also had a hand in negotiating the treaty by which England recognized her 13 colonies as a signatory of all four of the major documents of the founding of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Alliance with France and the United States Constitution has been for more than two centuries the fundamental law of the United States of America. Franklin was a tireless inventor. His most outstanding offering to his country and the world has been his contributions to the comfort and safety of daily life – the Franklin stove, guaranteed to provide more heat than the others in current use, bi-focals, the lightning rod are only a few of the amenities which heretofore only the rich could avail of. Still others include the flexible urinary catheter, a clock and the glass harmonica. He never patented his inventions. He has always believed that “as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and we should do so freely and generously.” His scientific researchers occupied him for the rest of his life in between bouts of politics and money-making. For a more revealing picture of Franklin, he was one of 17 sons of a candle-maker and soap-maker. He learned to read at a very early age, but ended his formal education at age 10. It was customary in the 18th century America for boys at a very young age to be apprenticed to which his father or elder brother was affiliated. It was no different for Ben Franklin. At 12, he became an apprentice to his half-brother, James, a printer and while gaining expertise in the printer’s trade, he read and wrote prodigiously. At first, he tried his hand at poetry, but when his father discouraged him along this line, since there was no money in it, his interest in writing verse waned. It was different with prose. The printers’ apprentice became more persistent in writing prose and pursuing perfection than Steele and Addison, who were already famous in their craft of essay writing in England circa 1711-1712 all because of this distinctly American quality of “stick-to-it-iveness.” But his first love was that of being a printer, and as proof of his humility, even after he had achieved fame in other areas, e.g. science and politics, he habitually signed his letters with the unpretentious “B. Franklin, Printer.” In 1721, Benjamin’s half-brother, James, founded a weekly newspaper, the New England Courant to which Benjamin contributed and worked as typesetter. A bit later, James got into trouble and to set things right, made Benjamin the courant’s nominal publisher. A few months after, the brothers had an altercation and Benjamin left his brother’s employ and went to Philadelphia. Americans who have made good have never been known to hold grudges or seek retribution for negative acts committed against them. Franklin is no exception. He was urged to set up his own business by no less than the governor of Pennsylvania himself, Sir William Keith. The latter even offered to raise the necessary capital and arranged Franklin’s passage to England in order to make connections with London’s stationers and booksellers. He then set for London only to discover that Keith was unreliable. He had not kept his promise of providing him with letters of credit and introduction. An insight into Franklin’s character which the youth would do well to emulate, reveals that eventually Franklin could write charitably of Keith thus: “He wished to please everybody, and having little to give, he gave Expectations.” In London, Franklin and his ship companion, James Ralph, easily landed jobs, but when Franklin got tired of London, he decided to return home. A Quaker merchant friend of his, Thomas Denham, offered him a job in his store with a prospect of fat commissions. Upon Franklin’s arrival in Philadelphia, Denham passed away. Franklin returned to printing. He set up partnership with a friend, and two years later, became sole owner. In all this time, he had neglected Deborah, his wife, with whom he had communicated only once. By now, his personal life developed problems. Deborah Read had married, but her husband left her and disappeared. Imbued with a strong, sexual drive, Benjamin unexpectedly became the father of an illegitimate son whom he named William. In 1730, Franklin acknowledged William as his son who eventually became the last loyalist governor of New Jersey. The identity of William’s mother is unknown, but the responsibility of raising the baby prompted Franklin to establish a common-law marriage with Deborah Read who was his companion till her death. In 1733, Franklin began to publish the famous Poor Richard’s Almanac. Such adages as “A penny saved is a penny earned” and “Fish and visitors stink after three days” are two examples of Poor Richard’s proverbs. In his book, Franklin evidently followed his plan of thirteen virtues, particularly those of thinking innocently justly and accordingly and also of speaking but what may benefit others and avoiding trifling ideas. Franklin is known to have played the violin, the harp and the guitar. He composed music, notably a string quartet in early classical style. He taught himself to read in four languages – French, Spanish, Italian and Latin, and later became fluent in five (including English). As he grew older, he began to concern himself more with public affairs. He was responsible for setting forth a scheme for the Academy and College of Philadelphia. He became President of the Academy a year or so later and on its first Commencement, six graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and one as Master of Arts. The Academy later merged with the University of the State of Pennsylvania to become the University of Pennsylvania. In 1753, he was awarded honorary degrees by Harvard and Yale respectively. Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond obtained a charter from the Pennsylvania legislature to establish the first hospital in the United States of America, what is now Pennsylvania Hospital. At about this time, Franklin also created the first volunteer fire-fighting company in America – the Union fire Company. He also printed a new currency for New Jersey, using an anti-counterfeiting technique that he devised himself. In two decades, Franklin had become a wealthy and respected citizen of Philadelphia. He founded the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States and was elected its first president. He was also clerk and member for Philadelphia to the Pennsylvania Assembly and joint postmaster-general for the colonies. In 1754, Franklin was Pennsylvania’s representative to the Albany Congress, called to unite the colonies against the French and Indians. It is to him that the following rallying call is attributed: “We must all hang together or assembly, we shall all hang separately.” We are reminded here of the fourth virtue in Franklin’s list – “Resolve to perform what you ought, perform without fail what you resolve.” From 1757 to 1762, he was in London as agent for the Assembly in the dispute with the Penn heirs over taxation. Further difficulties with the proprietors plus the taxing actions of England brought to focus in the Stamp Act took Franklin to London for a decade. During this period, he was also agent for Georgia, new Jersey and Massachusetts. Once the war started, he was sent to Paris to negotiate for aid and was abroad in this diplomatic capacity for many years. During his lengthy stay abroad, people around him praised him for his pleasant manner, intelligence and scientific know-how. Like most successful people, Franklin was not without detractors. He had been branded a hypocrite and a materialist. He had been accused of possessing a state of mind that contributed much to the less admirable aspects of modern capitalism. Franklin’s friends, however, maintain that for a man of such breadth and altruism, he deserved universal admiration. The last five years of his life was spent in Philadelphia where he resided with his daughter. Despite his advanced age, he was elected President of the executive council of Pennsylvania, then a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. What an impressive record Benjamin Franklin has left behind him. Is there anything this candlemaker’s son could not do? The humble genius, Benjamin Franklin has sent such a fine example for others to follow. The aforementioned litany of all of Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments only proves how he maximized all of his God-given talents and potentials to the fullest. Most Americans aim to do the same, knowing how much they are capable of. It is much more commendable for a man like Franklin, who lived in his time when all the modern conveniences and the luxury of technological advancements were not available to him. Had they been, he could have achieved much, much more. The likes of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and other outstanding American achievers possess most of Benjamin Franklin’s traits. These allow such achievers to rise from their originally pathetic states to the ranks meriting accolade from the rest of America. It can be said that Benjamin Franklin is an embodiment of the American ideal and lived out the American dream. If there were more like him, the American people would enjoy more comfort and conveniences since there would be more inventors to create gadgets not for themselves alone but for the benefit of all mankind. There would be more music composed, more inclined to music and the languages. More diseases might be wiped out after more scientists would exert efforts to eradicate these ailments by prevention or cure. Governments on all levels would be run more efficiently, justly and with minimal red tape if state officials discharged their duties without thought for personal aggrandizement, following the statesmanship of Benjamin Franklin. We would get along on a friendlier, more harmonious basis with other countries and wars would disappear or at least dissipate with the aid of such tact and diplomacy as practiced by Franklin during his many years abroad representing his homeland, America. We hope a future as envisaged by Franklin is to come. And it surely will if history teachers and parents as well set before the youth the prime example of the candle-maker’s son – Benjamin Franklin, the First American. Reference Franklin, B. “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Retrieved on July 12, 2007 from: www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin (1791) "Franklin, Benjamin." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite . Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007. Read More