Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Franklin was an influential force in creating the American propensity to form civic-minded organizations. With his penchant for organization and his magnetic personality, he helped to establish lending libraries, fire brigades, night watchmen, and other organizations in Philadelphia. Writing under a pseudonym, he would often float and advocate his ideas for such organizations in his newspaper. He joined the Freemasons and became a Grand Master in 1734. There was opposition to the Freemasons among some, and Franklin’s competitors used the hint of a scandal to try to taint him but with little effect. In 1744, Franklin formed the American Philosophical Society, which was akin to an intercolonial Junto. Franklin was among the first to see the benefits of unity among the colonies.

In these years, Franklin succeeded in the competitive publishing industry. He was able to take the position of Clerk of the Assembly from his rival Andrew Bradford. He soon thereafter won the position of Postmaster from Bradford as well. Franklin aligned himself with anti-establishment forces, while Bradford defended the establishment. Franklin’s business was so successful that he was able to retire in 1748 and pursue other interests.

The Great Awakening, which was a call to religious fundamentalism, occurred in these years. Isaacson contrasts Jonathan Edwards, who sought to recommit people to a form of Puritanism, with Franklin, who embraced tolerance, civic virtue, rationality, and good works. Yet Franklin covered and admired the preacher George Whitefield. Isaacson notes that Franklin was “impressed with the transforming effect that Whitefield had on Philadelphia’s citizenry” (111) but also enjoyed the discomfort that Whitefield instilled in the elite. Franklin resented the establishment and used his pen to poke fun at it. He was an advocate of the middle class and made it his and America’s mission to allow tradesmen to rise. Franklin made much money from printing the sermons of Whitefield. However, he also came to the defense of a preacher charged with heresy. Again, Franklin found ways to marry his principles with commerce.

In 1743, Franklin’s wife gave birth to a baby girl, Sally. While Franklin gave her books and encouraged her reading, he did not formally educate her as he did his son. However, Franklin genuinely liked women. He published a fictional story about Polly Baker, who was on trial for having an illegitimate child. He clearly took her side, exposing the double standard women face.

During the 1740s, Franklin became immersed in science. He was driven, Isaacson says, by “curiosity and the thrill of discovery” (129-130), not pecuniary motives. Less interested in abstract knowledge, Franklin sought practical applications for his discoveries. He did experiments to determine that dark fabrics absorb heat better and recommended light clothing in the summer. He invented a wood-burning stove that became popular in the colonies. Franklin was the first in America to develop a urinary catheter as well.

His most famous experiments, however, were in electricity. Intrigued by Archibald Spencer’s parlor tricks with electricity, Franklin engaged in practical experiments to contribute to science. He achieved a breakthrough by discovering “that the generation of a positive charge was accompanied by the generation of an equal negative charge” (135). This law, known as the conservation of change and the single-fluid theory of electricity, was of critical importance to science. Franklin then noticed the similarities between electrical sparks and lightning. He reasoned that when water vapors in a cloud are electrically charged, the positive ones will split from the negative ones. Theorizing that a tall metal rod could draw some of the electrical charge from the cloud, Franklin conceived of a possible way to tame lightning. Until this time, lightning was feared and sparked countless fires.

Once Franklin described his theories in two letters, which were presented to the Royal Society in London and widely published, a series of experiments were conducted in France. Franklin was proven correct and, as a result, he achieved international fame. His famous experiment, conducted with a kite, came after the French experiments, though he was not yet aware of them. When the results were published, lightning rods became popular in Europe and the colonies. It was a scientific find with “immediate service to humanity” (145). Franklin was never a systematic theorist, such as Newton, but his contributions to science should not be understated. He not only proved that electricity is a single fluid but, Isaacson says, “came up with the distinction between insulators and conductors, the idea of electrical grounding, and the concepts of capacitors and batteries” (144).

Although he did not attend college, Franklin initiated the founding of what became the University of Pennsylvania in 1751. It was the first nonsectarian college in America and Franklin remained among its trustees for the remainder of his life. When trying to finance a hospital in Philadelphia, Franklin pioneered the idea of matching grants. The successful approach, which became quintessentially American, enabled the government and private investors to combine in support of public works. In this approach, as well as his vision of a “nation where people, whatever their birth or social class, could rise” based on their efforts and virtue (149), Franklin helped to forge the self-image of America.

Franklin was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751, starting a long political career. He quickly advocated public improvements, such as paved streets and lighting. The colony faced two critical issues: relations with Indigenous people and the threat of the French. Pennsylvania was one of a few proprietary colonies, governed by a private family, the Penns, who owned most of the unsettled land and did not pay taxes. Quakers were opposed to military spending. The difficulty of the situation led Franklin “to take two momentous initiatives that were to shape not only his political career but also the destiny of America” (155). He opposed the proprietors and lead an effort to unite the colonies for common purposes.

In June 1754, a conference was convened in Albany to discuss a united defense against the French and to strengthen the alliance with the Iroquois. Franklin was one of four men representing Pennsylvania. He advocated the creation of a national congress for defense, but the plan was rejected later in colonial assemblies and London. He printed a famous editorial cartoon in support of unity with “a snake cut into pieces, labeled with the names of the colonies, with the caption: ‘Join, or Die’” (159). Although the idea of a national congress failed, the British sent General Braddock with forces to push the French out of the Ohio Valley. Franklin helped to garner the necessary supplies for his forces. Unfortunately, General Braddock and two-thirds of his forces were killed in an ambush.

This incident deepened the political divisions in Philadelphia. The proprietors still refused to pay taxes but agreed to make voluntary payments to support defense. Franklin helped to organize a militia, which was voluntary and required the democratic election of officers. He was voted colonel. It was evident that he was the de facto leader of Pennsylvania and, as a result, became a target for Thomas Penn and the proprietors. The state assembly was increasingly frustrated with the proprietors’ unwillingness to pay taxes and dispatched Franklin to London as its agent. He was to lobby the proprietors in London to be more accommodating and failing that, take up the assembly’s cause with the British government. He set sail in June 1757.

Although Franklin became an active abolitionist later in life, he facilitated the buying and selling of slaves through advertisements in his newspaper during this period. He owned an enslaved couple, whom he sold in 1751. His attitudes toward Blacks changed over time for the better. Isaacson highlights Franklin’s attitudes toward women by discussing his relationship with Catherine Ray. He met her in Boston following the Albany Conference. While they had a flirtatious relationship, there was no evidence of a sexual affair. He enjoyed her friendship and maintained the relationship throughout his life. Isaacson notes his tendency to have enduring friendships with women while maintaining only casual acquaintances with men.