Franklin and the Puritans There Were Many

Franklin and the Puritans

There were many different aspects to Benjamin Franklin's character and while many Americans like to concentrate on his more lurid, or worldly endeavors, his ethical beliefs were a very important part of his life. In fact, Franklin listed thirteen virtues in his autobiography which he found to be instrumental in becoming a moral and honorable person. It is interesting to note that Franklin's list of virtues bear remarkable similarities to Puritan beliefs and virtues. But while there are similarities between Benjamin Franklin's self-professed list of virtues and those of the Puritans, Franklin was not simply parroting Puritan thought, and there are also a great many differences between the two as well. An examination of the two codes of ethics will demonstrate that while Franklin's code may well be based on the Puritan code, he diverted from a strict religious-based ethical system to a more practical system grounded in the natural world and its natural laws. While the Puritans concentrated their efforts on the religious aspects of virtue, Franklin felt these virtues could be applied to a more worldly arena.

The Puritans, who settled in Massachusetts, were a religious sect from England who sought to purify the Church of England of its papist and sinful ways. They believed that a person's basic nature was sinful, and that a person could only live a good life through strict regulation of their personal life. It was the religious duty of every Puritan to devote themselves to a virtuous life which included hard work and refrained from such vices as fornication, drunkenness, blasphemy, and gambling. For instance, one famous Puritan stated in one of his sermons that "the abuse of drink is from Satan…the drunkard is from the Devil." (Johnson, 2001, p.2) The emphasis of a Puritan's effort was to aid a person in becoming a moral and religious person, not to gain in the world. However, many non-Puritans also viewed these virtues as something to emulate, although not entirely for the same reason.

Throughout his life, Benjamin Franklin developed a system of ethical behavior that was based on thirteen virtues which he believed, if followed, could aid a person in becoming a moral and virtuous person. These virtues included temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. (Franklin, 1909, pp.69-70) But Franklin's virtues, while honorable, also profess to teach a person to live in the world and make something of themselves. Franklin did not restrict a person to religious activities, although he did encourage them, but also allowed for a person to be successful in a worldly way, particularly in commerce. Franklin's ethics also took into account the natural world and the natural tendencies of human beings and blended this with a religious ideal to create a set of practical ethics for living in the real world.