¶ … Americanization of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin played a major role in the American Revolution and its history and his contributions changed the history of America as we know it.
One of the most interesting and influential characters in American history is Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a brilliant man that contributed deeply to both the scientific and political community. Much of what there is to know about his life can be found in Gordon S. Wood's book titled "The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin." The purpose of this paper is to examine the life of Benjamin Franklin through the provided text in order to answer these significant questions:
How come Benjamin Franklin was an unlikely revolutionary?
What caused Franklin to join the revolution?
How can we compare and contrast Franklin's mythology with his reality?
Franklin Preferred London to Philadelphia and royal governments to democracy, why?
How come American colonists were suspicious of Franklin?
Why did Franklin's patriotism switch sides in the conflict?
How did Franklin contribute to the United States?
How come Benjamin Franklin was an unlikely revolutionary?
Arthur Lee wrote a very strongly worded letter to Samuel Adams in which he warned him of trusting Benjamin Franklin. Franklin's dedication to the revolution was heavily scrutinized and mistrusted by the American colonists. Luckily for Franklin, Lee's charges never got accepted by the Massachusetts Legislature, but the damage on his name had been done. In Franklin's mind the love he once had for England deteriorated as he spent more time in the colonies. Eventually his view of his motherland was that it was a massive war machine bent on fighting America (Wood, 2004-page 160).
Franklin didn't fully swear himself over to America, and even if he did no one would've believed him due to his strong connection to England. It wasn't until he spent time in France that he finally began the process of Americanization (Wood, 2004 pg150).
What caused Franklin to join the revolution?
The year was 1783 and many colonists felt that Franklin's loyalty had switched from England to France. It was easy to believe that since the man was often involved with the French aristocracy, as well as, the King. It was also during the time he spent in France that he truly became Americanized and made him a revolutionary (Wood, 2004-page 210). To place the nail in the coffin and drive home the idea that Franklin was truly an American, he had his commissioner's state all of his contributions to the country at the peace treat of 1798.
The ultimate change occurred for Franklin after the dealings with England and the Stamp Act. His original motivation was to unify the nations but after realizing that would never happen, he decided to fight for change.
Compare and contrast Franklin's mythology with his reality.
Historians have spent lots of time and effort dissecting the myths regarding the founding fathers to learn who they really were. It has become quite the industry because lots of Americans love to glorify the founding fathers. The case is a little different with Franklin though. The man has always been viewed as very human and thus there isn't much mythology that needs to be removed. In fact, he was criticized by the other founding fathers for being ordinary (Wood, 2004-page 4). Wood wrote that Franklin came out of the last century with more reality than his counterparts. While he is still widely popular within the academia, it did not help his reputation among intellectuals. He identified heavily with the material America and was thus mocked by many critics (Wood, 2004-page 5). John Keats also points out the fact that there was no glamour or flare related to Franklin, or any other big names among the American generals either.
So who was the real Franklin of history?
Gatsby's receding green light is a good analogy for the historical figure that was Benjamin Franklin (Wood, 2004-page 9). The man's life in reality was not how most people view him today. For example, lots of people imagine Franklin as a penny hoarder that stocked up on money. However, the real Franklin seemed little concerned about money and was one of the most benevolent members of the founding fathers (Wood, 2004-page 9). Even though he had a prominent and famous career in science he still believed public service to be the highest calling. Thus he spent the remainder of his retirement serving his fellow men.
Franklin Preferred London to Philadelphia...
He remained in England for almost 2 decades and didn't return until 1775. The time he spent in London was what he needed to become a loyal Englishmen. In London he found intellectuals, theaters, and the ability to converse in ways that he was not able to do in America. The dot on the "i" was the surprise Franklin expressed upon seeing the colonialists reaction to the Stamp Act. He fought in parliament to seek repeal in order to protect the colonist. However, upon seeing what he felt was a growing corruption in England he decided to ally himself with his American countrymen.
The man finally did catch a break while visiting London and working on the Hutchinson Affair. The affair made Franklin seem a two face man. The idea was that he was working for the King of England and only appeared to be sided with the colonists. He worked by revealing certain letters like the one in which an abridgement was called for English liberties in America. The reaction was outrage when he sent the letters over to the colonists (Wood, 2004-page 65). Franklin was eventually summoned to Whitehall which is the English foreign ministry. He was condemned even though he desperately tried to explain that he wanted to help England.
Benjamin Franklin was incredibly good willed and never thought that the English empire would seek harm upon anyone. He even expressed his shock to Richard Jackson that he was alarmed by their money making schemes via raising taxes on the colonists (Wood, 2004-page 107).
How come American colonists were suspicious of Franklin?
It was difficult to say where Franklin's loyalties lay, and that is why it was difficult to trust him. While visiting the French he was viewed as a Frenchman friend of the kind, and when he was in England he seemed happy and willingly socialized with the 'enemy' (Wood, 2004-page 211). Franklins mingling with the so called enemy in addition to his expressed feelings of English loyalty made him a difficult man to trust.
Why did Franklin's patriotism switch side in the conflict?
The British Stamp Act that passed 1765 was the fuel on the sizzling coal of what was to be the American Revolution. Franklin immediately sought to repeal the act in favor of England's own good, but he was unsuccessful. The act led to threats against embargos and trade restrictions.(Wood, 2004-page 111). The American right to not be taxed without consent or representation was in danger due to the Stamp act at least that is what the Americans felt. For a short moment in time Franklin was actually blamed by the colonialists for the ordeal, but that notion was quickly dismissed.
It wasn't just the Stamp Act but also the behavior of the British that caused Franklin to flip sides in the conflict. The man grew to feel that the colonialists were a part of him all the while growing farther away from his beloved England. The seven years he spent in France negotiating a French alliance and at last the British peace treaty was all the time he needed to become a full-fledged American (Wood, 2004-page 201).
How did Franklin contribute to the United States?
Franklin is the embodiment of American character. He was called both the most modern and most contemporary out of all of his counterparts. The verdict has been laid down by commentators over and over again throughout the years. Many of the things that Americans place value on are things that originated from Franklin. Some writers even go as far as to claim that Franklin has provided more to the American culture than any formal philosopher ever did (Wood, 2004-page 2). The success that Franklin had and the fame he received was extraordinary in the sense that it was totally ordinary. Many of his teachings and philosophies were very simple and all dealt with everyday life and how to treat his fellow men. All in all, that is what has made him a hero of democracy (Wood, 2004-page 2).
Franklin was not born into wealth or big name families like many of the other founding fathers. He started as an artisan and created his own fortune. What Franklin became was self-made and he again embodies a vital American trait: The belief that anyone can change their course and make something great. He became a published author and wrote about that specific process, how an ordinary man can grow in the American social mobility (Wood, 2004-page 3). The images of Franklin that circulate the…
