INTRODUCTION + READING ASSIGNMENT + WRITING ASSIGNMENT
Assignment 10:
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (Part 3)

In the final portions of Franklin's life-story we see what occurs when the idealistic plan for moral perfection, detailed in Part II, confronts the realistic details of mid-18th century American life. Here Franklin's model for action, his ethos, becomes a praxis, a daily practice, and he is always having to compromise. Indeed a cynic might be tempted to remark that his altruistic desire to serve the public is frequently tinged by a desire for private gain. For example, his services as Postmaster, or as Clerk of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, will both present him with opportunities for profit-making. Does that tendency diminish his achievement, or only add to his stature as a representative man of his age?

It's a crucial question. For example, doesn't it affect our sense of the new American, this "self-made man" whose rise from rags to riches becomes a mythic type for the young country? After all, if the purposes of such a new man amount to nothing more than selfishness and self-aggrandizement, then what good is he? Yet one can put the problem another way: democratic thought had placed a so high a premium on the essential goodness of the individual, that the success of the democracy was pegged to that of each individual citizen. The idea, derived from Enlightenment philosophy, was that ordinary citizens acting out of self-interest would, on the average, act in the best interests of the state. In this sense wouldn't Franklin's self-interest need to be seen in a quite positive light?

Answering such a question requires careful reading of the incidents he narrates, in the late 1780's, from a perspective of some 30 or 40 years. It will also require you to read carefully for signs that Franklin himself was aware of, and leary about, the possibility that readers would see his pages as the account of a self-serving and self-congratulatory man. Read closely for strategies of countering such a reading of The Autobiography.

Reading Assignment
  1. Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography Part III (pp. 585-596).
Writing Assignment
  1. In what instances does Franklin insist that he is chosen, or called, to public service? How are such moments significant?

  2. In what instances, and by what means, does Franklin seek to vigorously persuade, and shape, public opinion? What do these moments teach?

  3. What does Franklin have to say about factions, or parties, in politics; and how does he justify his view of them?

  4. At what moments, and why, does Franklin act totally unselfishly, in seeking to benefit ordinary people? Are you persuaded by those moments? Discuss.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT ASSIGNMENT
CONTENTS | DESCRIPTION | GUIDELINES | TIMELINE | ASSIGNMENTS | INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM