badass: (slang) a person whose extreme attitudes, behavior or appearance are admirable
The celebration of Martin Luther King Day on January 16th is an important holiday for an important figure in American history. In addition to the advancements in civil rights and American values that King achieved during his lifetime, his promotion of non-violent civil disobedience continues to be a bedrock for American protests.
The January 16th celebration often overshadows the existence of Benjamin Franklin Day on January 17th, so this year The Journal will explore the personal life of Benjamin Franklin.
The term ‘The First American’ refers to Benjamin Franklin embodying those elements that continue to define the particular breed of people that populate America. Innovative, practical, a penchant for self-reliance, unimpressed with wealth, a healthy disregard for titles, optimistic, and an evident sense of humor.
A popular story reflecting both Franklin’s pragmatism and wit revolves around a conversation with his father when Benjamin was only twelve years old. While storing food for the winter months, Ben suggested that his father say grace over the entire storeroom of provisions and thereby avoid having to say it every evening at dinner.
Franklin, unlike many other Founding Fathers, was a self-educated, self-made man. He left home – technically as a runaway fugitive from his apprenticeship – and began making his own way in the world at the tender age of 17. With a dollar in his pocket he found work in the print shops of Philadelphia and traveled and worked in London – all before he was 20 years old
At the age of 21, Franklin established The Junto with a a group of friends that met for mutual improvement:
“The rules that I drew up required that every member, in his turn, should produce one or more queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy, to be discuss’d by the company; and once in three months produce and read an essay of his own writing, on any subject he pleased.
Our debates were to be under the direction of a president, and to be conducted in the sincere spirit of inquiry after truth, without fondness for dispute or desire of victory….”
With his skills as a printer and author, Franklin was instrumental in building public support for the War of Independence. His statesmanship in communicating both with the ‘man-on-the-street’, the powerful elite in Europe, and the influential Americans of his time was instrumental in creating the alliances needed to defeat Britain, the world’s most powerful empire in the 1700s.
Poor Richard’s Almanac, which created Franklin’s greatest wealth by selling over 10,000 copies annually, was a mixture of practical information, entertaining anecdotes, and a litany of proverbs that continue to be used regularly. Just a few of the more well known verses include:
- Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
- Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
- He that lieth down with Dogs, shall rise up with Fleas.
- A penny saved is a penny earned.
Franklin believed in civic and personal virtue, but he was not prissy. He acknowledged and raised an illegitimate son, lived in a common-law marriage with his teenage sweetheart, and was known for a lively social life during his ambassadorship in France.
His relationship with his illegitimate son William did not end well, and the reason was entirely political. William Franklin, former Governor of New Jersey, was a staunch Loyalist. He supported the Crown during the Revolutionary War, was imprisoned for his actions, and escaped to England. It was a betrayal Benjamin Franklin never could fully forgive.
He wrote to his son, “Indeed, nothing has ever hurt me so much and affected me with such keen sensibilities as to find myself deserted in my old age by my only son; and not only deserted, but to find him taking up arms against me in a cause wherein my good fame, fortune and life were all at stake.”
On a side note, Franklin Lakes, NJ is named after William Franklin, as is/was Franklin Township. Franklin Township passed a resolution in 2000 that declared the township name was in honor of Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin was also one of the first prominent abolitionists in America. While he originally accepted the proposition of his era that the black race was intellectually inferior, a visit to a school for black children changed his views.
“I was on the whole much pleased, and from what I then saw, have conceived a higher opinion of the natural capacities of the black race, than I had ever before entertained. Their apprehension seems as quick, their memory as strong, and their docility in every respect equal to that of white children.”
Franklin eventually freed the two slaves he owned and assumed leadership of an abolitionist group in the late 1700s. He promoted not only the emancipation of slaves, but put forth a proposal that the educational needs of emancipated slaves and their children was a critical component to any future role as free and equal citizens.
Below are two videos, the first being a very short ‘badass’ video highlighting some of Franklin’s great achievements, and the other an entertaining and informative lecture running about 30 minutes long.
Badass Ben Franklin Music Video
Lecture on the Life of Ben Franklin
If anyone ever gets the chance they might want to visit Philadelphia for a weekend. It’s a great place to visit before the weather breaks and you have to compete with Jersey shore traffic. In Franklin’s home city you could visit the Franklin museum, walk through his old backyard and learn about one of our founding fathers. I am always in awe when I visit his gravesite. There you will find a list of all his accomplishments. Great article!