The Americanization Of Benjamin Franklin (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
My father's review: 2/08/07This biography follows the development of Franklin’s personality, status, and effect on the world. It does not conflict with the excellent 2003biography by Edmund S. Morgan that was more conventional in reporting the amazing facts of his life. For more than 100 years children have been taught about the fact that BF arrived in Philadelphia at the age of 17 with only enough money to buy an apple and supported himself by hard work and frugality until he retired at the young age of 42, a rich and famous man – ‘and you had better do so too.’ Hard work and frugality, yes indeed, but there was much more. He probably hadn’t reached this maturity at 17, but shortly BF disciplined himself in everything: health, morals, education, science, and wealth. He certainly did not ‘go with the flow.’ He ‘managed by objective’ as I was taught in business school. He was ‘objective,’ as I was taught in DU. That could also be expressed as hyper realistic. People, even he himself, behaved in ways one had to understand, and one had to govern one’s own actions and expressions in a rational way to get the desired results. I have here emphasized this more than did the author, but then, I had this education.One of his first objectives was to be "a gentleman." That was the highest social rank that could be gained by public recognition, without royalaward. Inheritance helped, but was not indispensable. Its main requirement was that a gentleman did not work for a living. One had to berich enough to live on t he revenue from one’s property and investments. It was by purposeful effort that he could retire at age 42. He was thenthree times as wealthy as George Washington. He may have been the wealthiest person in the Colonies. As a printer and publisher he hadgained a reputation and influence, perhaps greater that he realized, for his homely advice and philosophy. He was, "Poor Richard." In gentlemanlyretirement he turned to experimentation with electricity, as well as other scientific interests, published his work and developed a scholarlycorrespondence with other proto-scientists in America and Europe. He gained wide recognition, and was awarded two Honorary Doctorates, onefrom Harvard.BF was also benevolent and affable; well liked by almost everyone (not by John Adams). Yet this fitted into his purposeful discipline. Not that hehad a false front! His great personal financial success was not tainted be even suspicion of dishonesty or even hard dealing. His benevolence,was sincere, just purposeful. He founded the first public library company, the first volunteer fire department, the first Pennsylvaniamilitia company, which he financed out of his own pocket. He believed that public service should be performed without pay. While he wasMinister for the Continental Congress in France he only asked for reimbursement of his expenses, and he didn’t get all of that.The welfare of the Colonies was his first constant concern. But, until 1775 he gloried in the Colonies being part of the great British Empire.He was loyal to the Crown, and believed that in the end the Crown would make everything right. In 1775 while he was in London as Agent forPennsylvania and some other Colonies, he finally realized (in the course of personal public humiliation) that the Crown, the majority inParliament, and even the British public were hostile to the welfare of the Colonies. Barely in time to be a "Founding Father", he became anardent and effective advocate of Independence. He and John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were designated as the committee to draft the formalDeclaration of Independence after the Congress had passed the resolution for independence on 2 July, 1776. The former two assigned the task to TJ,but actually did considerable editing of his draft. Congress did even more editing of the Committee draft.BF’s greatest service to America was as Minister to France in search of its recognition of American Independence, financing, and militaryalliance. Perhaps he was surprised on arrival in Paris that he was so famous and that very many and aristocratic people wanted to meet him, andthat the "Great Dr. Franklin" was so lionized. But it was clear that the King and Government of France would not risk war with England by anypublic help to the Revolutionists. The idea of revolution may not have appealed to the King and the Aristocrats. So: quickly realizing that hiscelebrity status was the only chip he had to play, he settled in to make the most of it. The ‘great Dr. Franklin’ wore very plain clothing, evenfor presentation to the King. Instead of a powdered wig, he wore a most unfashionable fur cap. This was purposeful; he wrote about it jokingly tofriends at home. He made a personal friendship with the First Minister and obtained large, if insufficient, loans for Congress on nothing buthis request. And after the Colonial victory at Saratoga, he did obtain a formal alliance and indispensable military and naval support. This wasentirely by his careful, purposeful and disciplined wooing of the French upper crust. In the negotiations for the alliance, the French governmentrefused to deal with any of the other Americans sent by Congress to do it, insisting that they would only negotiate with Dr. Franklin.John Adams just did not ‘get it.’ He had no understanding of BF’s playing the social scene. Lee had become a personal enemy of BF, and he viscouslyattacked him in Congress. Adams disapproved of BF’s methods and let his feeling be known. Jefferson replaced BF as Minister to France, and herealized the important work BF had done, and repeatedly praised him to Congress. The tragedy of BF is that at home his reputation had beentarnished. He was bitter, and it came out some, but generally he remained a disciplined supporter of the new Confederation, and he was asignificant contributor to the Constitution and its adoption, though he did not like part of it.Franklin died in 1790. There was no public recognition of his life and service in the United States. In France the National Assembly decreedthree days of public mourning. That was the first time such an honor was declared by the National Assembly, not the King. Some historicalsignificance in that. Shortly after, the French National Assembly sent a message to the President and Congress expressing France’s gratitude toFranklin for his contributions to liberty and the rights of man. There was no reply.But the Franklinization of America was about to begin. In the 1790s his Autobiography was published and his other writings, particularly "The Wayto Wealth" began to create a different image of Franklin. He was a hero to the middling sort of people, the mechanics, the entrepreneurs. Thosewho worked were honored, not those who did not have to do so. It became a contest over who could claim to be a worker. It was pointed out thatGeorge Washington worked from early to late on horseback overseeing his estate. First managers were among the idle, and then among the workers.Same with the professions. And Benjamin Franklin became the model for everyone.-RTH
In The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, Gordon S. Wood writes to educate the readers about one of the United States’ most prolific founders. He states that the views many people have of Benjamin Franklin today are very different from how he was viewed at the time. In this book, Wood describes how Franklin came to be the hero so many Americans admire today. He explains his humble upbringing, his ascension to gentleman status, his advocacy for British imperialism, and his ultimate reversal to becoming an ardent patriot.tThe author, Gordon Wood, has a very knowledgeable background on early United States history. He serves as the Alva O. Way University professor and is a professor of history at Brown University. He has written many books on the subject. For these books about the American Revolution and the early days of the republic, Wood has won many awards. These prestigious awards include the Pulitzer Prize, the Emerson Prize, and the Bancroft Prize.tWood states in the introduction that this book is not meant to be a traditional biography. He understands that a wide range of Americans already have a basic knowledge of Benjamin Franklin. Here, Wood finds the challenging balance between writing for historical scholars and the average person. What he sets out to do is to lay the framework for how Franklin became the American hero people see him as today. He writes that Franklin was not always a fierce patriot who spewed revolutionary ideas. Instead, Wood argues that for most of Franklin’s life, he was actually a foaming at the mouth British imperialist, who did not see the colonies as free and independent states, but as a branch of the royal crown.tGordon Wood organizes his book into five main sections covering the majority of Franklin’s life. The first section describes Franklin’s upbringing and ascent to his gentleman status. In this chapter, Wood explains his humble background as the son of a poor Boston businessman. Working as a young man at his brother’s newspaper, "The New-England Courant," Franklin introduced one of his over one-hundred pseudonyms, Mrs. Silence Dogood. Wood argues that by using many different aliases, Franklin was an advocate for free speech from a very early age.tFrom there, Benjamin Franklin moved to Philadelphia with the goal of becoming a gentleman. I found this section particularly interesting as Wood excellently presented the idea of and how one became a gentleman. At this time, Franklin began work as the Postmaster General of Pennsylvania. Soon, he introduced new ideas in mail delivery, which revolutionized the speed at which information was spread throughout the colonies. These methods would eventually feed the flames of reform the colonists would be clamoring for.tWood then continues by presenting Franklin as a British imperialist. In this section, Wood explains that Franklin did not see the American colonies as separate from the crown, but rather a continuing British branch. He envisioned the British Empire as one, which spread from the Isles of Great Britain to the North American continent. Wood argues that Franklin viewed himself as an Englishman first and an American second. This was new to me as I (surely not the only one) always imagined Franklin as a revolutionary from the beginning.tWood continues by focusing on Franklin after the Seven Years War in his chapter titled “Becoming a Patriot.” In this section, Wood discusses the various taxes imposed on the American colonies in order to pay off the debts from the war. He also explains Franklin’s view of these taxes and the American’s view of him. Wood states that Franklin supported the idea of implementing taxes to pay off the debt, but the manner in which the Americans were being taxed is where he disagreed. Wood argues that Franklin wanted each individual colony to tax its people through their assemblies, rather than the British parliament taxing the Americans. Franklin viewed this as an illegal tax, since the parliament dealt with Britain and not with its outward territories. Wood continues by explaining that Franklin soon found himself in the middle of the Americans’ abhorrence of the British taxation with the introduction of the Stamp Act – a fascinating tale.tWood then jumps to the American Revolution in his chapter titled, “Becoming a Diplomat.” In this section, the reader sees Franklin transforming from a man who Americans did not like to one who lobbied the French on their behalf. Wood describes the way Franklin dealt with his French counterparts in trying to gain their support. Franklin took on the role of the stereotypical American that Europeans held at the time. Previously viewing himself as an Englishman first, Franklin now begged to be seen as an American.tIn the final section of the book, Wood details the final process of Franklin’s “Americanization.” This portion describes Franklin’s return to America, his doings with the Constitutional Convention, and his struggles with Congress. Benjamin Franklin’s transformation from a poor Bostonian, to a British imperialist, and finally to an American patriot had been completed. tGordon S. Wood’s book, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, is a fascinating work detailing the little known facts regarding Franklin and his life. In this book, Wood uses many sources, but the most common one is Franklin’s very own "Autobiography." Wood debunks many beliefs that Franklin was always a revolutionary. Instead, he describes how Franklin morphed from a fierce loyalist to a man who helped secure America’s independence. This is what he calls Franklin’s “Americanization.”
What do You think about The Americanization Of Benjamin Franklin (2005)?
Deceptively SimpleYou'd expect this book to get high marks, by virtue of the Author and his past credentials. What is remarkable is how compact and easy to comprehend it is, given that source and his prior accolades.The premise is simple. Franklin has been perceived to a mythological degree by those who see him as the historical icon of his age. Therefore, what is in order here is a piercing of that veil to show Franklin as a man, with the all too human qualities that are lost in the more popular contrived persona.Wood does just that in a manner that allows us to see Franklin with all the flaws and foibles that are otherwise missed.The success of this book is that rather than tearing away the legend of Franklin, there is an explanation as to how that persona grew and why it grew. We see Franklin as the man of his age who rose from obscurity to a self-made "gentleman" to a leading diplomat of his age revered in Europe to a degree unmatched in America until after his death.It's not necessarily designed to de-mystify Franklin. Franklin still comes off as the important figure he is. We see Franklin the inattentive husband, the doting and then injured father and the grandfather seemingly determined to atone for past sins. We see his interactions with other Founders, whom ironically attest to his complete translation to the Gentleman he aspires to be and subsequently takes the slings and arrows specifically reserved for that class by those who despise it and/or secretly covet for themselves.This book is well written enough that it will become indespensible to any true student of Franklin or colonial times, but it also reads easily enough that the typical high school student can read it with profit.Really, to dispel such mythology it has to be this way. Aiming for the upper eschelons only serves to keep this knowledge within its own little Ivory Tower cabal. Here it does the most good. You can't dispel such a myth without aiming at the foundation.This one is a keeper and worth buying for future reference.
—Bart Breen
Gordon Wood, highly respected early American historian, doesn't try to cover all of Franklin's long life, of which there are numerous fine biographies. Instead, he focuses on the process by which Franklin, a loyal and dedicated citizen of Great Britain and King George III, came to disavow his allegiance and ardently join the Patriot cause just as hostilities erupted. There are many surprising revelations in this book which upend our modern perception of Franklin as "the ultimate American Founding Grandfather," and instead reveal the actual person who spent most of his life abroad and defended the king long after many American leaders had given it up. Wood also points out some of his personal flaw: how he largely ignored his family and wife, and never forgave his Loyalist son even after the war ended. This is a very readable and enlightening account of this ever-fascinating American icon.
—Mary Freshley
What I Did on My Summer Vacationoops - wrong assignment;)I learned that just about everything I thought I knew about Benjamin Franklin was wrong, or grossly distorted. While reading this book, I realized that I never formally learned much about him at all, other than passing references in grade school (signed the Constitution, invented lots of stuff). So, after that epiphany, I was in for quite the education. His life reads like a soap opera, from hisquest for personal independence as a young man to his illegitimate child, to the way he emotionally divorced his wife for the last half of their marriage. Did you know that Franklin did not have much personal use for religion but used it to his advantage when it was convenient (cough cough...sounds like a lot of people in public office today) or that he was originally vehemently opposed to American independence, but eventually disowned his son for his own loyalty to the crown? In addition to biographical information, I came away from this book knowing much more than before about the intricate processes that shaped the formation of our government. I timed the reading of The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin to cooincide with my family's visit to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and with my daughter's study of the Constitution. It was very helpful in understanding not only the rote facts about Franklin and our nation's beginnings, but the nuances and humanity that shaped both.Krista Anderson
—Krista
