The story of Franklin’s life marks him as one of the most American patriots in history; just to name a few, he signed the Declaration of Independence, served as postmaster general, participated in many American firsts such as the library and newspaper, and he even appears on our most valuable circulating note of currency. In light of such accomplishments, I was quite surprised at two things: Franklin’s ability to network in an age when transatlantic postal communication was slow and without guarantee and the modest manner in which Franklin frames his autobiography. He likely mastered the former simply through his many accomplishments, but like we said in our debate about English instruction, it would have meant nothing if Franklin had not made himself such a hub of communication through his various print houses, news articles, and his library.
As he approached the end of his life, Franklin wished to help both his son and the American cause by writing an autobiography. However, even after the revolution had passed, he continued writing. At this point, it became clear that his publication would serve ‘publik’ at large, rather than his son. It is likely for this reason that Franklin includes the two letters that preface part two, since they encourage Franklin to publish for the improvement of others based off his experiences. This statement sort of adds a disclaimer that he does not seek to glorify himself for conceited profit. Even in his prior experiences however, Franklin seems to take a modest approach. At the end of his multi-step moral improvement regimen, he resolves to start expressing ideas with phrases such as ‘I conceive’ (instead of ‘certainly’) and ‘I apprehend’ (instead of ‘undoubtedly’). Finally, Franklin expresses that it is not necessarily important to be a hard worker, but rather to look like a hard worker. Certainly this adage is quite true and makes Franklin seem modest, but Franklin’s consistent intellectual inquiries and the legacy he left mark Franklin as anything but a poser and façade, even if he is too modest to admit it for himself.
I was also struck by Franklin's modesty in his autobiography, such as when he describes how he would not claim his brilliant ideas as his own when he went around asking for subscriptions to fund them. And yet, all of Philadelphia clearly had a very good opinion of him, given that some people would not donate to other people's causes without first knowing if Franklin backed it up. In addition, Franklin clearly has a pretty high opinion of himself and all of his accomplishments. I found myself wondering throughout the book how much of the modesty Franklin claims to have is real, and how much of it was part of the persona he created for himself in his autobiography.
ReplyDeleteI agree that some of Franklin's modesty might be feigned, but not entirely. As you said in the post, his network of incredibly influential contacts throughout America and Europe were responsible for significant accomplishments in their own right. Perhaps because he was always surrounded by the kinds of people who had major impacts on societal changes in his lifetime served to humble Franklin's opinion of himself.
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