Like other leaders of the American Revolution,
Benjamin Franklin lived in a time of tumultuous changes. Born into
a traditional Puritan society, he grew up with the morals and ideas
of America's first European settlers. In the early eighteenth century,
America was still a collection of scarcely populated colonies,
its people spread out over a vast area with only a few ramshackle
cities. The colonies had distinctly different identities: Massachusetts
was orderly and Puritan, Pennsylvania was Quaker, New York was
largely Dutch, Virginia was aristocratic. The colonies had little
in common aside from their ties to Britain. In 1706, the year of
Franklin's birth, few would have predicted that by 1790, the year
of Franklin's death, the American colonies would be independent
from Britain and united as a single, massive country.
Though America's eventual independence was not inevitable,
in retrospect it is not surprising. America was growing rapidly,
and with more people, agriculture and trade burgeoned. By 1706,
the colonies were already an integral part of the British economy;
by the 1750s they were Britain's most important possession by far.
Yet Britain never seemed capable of keeping the colonists happy.
Americans constantly complained of delays and inefficiencies resulting from
a government located an ocean away. They resented British restrictions
on trade and felt that the British government did not do enough
to keep the frontier safe. Most of all, Americans hated paying
taxes–and especially hated paying taxes they had no hand in creating.
In political and economic terms, America was outgrowing
its status as a colony. Its intellectual climate was changing dramatically
as well, as new ideas of equality, liberty, and the perfectibility
of human nature circulated among intellectuals and the common people
alike. Old beliefs seemed less certain and new dreams seemed suddenly
possible. Most of all, the vibrant growth of the colonies made
it seem as though anyone–with enough work and dedication–could
prosper.
Franklin lived this dream. Born into a large, poor family,
and mostly self- educated, he went on to be a master politician,
inventor, scientist, military leader, and diplomat–to name just
a few of his arenas. In all of these roles Franklin had accomplishments
that literally changed the world. Well before his death, he was
one of the most famous men in the world–famous for embodying the
very essence of Americanness. His wit, humble appearance, liberal
ideals, and plainspoken style made distinguished him from other,
more aristocratic leaders of his age. His particular mixture of
idealism and pragmatism, ambition and morality, optimism and energy make
him seem, in retrospect, like the quintessential American. Franklin
was perhaps the original self- made man.
This image of Franklin as the first American is part of
what makes him so fascinating. The image is especially fascinating because
Franklin influenced so many aspects of American life in his long
career, and because Franklin himself created this image. Not only
was he a leader in public and intellectual life, he was the first and
best public relations man, spin doctor, and self-help guru. He worked
nonstop to create his image, never letting anyone see the "real"
Franklin. Historians have since tried and generally failed to pin
him down. Every modern American public figure, from the President
to Hollywood movie stars, creates and manages a public image. Franklin
was the first and best at this game. His Autobiography is
still considered by many to be the best book to read for advice on
how to win friends and influence people.
Franklin's carefully constructed image, along with his
incredibly energetic mind and broad interests, makes it difficult
for us to feel we really know him. He keeps a certain distance
from us, just as he kept from his contemporaries. No biography
of him is ever complete–he will keep historians busy for centuries
to come. Franklin once wrote, in the voice of his humble character
Poor Richard: "If you would not be forgotten / As soon as you are
dead and rotten / Either write things worth reading / Or do things
worth the writing." Franklin did both, with an energy and a passion
that few have matched and perhaps none have surpassed.
