Benjamin Franklin: “Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One”

About the Author

To the student of history, it may seem as though almost everything Benjamin Franklin wrote was a milestone in some way. For instance, in the sciences, he conducted groundbreaking research in electricity, identified and charted the Gulf Stream, proved that lead was poisonous and was sickening those who worked with it, and even worked out new ship rigging that took better advantage of the wind. In his writings on society and politics, it is hard to find a work without at least a nugget of insight into how people govern their personal and public affairs and how they might better govern themselves. By the 1750s he was well aware that he was famous and admired, and he took his status seriously, believing that it put him under obligations to sacrifice his leisure time for the sake of public service. When he wrote for publication, he did so knowing that what he wrote would be read in part because it was written by the widely admired Ben Franklin. He also knew that much of the world would judge Americans on the basis of what he himself said and achieved. To the learned people of the world, to the political leaders of the world, and to the ordinary people of the world, he represented the surprises of America and of Americans and was a living example that Americans could equal and even exceed Europeans in learning, in genius, and in achievement.

Franklin was one of the greatest communicators America has ever seen. He claimed to have mastered writing through independent effort of his own as a child; he had only about two years of formal schooling. In his autobiography he often mentions reading and writing as essential to an individual person's success in American society. In his descriptions of his countrymen, he creates an image of them as self-made successes who as early settlers, through their own hard work and risk taking, built a strong society in which even those born into poverty could have a chance to become prosperous. He indeed seems to have believed it his duty to participate in social causes, as he helped found a fire department, a lending library, and other institutions. He was looked to for leadership by those around him, and he dutifully, though sometimes reluctantly, accepted posts that he had not sought, such as postmaster and delegate to Pennsylvania's legislature.

Franklin's personal life was not as exemplary as his public one. He left his wife alone for years at a time while he was in Europe representing Pennsylvania and America. Sometimes even the siblings he loved most would not hear from him for as long as three years. He made friends easily but sometimes shed them seemingly without a sense of loss. These and other faults he recognized, often mentioning them to make fun of himself or to remind others that he was just a man. Although he confessed to thinking himself better than he admitted in print, his writings were composed with a degree of humility that seems odd for so great a man. But Franklin had one of the world's sharpest minds, and through his humility he was able to put his ideas forward without his fame intruding.