The Life Of Benjamin Franklin

by Lemay, J. A. Leo

• ISBN13: 9780812238549
• ISBN10: 0812238540
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-12
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr

Summary

Named "one of the best books of 2006" by The New York Sun Described by Carl Van Doren as "a harmonious human multitude," Benjamin Franklin was the most famous American of his time, of perhaps any time. His life and careers were so varied and successful that he remains, even today, the epitome of the self-made man. Born into a humble tradesman's family, this adaptable genius rose to become an architect of the world's first democracy, a leading light in Enlightenment science, and a major creator of what has come to be known as the American character. Journalist, musician, politician, scientist, humorist, inventor, civic leader, printer, writer, publisher, businessman, founding father, philosopher, Franklin is a touchstone for America's egalitarianism. Volume 2 takes Franklin from his marriage in 1730 to his retirement as a printer at the beginning of 1748, examining the mysteries of the illegitimate William Franklin's birth and mother and Franklin's increasing civic activities-starting the Library Company in Philadelphia in 1731, forming Pennsylvania's first volunteer fire company, and becoming an advocate for a clean Philadelphia environment. J. A. Leo Lemay assesses Franklin's numerous writings, attributing to him for the first time a deistic Indian speech, remarking on his use of the second African American persona in journalism, and analyzing his publishing sensation of 1747, The Speech of Miss Polly Baker. These belletristic works are complemented by Franklin's religious, political, and scientific writings, which he produced prodigiously.

Author Biography

J. A. Leo Lemay is H. F. du Pont Winterthur Professor of English at the University of Delaware. He has written extensively on early American literature and is the author of numerous books, including The American Dream of Captain John Smith.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
PART I Boston: Youth, 1706-1723
Prologue: Quandary	3	(2)
Boston	5	(28)
Child to Adolescent	33	(20)
Printer's Devil	53	(26)
Massachusetts Controversies, 1716--1723	79	(8)
Nathaniel Gardner and the Couranteers	87	(22)
James Franklin: America's First Newspaperman	109	(34)
Silence Dogood in Context	143	(29)
``Saucy and Provoking'': Franklin Takes Charge	172	(35)
Assessing Franklin as a Youth, to Age Seventeen	207	(8)
PART II Adrift: Age Seventeen to Twenty-four, 1723--1730
The Runaway	215	(44)
The Water American: London Escapades	259	(39)
At Sea, 1726	298	(20)
Merchant to Master Printer, 1726--1728	318	(14)
The Junto	332	(25)
Business, 1728-1730, and ``Articles of Religion''	357	(21)
The Busy-Body	378	(19)
Paper Currency	397	(17)
Journalist	414	(43)
Assessing Franklin, Age Seventeen to Twenty-four	457	(6)
Appendix: New Attributions	463	(2)
Sources and Documentation	465	(2)
List of Abbreviations	467	(6)
Notes	473	(38)
Index	511	(40)
Acknowledgments	551