Table Of Contentthe bedford series in history and culture
The Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin
wiTh RelATed documenTs
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the bedford series in history and culture
The Autobiography of
Benjamin Franklin
wiTh RelATed documenTs
ThiRd ediTion
Edited with an Introduction by
louis P. masur
Rutgers University
Boston | New York
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For Bedford / St. Martin’s
Vice President, Editorial, Macmillan Learning Humanities: edwin hill
Publisher for History: Michael rosenberg
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Cover Art: Wright of derby, Joseph (1734–1797 ) / Pennsylvania academy of fine arts,
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Printing and Binding: rr donnelley and sons
copyright © 2016, 2003, 1993 by bedford/st. Martin’s.
all rights reserved. no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, except as may be expressly permitted by the applicable
copyright statutes or in writing by the Publisher.
Manufactured in the united states of america.
1 0 9 8 7 6
f e d c b a
For information, write: bedford/st. Martin’s, 75 arlington street, boston, Ma 02116
(617-399-4000)
isbn 978-1-319-04899-0
Acknowledgments
Art acknowledgments and copyrights appear on the same page as the art selections they
cover. It is a violation of the law to reproduce these selections by any means whatsover
without the written permission of the copyright holder.
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Foreword
the bedford series in history and culture is designed so that readers
can study the past as historians do.
the historian’s first task is finding the evidence. documents, letters,
memoirs, interviews, pictures, movies, novels, or poems can provide facts
and clues. then the historian questions and compares the sources. there
is more to do than in a courtroom, for hearsay evidence is welcome, and
the historian is usually looking for answers beyond act and motive. differ-
ent views of an event may be as important as a single verdict. how a story
is told may yield as much information as what it says.
along the way the historian seeks help from other historians and per-
haps from specialists in other disciplines. finally, it is time to write, to
decide on an interpretation and how to arrange the evidence for readers.
each book in this series contains an important historical document
or group of documents, each document a witness from the past and open
to interpretation in different ways. the documents are combined with
some element of historical narrative — an introduction or a biographical
essay, for example — that provides students with an analysis of the pri-
mary source material and important background information about the
world in which it was produced.
each book in the series focuses on a specific topic within a specific
historical period. each provides a basis for lively thought and discussion
about several aspects of the topic and the historian’s role. each is short
enough (and inexpensive enough) to be a reasonable one-week assign-
ment in a college course. Whether as classroom or personal reading,
each book in the series provides firsthand experience of the challenge —
and fun — of discovering, recreating, and interpreting the past.
lynn hunt
david W. blight
bonnie G. smith
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Preface
“i am . . . diligently employed in writing the history of my life,” franklin
confided in 1788, two years before his death. although he did not live to
complete it, his history belongs to the public. from 1790 to the present,
benjamin franklin’s Autobiography has commanded a vast readership and
worldwide attention. unfamiliar with franklin and unnerved by his anti-
quated spelling and use of language, students will rightfully inquire what
all the fuss is about. What is franklin’s significance? how does his his-
tory connect to our history? Why read the Autobiography?
the answers to these questions are as varied as the many roles played
by franklin in his time. Printer, inventor, diplomat, and writer, franklin
was the most distinguished american of the eighteenth century. he
wrote the history of his life because he had a story to tell. he wanted
readers, particularly young ones, to understand how he had risen from
poverty and obscurity to affluence and fame. in narrating his sojourn,
he provided a window into eighteenth-century american society. here is
one reason why the Autobiography invites our interest: in its pages we
are introduced to a vibrant colonial world marked by bonded labor and
geographic mobility, religious and political conflict, scientific invention
and material consumption, domestic relations and foreign affairs. frank-
lin offers a tour of his world as he experienced and remembered it; the
attentive reader comes away with a deeper understanding of the eigh-
teenth century.
Perhaps that is reason enough to study franklin, but we should read
the Autobiography to comprehend not only the society he lived in but
also the one we live in. the story that franklin tells of upward mobil-
ity, self-improvement, and rags to riches is a story woven deep into the
fabric of our culture. he did not invent that story, but he embodied it
and gave voice to it. his Autobiography has served for generations as a
model of one version of the american dream. in considering where cer-
tain myths come from and how they operate in our culture, we position
ourselves to reformulate those myths and to make them meaningful to
our own lives. franklin would have wanted no less from his history.
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viii Preface
the introduction to this edition, provided as Part one of this volume,
is designed to make franklin accessible and inviting to students. it is
intended to equip students with the information they need to make the
most of their journey with dr. franklin. enough biographical informa-
tion is provided to allow readers to understand who the man was and
why he mattered in his times. the introduction also explains the history
of the Autobiography and sketches the themes that franklin developed
in the text. one biographer has called franklin “the first american,” and
the Autobiography can rightly be seen as the first great work of ameri-
can literature, a work that surveys eighteenth-century society and iden-
tifies what it means to be an american.
the related documents in Part three permit readers to see franklin
outside of the Autobiography and to sample a fraction of his voluminous
writings. some of these documents, such as A Plan of Conduct and Poor
Richard Improved (also known as The Way to Wealth), precede the writ-
ing of his memoirs and shed light on themes that persisted throughout
franklin’s life. other documents — a letter to the british admiral lord
howe, a speech at the constitutional convention, and two pieces on slav-
ery — reveal franklin as a statesman, a politician, and an advocate for
justice. this revised edition also includes two new documents. franklin
amused and educated his readers with fictional pieces, including his
famous Speech of Miss Polly Baker, a hoax that generated discussion on
both sides of the atlantic. finally, a letter about swimming reveals frank -
lin at his curious, inventive best. franklin was, perhaps above all else,
a writer, and through his words we can come to know the most famous
american of the eighteenth century. We can also come to know him
through the eyes of others, and this edition includes in document 9 two
portraits that invite us to interpret franklin’s changing image over time.
the appendixes offer student aids that facilitate the use of this book in
the classroom. the chronology of franklin’s life emphasizes his exten-
sive travels and activities. as a way of helping students frame their ideas
about the Autobiography, questions for consideration are also included.
these are often useful as short, analytical writing assignments. finally,
the bibliographical essay provides direction for students who want to
know more about franklin, eighteenth-century america, and the rags-
to-riches ideal that has played, and continues to play, such a significant
role in american history.
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