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Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and the Education of America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Steven Forde
Steven Forde*
Affiliation:
University of North Texas
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Abstract

Franklin's Autobiography was written in part to provide a model for the emerging democratic individual and democratic culture of America. Franklin's teaching in the work has been subject to severe criticisms from the beginning, though it has had many defenders, too. Neither friend nor foe, however, has taken a sustained look at the Autobiography itself to explore its teaching in detail. I look at Franklin's presentation of the relationship of wealth and virtue, his utilitarianism, and his vision of democratic society and find a subtle and robust ideal deftly calculated to educate and elevate American culture.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 86 , Issue 2 , June 1992 , pp. 357 - 368
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1992 

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