Benjamin Franklin: A Life Lived Usefully

---

Another memorable book that I have read during my research for my own book on George Washington is The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands. Franklin and Washington had a long-standing relationship that spanned three decades and they each possessed a deep mutual “respect and admiration” for one another. Both men were supremely dedicated to serving their fellow man and making the world a better place. The struggles that they undertook in war and in peace were fundamental to securing American independence and providing the young nation with a firm, stable foundation. In the essay that follows, I offer some reflections on what made Franklin such a remarkable character and his indispensable contributions to the American founding.

...

Whether it be as an author, inventor, scientist, philosopher, civic leader, statesman, or more, at 70 years old, Benjamin Franklin could look back on a life well lived. Despite his humble origins and the fact that he was largely self taught, Franklin’s extraordinary innate intellect and his sterling work ethic had carried him very far, so much so that he was widely recognized as the most famous American in the world. While ambition had certainly helped fuel his rise to greatness, Franklin’s purpose in life went far beyond amassing money and power. By his exertions, he showed that his most earnest desire was to make the world a better place for his fellow man. For example, after developing a new, more fuel-efficient type of fireplace, Franklin turned down an offer from the governor of Pennsylvania for a patent giving him exclusive rights to sell the fireplace within the province. As Franklin biographer H.W. Brands adds, “Had Franklin accepted, he doubtless would have made a good deal of money (and if he had aggressively extended the patent to the other American colonies, he would have made a great deal of money,) for the fireplace became very popular.” With his civic-minded mentality, though, Franklin explained why he rejected the patent offer: “That as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.” In the grand scheme of life, as Franklin once wrote to his mother, “The years roll round, and the last will come, when I would rather have it said, he lived usefully, than, he died rich.”

Despite his seven decades of life, his painful gout, and other lesser afflictions, by the fall of 1776, Franklin was not done being of use to the world, and the world certainly was not finished with him. Once regarded as perhaps, “the most illustrious subject of [King] George III,” Franklin had gloried in his identity as a “Briton” and his prominent place among the British empire. However, witnessing firsthand the corruption of the British Parliament and the way in which that government began to treat Great Britain’s American colonists as subjects rather than freeborn Englishmen, threatening the American tradition of self-government, Franklin went from being one of the “most loyal of Britons” to one of the most indispensable leaders in America’s fight for independence against Great Britain. With his international renown and his vast experience representing the American colonies in Britain before the Revolutionary War, Franklin was elected by the Continental Congress as a commissioner to France, which was Britain’s greatest imperial rival and America’s best hope for support in its fight for freedom.

Considering his advanced age, his health issues, and the immensity of the work ahead of him, Franklin’s voyage to France was a bold testament to his courage and his selfless commitment to the American cause. As Brands writes, for Franklin “to leave his home in the middle of a war, to cross a wintry sea patrolled by enemy warships whose commanders could be counted on to know him even if they knew nary another American face, was no small undertaking.” Fully aware that he was rapidly marching toward the twilight of his life, it would have been easy for Franklin to spend his remaining time in ease at home, but his heart was not inclined to surrender to personal comfort when public duty required him. As Franklin put it, “I have only a few years to live, and I am resolved to devote them to the work that my fellow citizens deem proper for me. . . .”

Setting sail for France in October 1776, Franklin endured a rough voyage that he wrote, “almost demolished me.” Arriving in Paris on December 21, he went on to spend the next nine years in France as America’s first foreign ambassador. As historian Edward J. Larson recounts, the amount of work that Franklin engaged in to secure French support, seal a formal alliance with France, and so much more to keep the American army and government functioning as they struggled to win independence were simply staggering: “Franklin had to maintain the alliance while continually asking the French for financial aid, naval support, arms, equipment, and troops. In addition, he arranged shipments of uniforms for the poorly clothed and partly shoeless American army, purchased war matériel from European suppliers, and negotiated for the care and release of prisoners of war held in Britain. Franklin also oversaw American navy ships and privateers operating from France and aided American merchants doing business in Europe. He vetted European military officers seeking commissions in the American army, helped American states secure loans from France, and conducted back-channel peace talks with British contacts. He even printed American passports and other documents on his own printing press.” Franklin’s tireless efforts were of indispensable value to the American cause. Without General George Washington’s unwavering leadership at the helm of the American army and Franklin’s great political sagacity abroad, the United States never could have won the war to secure its independence. As it stood, both men realized that America’s triumph was “little short of a standing miracle,” and attributed the help of a higher power to its ultimate victory. In Franklin’s words, “If it had not been for the justice of our cause, and the consequent interposition of Providence, in which we had faith, we must have been ruined.”

As French foreign minister Comte de Vergennes said of Franklin, “The United States will never have a more zealous and more useful servant than Mr. Franklin.” Even after nearly a decade of tireless service abroad, Franklin returned home to Philadelphia in September 1785, and once again, rather than using his remaining time to enjoy the peace and quiet of retirement, he answered the public call of duty. As the fledgling nation struggled to find its feet during the uneasy years after the war, Franklin, at the age of 79, became the President and effective Governor of Pennsylvania, rising above sharp political divisions to wisely lead his state for three years and to put it on a firm footing. When it became clear that the newly-independent nation was failing under the Articles of Confederation, which was America’s first national frame of government, Franklin, despite suffering crippling poor health, attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and played a vital role in ultimately producing the United States Constitution. As Franklin said of the Constitution, “If any form of government is capable of making a nation happy, ours I think bids fair now for producing that effect.” Over 200 years later, despite numerous trials and tribulations, the American Constitution endures, untold numbers of lives have been bettered by the liberties and opportunities extending from the nation operating under its brilliant framework, and Franklin’s verdict has proven correct.

As George Washington once wrote to Franklin, “If to be venerated for benevolence, if to be admired for talents, if to be esteemed for patriotism, if to be beloved for philanthropy, can gratify the human mind, you must have the pleasing consolation to know that you have not lived in vain.” Whether it be for his transformative, history-changing years of dedicated public service at home and abroad, his useful inventions, memorable writings, scientific discoveries, and so much more, Benjamin Franklin lived a life that truly made a difference then and that continues to echo through the ages, benefiting all of us living in the now. Thomas Jefferson once declared Franklin “the ornament of our country, and I may say, of the world.” Franklin’s story of rising out of poverty by way of hard work and his unique talents, along with his lifelong commitment to serving others and making the world a better place, are inspiring examples that are inherent in our DNA as Americans. The examples that he set will always make him an ornament of our country and of the world.

Sources

Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership by Edward J. Larson

History.com: Ben Franklin in Paris - How He Won France's Support for the Revolutionary War

History.com: Benjamin Franklin Sets Sail for France

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands