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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Flashcards

Benjamin Franklin · Public domain edition · 197 cards · 52 chapters

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin recounts Franklin’s life in his own words, tracing his family origins, limited schooling, and early printing apprenticeship. This deck covers his stated reasons for writing, his ancestors’ religious persecution, his father Josiah’s character, and his childhood schemes.

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Chapter 1 · Question

Why does Franklin say he writes his autobiography for his son?

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Section 14 cards

Why does Franklin say he writes his autobiography for his son?
Franklin tells his son that knowing the circumstances of his life may be agreeable, and that having risen from poverty and obscurity to affluence and reputation, his posterity may wish to know the means he used, some of which may suit their own situations and be fit to be imitated. He also cites a week's uninterrupted leisure in country retirement.
Chapter 1
What does Franklin say he would ask for if allowed to live his life again?
Franklin says he would accept a repetition of his life without objection, asking only the advantage authors have in a second edition: to correct some faults of the first. He adds that he might also change some sinister accidents for more favorable ones, but that if this were denied he would still accept the offer.
Chapter 1
According to the introductory note, how did Franklin's schooling and apprenticeship end?
The note states his schooling ended at ten, and at twelve he was bound apprentice to his brother James, a printer who published the New England Courant. Franklin contributed to the journal and was later for a time its nominal editor, but the brothers quarreled and Benjamin ran away, going first to New York and then to Philadelphia, arriving in October 1723.
Chapter 1
What does the introductory note say about Franklin's use of office and his postal reform?
The note calls him very able in politics as administrator and controversialist, but says his record as an office-holder is stained by using his position to advance his relatives. It names his reform of the postal system as his most notable service in home politics, while his statesman's fame rests chiefly on services in the Colonies' relations with Great Britain and later France.
Chapter 1

Section 24 cards

Why does Franklin say he will indulge his vanity in writing his autobiography?
Franklin confesses that writing about himself gratifies his vanity, and he refuses to deny it since nobody would believe the denial anyway. He notes that phrases like "without vanity I may say" are always followed by something vain. He argues vanity is often productive of good for the possessor and those around him, and says it would not be absurd to thank God for it among life's comforts.
Chapter 2
How did Franklin's ancestors hide their English Bible during Queen Mary's reign?
The family were zealous Protestants who owned an English Bible, which they fastened open with tapes under and within the cover of a joint-stool. When the great-great-grandfather read to the family, he turned the stool up on his knees and turned the leaves under the tapes. A child stood at the door to warn of the apparitor, an officer of the spiritual court; then the stool was turned down and the Bible stayed concealed.
Chapter 2
What does Franklin learn about his family from his uncle's notes and the Ecton register?
From his uncle's notes Franklin learns the family lived in Ecton, Northamptonshire, for three hundred years on a freehold of about thirty acres, aided by the smith's business, with the eldest son always bred to it. Searching the Ecton registers, he finds records only from 1555, since no earlier registers were kept, and perceives he was the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back.
Chapter 2
What does Franklin say about his uncle Benjamin's character and interests?
Benjamin was a silk dyer apprenticed in London, an ingenious man Franklin remembered well from his boyhood in Boston. He was very pious, attended sermons of the best preachers and took them down in a shorthand of his own, which he taught Franklin, who later forgot it. He was also much of a politician, perhaps too much for his station, and left manuscript volumes of poetry and a collection of pamphlets from 1641 to 1717.
Chapter 2

Section 34 cards

Why did Josiah Franklin move his family to New England around 1682?
Franklin says conventicles had been forbidden by law and frequently disturbed, which induced several considerable men of his father's acquaintance to remove to that country. Josiah was prevailed with to accompany them thither, where they expected to enjoy their mode of religion with freedom. He carried his wife and three children, and had four more children born there.
Chapter 3
Why did Josiah Franklin end Benjamin's grammar-school education after less than a year?
Franklin had risen to the head of his class and was moved up, but his father altered his first intention of devoting him to the Church. Franklin says the reasons, given in his hearing, were the expense of a college education he could not well afford with so large a family, and the mean living many so educated afterwards obtained. He was sent instead to George Brownell's school for writing and arithmetic.
Chapter 3
What childhood scheme did Franklin lead at the salt-marsh, and what lesson did his father draw from it?
Boys had trampled the marsh into a quagmire, so Franklin proposed building a wharf and had his playfellows carry away stones intended for a new house nearby. The workmen missed the stones, the boys were discovered and complained of, and several were corrected by their fathers. Franklin pleaded the work's usefulness, but his father convinced him that nothing is useful which is not honest.
Chapter 3
How does Franklin describe his father Josiah's character and standing?
Franklin describes him as of middle stature but well set and very strong, ingenious, able to draw prettily, a little skilled in music with a clear pleasing voice, and handy with other tradesmen's tools. His great excellence lay in sound understanding and solid judgment in prudential matters, private and public. Kept from public office by a large family and straitened circumstances, he was often consulted by leading people and chosen an arbitrator.
Chapter 3

Section 44 cards

How did Franklin's father use mealtime conversation, and what effect did it have on Franklin?
His father liked a sensible friend or neighbor at table and started an ingenious or useful topic to improve his children's minds, turning their attention to what was good, just, and prudent in life. Little notice was taken of the food's quality or seasoning. Franklin says he grew so inattentive to food that he could scarce recall hours later what he had dined upon, a convenience in traveling.
Chapter 4
Why did Franklin's father apprentice him to his brother James, and on what terms?
Franklin disliked the tallow-chandler trade, and his father feared he would run away to sea as his son Josiah had done. After showing him various trades, his father settled on printing, though he already had a son James in that profession. James returned from England in 1717 with a press. Franklin signed indentures at twelve, serving until twenty-one, with journeyman's wages only in the last year.
Chapter 4
What did Franklin read as a child, and how did his father's library shape him?
Franklin was fond of reading and spent all his little money on books. His first collection was John Bunyan's works in separate little volumes, which he sold to buy R. Burton's Historical Collections. His father's library was chiefly polemic divinity, which he read, later regretting more proper books weren't available once it was resolved he would not be a clergyman. Plutarch's Lives he read abundantly, and De Foe's Essay on Projects and Dr. Mather's Essays to do Good perhaps influenced future events.
Chapter 4
How did Franklin's early ballad writing go, and what did his father say about it?
Encouraged by his brother, Franklin composed occasional ballads: The Lighthouse Tragedy, about the drowning of Captain Worthilake and his two daughters, and a sailor's song on the taking of Teach (Blackbeard). He calls them wretched stuff in the Grub-street-ballad style. The first sold wonderfully because the event was recent. His father ridiculed the performances and said verse-makers were generally beggars, so Franklin escaped being a poet.
Chapter 4

Section 54 cards

What bad habit did Franklin catch from his father's religious dispute books?
Franklin says he caught a disputatious turn from reading his father's books of dispute about religion. He warns this habit makes people disagreeable in company, sours conversation, and can produce disgusts and even enmities where friendship might be needed. He observes that persons of good sense seldom fall into it, except lawyers, university men, and those bred at Edinburgh.
Chapter 5
How did Franklin use the Spectator to improve his writing?
Franklin bought an odd volume of the Spectator, read it repeatedly, and wished to imitate it. He made short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, set them aside, then tried to reconstruct the papers from the hints without looking at the book. He compared his version with the original, found faults, and corrected them. He also turned tales into verse and back, and jumbled his hints to practice method.
Chapter 5
How did Franklin's vegetable diet benefit his studies?
At about sixteen, Franklin read Tryon's book recommending a vegetable diet and adopted it. He learned to prepare dishes like boiled potatoes, rice, and hasty pudding, then proposed that his brother give him half the board money to feed himself, saving half. The savings funded book purchases. Eating lightly alone in the printing-house also gave him more time for study, with a clearer head.
Chapter 5
What Socratic method did Franklin adopt, and what habit did he keep?
Franklin read a specimen of Socratic dispute and Xenophon's Memorable Things of Socrates, was charmed, and adopted the humble inquirer and doubter method, dropping abrupt contradiction. He found it safest for himself and embarrassing to opponents, drawing even superior people into concessions. He gradually left it, but kept expressing himself in terms of modest diffidence, avoiding words like certainly and undoubtedly.
Chapter 5

Section 64 cards

How did Franklin first submit anonymous papers to his brother's newspaper?
Franklin wrote an anonymous paper in a disguised hand and put it under the printing-house door at night. It was found in the morning and shown to his brother's writing friends, who read and approved it while Franklin listened. None of their guesses named anyone but men of known learning and ingenuity. Encouraged, he sent several more papers the same way and kept his secret until his supply of such pieces ran out.
Chapter 6
What scheme let the Courant continue after James was barred from printing it?
The House ordered that James Franklin should no longer print the New England Courant. After consultation, his friends decided the paper would be printed under Benjamin Franklin's name. To avoid censure, Benjamin's old indenture was returned with a full discharge on the back, while he secretly signed new indentures for the remaining term. Franklin calls it a very flimsy scheme, but it was executed and the paper ran under his name for several months.
Chapter 6
Why did Franklin leave Boston for New York, and how was his departure arranged?
Franklin wished to assert his freedom, presuming his brother would not produce the secret new indentures, and he calls this one of the first errata of his life. His brother then warned local printers against hiring him. Franklin also feared the governing party and was pointed at as an infidel. Since his father sided with his brother, friend Collins booked passage secretly, pretending Franklin was a young man who had gotten a girl with child.
Chapter 6
What did Franklin conclude about the cause of his lifelong aversion to arbitrary power?
In a footnote, Franklin says he fancies his brother's harsh and tyrannical treatment of him might have been a means of impressing on him that aversion to arbitrary power which stuck to him through his whole life. He offers this as speculation, not certainty. Earlier he also admits the unfairness of seizing on the secret indentures weighed little against his resentment over his brother's blows.
Chapter 6

Section 74 cards

How did Franklin treat his fever on the road to Burlington?
Franklin writes that he found himself feverish in the evening and, having read somewhere that drinking cold water plentifully was good for a fever, he followed that prescription. He sweated plentifully most of the night, his fever left him, and the next morning he crossed the ferry and continued his journey on foot toward Burlington.
Chapter 7
What does Franklin say about Bunyan's narrative method and its imitators?
Franklin calls Bunyan, whom he calls "honest John," the first he knows of to mix narration and dialogue, a method he finds very engaging because readers feel present at the discourse. He says Defoe imitated it successfully in Crusoe, Moll Flanders, and other pieces, and that Richardson did the same in Pamela. He also supposes Pilgrim's Progress has been more generally read than any book except perhaps the Bible.
Chapter 7
How does Franklin describe his appearance on first entering Philadelphia?
Franklin says he was in his working dress because his best clothes were coming by sea. He was dirty from the journey, his pockets stuffed with shirts and stockings, and he knew no one and no place to look for lodging. He was fatigued, hungry, and his whole stock of cash was a Dutch dollar and about a shilling in copper.
Chapter 7
Why does Franklin give such a detailed account of his journey and first entry into Philadelphia?
Franklin explains that he has been more particular in describing his journey, and will be so about his first entry into the city, so that readers may in their minds compare such unlikely beginnings with the figure he has since made there. The detailed account of his ragged arrival is thus meant to set up that contrast between his humble start and later standing.
Chapter 7

Section 84 cards

Why did Franklin give away two of his three rolls in Philadelphia?
Having asked for three-penny worth of bread without knowing Philadelphia prices or names, Franklin was surprised to receive three great puffy rolls. With no room in his pockets, he walked eating one roll with one under each arm. Filled by one roll, he gave the other two to a woman and her child who had come down the river in the boat with him and were waiting to travel farther.
Chapter 8
What was Franklin's first experience inside a Philadelphia building?
Following clean-dressed people walking the same way, Franklin entered the great Quaker meeting-house near the market. Hearing nothing said and being drowsy from labor and want of rest the previous night, he fell fast asleep until the meeting broke up, when someone kindly roused him. He notes this was the first house he was in, or slept in, in Philadelphia.
Chapter 8
How did Keimer's printing-house impress Franklin when he first saw it?
It consisted of an old shattered press and one small, worn-out font of English type, which Keimer was using himself to compose an Elegy on Aquila Rose. With no copy and only one pair of cases, no one could help him. Franklin put the unused press into working order and promised to print off the elegy once it was ready.
Chapter 8
What did Franklin observe about Bradford and Keimer as printers?
Franklin found both poorly qualified. Bradford had not been bred to the trade and was very illiterate; Keimer, though something of a scholar, was a mere compositor who knew nothing of presswork. Franklin also says Keimer had been one of the French prophets, professed no particular religion but something of all on occasion, was very ignorant of the world, and had a good deal of the knave in him.
Chapter 8

Section 94 cards

Why did Governor Keith propose that Franklin set up a printing business in Philadelphia?
Keith read a letter Franklin wrote to his brother-in-law, Captain Holmes, and was surprised at Franklin's youth. He judged Franklin a young man of promising parts and thought Philadelphia's printers were wretched, so he offered to procure Franklin the public business and other services. He and Colonel French promised their interest in securing public business from both governments.
Chapter 9
Why did Franklin's father refuse to help him set up a business?
After receiving Keith's flattering letter, Franklin's father asked Captain Holmes about Keith and opined that Keith showed small discretion in proposing to set up a boy still three years short of man's estate. He wrote a civil letter thanking Keith for the patronage but declined to assist, judging Franklin too young to manage so important and expensive a business.
Chapter 9
How did Franklin's visit to his brother's printing-house cause offense?
Franklin, better dressed than during his service, showed the journeymen his silver and watch and gave them a piece of eight to drink. His brother, already grum and sullen, took this as an insult before his people and said he could never forget or forgive it, though Franklin says he was mistaken.
Chapter 9
What happened on Franklin's voyage back to Boston in April 1724?
He took leave of Keimer saying he was visiting friends, carrying the governor's ample letter recommending him to his father. The vessel struck a shoal going down the bay and sprang a leak; they had a blustering time at sea and pumped almost continually, Franklin taking his turn, but arrived safe at Boston in about a fortnight after seven months' absence.
Chapter 9

Section 104 cards

What advice did Franklin's father give him before he returned to Philadelphia?
His father consented to the return but advised him to behave respectfully to the people of Philadelphia, try to gain general esteem, and avoid lampooning and libeling, to which he thought Franklin was too inclined. He said steady industry and prudent parsimony might let Franklin save enough by age twenty-one to set himself up, and that he would help with the rest.
Chapter 10
How did the Quaker woman on the sloop warn Franklin about the two young women?
She took him aside and said he seemed to know little of the world or the snares youth faces, and that the two women were very bad and would draw him into danger if he was not on guard. When he doubted her, she cited observations he had missed, convincing him. He avoided their invitation, and they were later caught with stolen goods.
Chapter 10
What happened to Collins after he arrived in New York?
Franklin found Collins had acquired a habit of drinking brandy and had been drunk every day since arriving in New York, behaving oddly. He had gambled away his money, so Franklin paid his lodgings and expenses to and at Philadelphia. Collins failed to find counting-house work, kept borrowing Vernon's money from Franklin, and eventually sailed to Barbadoes as a tutor, never repaying.
Chapter 10
How did Franklin's father respond to Sir William's proposition?
His father did not approve Sir William's proposition, but was pleased that Franklin had obtained so advantageous a character from a person of such note, and that he had been industrious and careful enough to equip himself handsomely in so short a time. Seeing no prospect of reconciliation between Franklin and his brother, he consented to the return to Philadelphia.
Chapter 10

Section 114 cards

What was Franklin's 'first great errata' and how did it relate to his father's judgment?
Franklin calls breaking into Vernon's money one of the first great errata of his life. He says the affair showed his father was not much out in judging him too young to manage important business. Sir William, however, read the father's letter and said he was too prudent, arguing discretion does not always accompany years, nor is youth always without it.
Chapter 11
How did Franklin justify abandoning his vegetarian resolution on the voyage from Boston?
Becalmed off Block Island, the crew caught cod. Franklin had resolved not to eat animal food, and with his master Tryon considered taking each fish a kind of unprovoked murder. But he loved fish, and when it came hot from the frying-pan it smelled admirably. He then recalled seeing smaller fish taken from the stomachs of the caught fish, reasoned that if they eat one another he might eat them, and dined heartily on cod.
Chapter 11
What project did Keimer propose to Franklin, and on what conditions did Franklin agree to Keimer's practices?
Keimer, impressed by Franklin's skill in confuting opponents through the Socratic method, seriously proposed Franklin be his colleague in a new sect: Keimer would preach the doctrines and Franklin would confound all opponents. Franklin objected to several conundrums unless he could introduce some of his own. He disliked Keimer's full beard and Seventh-day Sabbath but agreed to admit them on condition Keimer adopt a no-animal-food diet.
Chapter 11
Why was Franklin's courtship of Miss Read postponed, and who were his chief acquaintances at this time?
Franklin had great respect and affection for Miss Read and believed she felt the same, but as he was about to take a long voyage and both were only a little above eighteen, her mother thought it prudent to prevent their going too far, since marriage would be more convenient after his return when he expected to be set up in business. His chief acquaintances were Charles Osborne, Joseph Watson, and James Ralph, all lovers of reading.
Chapter 11

Section 124 cards

What task did Franklin's club set to improve language and expression?
They agreed each member would produce a version of the eighteenth Psalm, which describes the descent of a Deity. They excluded all considerations of invention, since language and expression were what they had in view. Franklin approved amusing oneself with poetry now and then to improve one's language, but no farther.
Chapter 12
How did Ralph trick Osborne, and what was the result?
Ralph, believing Osborne criticized him from envy, gave Franklin his poem to present as his own while Ralph produced nothing. Watson and Osborne applauded it, and Osborne praised it strongly afterward, saying Franklin had even improved the original. When they next met, Ralph revealed the trick and Osborne was a little laughed at.
Chapter 12
What happened to Watson and Osborne after this period?
Watson died in Franklin's arms a few years later, much lamented, being the best of their set. Osborne went to the West Indies, became an eminent lawyer and made money, but died young. Osborne and Franklin had agreed that whoever died first would, if possible, visit the other and report on that separate state, but Osborne never fulfilled the promise.
Chapter 12
What did Governor Keith promise Franklin, and how was it delivered?
The governor said setting Franklin up was a fixed thing; Franklin was to receive letters recommendatory to the governor's friends plus a letter of credit for buying press, types, and paper. Franklin called repeatedly, but a future time was always named. At Newcastle the secretary delivered only a civil message that the governor could not see him and would send the letters aboard.
Chapter 12

Section 133 cards

What did Franklin discover about Governor Keith's promised letters upon arriving in London?
Franklin examined the bag and found none addressed to him as under his care. The letters he selected turned out to be from Riddlesden, not Keith; the stationer refused them, calling Riddlesden a rascal. Denham then told Franklin there was no probability Keith had written any letters, that no one who knew him depended on him, and laughed at the idea of a governor's letter of credit from a man with no credit to give.
Chapter 13
What were Franklin's 'errata' during his early London period?
Franklin calls two things great errata he would wish to correct if he lived his life over. First, he gradually forgot his engagements with Miss Read, to whom he wrote only one letter saying he was not likely soon to return. Second, he printed a metaphysical pamphlet, 'A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain,' which Palmer called abominable. Franklin also spent much of his earnings with Ralph on plays and amusements.
Chapter 13
How did Franklin gain access to books and meet notable figures in London?
Circulating libraries were not then in use, so Franklin agreed with Wilcox, a bookseller next door in Little Britain, on reasonable terms to take, read, and return any of his second-hand books, which Franklin esteemed a great advantage. His pamphlet led to an acquaintance with Lyons, a surgeon, who introduced him to Dr. Mandeville, author of the 'Fable of the Bees,' and to Dr. Pemberton, who promised but never delivered a chance to see Sir Isaac Newton.
Chapter 13

Section 144 cards

Why did Ralph change his name and take Franklin's name?
Ralph left London to teach at a country school, though he thought the work beneath him. Confident of future fortune and unwilling for it to be known he was once so meanly employed, he changed his name and assumed Franklin's, asking that letters be directed to Mr. Franklin, schoolmaster.
Chapter 14
How did Franklin try to discourage Ralph from writing his epic poem?
Ralph sent large specimens of his epic poem by every post, asking for remarks and corrections. Franklin gave them but tried to discourage him from proceeding. He copied and sent a great part of a just-published satire by Young, which set in a strong light the folly of pursuing the Muses for advancement. It was all in vain.
Chapter 14
Why did Franklin finally pay the compositors' five-shilling bien venu?
Franklin thought the fee an imposition since he had already paid below, and the master agreed and forbade payment. He held out two or three weeks and was treated as excommunicate: his sorts were mixed, pages transposed, and matter broken, all blamed on the chappel ghost. He complied, convinced of the folly of being on ill terms with those one lives with continually.
Chapter 14
What changes did Franklin propose among the pressmen, and with what result?
Franklin proposed reasonable alterations to the chappel laws and carried them against all opposition. By his example, many left their beer breakfast for hot water-gruel with pepper, bread, and butter at three half-pence, cheaper and keeping heads clearer. Some who kept drinking fell out of credit at the alehouse and borrowed from him; he collected near thirty shillings weekly on their account.
Chapter 14

Section 151 cards

What did Denham offer Franklin, and what did Franklin give up to accept?
Denham proposed taking Franklin to Philadelphia as his clerk to keep books, copy letters, and attend a store, then to send him with cargo to the West Indies and procure commissions. Franklin agreed at fifty pounds a year, Pennsylvania money, less than his compositor's earnings but with a better prospect. He took leave of printing, as he thought, for ever.
Chapter 15

Section 164 cards

Why did Keimer hire Franklin at unusually high wages?
Franklin soon perceived Keimer's intention: to have his raw, cheap hands trained through Franklin, so that once Franklin had instructed them and they were all articled to Keimer, he could do without Franklin. Franklin nevertheless went on cheerfully, put the printing-house in order, and gradually brought the hands to mind their business and do it better.
Chapter 16
What happened to Miss Read during Franklin's absence in London?
Her friends, despairing with reason of Franklin's return after receiving his letter, persuaded her to marry another, one Rogers, a potter, which was done in Franklin's absence. She was never happy with him, soon parted from him, and refused to cohabit with him or bear his name, it being said he had another wife. He ran into debt, fled to the West Indies in 1727 or 1728, and died there.
Chapter 16
What was the most important part of Franklin's sea journal?
Franklin sailed from Gravesend on July 23, 1726, and refers readers to his Journal for the voyage's incidents. He says perhaps the most important part is the plan he formed at sea for regulating his future conduct in life. It is remarkable, he notes, as being formed when he was so young, yet pretty faithfully adhered to through to old age.
Chapter 16
How did Mr. Denham's death affect Franklin's employment?
In early February 1726-7, just after Franklin passed his twenty-first year, both fell ill. Franklin's pleurisy nearly carried him off; he gave up the point in his own mind and was rather disappointed on recovering, regretting he must someday do all that disagreeable work again. Denham's distemper held him long and carried him off. He left Franklin a small legacy in a nuncupative will, and the store passed to his executors, ending Franklin's employment.
Chapter 16

Section 174 cards

How did Franklin compensate for the lack of a letter-founder in America?
Franklin contrived a mould and used the letters they had as puncheons, striking matrices in lead to cast types himself. He also engraved on occasion, made the ink, and served as warehouseman—in short, quite a factotum. He had seen types cast at James's in London but without much attention to the manner.
Chapter 17
What caused the final break between Franklin and Keimer?
A noise near the court-house drew Franklin to the window; Keimer, in the street, loudly ordered him to mind his business and added reproachful words. Franklin was nettled by the public humiliation before neighbors. Keimer came up, the quarrel continued, and Keimer gave the stipulated quarter's warning; Franklin left that instant.
Chapter 17
What partnership terms did Meredith propose to Franklin?
Meredith's father would advance money to set them up; Meredith's time with Keimer would end in spring, allowing a press and types to be ordered from London. Since Meredith admitted he was no workman, Franklin's skill would be set against the stock Meredith furnished, and profits shared equally. Franklin consented, and the father approved.
Chapter 17
How did Franklin's standing compare with Keimer's at Burlington?
Franklin's mind had been much more improved by reading than Keimer's, so his conversation seemed more valued. The committee men had him to their houses and introduced him to friends, while Keimer, though the master, was a little neglected. Franklin reckoned among his acquired friends Judge Allen, Samuel Bustill, Isaac Pearson, Joseph Cooper, several Smiths, and Isaac Decow.
Chapter 17

Section 184 cards

Why did Franklin come to suspect his Deist doctrine was not useful?
Franklin says he became a thorough Deist after books against Deism seemed weaker than the Deist arguments they quoted. But Collins, Ralph, and Keith later wronged him without compunction, and he recalled his own conduct toward Vernon and Miss Read with trouble. He therefore began to suspect that the doctrine, though it might be true, was not very useful.
Chapter 18
What moral resolutions did Franklin form after rejecting Revelation's authority?
Franklin grew convinced that truth, sincerity, and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life, and he formed written resolutions, still in his journal, to practice them for life. Revelation had no weight with him as such, but he thought actions might be forbidden because bad for us or commanded because beneficial, all circumstances considered.
Chapter 18
Who was Samuel Mickle, and how did his predictions turn out?
Mickle was an elderly Philadelphia man of note with a wise look and grave manner, a stranger to Franklin who stopped at his door. He warned that the new printing-house was an expensive undertaking doomed to fail because Philadelphia was a sinking place. Franklin says Mickle kept declaiming for years and refusing to buy a house, then finally paid five times what he might have paid at first.
Chapter 18
What were the rules of the Junto club Franklin formed?
Franklin formed most of his ingenious acquaintance into a club of mutual improvement called the Junto, meeting Friday evenings. Each member in turn produced queries on Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy, and once in three months read an essay of his own on any subject. Debates had a president and were conducted in a sincere spirit of inquiry after truth, without fondness for dispute or desire of victory; expressions of positiveness and direct contradiction were prohibited under small pecuniary penalties.
Chapter 18

Section 193 cards

What was the Junto club described as, and how did its query system work?
Franklin calls it "the best school of philosophy, morality, and politics that then existed in the province." Queries were read the week before discussion, prompting members to read attentively on each subject so they could speak to the purpose. Their rules also cultivated better conversational habits, preventing members from disgusting each other, which helped the club continue almost as long as Franklin's friendship with Coleman—over forty years.
Chapter 19
How did Franklin respond when Keimer rushed out a newspaper after Webb leaked Franklin's plan?
Franklin had told Webb in secret that he intended to start a newspaper, and Webb passed it to Keimer, who published proposals first. To counteract him, Franklin wrote pieces called the Busy Body for Bradford's paper, which Breintnal continued for months, fixing public attention there and ridiculing Keimer's proposals. Keimer's paper ran about three quarters of a year with at most ninety subscribers, then he sold it to Franklin, who found it extremely profitable.
Chapter 19
What did Dr. Baird say that changed opinion about the new printing-office's chances?
At the merchants' Every-night club, the general opinion was that the new printing-office must fail because Keimer and Bradford were already there. Dr. Baird disagreed, saying Franklin's industry was superior to anything he had seen of the kind: he still saw Franklin at work when leaving the club and at work again before neighbors were out of bed. This struck the rest, and soon one member offered to supply them with stationery.
Chapter 19

Section 204 cards

Who were the two friends who offered Franklin money to take over the printing business?
William Coleman and Robert Grace came to Franklin separately, unknown to each other, and without any request from him, each offering to advance all the money needed for him to take the whole business upon himself. They disliked his partnership with Meredith, whom they said was often seen drunk in the streets and playing low games in alehouses.
Chapter 20
What terms did Meredith accept to leave the partnership?
Meredith said he was bred a farmer and unfit for the business. He proposed that Franklin take on the company's debts, return the hundred pounds his father had advanced, pay his small personal debts, and give him thirty pounds and a new saddle. Franklin agreed, and the agreement was drawn up, signed, and sealed immediately.
Chapter 20
What did Franklin argue about paper currency, and how did he benefit?
Franklin sided with those wanting more paper money, persuaded the 1723 issue had increased trade, employment, and inhabitants. He wrote and printed an anonymous pamphlet, "The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency," well received by common people but disliked by the rich. The point carried in the House, and his friends rewarded him by employing him to print the money, a profitable job.
Chapter 20
How did Franklin cultivate the appearance of an industrious tradesman?
Franklin took care not only to be industrious and frugal in reality but to avoid all appearances to the contrary. He dressed plainly, was seen at no places of idle diversion, never went fishing or shooting, and sometimes brought home paper he purchased through the streets on a wheelbarrow to show he was not above his business. He was esteemed a thriving young man and merchants solicited his custom.
Chapter 20

Section 214 cards

Why did Franklin's proposed partnership with David Harry fail?
Franklin proposed a partnership with Harry, the apprentice he had instructed, fearing him as a rival because Harry's friends were able and influential. Harry rejected the offer with scorn. Proud and dressed like a gentleman, he lived expensively, ran into debt, and neglected his business, so all business left him. He then followed Keimer to Barbadoes, where he employed his former master as a journeyman.
Chapter 21
How did Bradford's control of the post-office disadvantage Franklin's newspaper?
Bradford kept the post-office, so people imagined he had better opportunities for obtaining news, and his paper was thought a better distributor of advertisements, giving him many more. Franklin did receive and send papers by post, but only by bribing the riders, since Bradford forbade it. Franklin resented this and later, in Bradford's situation, took care never to imitate it.
Chapter 21
Why did the Godfreys break off Franklin's courtship of their relative?
Mrs. Godfrey encouraged a match, but when Franklin asked for enough money with the daughter to pay off his printing-house debt, then about a hundred pounds, the family refused. After inquiring of Bradford, they were told printing was unprofitable, types would wear out, and Keimer and Harry had already failed, so Franklin would likely follow. He was forbidden the house and the daughter shut up.
Chapter 21
What were the terms and outcome of Franklin's subscription library?
Franklin drew up proposals, had Brockden put them into form, and with help from Junto friends procured fifty subscribers of forty shillings each to begin, plus ten shillings a year for fifty years. They later obtained a charter, and the company grew to one hundred. Franklin calls it the mother of all North American subscription libraries and argues they improved Americans' general conversation and contributed to colonial defense of privileges.
Chapter 21

Section 224 cards

Why did Franklin interrupt the first part of his autobiography?
The first portion was written with the original intention of recounting family anecdotes for his son, ending around 1730. Franklin notes that the affairs of the Revolution occasioned the interruption. What follows, he explains, was written many years later in compliance with advice contained in letters, and was accordingly intended for the public rather than private family reading.
Chapter 22
What does Abel James urge Franklin to do with his life account?
Abel James, a Quaker friend, recovered about twenty-three sheets in Franklin's handwriting addressed to his son and ending in 1730. He urges Franklin not to delay continuing it, arguing that life is uncertain and that such a work would be useful and entertaining to millions. He stresses its power to lead youth toward industry, temperance, frugality, and attention to business.
Chapter 22
What reasons does Benjamin Vaughan give for Franklin publishing his life?
Vaughan argues that if Franklin does not write his history, someone else will, perhaps doing as much harm as Franklin's own version might do good. He says it would advertise America to virtuous settlers, compare with Caesar and Tacitus for students of society, and, with the Art of Virtue, offer a rule and example of self-education, especially formative for youth.
Chapter 22
According to Vaughan, why must habits be shaped in youth?
Vaughan argues that influence on private character late in life is weak, because it is in youth that people plant chief habits and prejudices and take their party as to profession, pursuits, and matrimony. In youth the turn is given, the next generation's education is given, and private and public character is determined, so life ought to begin well from youth.
Chapter 22

Section 234 cards

What does Vaughan claim Franklin's account of himself will demonstrate about origin?
Vaughan argues Franklin's autobiography will show he is ashamed of no origin, and that it proves how little necessary origin is to happiness, virtue, or greatness. Since no end happens without a means, Vaughan says the work will reveal Franklin framed a plan by which he became considerable, with means as simple as wisdom could make them: depending upon nature, virtue, thought, and habit.
Chapter 23
What does Vaughan say the Quaker correspondent forgot to praise in Franklin?
Vaughan notes the Quaker correspondent praised Franklin's frugality, diligence, and temperance as a pattern for youth, but singularly forgot his modesty and disinterestedness. Without those, Vaughan says, Franklin never could have waited for his advancement or found his situation comfortable in the meantime, which he calls a strong lesson showing the poverty of glory and the importance of regulating our minds.
Chapter 23
Why does Vaughan argue Franklin's biography is a useful style of writing?
Vaughan says biography has gone a little out of vogue yet is very useful. Franklin's specimen may be serviceable as a subject of comparison with lives of public cutthroats and intriguers, absurd monastic self-tormentors, and vain literary triflers. If it encourages more writings of the same kind and induces more men to spend lives fit to be written, Vaughan says it will be worth all Plutarch's Lives put together.
Chapter 23
Why does Vaughan want Franklin to publish his character and the Art of Virtue?
Vaughan argues that if all men are conceived abandoned, good people will cease efforts deemed hopeless and may take their share in the scramble of life. He wants it established that fair characters exist among the race, and that good management may greatly amend man. He also says Franklin's character will face scrutiny amid the present revolution, so it should stand respectable before England, Europe, and his rising country.
Chapter 23

Section 244 cards

How did Franklin start the Philadelphia subscription library?
Franklin first had Junto members bring their books to the club room for common use. Finding this useful, he proposed a public subscription library, drafted rules, and had Charles Brockden formalize articles. Each subscriber paid forty shillings down and ten shillings annually. Only about fifty people, mostly young tradesmen, subscribed. Books were imported and the library opened one day a week for lending against promissory notes.
Chapter 24
Why did Franklin hide his role as proposer of useful projects?
Franklin found that people resisted subscribing when he presented himself as the proposer, since it might raise his reputation above his neighbors. He therefore kept himself out of sight and described the scheme as coming from a number of friends who had asked him to propose it. He says this made his affairs go more smoothly, practiced it thereafter, and recommends the small sacrifice of vanity.
Chapter 24
How did Franklin describe his habits of study and frugality in this period?
Franklin set apart an hour or two daily for study, calling reading his only amusement, and avoided taverns, games, and frolics. He was indebted for his printing-house and had a family to educate while competing with two established printers. He credits continued frugality and his father's repeated proverb about the diligent man standing before kings, noting he later stood before five kings and dined with the King of Denmark.
Chapter 24
What does Franklin's anecdote about the China bowl and silver spoon illustrate?
Franklin long ate bread and milk from a twopenny earthen porringer with a pewter spoon. One morning he found his breakfast served in a China bowl with a silver spoon, bought secretly by his wife at a cost of twenty-three shillings; her only excuse was that she thought her husband deserved them as much as any neighbor. Franklin presents this as the first appearance of plate and China in the house, which later grew to several hundred pounds in value.
Chapter 24

Section 254 cards

What religious essentials did Franklin say he never doubted?
Franklin states he never doubted the existence of the Deity, that God made and governs the world by Providence, that the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man, that souls are immortal, and that all crime will be punished and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter. He esteemed these the essentials of every religion and respected all religions accordingly.
Chapter 25
Why did Franklin stop attending the Presbyterian minister's sermons?
Franklin found the minister's discourses chiefly polemic arguments or explications of sect doctrines, which he called dry and unedifying, since no moral principle was inculcated. Even a sermon on Philippians 4:8 was confined to five points about Sabbath, Scripture, worship, sacrament, and respect for ministers. Disgusted, Franklin returned to his own 1728 liturgy and attended no more.
Chapter 25
What was Franklin's project and why did he find it harder than expected?
Franklin conceived the bold project of arriving at moral perfection, wishing to live without committing any fault and conquer natural inclination, custom, and company. He soon found it more difficult than imagined: guarding against one fault, he was surprised by another, and habit took advantage of inattention. He concluded speculative conviction was insufficient; contrary habits must be broken and good ones established.
Chapter 25
How did Franklin structure his thirteen virtues and why that order?
Franklin used more names with fewer ideas each, listing thirteen virtues with short precepts: Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquillity, Chastity, and Humility. He focused on one at a time rather than all at once, ordering them so earlier acquisitions facilitated later ones—Temperance first for a clear head, Silence second to gain knowledge by listening.
Chapter 25

Section 264 cards

How did Franklin structure his little book for tracking virtues?
He allotted a page per virtue, ruled with red ink into seven columns for the days of the week, crossed by thirteen red lines each labeled with the first letter of a virtue. In the proper line and column he marked a little black spot for every fault found on daily examination.
Chapter 26
What was Franklin's weekly method for tackling the thirteen virtues?
He gave strict attention to one virtue per week, guarding against the least offense against it while leaving others to ordinary chance and marking daily faults each evening. If the first line stayed clear, he extended attention to include the next virtue, completing a course in thirteen weeks and four courses a year.
Chapter 26
Which virtue gave Franklin the most trouble, and why?
Order. He found it practicable for someone who disposes his own time, like a journeyman printer, but not exactly observable by a master who must mix with the world and receive people at their own hours. He also found arranging places for things extremely difficult, having not been early accustomed to method.
Chapter 26
What did Franklin conclude about his self-examination plan over time?
He continued it with occasional intermissions, was surprised to find himself fuller of faults than imagined, but saw them diminish. To avoid holes from scraping out old marks, he moved tables to ivory leaves marked with pencil erasable by wet sponge. Later he did one course a year, then one in several years, and finally omitted them entirely due to voyages and business, though he always carried the book.
Chapter 26

Section 274 cards

What did Franklin conclude about his failure to achieve perfect Order?
Franklin admits he was "incorrigible with respect to Order" and never reached the perfection he sought. Yet he argues the endeavor itself made him "a better and a happier man" than if he had never attempted it, comparing it to those who imitate engraved writing copies: they may never match the copies, but their hand improves through the effort.
Chapter 27
To which virtues did Franklin ascribe his health, fortune, reputation, and cheerfulness?
Franklin credits Temperance with his long-continued health and remaining good constitution; Industry and Frugality with the early easiness of his circumstances, his fortune, and the knowledge that made him a useful citizen; Sincerity and Justice with the confidence of his country and its honorable employs; and the joint influence of all the virtues, even imperfectly acquired, with his evenness of temper and cheerfulness in conversation.
Chapter 27
Why did Franklin deliberately avoid sectarian tenets in his virtue scheme?
Franklin says his scheme was not wholly without religion but contained no distinguishing tenets of any particular sect, which he purposely avoided. Persuaded of the method's utility, and intending someday to publish it, he wanted nothing in it that might prejudice anyone of any sect against it. He planned a comment on each virtue, to be called The Art of Virtue, showing the means of obtaining virtue rather than merely exhorting people to be good.
Chapter 27
How did Franklin practice humility, and what effect did it have?
After a Quaker friend told him he was thought proud and overbearing, Franklin added Humility to his list. He forbore direct contradiction and positive assertion, banning words like "certainly" in favor of "I conceive" or "it so appears to me." He found conversation went more pleasantly, his opinions met readier reception, and he was less mortified when wrong. He admits he gained more the appearance than the reality of humility.
Chapter 27

Section 283 cards

What did Franklin's 1731 observations say motivates parties in public affairs?
Franklin observed that parties are driven by their present general interest, or what they take to be such, and that differing party views cause confusion. While a party pursues a general design, each man has his private interest in view; once the party gains its point, members turn to private interests, which thwarts others and splits the party into divisions, causing more confusion.
Chapter 28
What six points did Franklin's intended creed contain?
Franklin's proposed creed held: there is one God who made all things; he governs the world by providence; he ought to be worshiped by adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving; the most acceptable service of God is doing good to man; the soul is immortal; and God will certainly reward virtue and punish vice, either here or hereafter. He thought it contained the essentials of every known religion without shocking any professors.
Chapter 28
Why did Franklin publish Poor Richard's Almanac and what did he fill it with?
Franklin published the Almanack from 1732 under the name Richard Saunders, continuing it about twenty-five years and selling near ten thousand annually. Seeing it was widely read, he used it to instruct common people who bought scarcely any other books, filling the little spaces between remarkable calendar days with proverbial sentences chiefly inculcating industry and frugality as means of procuring wealth and thereby securing virtue.
Chapter 28

Section 294 cards

What did Franklin exclude from his newspaper, and how did he answer writers citing liberty of the press?
Franklin says he carefully excluded all libelling and personal abuse from his newspaper. When writers invoked liberty of the press, comparing a paper to a stage-coach open to anyone who paid, he replied that he would print the piece separately and give the author as many copies as he pleased, but would not spread his detraction, since subscribers had contracted for what was useful or entertaining.
Chapter 29
What partnership did Franklin arrange in Charleston in 1733, and how did the widow's management differ from her husband's?
Franklin sent a journeyman to Charleston, South Carolina, furnishing a press and letters on a partnership giving him one-third of profits while paying one-third of expenses. The man was learned and honest but ignorant in accounts and never gave satisfactory statements. After his death his Dutch-born widow sent a clear state of past transactions and accounted exactly every quarter, supporting her children and eventually buying the printing-house.
Chapter 29
Why does Franklin recommend accounting education for young females?
Franklin mentions the Charleston affair chiefly to recommend that branch of education for young females, arguing it is likely to be more useful to them and their children in case of widowhood than either music or dancing. It preserves them from losses by crafty men and enables them to continue a profitable mercantile house with established correspondence until a son is grown fit to carry it on.
Chapter 29
What happened to the preacher Hemphill, and why did Franklin stand by him?
Hemphill, an Irish Presbyterian preacher, drew large audiences with apparently extempore sermons stressing good works, but orthodox Presbyterians and old clergy arraigned him for heterodoxy before the synod. An adversary found part of a praised sermon quoted in a British Review from Dr. Foster, and many supporters abandoned him. Franklin stuck by him, preferring good sermons composed by others to bad ones of one's own.
Chapter 29

Section 304 cards

Why did Franklin think language teaching was inconsistent?
Franklin argued that schools wrongly begin with Latin, claiming modern languages derived from it would then be easier, yet they do not begin with Greek to ease Latin. He proposed starting with French, then Italian, so students who quit would still possess a useful modern tongue.
Chapter 30
What did Franklin regret about his four-year-old son's death?
Franklin lost a son of four to smallpox caught in the common way in 1736. He wrote that he long regretted bitterly, and still regretted, not having given the boy inoculation. He mentioned it for parents who omit the operation, showing regret may be the same either way, so the safer should be chosen.
Chapter 30
How did Franklin turn an opposing assemblyman into a friend?
A new member of fortune and education spoke against Franklin's re-election as clerk. Franklin did not pay servile respect; instead he asked to borrow a scarce, curious book from the man's library, returned it promptly with thanks, and the man afterward became civil and a great friend until death.
Chapter 30
What was Franklin's proposal instead of enlarging the Junto?
Rather than exceed the settled number of twelve, Franklin proposed in writing that each member separately form a subordinate club with the same rules, without revealing its connection to the Junto. Advantages included improving more young citizens, learning public sentiment, extending business recommendations, and spreading Junto influence. Only five or six clubs were completed.
Chapter 30

Section 314 cards

How did Franklin benefit from becoming Philadelphia's postmaster in 1737?
Colonel Spotswood, postmaster-general, dismissed his negligent deputy and offered the post to Franklin, who accepted readily. Though the salary was small, it facilitated correspondence that improved his newspaper, increased demand and advertisements, and produced considerable income. His competitor's paper declined proportionably, and Franklin was satisfied without retaliating by denying him the riders.
Chapter 31
What problems with the city watch did Franklin identify, and what did he propose?
Constables took turns managing the watch, and those excused paid six shillings yearly, more than needed for substitutes, making the office profitable. Constables often hired ragamuffins for drink, rounds were neglected, and nights spent tippling. Franklin stressed the tax's inequality: a poor widow with fifty pounds of property paid as much as a wealthy merchant. He proposed hiring proper men and taxing in proportion to property.
Chapter 31
What was the Union Fire Company, and what did Franklin claim it achieved?
After his paper on fire accidents, Franklin helped form a company of thirty associates. Members kept leather buckets, strong bags, and baskets ready and met monthly to discuss fire ideas. More companies formed until most propertied inhabitants belonged. Fines for absence bought fire-engines, ladders, and hooks. Franklin claims that since these institutions, the city never lost more than one or two houses at a time to fire.
Chapter 31
How did Franklin describe George Whitefield's preaching and its effect on Philadelphia?
Whitefield, an itinerant preacher from Ireland, was first permitted in some churches but, disliked by the clergy, preached in fields to enormous multitudes. Franklin, one of the audience, marveled at his oratory's influence despite Whitefield's abuse of hearers as half beasts and half devils. Inhabitants grew noticeably religious, with psalms heard in every street. A large building was erected, vested in trustees for any preacher of any persuasion.
Chapter 31

Section 324 cards

Why did Franklin refuse to contribute to Whitefield's Georgia Orphan House?
Franklin did not disapprove of the design, but argued that since Georgia lacked materials and workmen, sending them from Philadelphia at great expense was wasteful. He advised building the house in Philadelphia and bringing the children there. Whitefield rejected this counsel, so Franklin refused to contribute to the original project.
Chapter 32
What happened when Franklin attended Whitefield's sermon intending to give nothing?
Franklin resolved to give nothing, but as Whitefield proceeded he softened and planned to give coppers, then felt ashamed and decided on silver, and finally emptied his pocket entirely—gold and all—into the collector's dish. A club member who had emptied his pockets beforehand still borrowed money to give.
Chapter 32
How did Franklin test the reach of Whitefield's voice?
Franklin retired backward down Market-street toward the river while Whitefield preached from the Court-house steps, finding the voice distinct until near Front-street, where street noise obscured it. Imagining a semicircle with that distance as radius and two square feet per auditor, he computed Whitefield might be heard by more than thirty thousand, reconciling him to reports of twenty-five thousand hearers.
Chapter 32
Why did Franklin think Whitefield's writing harmed his reputation?
Franklin argues that unguarded expressions in preaching could later be explained, qualified, or denied, but written words remain (litera scripta manet). Critics attacked Whitefield's writings with enough appearance of reason to reduce his followers. Franklin opines that had Whitefield never written anything, he would have left a larger sect and a reputation still growing after death.
Chapter 32

Section 334 cards

Why did Franklin's printing partnerships avoid the quarrels he says often end them?
Franklin attributes the amicable conduct and ending of his partnerships largely to a precaution: the articles explicitly settled everything to be done by or expected from each partner, leaving nothing to dispute. He recommends this practice to all who enter partnerships, warning that little jealousies and disgusts can arise later over unequal care and burden, leading to breach of friendship, lawsuits, and other disagreeable consequences.
Chapter 33
What did Franklin do to promote defense in Pennsylvania when the governor's militia law failed?
With Spain at war with Britain and France joining, and Governor Thomas's efforts to get the Quaker Assembly to pass a militia law having proved abortive, Franklin tried a voluntary association. He wrote and published the pamphlet Plain Truth, stressing the defenceless situation and the need for union and discipline. At a packed meeting he read and explained the instrument; it was eagerly signed, reaching above twelve hundred hands, and eventually upward of ten thousand subscribers.
Chapter 33
How did Franklin obtain cannon from Governor Clinton of New York?
Franklin, Colonel Lawrence, William Allen, and Abram Taylor were commissioned by the associators to borrow cannon from Governor Clinton. He at first refused peremptorily, but at dinner with his council, where much Madeira was drunk as the custom then was, he softened by degrees: first six cannon, then ten after more bumpers, and at length eighteen. These eighteen-pounders with carriages were transported and mounted on the battery, where Franklin took his regular turn as a common soldier.
Chapter 33
What rule did Franklin state about offices, and what happened at the next election?
Friends warned Franklin his activity might offend the Quakers and cost him his Assembly clerkship; a young gentleman advised him to resign rather than be turned out. Franklin answered that he approved a public man's rule never to ask for an office nor refuse one, adding that he would never ask, never refuse, nor ever resign. He said they must take the office from him, so he would not lose his right of making reprisals. He heard no more of it and was chosen again unanimously.
Chapter 33

Section 343 cards

What anecdote did James Logan tell Franklin about William Penn and defense?
Logan, Penn's secretary, said that on a wartime voyage their ship was chased by a suspected enemy vessel. The captain prepared for defense but excused the Quakers, who retired to the cabin—except Logan, who stayed on deck at a gun. The supposed enemy proved friendly, yet Penn rebuked Logan before the company for acting against Friends' principles. Logan retorted that Penn was willing enough for him to fight when danger seemed real.
Chapter 34
How did the Pennsylvania Assembly disguise grants for military purposes?
Franklin says the Quaker majority, unwilling to offend the crown by refusing or their Friends by complying, used evasions. The common mode was granting money 'for the king's use' without inquiring how it was applied. When New England needed powder, they voted three thousand pounds for 'bread, flour, wheat, or other grain'; Governor Thomas accepted, saying he understood 'other grain is gunpowder.'
Chapter 34
What did Franklin propose to Syng if the lottery proposal failed?
Franklin told his friend Mr. Syng that if they failed, they should move to buy a fire-engine with the money, since Quakers could have no objection to that. Then, if each nominated the other to the committee, they would buy a great gun, 'which is certainly a fire-engine.' Syng replied that Franklin had improved by his years in the Assembly and that the equivocal project matched the wheat-or-other-grain trick.
Chapter 34

Section 354 cards

Why did the Dunkers refuse to publish a confession of faith?
Michael Welfare explained that God had gradually enlightened them, turning former errors into truths and diminishing their errors. Since they were not sure they had reached the end of this progression, they feared printing a confession would bind them and their successors, who might treat the founders' words as sacred and resist further improvement.
Chapter 35
What did Franklin do with his 1742 stove invention and why?
Franklin invented an open stove that warmed rooms while saving fuel by warming incoming fresh air. He gave the model to Robert Grace, whose iron furnace profited from casting plates, and wrote a pamphlet promoting demand. Governor Thomas offered him a patent, but Franklin declined, arguing that since we benefit from others' inventions, we should freely serve others with our own.
Chapter 35
How did a London ironmonger profit from Franklin's stove?
The ironmonger took much of Franklin's pamphlet, reworked it as his own, made small changes to the machine that actually hurt its operation, and obtained a patent in London, reportedly making a small fortune. Franklin says this was not the only patent taken out for his inventions by others, and he never contested them, disliking disputes and not wanting to profit from patents himself.
Chapter 35
How did Franklin launch the academy that became the University of Pennsylvania?
After peace ended the association, Franklin gathered active friends, many from the Junto, and published Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania, distributed free. He then started a subscription paid in yearly quotas over five years, raising about five thousand pounds. Subscribers chose twenty-four trustees, and Franklin and Mr. Francis drafted constitutions; a house was hired and schools opened, he thinks, in 1749.
Chapter 35

Section 362 cards

What partnership did Franklin form, and how long did it last?
The year before, Franklin took as partner Mr. David Hall, whom he calls very able, industrious, and honest, and who had worked for him four years. Hall took over all care of the printing-office and paid Franklin his share of profits punctually. The partnership continued eighteen years, successfully for both.
Chapter 36
How did Franklin handle liquor at the Carlisle treaty, and what happened after?
Because the Indians were apt to get drunk and quarrelsome, the commissioners strictly forbade selling them liquor, promising plenty of rum once business was over if they stayed sober. They kept the promise since no liquor was available, and the treaty concluded to mutual satisfaction. After receiving the rum, about a hundred got drunk and fought; next day their counselors apologized, blaming the rum.
Chapter 36

Section 374 cards

Who first conceived the idea of a Philadelphia hospital, and who was often credited?
Dr. Thomas Bond, a particular friend of Franklin, conceived the idea of establishing a hospital in Philadelphia for the reception and cure of poor sick persons, whether inhabitants of the province or strangers. Franklin notes the beneficent design has been ascribed to him, but was originally Bond's. Bond's early subscription efforts met with small success because the proposal was a novelty in America and not well understood.
Chapter 37
What condition in Franklin's hospital bill persuaded the Assembly to pass it?
Franklin made the key clause conditional: the speaker of the Assembly was required to sign an order for two thousand pounds only after contributors chose managers and treasurer and raised a capital stock, proven to the speaker's satisfaction. Members who opposed the grant now thought they could have credit for charity without the expense, so they agreed. Franklin also urged the law's conditional promise as a motive to give, since each donation would be doubled.
Chapter 37
What advice did Franklin give Rev. Gilbert Tennent about soliciting subscriptions?
Franklin refused to solicit contributions himself and refused to name generous people, thinking it unbecoming to mark them out to be worried by other beggars. He did advise Tennent to apply first to those known to give, then to the uncertain while showing them the list of givers, and lastly not to neglect those sure to give nothing, since some might be mistaken. Tennent followed the advice, asked everybody, and raised more than expected.
Chapter 37
How did Franklin get the market street paved and kept clean?
Franklin talked and wrote on the subject until the street between the market and the brick foot-pavement was paved with stone, giving dry-shod access for a time. Because the rest of the street was unpaved and the city had no scavengers, mud soon covered it. Franklin found a poor industrious man willing to sweep it twice a week for sixpence per month per house, wrote a paper on the advantages, and got unanimous agreement. The cleanliness raised a general desire to pave all streets.
Chapter 37

Section 384 cards

Who first demonstrated the utility of street lamps in Philadelphia, and what did Franklin contribute?
Franklin credits the late Mr. John Clifton with first impressing people with the idea of lighting the city by placing a lamp at his door. Franklin says he merely followed Clifton's example; his own merit concerns only the form of the lamps, which he redesigned from the London globe lamps.
Chapter 38
Why were London's globe lamps unsatisfactory, and how did Franklin's design improve them?
The globe lamps admitted no air below, so smoke circulated inside, coated the glass, and dimmed the light; they also needed daily wiping and broke entirely from one stroke. Franklin suggested four flat panes, a long funnel above to draw smoke up, and crevices below to admit air, keeping lamps bright till morning and breaking only a single pane when struck.
Chapter 38
What did Franklin observe about London's streets when dry, and what reason was given for not sweeping them?
Franklin observed that dry streets were never swept; dust accumulated until wet weather turned it to mud, which lay deep until laborers raked it into open carts that leaked slush onto the pavement. The reason given for not sweeping was that dust would fly into the windows of shops and houses.
Chapter 38
What did Franklin's proposal to Dr. Fothergill recommend for cleaning London's streets?
Franklin proposed contracting watchmen to sweep dust in dry seasons and rake mud at other times, with brooms kept at their stands for employing the poor. Dust should be swept into heaps before shops open and carted away in covered carts; mud should go into low, lattice-bottomed carts lined with straw so water drains out. Franklin later doubted the draining-sled part but still thought the dust-sweeping practicable.
Chapter 38

Section 394 cards

What does Franklin argue produces human felicity, and what example does he give?
The author argues human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day. He illustrates with teaching a poor young man to shave himself and keep his razor in order, which may contribute more to his life's happiness than a thousand guineas, since money is soon spent while the daily convenience endures.
Chapter 39
What post did Franklin receive in 1753, and on what financial terms?
Upon the death of the postmaster-general of America, Franklin was appointed jointly with Mr. William Hunter to succeed him, by commission from the postmaster-general in England. They were to receive six hundred pounds a year between them if they could make that sum from the office's profits. The office initially went over nine hundred pounds in debt to them before becoming profitable.
Chapter 39
What was the fate of Franklin's Albany Plan of Union?
The plan proposed a president-general appointed and supported by the crown and a grand council chosen by the colonies' representatives. Congress unanimously agreed to it, but the colonial assemblies rejected it as having too much prerogative, while England judged it to have too much of the democratic. The Board of Trade did not approve it.
Chapter 39
Why did Franklin believe his union plan would have benefited both sides?
The author argues the colonies, so united, would have been strong enough to defend themselves, so no troops from England would have been needed, and the subsequent pretence for taxing America and the bloody contest it occasioned would have been avoided. He suspects the contrary reasons for disliking it show it was the true medium, and notes history is full of errors of states and princes.
Chapter 39

Section 404 cards

What advice did Franklin give Governor Morris about avoiding disputes?
Franklin advised Morris that he could have a comfortable administration if he took care not to enter into any dispute with the Assembly. Morris replied that he loved disputing, calling it one of his greatest pleasures, but promised to avoid disputes if possible out of regard for Franklin's counsel. Franklin notes that disputing people sometimes win victories but never gain goodwill.
Chapter 40
How did Franklin fund aid to New England without the governor's assent?
When the governor refused assent unless the proprietary estate was exempted from tax, Franklin proposed issuing orders on the trustees of the Loan Office, which the Assembly could draw by law. The orders were payable in a year with five per cent interest, backed by loan-office interest and excise revenue. They obtained instant credit, were used to buy provisions, and were eagerly bought up as investments.
Chapter 40
Why did the British government send General Braddock with troops instead of permitting colonial union?
Franklin states the British government would not permit the union of the colonies proposed at Albany, nor trust that union with their defense, lest the colonies grow too military and feel their own strength, since suspicions and jealousies were entertained of them. Instead it sent General Braddock with two regiments of regular English troops. Braddock landed at Alexandria, marched to Frederictown, and halted for carriages.
Chapter 40
What did Franklin identify as the root cause of the public quarrels with the governors?
Franklin argues the quarrels were at bottom owing to the proprietaries, the hereditary governors. When expense was needed to defend the province, they instructed their deputies to pass no tax act unless their vast estates were expressly excused, and even took bonds from deputies to observe these instructions. The Assemblies held out for three years but were constrained to bend at last.
Chapter 40

Section 414 cards

Why did Braddock's officers say the expedition was at an end?
Only twenty-five waggons were returned, and not all were serviceable, though at least one hundred and fifty were needed. The general and officers were surprised and exclaimed against the ministers for landing them in a country destitute of means to convey stores and baggage.
Chapter 41
What hire rates did Franklin's advertisement offer for waggons and horses?
Fifteen shillings per day for each waggon with four good horses and a driver; two shillings per day for each able horse with saddle and furniture; eighteen pence per day for each able horse without a saddle. Pay commenced from joining the forces at Will's Creek by May 20.
Chapter 41
What protection did the advertisement give to waggon drivers and hired horses?
Drivers and those caring for hired horses were not on any account to be called upon to do soldiers' duty or be otherwise employed than in conducting or caring for their carriages or horses. Owners were also paid for forage brought to camp beyond the horses' needs, at a reasonable price.
Chapter 41
Why did Franklin prefer fair contracts over sending armed forces into the counties?
He apprehended that British soldiers marching through the counties, especially given their temper and resentment, would bring many great inconveniences to inhabitants. He therefore preferred trying fair and equitable means first, warning that if voluntary service failed, violent measures would probably be used and compensation uncertain.
Chapter 41

Section 424 cards

How did Franklin secure the 150 wagons and 259 horses for Braddock's campaign?
Franklin received about £800 from the general as advance money for wagon owners, but that was insufficient, so he advanced over £200 of his own. Because owners distrusted General Braddock's promise of payment for lost wagons or horses, they insisted on Franklin's personal bond, which he gave. Within two weeks the wagons and horses were marching for the camp.
Chapter 42
What did Franklin arrange for the subalterns of Dunbar's regiment, and how?
Colonel Dunbar told Franklin the subalterns were poor and could not afford supplies for the long wilderness march. Franklin said nothing to Dunbar of his plan but wrote to the Assembly committee holding public money, recommending a present of necessaries. His son, experienced in camp life, drew up the list. The committee approved, and the stores, in twenty parcels, arrived with the wagons.
Chapter 42
What did Franklin see as the danger to Braddock's march, and how did Braddock respond?
Franklin feared the army's slender line, nearly four miles long, could be surprised in the flanks by Indian ambushes and cut apart, with separated units unable to support each other. Braddock smiled at his ignorance, saying Indians might be formidable to raw American militia but could make no impression on the king's regular, disciplined troops. Franklin said no more.
Chapter 42
How does Franklin characterize General Braddock's faults?
Franklin says Braddock was, he thinks, a brave man who might have made a figure as a good officer in some European war. But he had too much self-confidence, too high an opinion of regular troops' validity, and too mean an opinion of both Americans and Indians. Franklin notes Braddock slighted and neglected Croghan's hundred Indians, who might have served as guides and scouts, and they gradually left him.
Chapter 42

Section 434 cards

What did Franklin request as his only reward from General Braddock?
Franklin asked only that Braddock order his officers to stop enlisting the colonists' indentured servants and to discharge those already enlisted. Braddock readily granted this, and several servants were returned to their masters on Franklin's application. Franklin notes that Dunbar, who took command afterward, was not so generous: he promised to deliver three Lancaster county farmers' servants at Trenton but refused when they came, to their great loss.
Chapter 43
What did Franklin do when asked to fund fireworks celebrating the expected capture of Fort Duquesne?
Doctors Bond brought a subscription paper for a grand firework to celebrate news of taking Fort Duquesne. Franklin looked grave and said it would be time enough to prepare for rejoicing when they knew they had occasion to rejoice, noting that the events of war are subject to great uncertainty. The subscription was dropped, sparing the projectors mortification. Dr. Bond later said he did not like Franklin's forebodings.
Chapter 43
What did Franklin conclude about British regulars after Braddock's defeat and Dunbar's retreat?
Franklin says this whole transaction gave Americans the first suspicion that their exalted ideas of the prowess of British regulars were not well founded. He adds that on the first march the regulars had plundered and stripped inhabitants, ruining some poor families and abusing those who remonstrated. He contrasts this with the French in 1781, whose long march occasioned not the smallest complaint for a pig, chicken, or apple.
Chapter 43
How did Franklin escape ruin over the bonds he gave for the lost wagons and horses?
Franklin had given bond to pay owners the valuation of wagons and horses lost when Braddock's expedition abandoned them. When the loss became known, owners demanded payment and some began to sue him, despite his explaining the money was ready but required orders from General Shirley. Shirley eventually relieved him by appointing commissioners to examine the claims and ordering payment; they amounted to near twenty thousand pounds, which would have ruined Franklin.
Chapter 43

Section 444 cards

What did Franklin write to promote the militia association, and how did he keep Quakers on board?
Franklin wrote a dialogue stating and answering all the objections he could think of to a militia; it was printed and, he thought, had great effect. The militia bill was carried through the House without much difficulty because care was taken to leave the Quakers at their liberty. He had also helped model the tax bill with its exempting clause and was appointed a commissioner for disposing of sixty thousand pounds.
Chapter 44
Why did the Moravians of Bethlehem seem prepared for war despite their exemption from military duties?
Franklin was surprised to find Bethlehem well defended: stockaded buildings, arms and ammunition bought from New York, paving stones placed between windows for women to throw, and armed brethren keeping watch like a garrison. Bishop Spangenberg explained that refusing arms was not an established principle; when the exemption act was obtained, it was thought to be a principle with many, but on this occasion few adopted it. Franklin remarks that common sense, aided by present danger, will sometimes be too strong for whimsical opinions.
Chapter 44
What happened to the eleven farmers Franklin armed, and why did their guns fail?
The farmers, driven from their plantations by the Indians, asked Franklin for firearms so they could return and fetch off their cattle; he gave each a gun with suitable ammunition. That rainy day the Indians met them and killed ten. The survivor reported that their guns would not go off because the priming was wet with the rain. Franklin notes his own men's arms were of the most ordinary sort and their gun locks could not be kept dry.
Chapter 44
What did Franklin observe about men's contentment when employed, and what anecdote illustrates it?
Franklin observed that when men are employed they are best contented: on working days they were good-natured and cheerful and spent the evening jollily, conscious of a good day's work; on idle days they were mutinous and quarrelsome, finding fault with their pork and bread. He recalls a sea-captain whose rule was to keep men constantly at work; when told there was nothing left to do, he said, "Make them scour the anchor."
Chapter 44

Section 454 cards

How did the Indians conceal their fires while watching the camp in winter?
They dug holes about three feet in diameter and somewhat deeper, made small fires of charcoal in the bottom, and lay all round with their legs hanging down in the holes to keep their feet warm. Managed this way, the fire revealed them by no light, flame, sparks, or even smoke. Franklin notes their number seemed small and they judged the garrison too many to attack with prospect of advantage.
Chapter 45
How did Franklin get the men to attend the chaplain's prayers?
The men were promised a gill of rum a day at enlistment, served half in the morning and half in the evening, and attended that punctually. Franklin suggested to the Presbyterian minister, Mr. Beatty, that though dealing rum might be below his profession's dignity, serving it only just after prayers would bring the men about him. Beatty did so, and prayers were never more generally attended; Franklin thought this preferable to military punishment for non-attendance.
Chapter 45
What did Franklin observe about the Moravians at Bethlehem?
Franklin found they worked for a common stock, ate at common tables, and slept in common dormitories in great numbers. He noted loopholes under the ceiling of the dormitories, which he thought judiciously placed for change of air, and heard good music at their church. Their sermons were preached to separate groups rather than mixed congregations; the children's discourse seemed well adapted and familiar, but the children looked pale and unhealthy, which made him suspect too little exercise.
Chapter 45
What did Franklin learn about Moravian marriages by lot?
Franklin was told lots were used only in particular cases. Generally a young man told the elders of his class, who consulted the elder ladies governing the young women; since these elders knew their pupils' tempers, their judgments were generally acquiesced in. Lots were used, for example, if two or three young women seemed equally proper. When Franklin objected that matches without mutual choice might be unhappy, his informer replied, "And so they may, if you let the parties chuse for themselves," which Franklin could not deny.
Chapter 45

Section 464 cards

Why did the proprietor take offense at the officers escorting Franklin out of town?
The officers, between thirty and forty, mounted and in uniform, escorted Franklin to the Lower Ferry and rode with drawn swords. The proprietor said no such honor had been paid to him or his governors in the province, and that it was proper only to princes of the blood royal. Franklin, averse to assuming state, was chagrined and would have prevented it had he known.
Chapter 46
What did the proprietor accuse Franklin of to the ministry, and what came of his bid to remove him?
He accused Franklin of being the great obstacle to the king's service, of preventing proper money bills through his Assembly influence, and cited the officer parade as proof Franklin meant to seize the provincial government by force. He asked Sir Everard Fawkener, the postmaster-general, to deprive Franklin of his office, but this only produced a gentle admonition from Sir Everard.
Chapter 46
How did Franklin explain the governor's lack of personal resentment toward him?
Despite continual wrangling between governor and House, they kept civil intercourse and never had a personal difference. Franklin sometimes thought the governor's little resentment, even over answers Franklin drew up to his messages, might be professional habit: bred a lawyer, he might see them as advocates for contending clients, he for the proprietaries and Franklin for the Assembly. He sometimes called to advise with Franklin and occasionally took his advice.
Chapter 46
How did Franklin's electrical experiments begin and reach publication?
In 1746 at Boston, Dr. Spence showed him imperfect electrical experiments that surprised and pleased him. The library company then received a glass tube from Mr. P. Collinson, and Franklin practiced eagerly, adding new experiments. His letters to Collinson were read at the Royal Society but at first laughed at; Dr. Fothergill advised printing them, and Cave issued them as a pamphlet that grew to a quarto volume with five editions.
Chapter 46

Section 473 cards

What event gave Franklin's book sudden and general celebrity?
The success of one of its proposed experiments, made by Messrs. Dalibard and De Lor at Marly, for drawing lightning from the clouds. This engaged public attention everywhere. M. de Lor, who lectured in experimental philosophy, undertook to repeat what he called the Philadelphia Experiments, and after they were performed before the king and court, all the curious of Paris flocked to see them.
Chapter 47
How did the Royal Society eventually honor Franklin?
After Dr. Watson drew up a summary of Franklin's letters, printed in their Transactions, and members including Mr. Canton verified the pointed-rod lightning experiment, the Society elected Franklin a member without his applying. They excused him the customary payments amounting to twenty-five guineas, gave him their Transactions gratis, and presented him the gold medal of Sir Godfrey Copley for 1753 with a speech by Lord Macclesfield.
Chapter 47
How did Franklin respond to Governor Denny's private solicitations?
Franklin said his circumstances made proprietary favors unnecessary, and as a member of the Assembly he could not accept any. He had no personal enmity to the proprietary and would zealously forward any measures for the good of the people, his past opposition having been founded on measures intended to serve the proprietary interest at great prejudice to the people. He promised to make Denny's administration easy, hoping he had not brought the same unfortunate instructions as his predecessor.
Chapter 47

Section 484 cards

Why did the Assembly petition the king, and whom did it appoint as agent?
The Assembly found the proprietary obstinately persisted in manacling their deputies with instructions inconsistent with the people's privileges and with the service of the crown. It resolved to petition the king against them and appointed Franklin its agent to go to England to present and support the petition. The governor had also refused to pass a bill granting sixty thousand pounds for the king's use, ten thousand of it subject to Lord Loudoun's orders.
Chapter 48
How did Lord Loudoun's mediation end, and what did the Assembly do?
Loudoun met with the governor and Franklin to hear both sides. Franklin urged the Assembly's arguments; the governor pleaded his instructions and the bond to observe them. Loudoun declined to advise the governor to hazard disobedience and instead urged the Assembly to comply, warning he would spare no king's troops for the frontier. Franklin then presented resolutions declaring the Assembly's rights, which it did not relinquish but only suspended through force, and the House dropped the bill for one conformable to the proprietary instructions.
Chapter 48
What did Franklin learn about Lord Loudoun's character while waiting to sail?
Franklin found indecision one of Loudoun's strongest features. Franklin reached New York about the beginning of April but did not sail until near the end of June, as paquet-boats were detained for the general's letters, always to be ready to-morrow. The messenger Innis called daily for a fortnight for a letter not yet ready. Franklin later understood Mr. Pitt removed Loudoun partly because the minister never heard from him.
Chapter 48
What happened to the fleet and paquets after sailing, and what news came during Loudoun's absence?
The fleet sailed with the general and army bound for Louisburg to besiege it, the paquet-boats ordered to attend the general's ship for dispatches. After five days Franklin's ship got leave to part and steered for England. Loudoun detained the other two paquets, carried them to Halifax for sham attacks on sham forts, then abandoned besieging Louisburg and returned to New York with troops and passengers. Meanwhile the French and savages had taken Fort George, and the savages massacred many of the garrison after capitulation.
Chapter 48

Section 494 cards

Why did Captain Bonnell fail to get leave to clean his ship's bottom?
Bonnell asked Lord Loudoun for three days to heave down and clean his foul-bottomed paquet-boat. Loudoun offered only one day, saying the ship must sail the day after tomorrow. Bonnell never obtained leave, and was then detained from day to day for a full three months.
Chapter 49
How does Franklin compare Shirley's and Loudoun's conduct of the 1757 campaign?
The author argues Shirley, though not a bred soldier, was sensible, attentive to good advice, capable of judicious plans, and quick to execute them, and would have made a much better campaign. He calls Loudoun's 1757 campaign frivolous, expensive, and disgraceful, noting Loudoun idled at Halifax, leaving the colonies exposed so Fort George was lost.
Chapter 49
Why did Lord Loudoun refuse to pay Franklin his Braddock provisions balance?
Loudoun had the accounts examined and certified correct, but kept postponing the order on the paymaster. He finally said he would not mix his accounts with his predecessors', telling Franklin to exhibit them at the English treasury. He also dismissed Franklin's claim of charging no commission, saying everyone supplying the army fills his own pockets. Franklin says he was never paid.
Chapter 49
What did the paquet captain do to make his slow ship sail faster?
Suspecting the ship was loaded too much by the head, with water casks placed forward, Captain Lutwidge ordered all hands, about forty persons including passengers, to come aft and stand near the ensign staff. The ship mended her pace and left a neighboring ship behind; moving the casks further aft restored her speed, and she proved the sailer in the fleet.
Chapter 49

Section 504 cards

What did Franklin propose to determine by experiments in sailing?
Franklin observed that sea officers on successive watches trimmed sails differently with the same wind, seeming to have no certain rule. He proposed a set of experiments to determine the most proper hull form for swift sailing, the best dimensions and placement of masts, the form and quantity of sails and their position relative to the wind, and the disposition of the lading. He expected some ingenious philosopher would soon undertake this.
Chapter 50
How was the ship saved from wrecking near the Scilly Isles?
A watchman in the bow repeatedly answered "Ay ay" but may have been half asleep and did not see a light hidden by the studdingsails. An accidental yaw revealed it near midnight, appearing as big as a cart-wheel. Captain Kennedy jumped on deck and ordered the ship to wear round with all sails standing, a dangerous maneuver for the masts, which carried them clear of the rocks and lighthouse.
Chapter 50
What did Lord Granville tell Franklin about the king's instructions?
Lord Granville, then President of the Council, told Franklin that Americans had wrong ideas about their constitution. He said the king's instructions to governors were not like trifling pocket instructions to a minister abroad: they were drawn up by learned judges, debated and possibly amended in Council, and signed by the king, making them, as they related to the colonies, the law of the land, since the king was the Legislator of the Colonies. Franklin wrote this down as alarming.
Chapter 50
Why did Franklin refuse to negotiate directly with Ferdinand John Paris?
The proprietaries put Franklin's written complaints into the hands of their solicitor, Ferdinand John Paris, who managed their law business and wrote their papers. Franklin describes him as a proud, angry man with a mortal enmity toward Franklin, arising from the Assembly's severe treatment of his weak and haughty papers. Discovering this enmity whenever they met, Franklin declined to discuss the complaints with Paris alone and refused to treat with anyone but the proprietaries themselves.
Chapter 50

Section 514 cards

Why did the proprietaries oppose the act taxing their estate?
The proprietaries, counselled by Paris, petitioned the king in Council to block royal assent. Their lawyers argued the act was meant to load the proprietary estate to spare the people's, and that if left to the mercy of assessors who held the proprietaries in odium, they would inevitably be ruined. Franklin's side replied the act had no such intention or effect.
Chapter 51
What engagement did Lord Mansfield propose to Franklin and Charles?
Lord Mansfield took Franklin into the clerk's chamber and asked if he truly believed no injury would be done the proprietary estate under the act. Franklin said certainly. Mansfield proposed an engagement assuring that point; Franklin and Mr. Charles, also an agent of the Province, signed a paper drawn up by the Clerk of the Council, and the law was allowed to pass.
Chapter 51
How did the Assembly verify the tax was assessed fairly?
After one year's tax was levied before the Council's order arrived, the Assembly appointed a committee to examine the assessors' proceedings, putting several particular friends of the proprietaries on it. After a full enquiry, the committee unanimously signed a report that the tax had been assessed with perfect equity.
Chapter 51
How did the proprietaries react to Governor Denny passing the act?
The proprietaries were enraged at Governor Denny for passing the act and turned him out with threats of suing him for breach of instructions he had given bond to observe. He had done it at the instance of the General and for His Majesty's service, and having powerful interests at court, he despised the threats, which were never put in execution.
Chapter 51

Section 523 cards

According to Woodrow Wilson, what is surprising about Franklin's Autobiography?
Wilson says the surprising and delightful thing about the book is that, taken all in all, it does not have the low tone of conceit. Instead, he calls it a staunch man's sober and unaffected assessment of himself and the circumstances of his career.
Chapter 52
What does Theodore Parker claim about Franklin's influence on America?
Parker claims no man has shed such copious good influence on America, added so much new truth to popular knowledge, organized its ideas into institutions, or so wisely directed the nation's conduct. He says no man now has so strong a hold on the habits and manners of the people, and that Franklin comes home to practical men's daily business.
Chapter 52
Why do Labaree and co-authors call the Autobiography uniquely American?
They argue that once a life like Franklin's had become possible and could be described matter-of-factly, the Declaration of Independence seems understandable and much less revolutionary. America had a society valuing what Franklin did well — hard work, effective writing, planning improvements, conciliating differences, and conducting public affairs with popular needs in view.
Chapter 52

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All questions and answers

Why does Franklin say he writes his autobiography for his son?

What does Franklin say he would ask for if allowed to live his life again?

According to the introductory note, how did Franklin's schooling and apprenticeship end?

What does the introductory note say about Franklin's use of office and his postal reform?

Why does Franklin say he will indulge his vanity in writing his autobiography?

How did Franklin's ancestors hide their English Bible during Queen Mary's reign?

What does Franklin learn about his family from his uncle's notes and the Ecton register?

What does Franklin say about his uncle Benjamin's character and interests?

Why did Josiah Franklin move his family to New England around 1682?

Why did Josiah Franklin end Benjamin's grammar-school education after less than a year?

What childhood scheme did Franklin lead at the salt-marsh, and what lesson did his father draw from it?

How does Franklin describe his father Josiah's character and standing?

How did Franklin's father use mealtime conversation, and what effect did it have on Franklin?

Why did Franklin's father apprentice him to his brother James, and on what terms?

What did Franklin read as a child, and how did his father's library shape him?

How did Franklin's early ballad writing go, and what did his father say about it?

What bad habit did Franklin catch from his father's religious dispute books?

How did Franklin use the Spectator to improve his writing?

How did Franklin's vegetable diet benefit his studies?

What Socratic method did Franklin adopt, and what habit did he keep?

How did Franklin first submit anonymous papers to his brother's newspaper?

What scheme let the Courant continue after James was barred from printing it?

Why did Franklin leave Boston for New York, and how was his departure arranged?

What did Franklin conclude about the cause of his lifelong aversion to arbitrary power?

How did Franklin treat his fever on the road to Burlington?

What does Franklin say about Bunyan's narrative method and its imitators?

How does Franklin describe his appearance on first entering Philadelphia?

Why does Franklin give such a detailed account of his journey and first entry into Philadelphia?

Why did Franklin give away two of his three rolls in Philadelphia?

What was Franklin's first experience inside a Philadelphia building?

How did Keimer's printing-house impress Franklin when he first saw it?

What did Franklin observe about Bradford and Keimer as printers?

Why did Governor Keith propose that Franklin set up a printing business in Philadelphia?

Why did Franklin's father refuse to help him set up a business?

How did Franklin's visit to his brother's printing-house cause offense?

What happened on Franklin's voyage back to Boston in April 1724?

What advice did Franklin's father give him before he returned to Philadelphia?

How did the Quaker woman on the sloop warn Franklin about the two young women?

What happened to Collins after he arrived in New York?

How did Franklin's father respond to Sir William's proposition?

What was Franklin's 'first great errata' and how did it relate to his father's judgment?

How did Franklin justify abandoning his vegetarian resolution on the voyage from Boston?

What project did Keimer propose to Franklin, and on what conditions did Franklin agree to Keimer's practices?

Why was Franklin's courtship of Miss Read postponed, and who were his chief acquaintances at this time?

What task did Franklin's club set to improve language and expression?

How did Ralph trick Osborne, and what was the result?

What happened to Watson and Osborne after this period?

What did Governor Keith promise Franklin, and how was it delivered?

What did Franklin discover about Governor Keith's promised letters upon arriving in London?

What were Franklin's 'errata' during his early London period?

How did Franklin gain access to books and meet notable figures in London?

Why did Ralph change his name and take Franklin's name?

How did Franklin try to discourage Ralph from writing his epic poem?

Why did Franklin finally pay the compositors' five-shilling bien venu?

What changes did Franklin propose among the pressmen, and with what result?

What did Denham offer Franklin, and what did Franklin give up to accept?

Why did Keimer hire Franklin at unusually high wages?

What happened to Miss Read during Franklin's absence in London?

What was the most important part of Franklin's sea journal?

How did Mr. Denham's death affect Franklin's employment?

How did Franklin compensate for the lack of a letter-founder in America?

What caused the final break between Franklin and Keimer?

What partnership terms did Meredith propose to Franklin?

How did Franklin's standing compare with Keimer's at Burlington?

Why did Franklin come to suspect his Deist doctrine was not useful?

What moral resolutions did Franklin form after rejecting Revelation's authority?

Who was Samuel Mickle, and how did his predictions turn out?

What were the rules of the Junto club Franklin formed?

What was the Junto club described as, and how did its query system work?

How did Franklin respond when Keimer rushed out a newspaper after Webb leaked Franklin's plan?

What did Dr. Baird say that changed opinion about the new printing-office's chances?

Who were the two friends who offered Franklin money to take over the printing business?

What terms did Meredith accept to leave the partnership?

What did Franklin argue about paper currency, and how did he benefit?

How did Franklin cultivate the appearance of an industrious tradesman?

Why did Franklin's proposed partnership with David Harry fail?

How did Bradford's control of the post-office disadvantage Franklin's newspaper?

Why did the Godfreys break off Franklin's courtship of their relative?

What were the terms and outcome of Franklin's subscription library?