the autobiography of benjamin franklin sparknotes

All Americans knew him and knew what he'd done during the 1760s and beyond he may have intended not to tell this very familiar tale. Third, this may have been a calculated act of humility. Second, he may value the accomplishments delineated here more than those during the war after all, he was profoundly proud of what he accomplished in Philadelphia and in the realm of science. First, Franklin wanted to keep the focus on the formative events of his early life in order to show young men, the intended audience, how to perfect themselves and succeed. When he dies in 1790 his work is still unfinished and there is still no mention of such things. Franklin picks up his writing in 1784 after all of those events but says nothing about them. It may surprise some readers that there is no mention of the Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the war itself, or peace. Why does Franklin leave out the events of the Revolution, and what impact does this have on his overall story?

He is all about success, money, civic pride, reputation, and contentment–not the afterlife. Overall, Franklin is rooted in the terrestrial world. He sees the merits in the morality promulgated by religious sects, but knows that one can accomplish the same sort of moral perfection from a secular perspective. Franklin values reason above faith, and is happy to laud a sect–the Dunkers–when they espouse that worldview. He had friends who were ministers but engaged in lively debates with them, always promoting the secular and the sublunary. He had no interest in destroying a man's faith but was keen on routing out hypocrisy or manipulation. He did not attend church but publicly supported freedom of worship for others. He says that no sect had a hold on him and that he was, if anything, a Deist. There is a common assumption that the Founding Fathers were avowedly Christian however, Franklin emphatically lays that to rest. What are Franklin's views on religion and why do they matter to his narrative?

The autobiography of benjamin franklin sparknotes