Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Part 2 begins with two letters from Franklin’s friends that encourage him to continue writing his autobiography. Written in 1782, Franklin titles the first letter “Letter from Mr. Abel James, with Notes on My Life (Received in Paris),” and Abel James includes a copy of Franklin’s autobiography for him to continue writing because of its potential to impact the world (69). The next letter, which was written by Mr. Benjamin Vaughan and sent to Franklin in 1783, also encourages Franklin to continue writing despite Vaughan not having read the entire book so far. He has only read pieces of the text and saw the outline, but he claims that Franklin’s life is not only remarkable but also influential. He defines Franklin as “a wise man” whose autobiography will provide an example of how a wise man behaves.

The next section of Part 2 begins after Benjamin Vaughan’s letter and is titled “Continuation of the Account of my Life. Begun at Passy, 1784” (74). Due to a lapse in memory and not having a copy of the first part of his writing, Franklin quickly discusses the establishment of the public library in Philadelphia and discusses the poor quality of printing presses that existed in New York and Philadelphia when he first left Boston.