Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

In the popular imagination, Franklin is often viewed as a grandfatherly figure who was witty but not serious. His kite-flying experiment, for example, seems almost farcical and unscientific. Throughout the biography, Isaacson seeks to correct this image. He draws attention to the significance of Franklin’s contributions to literature, science, and politics. In the area of literature, Franklin, Isaacson claims, was the best writer of his day. He helped to create an American genre of folksy humor. He cites the phenomenal popularity of Poor Richard’s Almanack and attributes it to his witticisms and ironic humor. From a young age, Franklin’s contributions, often made anonymously under names such as Silence Dogood, were brilliant and reached people. He was able to poke fun at institutions, such as Harvard and religion, without giving offense.

In science, Isaacson explains the extraordinary achievement of Franklin’s experiments with electricity and lightning. Those experiments won him world fame. His lightning rods prevented countless fires and deaths. While he was not a theorist, as was Newton, he made a profound contribution to the study of electricity. Isaacson details several other areas in which Franklin experimented and invented items of practical value. Examples of his inventions include bifocal glasses, a wood stove to minimize smoke, the first urinary catheter used in America, and a musical instrument. Franklin additionally was one of the first to cite contagion rather than cold air as the cause of colds (264) and to link exercise to calories of heat.

In politics, Franklin played a critical role in American independence. He helped to sponsor Thomas Paine and edited Common Sense. He publicly endorsed the idea of independence earlier than most and served on the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Most importantly, his diplomatic skills helped to secure the French alliance. Without that, England would likely have won the war. Playing England and France off one another, Franklin secured favorable peace terms for the United States at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Finally, Franklin helped the delegates to the Constitutional Convention compromise on the nature of the union and other issues through his speeches and demeanor. In so doing, he was instrumental in the creation of the Constitution. Franklin was the only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, the French alliance, the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War, and the Constitution.

Isaacson labels Franklin the first public relations specialist. Franklin was aware of the importance of appearances, as they influenced how someone is treated. As a result, the task of discerning the real Franklin from the public relations creation is challenging. By all appearances, Franklin was congenial, witty, intellectually curious, and sociable. He attracted patrons and acquaintances easily but had difficulties with intimacies. His friendships with men were often short-lived. He seemed to be closer to his surrogate family than his blood relations.

Isaacson contrasts the ease with which Franklin formed groups and casual friendships with the difficulty he had with maintaining friendships, especially with men. He provides several examples, such as James Ralph who traveled to London with Franklin on his first trip there. They fell out soon thereafter. He also lost friends from the original Junto, such as Thomas Godfrey. Franklin had difficulty working under the direction of others as well. His relationship with his brother James was ruined because of this and he also fell out with his first employer in Philadelphia. Franklin did better with pen pals, such as Strahan, with whom he resumed correspondence after the war. With women, Franklin was better at maintaining lifelong friendships. He began a few such relationships with women much younger than he was. These relationships started with flirtation but were not sexual and evolved into fatherly ones. Examples here include Franklin’s relationships with Katy Ray and Polly Stevenson. These young women were intellectually curious and playful, attributes Franklin enjoyed. Strangely, Franklin played the role of father to these young women but was reluctant to do so to his own children. He chose not to attend Sally’s and William’s weddings. His relationship with William ended with the Revolutionary War, and Franklin was unwilling to repair it afterward. Even with Sally, about whom he expressed pride at times, he was cold and distant.

Franklin’s marriage with Deborah was utilitarian and not at all romantic. His extensive and prolonged travel without her demonstrated that there was no intimacy. He did not return to Deborah when she was dying or needed his help with Sally. After her death, Franklin considered marriage again but only in a half-hearted way. He never had a soul mate. Franklin surrounded himself with family and surrogate families, but he never let anyone get too close. He loved his grandchildren, particularly Temple and Benny, but he acted coldly even toward them at times. Given how little vulnerability he let show, it is difficult to uncover the real Franklin.