The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin Essay

Contrary to the fact that Benjamin Franklin actually never was president in his lifetime, these blatant misconceptions on his life clearly display a lack of understanding for a local historical hero. Though Michael Scott is one of the more ridiculously oblivious characters of the modern times, he unconsciously makes the very valid point that the common person today bases their understanding of Benjamin Franklin from his legacy rather than his life. Although John Adams could not have foreseen the legacy of Benjamin Franklin, the contrast between his life and legacy make him "one of the most curious characters in history."

Benjamin Franklin rose from the obscurity of a printer to a world renowned gentleman in his lifetime. What many people don't know is that there, "was an enormous gap between his very obscure beginnings and his later worldwide eminence" (23). But "He could not have anticipated becoming ...the archetype of a self made man" (25) because he was not actually entirely self-made. Before Franklin began ascending the social ladder, he was patronized by gentlemen above him because it "was the basic means of social mobility in the eighteenth century" (26). By being patronized, he formulated many connections within the gentry class. He also had "a natural genius for business" (52) which attributes to his rise into the "the better sort of people" (35). He rented out several properties within Philadelphia and in the surrounding area which gave him a continual source of revenue on top of his Philadelphia printing business. Franklin knew that in order to properly stop working he would have to "[wait] until he was fully ready for this important step" because "he did not want to rush it" (58). Although Benjamin Franklin was a gentleman for the majority of his life, "no one became more of a hero to all those laboring people than [him]" (238); because his legacy made him the archetypal image of a self-made man. People like Patrick Lyon and others even "attributed their rise to reading Franklin" (237). He unintentionally exemplifies the principles of industry and frugality so that later generations would shadow his life. The misunderstanding of his actual life contributes to the curious transformation of how people interpret his life.

People today view him as the inventor of electricity among many other notable titles, the mythology shrouding Benjamin Franklin's accomplishments have been altered over time. He represents the good natured American but lived most of his life abroad. During his second stay in London "Franklin had become a thoroughgoing imperialist and royalist" (91). In this time of his life he was more British than American because he loved the more advanced and sophisticated society of London. At one point in his stay Franklin even defends England as his homeland by claiming that "it was not England that was corrupt and luxury loving, it was America" (97). Clearly these fervent accusations did not last because he eventually left London but it does show that people misunderstand the real things he did. Another side of Franklin not portrayed