was the diplomat in the convention, and typified the controlling idea of compromise, which at last gave us our Constitution.a During the closing years of his life we have glimpses of the persistency of the ideas which he had formulated many years before. The well-known account of Dr. Manasseh Cutler's visit to him in July, 1787, shows the interest which Franklin still took in natural history, "of which," says Cutler, "he seemed extremely fond, while the other gentlemen were swallowed up with politics.” When, on the 17th of September, the convention adjourned, Franklin exerted himself to promote the adoption of the Constitution. Its ratification by ten States gave occasion for a splendid celebration in Philadelphia in honor of the event, when all the interests of the city contributed to an industrial and civic parade. James Wilson, one of the delegates from Pennsylvania, eminent as a lawyer, a man whose services in the convention Washington considered as unsurpassed, and whom Bryce in his American Commonwealth has called "the greatest lawyer in the convention," who became a professor of law in the University of Pennsylvania and justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, pronounced the oration. In the industrial parade there was a car upon which a printing press was operated and from which were scattered among the people copies of a song in honor of the trades, written by Franklin. It is suggestive of his utilitarian notions. "Ye tailors! of ancient and noble renown, "Ye shoemakers! noble from ages long past, Have defended your rights with your awl to the last; "Ye hatters! who oft with hands not very fair, "And carders, and spinners, and weavers attend, "Ye coopers! who rattle with drivers and adz, "Each tradesman turn out with his tools in his hand, The lines suggest how Franklin viewed the world as an opportunity for an industrious and intelligent apprentice. a For a detailed account of his services in the formation of the Constitution, see my Constitutional History of the United States, 1765-1895, index Franklin. There is an interesting and curious illustration of changes in times and manners in a passage by Parton concerning the things which Franklin would particularly notice had he returned to this world in 1870: He sometimes amused his friends with humorous predictions of inventions yet to be, and expressed a wish to revisit the earth at the end of the century to see how man was getting on. Would that he could! How pleasant to show the shade of Franklin about the modern world! What would he say of the Great Eastern, the Erie Canal, the locomotive, the telegraph, the Hoe printing press, the steam typesetter, chloroform, the sewing machine, the Continental Hotel, the Fairmount waterworks, the improved strawberry, the omnibus, gaslight, the Sanitary Commission, Dr. Buckle's History, Mills's Political Economy, Herbert Spencer's First Principles, Adam Bede, David Copperfield, the Philadelphia High School, Henry Ward Beecher's church, the Heart of the Andes? Surely he would admit that we have done pretty well in the seventyfive years that have passed since he left. Old age had crept upon him, but his mental powers were undiminished and his opinion of himself he expressed when he said, “I seem to have intruded myself into the company of posterity." In 1789 he was rarely free from pain and was confined to his bed much of the time. We learn of him through his letters, which, though less frequent, were equal to any that had made his correspondence so valuable and interesting. Though suffering great agony, he sought mental relief in reading Johnson's Lives of the Poets, and a life of Watts, his favorite author. His opinion of Watts confirms the judgment of thousands who have found that hymnologist their comfort. It was at this time also that he wrote his protest against the study of Latin and Greek in preference to the study of English," a masterly piece which anticipated a reform in modern education. In August, 1788, the Library Company, the outgrowth of the Junto of half a century before, had laid the corner stone of its new building in Philadelphia, on Fifth street, opposite the statehouse. Franklin, unable on account of his infirmities to attend the ceremony, wrote the inscription for the corner stone, omitting any mention of himself. The committee amended the inscription, which reads: Be it remembered In honor of the Philadelphia Youth, at the instance of Benjamin Franklin, is become highly valuable and extensively useful are now destined to contain and preserve, Perhaps no institution better than this library. the thirty-first day of August, 1789.c founded by him illustrates his sagacity and usefulness I referred briefly to its origin in the Junto. In 1880 a new library building was erected at the corner of Juniper and Locust streets, and in 1878 the magnificent structure known as the Ridgway Branch. Franklin's word. last His last public act was in keeping with his whole philosophy of life, a reply written on the 23d of March, 1790, but twentysix days before his death, to a speech of Mr. Jackson, of Georgia, in the Congress of the United States, on slavery. It was addressed to the editor of the Federal Gazette and is in Franklin's happiest style. The essay pretends to be a speech delivered in the Divan of Algiers in 1687 against the petition of the sect called Erika, or Purists, who prayed for the abolition of piracy and slavery as being unjust. All the arguments advanced in favor of negro slavery were applied in this speech with equal force in the justification of the plundering and enslaving of Europeans. a See Observations Relating to the Intentions of the Original Founders of the Academy in Philadelphia, June, 1789. b By an order of the Library Company, August 31, 1774, the delegates to the first Continental Congress were allowed the use of such of the books of the library as they might have occasion for during their sitting. (Elliott's Debates, Vol. I, 43.) The original stone was discovered a few years ago and is now set in the north wall of the new library building, Locust and Juniper streets. d Dr. Stuber, a distinguished Philadelphian of that day [says Parton], mentions that many persons searched the book stores and libraries of the town for Martin's Account of his Consulship, anno 1687, from which the speech of Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim was said to have been taken (See the article in full, Bigelow, Vol. X.) This grand protest against slavery was a happy bequest to mankind. Franklin believed that equal liberty was originally the portion and is still the birthright of all men, and influenced by the strong ties of humanity and the principles of their institution * * * to use all justifiable endeavors to loosen the bands of slavery and promote a general enjoyment of the blessings of freedom." He faced death with calmness. If he had neglected to pracA trick for doing tice order in his life, he made formal preparation for his death. good. His will-an elaborate document-perpetuated, in its provisions for public charities, his own utilitarian ideas. He remembered his scheme of prizes in his ideal school, and gave £100 to the managers of the Boston free schools, the interest of which should be devoted to the purchase of silver medals for the encouragement of scholarship. He sought to make his benevolence immortal. Though it has been said that his scheme is derived from a French work by Mathon de la Cour, the idea was probably quite his own, as he had suggested it when making a loan to Benjamin Webb many years before. I send you herewith a bill for ten louis d'ors. I do not pretend to give such a sum; I only lend it to you. When you shall return to your country with a good character, you can not fail of getting into some business that will in time enable you to pay all your debts. In that case, when you meet with another honest man in similar distress you must pay me by lending this sum to him, enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation when he shall be able and shall meet with such another opportunity. I hope it may thus go through many hands before it meets a knave that will stop its progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money. I am not rich enough to afford much in good works, and so am obliged to be cunning and make the most of a little. His plan for the benefit of artisans. His plan was for the benefit of artisans and apprentices and illustrates the ruling ideas of his life. I have considered that among artisans good apprentices are most likely to make good citizens, and, having myself been bred to a manual art, printing, in my native town, and afterwards assisted to set up my business in Philadelphia by kind loans of money from two friends there, which was the foundation of my fortune and of all the utility in life that may be ascribed to me, I wish to be useful even after my death, if possible, in forming and advancing other young men that may be serviceable to their country in both those towns. To this end I devote two thousand pounds sterling, of which I give one thousand thereof to the inhabitants of the town of Boston, in Massachusetts, and the other thousand to the inhabitants of the city of Philadelphia, in trust, to and for the uses, intents, and purposes hereinafter mentioned and declared. The said sum of one thousand pounds sterling, if accepted by the inhabitants of the town of Boston, shall be managed under the direction of the selectmen, united with the ministers of the oldest Episcopalian, Congregational, and Presbyterian churches in that town, who are to let out the sum upon interest, at five per cent per annum, to such young married artificers, under the age of twenty-five years, as have served an apprenticeship in the said town, and faithfully fulfilled the duties required in their indentures, so as to obtain a good moral character from at least two respectable citizens, who are willing to become their sureties, in a bond with the applicants, for the repayment of the moneys so lent, with interest, according to the terms hereinafter prescribed; all which bonds are to be taken for Spanish milled dollars, or the value thereof in current gold coin; and the managers shall keep a bound book or books, wherein shall be entered the names of those who shall apply for and receive the benefits of this institution, and of their sureties, together with the sums lent, the dates, and other necessary and proper records respecting the business and concerns of this institution. And as these loans are intended to assist young married artificers in setting up their business, they are to be proportioned, by the discretion of the managers, so as not to exceed sixty pounds sterling to one person, nor to be less than fifteen pounds; and if the number of applicants so entitled should be so large as that the sum will not suffice to afford to each as much as might otherwise not be improper, the proportion to each shall be diminished so as to afford to everyone some assistance. These aids may therefore be small at first, but as the capital increases by the accumulated interest they will be more ample. And in order to serve as many as possible in their turn, as well as to make the repayment of the principal borrowed more easy, each borrower shall be obliged to pay, with the yearly interest, one-tenth part of the principal, which sums of principal and interest so paid in shall be again let out to fresh borrowers. And as it is presumed that there will always be found in Bequest to Boston. Boston virtuous and benevolent citizens, willing to bestow a part of their time in doing good to the rising generation by superintending and managing this institution gratis, it is hoped that no part of the money will at any time be dead or be diverted to other purposes, but be continually augmenting by the interest; in which case there may, in time, be more than the occasions in Boston shall require, and then some may be spared to the neighboring or other towns in the said State of Massachusetts, who may desire to have it, such towns engaging to pay punctually the interest and the portions of the principal annually to the inhabitants of the town of Boston. If this plan is executed, and succeeds as projected without interruption for one hundred years, the sum will then be one hundred and thirty-one thousand pounds, of which I would have the managers of the donation to the town of Boston then lay out, at their discretion, one hundred thousand pounds in public works, which may be judged of most general utility to the inhabitants, such as fortifications, bridges, aqueducts, public buildings, baths, pavements, or whatever may make living in the town more convenient to its people and render it more agreeable to strangers resorting thither for health or a temporary residence. The remaining thirty-one thousand pounds I would have continued to be let out on interest, in the manner above directed, for another hundred years, as I hope it will have been found that the institution has had a good effect on the conduct of youth and been of service to many worthy characters and useful citizens. At the end of this second term, if no unfortunate accident has prevented the operation, the sum will be four millions and sixty-one thousand pounds sterling, of which I leave one million sixty-one thousand pounds to the disposition of the inhabitants of the town of Boston and three millions to the disposition of the government of the State, not presuming to carry my views farther. Bequest to Philadelphia. All the directions herein given respecting the disposition and management of the donation to the inhabitants of Boston I would have observed respecting that to the inhabitants of Philadelphia, only, as Philadelphia is incorporated. I request the corporation of that city to undertake the management, agreeably to the said directions; and I do hereby vest them with full and ample powers for that purpose. ** * Such was the plan adopted by Franklin for the benefit of a class he always loved-skillful, honest mechanics III. THE LAW OF LIVING. At 22 years of age Franklin wrote his Articles of Belief and Self-improvement. Acts of Religion, in which he laid down his First Principles. This was his earliest serious effort in self-education in morality. The Principles are a liturgy and a book of prayer, and if the spirit which animated them be accepted as the motive of Franklin's life, it indicates a large purpose to "attain perfection in morals." The whole effort is of a piece with his notion of self-culture-that by self-application man can attain, through the results of personal experiment, perfection in almost any art. Two years later, in 1730, in his Rules for a Club Established for Mutual Improvement (the celebrated Junto rules), he applied his principles of selfeducation by cooperating with kindred spirits, and took the first steps toward the characteristic acts of his life-the establishment of useful relations with his fellowmen. The use which he made of the Junto, of which I have already spoken, indicates the large value which he set upon such association. It would be untrue to say that Franklin was the founder of the first debating clubs in America, but it is not untrue that he was the founder of the most useful debating club which ever existed in this country, for the living influence of the Junto exists to this day, and its usefulness is measureable by the influence of the American Philosophical Society, of which it was the beginning. Use is the law of life. He applied the famous maxim of Horace, that use is the law of speech, and it became to him the law of education. He learned to write by writing. His numerous contributions to the newspapers gave him practice. In 1741 he began the first American magazine." His paraphrases of the Spectator in his brother's newspaper in Boston, under the pseudonym of "Silence Dogood," were followed by many articles in varying form, improving, we may say, until they attained perfection. The public welfare was the subject of his story, and all of his contributions were written for the common pleasure and instruction. The Busybody, a series of papers contributed to the Weekly Mercury, the first newspaper published in Philadelphia, are indisputably among the first of Franklin's writings, though his own reference to the earlier Silence Dogood papers are evidence that they were his own. He says in the first number of the Busybody: "I have lately entertained some thought of setting up for an author myself, not out of the least vanity, I assure you, or desire of showing my parts, but purely for the good of my country.” These early papers, written in his twenty-third year, show many of the author's characteristics, both in subject and style, and have proved the truth of his favorite idea in English composition-that by much, frequent, and careful writing one may attain unto a simple and direct style. Franklin may be said to be the first American newspaper man, for he was the first American writer to use simple English in brief sentences addressed directly to the public. He may be called the founder of the brief, sententious style in journalism. fare. In 1729 he published A Modest Inquiry into the Nature and The general wel Necessity of a Paper Currency, a small pamphlet which marks an epoch in the history of political economy. It opens with a characteristic confession: "There is no science the study of which is more useful and commendable than the knowledge of the true interest of one's country.” It would be interesting to note particularly the frequency with which he uses the phrase "the true interests of one's country," or "the general welfare of one's country." In this Modest Inquiry he discusses the nature of a paper currency in a general way, as shown by a scarcity of money and a high rate of interest. That the scarcity of money in a country discourages immigration was a point of great interest to one, like Franklin, who was ever discussing the means for encouraging the increase of population. As his theory of the general welfare was based upon his interpretation of the interests of an ever-increasing and prosperous people, he laid it down as an economic principle that "a plentiful currency will encourage great numbers of laboring and handicraftsmen to come and settle in the country." He thought that "want of money in such a country as ours occasions a greater consumption of English and European goods, in proportion to the number of people, than there would otherwise be.' This notion is in keeping with one of his favorite ideas, expressed by him in 1771, that "every manufacture in our country makes an opportunity for a market for productions within ourselves, and supplies so much money to the country as must otherwise be exported to pay for the manufacture of supplies here in England; it is well known and understood that wherever a manufacture is established that employs a number of hands, it raises the value of land in the neighboring country all around. It seems, therefore, the interest of our farmers and owners of land to encourage our own manufactures in preference to foreign ones.” In other words, his idea of a nation was like his idea of the individual-that the nation, like the individual, should be self-supporting. This conformed to the a The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America. It was a monthly, and was published from February to July. For the history of the phrase see my Constitutional History of the United States, Vol. III, Bk. VI, Ch. VI. |