Benjamin Franklin: A Name to be Reckoned With

Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s most prestigious founding fathers, left a long legacy of innovations, business triumphs, and philosophical mantras on how to live. A large part of his contributions lies in the modern day public institutions of America, which are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. From his autobiography, we can attribute the development of modern police, fire, military forces, libraries, liberal arts universities, and public hospitals to Franklin’s work.

What is interesting to note is a shift from actual involvement in his early projects to the mere mention of his name ensuring a project succeeds at later points in the chapter. Many of Franklin’s initial achievements followed a pattern: A plan he conjures as a business venture, proposes to the Junto, disseminates to others by means of his press, and expands with his active involvement.

In his later ventures, we see a shift in practice, which him lending his name to projects and petitioning for their success via governmental influence. Jennifer Jordan Baker, in her article argues that:
“Franklin's service entails the public endorsement of projects, and his visible connection to such projects supposedly ensures their success […] Franklin's name has become precious currency.”

We see an example this with Dr. Thomas Bond’s proposal of a public hospital to which Franklin lends his support. Initially, the doctor had attempted to find support on his own, with many asking “Have you consulted Franklin upon this Business? And what does he think of it?” Franklin’s support gets the project approved, and he even obtains private as well as public funding. Accordingly, the plan is executed and the hospital is built quickly. This can be akin to modern political phenomenon of ‘name recognition’ which politicians seek to win office.

We can parallel Franklin’s efforts to today’s politics, where grassroots campaigns evolve into special interest groups and possibly large organizations. What begins as a neighborhood creek cleanup can turn into an environmental lobbying group with sway over politicians elected to office. For a man whose name is almost a rubber stamp of approval, Franklin still exudes a modest persona hoped his writing would “afford hints which at some time or another may be useful to a city I love…”

Works Cited:

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Mineola: Dover Publicatons, 1996.

Baker, Jennifer J. “BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND THE CREDIBILITY OF PERSONALITY.” Early American Literature; Dec2000, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p274, 20p Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Milpitas Community Library. Sep 23, 2009