Benjamin Franklin is an American statesman, printer, scientist, and writer. Born in Boston, he is the only American of the colonial period to earn a European reputation as a natural philosopher; he is best remembered in the United States as a patriot and diplomat. He held five offices during his lifetime. He was the 6th President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, 23rd Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly, 1st United States Minister to France, 1st United States Minister to Sweden, and 1st United States Postmaster General.
Benjamin Franklin tried to create a political party in1731 but failed due to the ideas and structure of it. He would have called it the Party of Virtue, which included his 13 virtues and the essential principles of every major religion in America. All men who were in this party had to follow Franklin’s thirteen virtues and believed the basic ideas of the existence of God. These men had to be virtuous, good, and wise to the point they cannot displease God. The reason why this party failed is because everyone is not perfect. No one cannot follow the thirteen virtues and believe in the existence of God and have the knowledge of how powerful God is. The party’s ideas disregards the basic psychological idea that people are complex, people are different, and people react to situations differently. Especially with the situations that were going on in the mid 1700’s, it was almost impossible to follow the structure of the Party of Virtue. Men would have to spend all of their time thinking about the thirteen virtues and coming up with a plan to help others with those virtues. This is why the party of Virtue was abandoned. No men could handle following the ideas of it and living their own lives.
Citation: “Benjamin Franklin.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008 The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press; Ketchan, Ralph Louis, . The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin. reprint. Hackett Publishing, 2003. Print; Franklin, Benjamin, . The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, INC., 1996. Print.
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The Thirteen vitures are very strict and only a person that examines every part of thier lives and critisizes them would have been able to do it. The Thirteen virtues are extremely strict, and normal everyday people probably wouldn't be able to follow them and also have a life. Theywould give themselves to thier life or the virtues. The virtue party would have been to selective at anyrate, and wouldn't have enough political might to make any real change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what ChrisChan said in his comment above. If you think about it, every religion has a set of guidelines that each person who is a part of that religion has to follow. For example, Catholics are expected to follow the ten commandments, but they do not always follow them. In fact, a lot of the time, The Ten Commandments are broken. However, this is why we have confession. Ben Franklin made a chart in his book with his thirteen virtues so that he can keep track of which virtues he broke. The fact that he would keep a chart shows his dedication to living virtuously. I personally do not know anybody, that is a part of any religion, that keeps a chart to monitor which guidelines he or she has broken in his or her religion.
ReplyDeleteI also agree, Franklin created these virtues as an important guide for living. The virtues are divided into virtues related to personal behavior and to social character traits. It was sometimes even difficult for Franklin to follow his own virtues.
ReplyDeleteI understand why Franklin made his thirteen virtues and how that translate now in modern time is important. It's in ever American to improve themselves so that what Franklin was trying to do yet this come from a deep Puritan history of self surveying. Even today people strive to better their life but not in a spiritual or for salvation.
ReplyDeleteI would slightly object to the statement that the "The party’s ideas disregards the basic psychological idea that people are complex, people are different, and people react to situations differently". The virtues in no way relate to Franklin’s understanding in people. Like the ten commandment, as listed by the blogger, the thirteen virtues were a standard that Franklin himself did not believe to keep entirely. The virtues are there for Franklin to pursue advancing his humanly traits beyond the education system. The Traits set forth by Franklin were simple straightforward attributes that he believed model the ideal individual, nothing more.
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