Benjamin Franklin

Walter Isaacson was managing editor of Time and chairman of CNN before arriving at his retirement at Aspen Institute. Like his subject, B. Franklin, he was first in the media business before attempting another life. So, it is not surprising this is a media person's book, a slick writing which glosses over many historical difficulties. Of course, Franklin would have done the same, were the roles reversed. That's because, as we read so many times, Franklin was a compromiser, a man in and of the middle.

The peak and essence of Franklin's career is quoted thus,
 

"I confess that I do not entirely approve this Constitution at present; but, sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it: For, having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that, the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgement and pay more respect to the judgement of others."

... Ben Franklin, p 457

Franklin is represented as a man devoted to tolerance above all else, a primary Enlightenment virtue. This may be taken to explain his easy ways with tough people, such as John Adams, and his seductive powers over women, while at the same time being committed to none of them. I am reminded of many young hippies I knew in San Francisco during the 1960s. He lived with Deborah, his common law wife, but didn't spend a lot of time with her. If he was not unfaithful to the relationship, it was not for want of trying.

Despite a flighty nature, Franklin was one of the leading technologists of his times. Isaacson labels him a scientist, as most people do, but also accurately points out that Franklin had neither the training nor aptitude for theoretical science. Franklin invented the lighting rod and bifocals, and was responsible for a museum-full of other improvements and devices. He was witness to the first flight by balloon. He had some sense of what would be in centuries to come, but preferred to enjoy himself in his own time as it was.

Franklin was a born rebel. He ran away from his Boston home at age 17, arriving in Philadelphia with only enough money to buy a bread roll. From that meager beginning in a town of only 2,000 people, he was able to find employment right away. Following that, he was able to start his own business, get elected to the Pennsylvania assembly, and become the colonial Postmaster. He was an ambitious, self-promoting, self-made man. By local standards, he was fairly rich, a sort of Bill Gates and Donald Trump rolled together. Isaacson eventually calls him a Yuppie, which seems about right.

Ben Franklin was not quick of judgement, but very firm in his resolve once decided. It took the man decades to approve the idea of revolting against England. It took even longer to reject slavery, which he only disallowed near the end of his life. This slow judgement seems to me incurably related to his tolerance, because before hardening on a subject he would accept almost any version of it. Thus, in the Constitutional Convention, he was willing to compromise many of his pet projects and personal ideas, for the sake of peace and harmony. His example was influential in bringing around the hotheads to the compromise which founded the United States. He wasn't entirely happy with the result, but not entirely unhappy with it, either.

Franklin was, oddly enough, not enamored of the colonies. He loved England and the Continent, where he felt comfortable. He was a friend to the philosophes, scientists and engineers of his time. He didn't just read David Hume or Adam Smith; he knew them personally. Thus, once he managed to get to the Old World, where he was honored and feted as the leading light he was, he was reluctant to return home. The Europeans knew how to treat a man like Franklin, and they wanted him as one of their own. Except for his political commitment to an independent America, his obeying the orders of an ill-mannered Congress, probably he would not have come back. In keeping his connection with America, he demonstrated the strength of his will, which made him a Founding Father.

This is not an academic book. Isaacson glides over a lot of historical issues which are only hinted to be issues. It is a long, but fairly easily read book. The redeeming virtue of Isaacson's work is his presentation of Franklin as a confusing mix of purposes and directions. He is a man, like all men. What is lacking in the book is an explanation, why Franklin is more than just another man, not just an interesting story.