Ben Franklin's introduction
Benjamin Franklin is primarily known for his Dogood letters, where he wrote as a woman, tackling feminism, the Church, and politics. For a man of the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin was a man of his time—speaking out against the corruption within the Church and political offices, he offers those without a voice a chance “For he who speaks much is mistaken”—Ben Franklin.
Benjamin’s writing years
According to historians who are knowledgeable on Franklin, such as Stacy Schill, author of Never Trust a Memoirist, who discusses Ben Franklin during his writing days, his days before publishing the Dogood letters. Franklin, during the summer of 1771, had decided to sit down and write, though he was a guest in a home surrounded by some of his admirers, whose names are lost to history. As Franklin sat down to write an autobiography, a form of writing within his vocabulary, as his, a bishop by the name of Jonathan Shipley, the name of his host at the summer home, knew of it. Franklin, unlike the rest of the world around him, didn’t live in an autobiographical age as we do in modern times. Ben Franklin was working on a project that would take him years to complete at the age of 65. Referencing Stacy Schill once more, she states that during his stay at the summer home, he wrote easily and quickly with no reference. Though the man wrote easily, he wrote half the pages he intended to write of his would-be story of his life.
During the time he spent writing, he penned a rather interesting quote: “You see I am warm; and if a temperature naturally cool and phlegmatic can, in old age, which often cools the warmest, be thus heated, you will judge by that of the general here, which is now little short of madness.”
Dissecting this quotes meaning; it could allude to when Franklin returned from England to “find all of America from one end of the twelve united provinces to the other, busily employed in learning the use of arms” (Ben Franklin). Within the text provided by Never Trust a Memoirist, within the quote about being warm, he’s comparing himself to a thermometer. With this in mind, the quote could mean that he saw himself as the ‘thermometer’ to when he returned to the raging America who was occupied with guns, and decided to be the mediator—someone who was on the outside and realizing ‘young’ America is as a country and free of British rule.
The intriguing quote aside, Stacy Schill finds that Ben Franklin didn’t sit down to write again until November 1786, though he had made little headway on the writing then. However, in 1788, when the Constitution was signed, was Franklin then able to continue his writing, adding a part three to his manuscript, which would later become a part of his autobiography.
Determined to write with vigor, Franklin was determined to finish the manuscript by the end of the year, yet found that he was no match for his own reality, as well as his aging temperament. “For my own part, everything of difficult discussion and that requires close attention of mind, and a long application of long continuance, it grows rather irksome to me and where there is not some absolute necessity for it, as in the settlement of accounts or the like, I’m apt to indulge the indolence usually attending age, in postponing such business from time to time….” (Never trust a memoirist, Schrill, Ben Franklin.) This quote is followed by Ben Franklin being ravaged by age; weak and essentially hospitalized, with his written will in tact, he manages to write seven and a half pages to his manuscript.
The Manuscript’s publication
As Ben Franklin’s death was inevitable, for no one can live forever, the publication of his work was a frustrating one; the French received it and have it translated into English three years after his death. Despite the English translation, there’s more of them being published by the Swedish, French, and German copies. However, despite these copies, there was one in 1888, which followed the manuscript rather well— this published piece stemmed from the illegitimate son, William Franklin, having had promised his father that the work would be published. To much many historians dismay, one of the pieces of Franklin’s autobiography was burned, left to the wildness of the imagination of historians of what he could’ve had to say.
However, the man of inventions is also known for other things aside from his humble beginnings. He is also known for his philosophy; Ben Franklin, during a time where it the world was very monotheistic, believing in God and Christianity with little room for any other religion, was rather open minded. Franklin believed in a deity, however, he never outright mentions within his autobiography if that’s God or anything else. Within a society that was monotheistic and not interested in any other God aside from their own, an open-minded Ben Franklin was unheard of—though other religions existed, only Christianity mattered, so having a person like Ben Franklin call this reasoning out was extraordinary, and life changing to those who lived in the 1700s.
His philosophies ranged far beyond religion as well: Ben Franklin would tackle the philosophy of everyday life, pondering about the societies he lived in, whether it was about women’s rights, on how to get richer… the list goes on.
The rise of ‘Madam Dogood’ and ‘her’ letters
The Dogood Letters are Franklin’s innermost thoughts and feelings on various parts of his world he’s living in, as well as his take on the society, and what ruminates within, as mentioned above under the pseudonym of a woman, a widow, named Widow Dogood. An example of a Dogood letter would be Dogood Letter 9. “It has been for some Time a Question with me, Whether a Commonwealth suffers more by hypocritical Pretenders to Religion, or by the openly Profane? But some late Thoughts of this Nature, have inclined me to think, that the Hypocrite is the most dangerous Person of the Two, especially if he sustains a Post in the Government, and we consider his Conduct as it regards the Publick.” (Ben Franklin, Dogood letter number 9).
In modern times, this roughly translates to how Ben Franklin analyzing his late night thoughts on whether an individual suffers more by someone who’s pretending to be religious or by those who aren’t religious. However, he also believes that a hypocritical person would be the most dangerous of the two, if they’d have a position in government and we consider their behavior, as it relates to the public. This idea, coming from the quote, is found in the lines ‘the hypocrite is the most dangerous person of the two’, this means that though someone being profane and the other being extremely religious, someone who acts one way and dislikes the other yet acts the same way, in other words a hypocrite, has the potential to control the public with his rhetoric in being able to say what the public may want to hear, slash other politicians with ideals, while behind close doors be the very being they despise.
Though this holds truth in modern government, for Ben Franklin’s time, this way of thinking was intriguing— during the 1700s, there wasn’t any heresy against religion, government, or anything or anyone within that position of power. Upon further reading of Dogood Letter 9, it shows that this piece primarily discusses the idea of a corrupted individual in office, and how someone in office with such ideals would reek havoc onto the people, and how, in turn, would shift the peoples perceptions of government officials and/or senators.
According to a paper entitled The Dogood Letters Re-examined by George F. Horner, he examines how during the 1700s, some Bostonians chose to see the pieces of writing that’d tackle many different aspects of life and social circles as contemporary pieces. However, due to religious differences, there were three groups of people: The religious types, such as the Episcopal Church which was supported by the governor, the older families and the conservatives, the Quakers and those who leaned towards being more liberal who were supported by those who were tradesmen, and the farmers and smaller folk who weren’t exactly the most wealthy that harbored a distrust of politics. These kind of people correlate with the Dogood letters since they’re the majority of the population, give or take, who would be reading the newspapers and taking in the world around them via that newspaper and things they hear. Despite being contemporary pieces, the Dogood letters also tackled tough subject matters during a very difficult political and social scene in the 1700s by heavily creating the façade of “Silence Dogood” which would hit the necessary stereotypes through a writing style that would fit the target demographic. The style of the “Silence Dogood” letters followed a much older piece of writing entitled the Spectator. The Spectator, a collection of magazines of British culture and politics is believed to be what the Dogood letters are based off of. It had a vulgar, tart style of writing.
The Dogood letters Franklin wrote held true to his own sarcastic tone and wit, written in such a way that the pseudonym had their own personality to keep officials at bay that it was, indeed, Franklin tackling these issues, Silence Dogood was then fleshed out as a persona, going into how she was widowed, and how she was widowed.
Feminism, Sarcasm, and Rights—The Dogood Edition
The sarcastic tone and wit continue within the Dogood Letters; for example, Dogood letter number 4, according to George F. Horner, was a dream, written to show discuss the topic of the standard of truth, sex (known as fornication) before marriage (“to lie with one’s sweatheart before marriage”), profane swearing, and whether or not “Madam Dogood” was right in attacking the politician verbally and had the right to do so.
This letter incorporates Benjamin Franklin’s determination to call out injustice within the 1700s, simply by discussing the taboo. In case of Dogood Letter 4, that was the idea of sex before marriage. Within modern time, as an example, sex before marriage (unless someone were to have a very religious background) is slightly common within the youth of today, not because it’s ‘wrong’, as the 1700s decree, but rather a mix or hormones, poor decision making at a young age, and biology. Franklin might’ve not been as well versed as modern times in terms of biology, but rather he was able to understand that sex before marriage didn’t mean that women were whores (though back in the 1700s it alluded to such claims), but rather why fight off an act that’s extremely natural, just due to the couple not being wed.
In the fifth Dogood letter, it was seen as the first of the 14 letters to exploit controversy in the forms of calling out the corrupt, valuing women, and speaking his mind on ideals deemd blasphemous to some within the 1700s . This vicious attack on controversy came from a cause saying at the beginning of the essay/news, which was known to be one of Franklin’s many ways of garnering attention. Franklin, as Silence Dogood/Widowed Dogood, used “A woman’s work is never done”. That phrase, in and of itself sparked like wildfire— siding with women, let alone using the phrase “a woman’s work is never done” which implies that women actually work and aren’t just around for child rearing in the 1700s was something extraordinary—giving women the potential idea that they can be something more and are appreciated for all that they do was unheard of and blasphemous. Thankfully for women Ben Franklin—rather, Madam Dogood—was on their side. She was there to shine the light on such a topic and make waves, angering the men and those who opposed such ideals while sprinkling the seeds, per se, for a better future, where women can be anything they set their mind to.
Likewise, Ben Franklin bringing the spotlight to women’s fashion, comparing it to the strong line between rich and the poor is relevant and important to feminism and Ben Franklin as a whole. By Ben Franklin calling out women’s fashion, not to critique it from a fashion perspective but more so for the sake of women as a whole—young girls, mothers, maidens, etc. the clothes they were wearing were too many layers for once person; the corsets might’ve enunciated the waist or at leas slimmed it, wearing a corset for prolonged periods of time (as we know now in modern history) can do damage to the intestines and the ribs. However, during the 1700s, this might’ve not been the case and women valiantly suffered through it.
Ben Franklin, however, potentially took note of the painful fashion, and opted to seek a way for it to be fixed, whether it was less layers so a woman wouldn’t faint from heat, or not use an extremely tight corset, by calling attention to the fashion, he made headway for change to happen. Change that perhaps the 1700s didn’t want, but they so desperately needed.
The theme of heavy sarcasm, in contrast to Ben Franklin’s feminism, continues throughout all of his pieces, one that sticks out aside from the ones mentioned above would be Dogood letter number 9, mentioned above. This letter was penned right after Ben Franklin was released from jail. The Dogood letter asked whether someone would be happier with a person in office/ a seat of power who was pretending to be religious or someone who was openly vulgar or profane. Once again, though this Dogood letter, as well as many of Franklin’s works, are still heavily relevant in modern times, with how America has it’s politicians, the letter itself focuses on the hypocrisy of it all; the fact that a politician or someone in power, like a governor, were to use that position for personal gain, they’d be failing the people who voted them in to serve.
Another piece that comes to mind with the Dogood letters is Dogood number 14.
This piece embodies the clergymen and those in religious power who are viewed as “overzealous”, according to Silence Dogood, and went on to analyze the Church as it was in the 1700s: Someone within the church becoming incredibly unhappy as they express their opinion, only to find that their views aren’t shared exactly the same way by the rest of humanity. Though to the rest of the world, disappointment is unavoidable, to someone of the 1700’s, it was, potentially, everything. This erratic, extreme behavior is also viewed as being afraid of God or not “Honoring the King”. This letter also shows that if a man were to read the scripture and change his opinion to be more religious than individual (or hive-minded), learn the arguments for both sides, and struggle internally with his consciousness to determine what they, or potentially what religion, believes to be right. This letter uncovers that religion, though great for some that completely believe and are able to be okay with such religion, those who aren’t as religious will see that it ultimately destroys someone.
Despite the cry showing that clergymen are capable of being corrupt as politicians, Dogood also shows that they’re able to contradict themselves, by noting that it isn’t all clergymen, of course, but rather an epidemic that the public should be aware of, which could potentially happen. Dogood quotes Video meliore proboque, “I would (says one) have every zealous Man examine his Heart thoroughly, and, I believe, he will often find that what he calls a Zeal for his Religion, is either Pride, Interest or Ill-nature. A Man who differs from another in Opinion sets himself above him in his own Judgment, and in several Particulars pretends to be the wiser Person…” (Ben Franklin, letter 14).
This rant about overzealous Clergymen is important because Ben Franklin did the unthinkable at the time—he called out the Church. During the 1700s, the Church was everything to the people, and for Franklin to call them out on the corruption going on within the Church and its façade of being holy and good, this can cause very negative reactions for Madam Dogood. By calling out the church, Ben was raising awareness, just as he did in Dogood letters 5 and 14 about Women’s rights and women’s fashion. Raising awareness about the church allows the people to see that corruption doesn’t stop with politics and government, but it does infect our organizations and the things we’ve grown to accept and love, whether it gives us the faith to go on.
Another letter that is strikingly similar to Dogood letter number 14 would be Dogood letter number 13, who’s message also echoes loudly in terms of the message that madam Dogood/Ben Franklin was portraying during the 1700s—the message of feminism.
Dogood number 13 explains and rants about a woman who’s out on the town, enjoying the nightlife that 1700’s Boston has to offer: she overhears herself being talked about by some men, and slowly begins to notice that the people around her, sailors with their women surgically glued to their arms, the young men hounding after her with love clouding their vision. After observing the nightlife and describing her experiences with interested sailors through nautical references, Madam Dogood concludes her experiences with men and the nightlife as men looking at women through their wares, so it’s focused on their appearances rather than their selves.
This piece echoes Benjamin Franklin’s views on women’s rights, despite not being Letter 5. Letter 13 holds an emphasis on how a woman perceives a night on the town—a woman of prey for men’s eyes, which is symbolized by the some men talking to her. Being married, or at least being courted, was of importance for women, whether they were using their bodies to gain another nights sleep or food, or if they genuinely love the man they’re after, women are attached to their mans sides. The young, coming generations have learned from their predecessors, especially young men. The young men eye the woman with eyes not clouded by lust; their eyes show the light of innocence, knowing that a woman means a good time or a potential wife to have kids with, using her as they see fit. Madam Dogood, with her ‘experiences with men’ might differ, she sheds a light on the fact that women, even in the 1700s were objectified and
Other Works
Other than the popularity of the Dogood letters, Benjamin Franklin wrote other pieces of writing that also gained traction— these pieces of writing are known as “A Witch Trial at Mt. Holly”, “The speech of Miss Polly Baker”, “Way to Wealth”, and an “Edict by the King of Prussia”, as well as others! These works in particular hold the weight of other issues Ben Franklin thought to be important, whether through prose or legitimate experiences. For example, with A Witch Battle at Mt. Holly covers a witch trial where the accused, both men and women, are held before many witnesses and the accusers and councilmen who sentence them to their deaths.
The first piece of work done by Franklin, A Witch Trial at Mt. Holly is about a witch trial on Mount Holly. During this witch trial, over 300 people are gathered to watch this trial take place on two people who were accused of witchcraft. Ben Franklin refers to the trial as an experiment, though it’s essentially the same—its an experiment/trial of the people and ostracizing the unknown.
The accused are being sentenced for causing the neighbors sheep to dance in an “uncommon manner”, make pigs speak and sing to the terror of the king and other high officials. The accused are rebutting against the claims of those coming to watch and the higher ups, stating, “they’d swim” if thrown into the river and if they were weighed against many, many bibles, that the bible would be heavy for them. Before the trial could begin, there was a council to decide what they were going to be using for said trial. Yet, before the trial could start, the council of men searched the man being accused of witchcraft, and vice versa for the women who were searching the woman who was being accused.
As the guillotine is set up and the officials all gather around the accused, watching with piqued interest, the acclaimed wizard reads verses from the bible. As the book comes down and kills the man and woman who were accused, those watching all silently nod and agree that they couldn’t withstand the power and the good that came from the bible.
Though this piece wasn’t written in the voice of an editorial prose, this piece did show how those who were accused weren’t ever given a free trial to try and clear their name. Instead, they were murdered from the claims of those who thought they saw something. This could be an allegory to unfair sentences within the courts, especially during witch trials, and honing in on misconceptions and heresy when it comes to what the people are saying what they saw vs. what actually happened. There is speculation that this piece may or may not have been written by Ben Franklin himself, though that is neither proved nor denied.
The second piece, Way to Wealth covers Ben Franklin’s perceptions and ideas on how an individual can become wealthy.
According to C. William Miller’s Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth, he takes note on Ben Franklin’s financial beginnings: How, as a young 17-year-old, Ben Franklin was blacklisted from all of the printing shops in Boston. Having somehow ended up in Philadelphia in 1723 with little to no money in his possession and somehow fell asleep at a Quaker meeting. Beyond falling asleep in that Quaker meeting, that same young man at twenty two soon became a master in his craft, owning his own printing shop.
C. William Miller states that in his analysis, he’s not regurgitating Franklin’s successes throughout this difficult time in his life, but rather how he overcame the obstacles within this time of being penniless, as well as any obstacles within his printing field, especially at such a young age. This is seen when Miller first accounts how Franklin came to first become a master in his craft, such as getting a partnership with Hugh Meredith. This partnership did dissolve rather early, since Mr. Meredith was more inclined to farming than printing, and was often more inebriated than he was sober. Despite the drunken partnership, Meredith’s father had actually offered to pay for the equipment of the shop, to young Franklin’s excitement. However, the elder man was unable to raise the amount of money needed to pay for it.
This, in turn, set young Franklin back some, leading the creditors to threaten him with closing his business. Luck, thankfully, was on the young print man’s side, seeing as his partner was very much aware that he wasn’t meant to be a printer and opted to withdraw from the partnership. This obstacle was then overcome when some of Franklin’s friends had offered to loan the young man the money necessary to pay off said creditors and old man Meredith. Though the young boy was now crippling in debt, he was the owner of his own place.
Despite this financial setback, the young Franklin was very observant. The young boy took note on those within his field, his competition. His old employer, Keimer, wasn’t a major threat, given that the business was sinking even before Franklin had left to pursue other places of employment. Once he settles into Philadelphia, his competition, as his young brain had determined, would be the Bradford’s, a family of printers, some of which had the talent for it, or some were just old, and rich and able to get into such a market.
(The stories of Franklin’s business ventures correlate to the Way of Wealth because C. Miller is now showing Ben Franklin’s financial journey—from being a penniless young boy to making a deal with a drunkard man, to borrowing money and having the hope that his printing company would be a success whilst navigating through competition during the 1700s, this does show a way to wealth. It’s a way of being wealthy starting at a young age and showing that it is possible to become wealthy. )
Even with competition, young Benjamin Franklin made his mark, slowly but surely: he secured printing for the Lower Counties, with assistance from a man named Andrew Hamilton. From the Bradfords, the young man had won the official printing of the Pennsylvania Assembly and then, as time marched on and little Ben Franklin continued to prove himself, was able to have his own paper, known as the Pennsylvania Gazette—however, not without an obstacle. This obstacle was named Keimer, who had overheard the young mans plans and was able to delay the publishing of the newspaper for a year. Bradford also had a hand in this, which caused the young Franklin, with his back against the wall due to him still struggling, had to force riders (those who’d take the newspapers), to deliver his newspapers with bribery. Once again, even with the setbacks, the young printer knew his advantages; due to his skills, there wasn’t a printer in America who could write as well as he did. With that, none of the middle colonies could match his printing fonts he’d gotten.
As time passed, Franklin soon grew into even more into his respective field: He was slowly able to offer the old, rich Bradford competition. Opening his own stationer store and hiring someone to bind the pages, was Franklin able to have a budding collection of imported books. Aside from the books, he also offered smaller trinkets, ranging from chocolate, soap, and cheese. For those who wanted to advertise the shop, Franklin devised a small makeshift counter for information, open to the public of course, which allowed the young man to keep track of those who offer counterfeit; any stray runaway slaves, and, oddly, horses.
Unable to afford finer aspects of printing and not wanting to pay 25 cents for them, a cheap Franklin found other means to write, and thus was able to write his first Poor Richard, or known as a Way to Wealth. This spanned for three issues, and then was able to be sold for thousands or more of copies as it became a popular edition.
Benjamin’s Franklins success defines him now in death, as modern times look to him and wonder how he did it; historians clambering over the latest edition of his autobiography, scanning the pages for any whiff of new information. Benjamin Franklin was a man who wrote about the justices, the good, the ugly, and raised awareness when no one else thought to—he opened the can of worms for the inkling of women’s rights, when women were nothing more than a man’s property, shining the light on corruption when everyone around him believed there was one. The rich grew richer, and the poor grew poorer, with everyone being blind and unaware of what was going on—to pull the wool over their eyes and show them that corruption was dangerous as it was real.
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