- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autobiography_of_Benjamin_Franklin
- [Franklin's Autobiography @ Project Gutenberg]
- [Franklin's Autobiography @ Manybooks]
- [Franklin's Autobiography @ Google Books]
- [Franklin's Autobiography @ Palimpsest onLine]
[Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), the most celebrated American of the eighteenth century, composed the following selection from his Autobiography in England in the early 1770s.]
...My brother had, in 1720 or 1721, begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America, and was called the New England Courant. The only one before it was the Boston News-Letter. I remember his being dissuaded by some of his friends from the undertaking, as not likely to succeed, one newspaper being, in their judgment, enough for America. At this time (1771) there are not less than five-and-twenty. He went on, however, with the undertaking, and after having worked in composing the types and printing off the sheets, I was employed to carry the papers thro' the streets to the customers.
He had some ingenious men among his friends, who amus'd themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gain'd it credit and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but, being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and, writing an anonymous paper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning, and communicated to his writing friends when they call'd in as usual. They read it, commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that, in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose now that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then esteem'd them.
Encourag'd, however, by this, I wrote and convey'd in the same way to the press several more papers which were equally approv'd; and I kept my secret till my small fund of sense for such performances was pretty well exhausted, and then I discovered it, when I began to be considered a little more by my brother's acquaintance, and in a manner that did not quite please him, as he thought, probably with reason, that it tended to make me too vain. And, perhaps, this might be one occasion of the differences that we began to have about this time. Though a brother, he considered himself as my master, and me as his apprentice, and accordingly, expected the same services from me as he would from another, while I thought he demean'd me too much in some he requir'd of me, who from a brother expected more indulgence. Our disputes were often brought before our father, and I fancy I was either generally in the right, or else a better pleader, because the judgment was generally in my favor. But my brother was passionate, and had often beaten me, which I took extreamly amiss; and, thinking my apprenticeship very tedious, I was continually wishing for some opportunity of shortening it, which at length offered in a manner unexpected.
One of the pieces in our newspaper on some political point, which I have now forgotten, gave offense to the Assembly. He was taken up, censur'd, and imprison'd for a month, by the speaker's warrant, I suppose, because he would not discover his author. I too was taken up and examin'd before the council; but, tho' I did not give them any satisfaction, they content'd themselves with admonishing me, and dismissed me, considering me, perhaps, as an apprentice, who was bound to keep his master's secrets. [...]
Ralph Ketcham, Franklin, Benjamin, The Academic American Encyclopedia (1996 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Version), copyright (c) 1996 Grolier, Inc. Danbury, CT.
Bibliography: Buxbaum, M. H., Critical Essays on Benjamin Franklin (1987); Crane, V. W., Benjamin Franklin and a Rising People (1954; repr. 1962); Ketchum, R. L., Benjamin Franklin (1965); Labaree, L. W., et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, 27 vols. to date (1959-1988); Oberg, B. B., and Stout, H. S., Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, and the Representation of American Culture (1993); Wright, E., Franklin of Philadelphia (1986); Benjamin Franklin: His Life As He Wrote It (1990).
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