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Nicolas Sawicky Critique of The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin Professor Annunziata From an early age, each American learns about the history of The United

States of America. These children are told the fantastic story of their countrys founding, including the brave men who made it possible. Most of these men are educated, first-born sons of successful families. Then there is Benjamin Franklin, the most unlikely Founding Father. From his humble beginnings, he became an international celebrity. He then used this popularity to gain American its independence. One of the most well respected biographies on Ben Franklin is The

Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, by Gordon Wood. It is not the typical biography that goes through every event in person's life, but instead attempts to focus on specific aspects of Franklin's life. Focusing specifically on the step-by-step process of his Americanization. Amazingly, nearly every aspect of his life became an important part of his eventual Americanization. The introduction starts off by setting Benjamin Franklin apart from the other

wig-wearing founders. Describing him as a more accessible and democratic than the other founding fathers (1). Wood goes as far as describing Franklin as someone you

 would want to spend an evening with. That statement hit home for me personally, since I consider Ben Franklin as the number one person I would want to meet, if I could meet anyone, dead or living. Wood then comically goes through the personality defects of all the other founding fathers (1). Showing that one of the main reasons why Franklin is so popular is because he was just a likeable, normal guy. Gordon Wood portrayed Benjamin Franklin as a regular man very nicely.

Wood points out that he became wealthy and famous from hard work. It was this characteristic that made Franklin the embodiment of the American dream that we still see today. Wood even describes Franklin as "The prototype of the self-made man" (2). This analysis brings me back to another history class, where I learned about similar people in the 20th century. These go-getters worked hard from nothing and became vastly successful in things from nationwide sales catalogs to cattle farming. In reality, these individuals were following in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, the first American go-getter. Like any good historian, Gordon wood also brings up contrasting viewpoints

that debunk Franklin as a great founding father. He does it in a very interesting manner, using not only evidence from other historians but also writings from Mark Twain and Edger Allen Poe (4-5). Both of these famous American writers satire Franklin, showing that no one is safe from criticism. Even the American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne makes the argument that Franklin is only famous because of

 his Poor Richards almanac (6). Although there is far less credibility to the opinions

of simple writers, I am glad that Gordon Wood added their opinions into the book, it made the material more well rounded and makes the reader think more. Going along with the theme of Ben Franklin in American literature, there is

an outstanding connection made between Jay Gatsby, from the book The Great Gatsby, and Franklin. Gatsby constantly worked on self-improvement, saving money, reading, and working hard. Hammering the point that birth doesn't matter, but what you do with your life (8). The fictional character of Jay Gatsby lived like a true Franklinite, rising from poverty and continually working towards self-improvement. After Gordon Wood made this connection, I immediately agreed. It just shows you how ingrained the life of Franklin is with America. The reader is also treated to some information on the less American side of

Benjamin Franklin. Gordon Wood makes the point that during his lifetime, Franklin was one of the least American of the founding fathers. "He hobnobbed with lords and aristocrats. He conversed with kings" (9). These facts are true, although not widely known. In reality, he did not become an American symbol until after his lifetime. It was at that point that the myth of Benjamin Franklin took on a life of its own. Gordon Wood then challenges also challenges the reader to think, what if? He

does this by telling the reader that it was not Franklins destiny to become a

 founding father, but instead something quite the opposite. We should not take for granted Franklins Americanism and participation in the American Revolution. He spent the majority of the last 38 years of his life overseas in Europe (10). It was

there that he became deeply ingrained with the European lifestyle. Wood then states that Franklin "Suffered from anxiety of national identity", meaning he was not sure what place he called home (10). As Americans, we should be very glad that Benjamin Franklin took our side in the fight for independence. If he did not, it would most likely have meant a crushing defeat, since Franklin was the one that convinced the French to help the American cause. Gordon Wood does not hesitate to use Franklin's Autobiography as a source

in his biography. One of the best uses of this first hand account is when Wood places quotes from the Autobiography to look into the life of Ben Franklin. One example of this is when Gordon Wood is describing Franklins origins on this earth: "Certainty there were people in Philadelphia who never let him forget his original obscurity and that he had sprung from the meanest circumstances (13). After reading that, you know that Franklin looked down on his early years. But Gordon wood later informs the audience that Franklin used those humble beginnings as a way to motivate others to follow in his footsteps. Franklin was all about self-improvement. Event though Wood relies heavily on Franklins autobiography, he still

critiques it. Gordon claims that it is hard to interpret. His biggest problem with the Franklins autobiography is that he moves between multiple personas, especially

 between the innocence of youth and the irony of a mature man (14). Although I do see how that can be a problem to a reader who is reading the book in hopes of

extracting useful information, I personally think that I would find that writing style entertaining as well as thought provoking. This insight into the Autobiography of Franklin made me very interested to read it over the summer, so that I could form my own opinion on Franklins writing style. Gordon Wood also does a nice job of presenting some very interesting facts

that I was not aware of. These facts let the reader truly understand how deep an individual Benjamin Franklin was. One of the most outrageous facts is the one about Franklin having 42 different personalities during his writing career. Each one was under a different Pseudonym that Franklin also created. Some of these Pseudonyms were Richard Saunders, a.k.a. Poor Richard, women like Silence Dogood, or even "a London manufacturer" (14). With all these different people inside of him, it is amazing that Franklin was able to stay perfectly sane. The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin also offers an amazing insight into

the mind of Ben Franklin, using passages from the Autobiography. In one section, Franklin talks about how he was a vegetarian in his youth, believing it was "a kind of [sic] unprovok'd murder" to eat meat. Smelling fish one day, he was caught between "principle and inclination". When he saw that the cut-open fish had eaten smaller fish, he concluded: "if you eat one another, I don't see why we mayn't eat you". From then on he heartily dinned on cod (15). After reading that, I literally got goose

 bumps. I felt like I was in the eighteenth century with Franklin, witnessing this

event. You could never get such a detailed look into a persons life from just research on that specific person. It has to come from that person. Gordon Wood understood that and used Franklins autobiography every chance he got. Unfortunately, Gordon Wood almost too heavily relies on Franklin's

autobiography. Sometimes I feel like all wood is doing is repeating whats in the autobiography and then interpreting whats been said, putting his own words in occasionally. An example of this over use of the autobiography is nn the opening of the section "Philadelphia", where Wood uses Franklin's description of his arrival to Philadelphia. Wood then uses Franklin's analysis of his unlikely beginnings and how he made it so descriptive so that the reader can compare how he entered Philly to the person that he will eventually become (23). The whole book is organized in an understandable and efficient manner. The

is an Introduction that set the stage for the Americanization that the reader will witness along with a few debates on who Franklin really was. Then there are five chapters. Each one representing a synthetic "stage" of his life, like "Becoming a Gentleman", "Becoming a Patriot", and "Becoming an American". These chapters are then divided into smaller sections of his life, like: "Boston Beginnings", "Philadelphia", "Patronage", or even "Marriage". Wood has no problem giving facts that make Franklin seem less heroic. One

great and not very well known example is the patronage that Franklin received after arriving in Philadelphia. Wood methodically breaks down the mystic aura that is Ben Franklin. The reader learns that to get where he got, Franklin received help from Pennsylvania's governor, Philadelphia's richest man, and even a prominent lawyer in Philadelphia. The patronage included: lending money, inviting him to their homes, introducing him to others, and becoming his 'friends', which was the common euphemism of the day for patron-client relations (27). Although this is just networking in todays corporate world, it still does take away some of the cult of personality that most Americans know. Wood is also able to capture the excitement of the times surrounding

Benjamin Franklin. When Franklin's electricity experiments hit Europe, he became an international celebrity (64). Gordon is able to cite some of the buzz over Franklin along with the shear fact that his success alone gave credibility to the colonies and the geniuses that could come out of them (65). Franklin was even praised as the "the greatest, perhaps, since the time of Sir Isaac Newton" (65). These statements left me wondering how amazing it was that he became so famous, so quickly, without the help of all the mediums of communication we have now. It is just further proof that Benjamin Franklin was nothing less than a super star in the eyes of most prominent Europeans. When Franklin dips his hands into politics, Wood is able to expertly describe

the behind the scenes work by Franklin in regards to the eventual repeal of the

 Stamp Act. Unlike a history book, the reader learns that many though Franklin was

the cause of the Stamp act along with its repeal. In reality he was just responsible for communicating between the colonies and the British Parliament to try to understand what each side wanted and then created his own compromise that lead to the Act's repeal (120). It is much more amazing when the reader knows that Franklin was under the extra pressure of having been blamed as the cause of the Act in the first place. Wood also invites his readers into the atmosphere of the Constitutional Convention. It is there that the reader is immersed in the ambience of the constitutions birth. The reader is given descriptions of Franklin from observers within the room. Saying that he carries with him a reputation of respect, but was not a very good public speaker. Rarely saying more than a few words (216). Despite his lack of speech, what he did say was highly regarded, something you rarely see in this day and age. It is just another piece of evidence that helps the reader understand what the real Ben Franklin was like. The Biography summarizes nicely at the end with Franklin going back to printing, spending his time training his grandson. Wood ends with the fact that Franklin personified the American dream, because of that, as long as America is the land of opportunity, America will be the land of Ben Franklin (246). Overall, Gordon Wood did an exceptional job showing the reader how the real Ben Franklin lived. He uncovered as much as humanly possible without actually ever meeting the man.

 After reading The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin I believe I am even a stronger supporter of the man on the one hundred dollar bill.