Discussion #16: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin

Welcome to Citizen Scholar! Since launching two months ago we&#8217;re reaching hundreds of people a week, so we thank you for your support. If you enjoy our writing on civic virtue and individual excellence, we humbly ask you to share Citizen Scholar with your family members and friends who may enjoy it. The contents of the audio and text formats are identical and meant to accommodate your preferences. Please let us know if you have any feedback - we&#8217;re always looking for ways to improve!<br/><br/>Introduction<br/><br/>Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday this week, and we thought it a fitting time to discuss a classic penned by a Founding Father of the United States. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) died before completing his memoirs, which were posthumously collected into The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. The book tells the story of Franklin&#8217;s rise from relative obscurity in colonial Boston to the Philadelphian polymath and statesman he&#8217;s remembered as today.<br/><br/>Franklin passed away before reaching the part of the story covering the American Revolution, although the grievances that would ultimately spark it appear in his telling of time served in Pennsylvania&#8217;s colonial government. Notably, he advocated for the colonies&#8217; rights to their own legislative power and was dismayed by the conduct of British soldiers toward colonists during the French and Indian War. The richer parts of the story however, detail Franklin&#8217;s ascent in life.<br/><br/>Benjamin Franklin&#8217;s Story Pre-Revolution<br/><br/>As the fifteenth of seventeen children born to a Boston candlemaker, Franklin would need to be independent in life. His father couldn&#8217;t afford to give him more than basic schooling, and so most of his education was self-taught. To read his recounting of the joys of reading titles like Plutarch&#8217;s Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans and other books as a kid is to recognize a fellow traveler of those who enjoy Citizen Scholar.<br/><br/>At twelve yea