Comprehensive and accessible, this Companion addresses several well-known themes in the study of Franklin and his writings, while also showing Franklin in conversation with his British and European counterparts in science, philosophy, and social theory. Specially commissioned chapters, written by scholars well-known in their respective fields, examine Franklin's writings and his life with a new sophistication, placing Franklin in his cultural milieu while revealing the complexities of his intellectual, literary, social, and political views. Individual chapters take up several traditional topics, such as Franklin and the American dream, Franklin and capitalism, and Franklin's views of American national character. Other chapters delve into Franklin's library and his philosophical views on morality, religion, science, and the Enlightenment and explore his continuing influence in American culture. This Companion will be essential reading for students and scholars of American literature, history and culture.
Author(s): Carla Mulford
Series: Cambridge Companions to American Studies
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 206
Cover......Page 1
The Cambridge companion to Benjamin Franklin......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
List of illustrations......Page 8
Notes on contributors......Page 9
Acknowledgments......Page 13
Method of citation......Page 14
Chronology of Franklin’s life......Page 15
Introduction......Page 24
1. Benjamin Franklin’s library......Page 34
2. The Art of Virtue......Page 47
3. Franklin’s satiric vein......Page 60
4. Franklin in the republic of letters......Page 73
5. Benjamin Franklin’s natural philosophy......Page 86
6. Franklin and the Enlightenment......Page 100
7. Franklin and the question of religion......Page 114
8. The pragmatist in Franklin......Page 127
9. Franklin on national character and the Great Seal of the United States......Page 140
10. Protestant ethic or conspicuous consumption? Benjamin Franklin and the Gilded Age......Page 155
11. Benjamin Franklin and the American Dream......Page 168
12. Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, then and now......Page 182
Further reading......Page 195
Index......Page 200
