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Americanization Of Benjamin Franklin By Gordon S. Wood Summary

778 Words4 Pages

A founding father, scientist, author, inventor, diplomat and "First American" along with many other things Benjamin Franklin was a very well-known man. Gordon S. Wood a professor of History Emeritus at Brown University, and recipient of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for history for the Radicalism of The American Revolution is also the author of "The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin." A book written to describe many events that Franklin took part in or things that happened to him that people may not know of. Although the book is very factual, the substantial vocabulary and lengthiness of the book itself make it very hard to maintain focus.
Wood is known for his background in teaching and education of history. Also with the awards he has won such as the Bancroft Prize which is known as one of the most prestigious awards in the field of American History writing it comes to show that he is very educated and cut out to be the one to right this informatory book. In Wood's work he states that "Franklin was not even destined to be an American. How he became one is the theme of this book," showing that the main idea or ideas are to show how Franklin came …show more content…

One being the view of his loyalty to the British crown, and trying so hard to become a part of the British power. Then to the next where Franklin becomes torn between Europe and America. Although Franklin felt as if he was doing no wrong going in between the two, they each had a different perspective on him. Seeing as to both nation's took a liking to Franklin for his honesty and his many portraits of different personalities, Europe however did not represent Franklin for his democratic views. With still his opinions and outlooks on things were valued just a greatly in America as they were Europe. All throughout Wood's book the reader will see insight from both sides and be able to imply ones own outlook on Franklin's loyalty to the

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This book attempts to grasp beneath the many images and representatives of Franklin that have happened over the past two hundred years and recover Franklin who would become a symbolic American Founding Father. Franklin was not even destined to be an American, but this book is about how he became one. Gordan S Wood was a fellow at the institute for United States studies in London in 2002. This book was printed by the penguin press in 2004. He is now an author and professor.

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Douglass on the other hand, was a born slave that later in his life became an abolitionist, social reformer, writer, and a politician. These two men show what the real American values are. Individualism, self-reliance, and the love of liberty are a few American values that the two showed. In Franklins Autobiography

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Born in 1706 as the eighth of 17 children to a Massachusetts soap and candlestick maker, the chances Benjamin Franklin would go on to become a gentleman, scholar, scientist, statesman, musician, author, publisher and all-around general genius were astronomically low, yet he did just that. Franklin wrote in the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution in the 18th century. The ideals of the enlightenment are still thought of today, as they are a part of the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When one remembers Benjamin Franklin very few people are aware of the fact that he worked as a printer until the age of 42. As a printer he had access to substantial amounts of literature.

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Benjamin Franklin was a very important man in the Enlightenment period due to his vast knowledge of science and politics. The American Enlightenment provided the structure for the colonists of America to evolve into a unique American character by 1763 through the circulation of reading materials, the scientific discoveries that lead to unique inventions, the development of a different government, and the tolerance for many religions. This evolution can be assessed by the life of Benjamin Franklin, a key proponent of the Enlightenment. The 18th century was when Britain and its colonies grew closer because of the circulation in letters, newspapers, and books.

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Which isn’t totally uncommon of all people to do so but to me it just seems as though Mr. Franklin is more of a walking deity of true American patriotism inspiring all around him to do better for themselves and their country. This being an autobiography and ends abruptly around 1757 a little over 30 years before his death , doesn’t conclude very well leaving me the reader wanting to search the textbook or internet for more information on him near the end of his life. The text book goes more into the details of Benjamin around the time of his involvement with the American Revolution which is absent from the autobiography, however it did support evidence of the Seven years wars and the Great Awakening otherwise known as the Religious Revolution “with respect to defense, Spain having been several years at war against Great Britain, and being at length join’d by France, which brought us into great danger.” (73)

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