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The following student work was completed as part of Lehigh University's Early American Literature Archive Project. Benjamin Franklin letter Contexts As an artifact of its time, the letter offers clues not only about an individual author, but also insights about the time and place in which it was written. Group your research questions under the appropriate context, and then choose three of these contexts to investigate further. You may wish to work together, or to assign each person his/her own context to investigate. When you decide which contexts you'll be working on, make the links below to separate pages for each context; each context will be about two-three pages, approximately 500-700 words. Biographical Benjamin Franklin's letter was sent to William Strahan, a printer and patron of literature whom Franklin befriended while in Europe around 1750. Strahan grew rapidly wealthy as a printer in London, despite a difficult beginning. Strahan's success as a publisher and bookseller eventually won him a place in Parliament in 1775. Strahan and Franklin enjoyed frequent and friendly correspondence, despite their differences in political matters at the time of tension between America and England. Many letters of Franklin were kept in Strahan's family after Franklin's death. Letter writing was one of Franklin's hobbies, and he enjoyed correspondence with many prominent men in history. The letter Franklin sent to Strahan did not reveal much about current events in his life at the time; it simply acknowledged that Franklin has received a letter from Strahan and planned on responding. The letter does mention Mr. Becket, a printer that Franklin had an acrimonious relationship with because Franklin felt that Becket had swindled him out of money for books he had printed. It also mentioned that the letter is to be sent in care of Hammet, a sea captain who would carry the letter to England. Although the letter does not foreshadow or reflect any of the ideas, values or ambitions of Franklin concerning any of his inventions or civic achievements, it does demonstrate Franklin's love for literature. Franklin mentioned he wished for Strahan to enquire after books, particularly one called Stewart's Athens. Franklin's involvement in printing and press, such as The Philadelphia Gazette, allowed for many of his ideas to be broadcast to the public. He published an "Address to the Public" on the issue of educating former slaves so that they could become contributing members of society. This was after Franklin's conversion to an abolitionist in 1785. This letter was written prior to the division between America and England. Whereas Strahan became a member of Parliament and influential with the ministry in England, Franklin as well played a prominent role in America's freedom, including signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the U.S. Constitution in 1787, and the Treaty of Paris in 1782. Franklin was also America's first ambassador, and he made eight Atlantic crossings and visited ten countries in a time when travel was rare. Because of Franklin's love for writing letters, he became very involved with postal service issues. He was appointed by the Continental Congress as its first Postmaster General in 1775 and served until late 1776. Socio-political The letter which is being analyzed was sent by famous American Benjamin Franklin to his colleague, a printer named W W Strahan in London. Dated June 17, 1764, this would have been just after Franklin had invented his famous glass armonica but before the 1765 Stamp Act which helped fuel the American revolution. The American colony was in a very rough transitional period at this point as many residents were trying to decide whether they should be loyalists or patriots. Despite the letter being addressed to a British resident, Franklin seems to have great reverence for Strahan. To summarize the letter, Franklin writes that he is returning Strahan's letter which he received by mail from Captain Walker. Franklin says that he intends to return his letter fully by way of Hammet who will sail for London in approximately ten days. He is concerned that he may have offended W Becket and asks Strahan that if he has, he would like to reconcile their differences. Apparently, Franklin had paid for some books which Strahan had or was printing and wanted to see if he had them yet, in particular Stewart's Athens. He ends the letter by pledging his love to Strahan and his family, basically wishing him good luck and good health. Although the letter does not mention or allude to any major events, it does show one of Franklin's personal relationships and his hobbies. One unique aspect of the letter is that it describes how mail was sent. Captains of ships would carry letters back and forth between cities, and they would sail fairly often. The verso of the letter has an address that is very simple, the recipient's name, two street names, and the city's name. It seems surprising given today's zip codes and electronic messages that the letter would have ever actually made it to Strahan. Research reveals that William Strahan was a significant Scottish figure at the time and had made his living as a printer, in much the same way as Franklin had in America. Although the letter does not say this explicitly, it is known that Franklin had spent time in London just before that period so they could have become friends then. Also, the way Franklin praises Strahan's family makes one believe that they might have been very hospitable to him when he went to Europe. Although the letter is sealed with wax, which was customary during this time, it does not seem very "official" or business-oriented. This document is clearly a personal letter which Franklin sent as a prompt reply to Strahan's message; he even writes that he plans to write in further detail on the matter in coming days. This would imply that this was the more informal letter and the next letter would be more business-oriented. This letter, from what the research shows, seems to be just a short message from Franklin acknowledging that he had gotten Strahan's letter and that he plans to reply to his message soon. This is similar to today's emailing system, in which users can set up reply messages acknowledging the receipt of a message without actually answering it in detail. Although the postal system was much slower and less reliable than it is today, it was a set system that could be utilized effectively by the wealthy such as Franklin and Strahan. Scholarly Scholarly writings about Benjamin Franklin have traditionally focused on the ways in which both his Autobiography and his life deal with the process of self-creation. Scholars have noted that Franklin as a model of the self-made man has come to represent American nationality and its promise of social mobility. Recently, however, scholars have examined the ways in which "this now canonical reading," as Betsy Erkkila notes, "fails to take account of the fluid, discontinuous, and split nature of Franklin's written 'performances' of himself" (728). In other words, recent Franklin criticism has focused on the variety of self-representations present in Franklin's Autobiography. William Shurr, for instance, argues that the Autobiography should not be read as a unified composition. Rather, Shurr suggests that the first part was originally a separate work–a personal letter to Franklin's bastard son, William. Erkkila offers a similar reading and proposes that the four parts of the autobiography should be read in the context of their historical, spatial, and temporal differences–each part being written in a different place and at a different time in Franklin's life. Carla Mulford also explores Franklin as a site of difference: she asserts that, ironically, while he "seems fully to have appreciated and accommodated cultural difference [...] Franklin's figure was used to obscure difference beneath a myth of national unity" (443). One reading that highlights Franklin's different selves is particularly interesting in the context of his letter to William Strahan on 17 June, 1764. Jennifer Jordan Baker claims that while early in his career Franklin obscured or downplayed his personal authority, later in his life, he used his name as a form of endorsement. Thus, according to Baker, Franklin's Autobiography is "a financial instrument–a national letter of credit endorsed by Franklin himself–that attests to the economic promise of America" (275). Baker's reading situates Franklin's autobiography in the economic context of the time, during which credit was on the rise as Americans sought new forms of capital; she asserts that Franklin used his name and notoriety as a form of credit. Baker offers as evidence of this point Franklin's increased interest in public projects after his 1748 retirement from printing. She suggests that "Franklin's service entails the public endorsement of projects, and his visible connection to such projects supposedly ensures their success" (277). The 1764 letter to Strahan seems to support this reading. Despite its brevity, the letter hints at Franklin's involvement in a business transaction–further establishing Baker's notion that he was involved in the printing sphere even after his retirement. Franklin writes, "I left some receipts with you for subscription monies to books. I wish you to enquire about them, particularly Stewart's Athens." Perhaps, though I am only speculating, Franklin asks Strahan to inquire about the receipt for Stewart's Athens because he is interested in becoming involved in its printing and/or distribution. In any case, his mention of subscription monies implies his interest in staying involved in the literary marketplace despite his retirement. Additionally, Franklin's mention of reconciling with Mr. Becket may be a result of his desire to clear his name–and, in Baker's terms, preserve his credibility. Franklin had had a strained relationship with Becket, a fellow printer who may have swindled Franklin out of money. In the letter, however, Franklin articulates a desire to reconcile: "I think I am slighted lately by Mr. Becket. Pray enquire and tell me the reason, that if I have been in fault I may amend." Although this mention of the possible discord between them is slight, Franklin's desire to "amend" the situation may signal a desire to clear his name, not only with Becket, but also with the public–specifically, those involved in printing–as a whole. He can not very well trade on his name if his reputation is sullied by poor relations to other printers. Thus, Franklin's 1764 letter to William Strahan, although brief and ostensibly superficial in content, does seem to be in concert with Baker's ideas about Franklin's desire to participate in the literary marketplace by using his reputation as a form of cultural capital. The following sites offer more information on Franklin's life and writings: Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary
History PBS's Benjamin Franklin Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Works Cited Baker, Jennifer Jordan. "Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and the Credibility of Personality." Early American Literature 35 (2000): 274-93. Erkkila, Betsy. "Franklin and the Revolutionary Body." ELH 67 (2000): 717-41. Mulford, Carla. "Figuring Benjamin Franklin in American Cultural Memory." The New England Quarterly 72.3 (Sept. 1999): 415-43. Shurr, William. "'Now, Gods, Stand Up for Bastards': Reinterpreting Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography." American Literature 64.3 (Sept, 1992): 435-51. |
