Background
for Teachers
Background: The Autobiography.
The Autobiography was written in three separate parts,
each composed at a different and distinct historical moment in the
revolutionary process. Each section has often been read as correlating
with the specific historical context of its moment of composition.
“Part
One” was written in 1771, during a reflective period of
Franklin’s vacation from his post as colonial agent for
the colonies of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
It was written as the colonial crisis was coming to a head, which
Franklin’s duties as agent caused him to be directly and
deeply involved in. For most of his life, Franklin had advocated
a reconciliation of crown and colony, with differences being settled
through reasoned negotiation. During the last years leading up
to the revolution, however, Franklin began to have serious misgivings
about the nature and structure of English society and government,
and he began to entertain the necessity of independence for the
colonies. As he was pondering the cause and character of the split
with England, Franklin sat down to write “Part One”,
perhaps the most autobiographical of all three parts. It traces
the background of Franklin’s poor and obscure family, and
his rise from poverty and obscurity to ‘some degree of reputation
in the world’ through his self education, hard work, and
acquisition of solid personal and civic virtues. Historically,
Franklin’s reflections on his own origins and rise can be
read as a meditation on the origin and rise of the colonies, and
the nature of the character of the colonies, which together led
to the imperial crisis.
“Part
Two’ was written in 1784 in Passy, France, right after Franklin
had negotiated and signed the Treaty of Paris, which ended the
Revolutionary War, and legally established the United States of
America as a community. The least autobiographical of the three
parts, it focuses on Franklin’s character, specifically
his book of virtues, and details how he made virtue a component
of his daily life. This section can be read as Franklin’s
recipe for a successful republican citizen: the virtues and ethics
a republic will require of its citizens, and how citizens can
learn those virtues.
“Part
Three” was written in Philadelphia in 1787-88 during and
after the Constitutional Convention. In this section, Franklin
speaks less of his overall character, and more of his public role
in society. He details his many civic accomplishments and the
various civic institutions he helped to found. This section may
be read as Franklin’s civics lesson, as it details the civic
institutions and virtues necessary for forming and operating a
self-governing community.
*note*
specific discussion points for each part will be provided
in the appropriate lesson plan section.
|
