Section 1 (25 points): Describe how Benjamin Franklin established the public library in Philadelphia. What was the effect of this library on Ben Franklin and on his community?

Benjamin Franklin’s idea of a public library started from the little room of Mr.Grace, where Junto was having a meeting at that time. He thought since everyone in the club often borrowed books from one another, it would be convenient to “have them altogether where [they] met.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII) Therefore, they can “clubbing [their] books to a common library.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII)  As beneficial as the arrangement was, the amount of books wasn’t great and due to some inconvenience the collection of books separated as people took theirs home. After that, Franklin decided to start his first public project, which was the subscription library. He first “drew up the proposal” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII), and with help from Junto, “procured fifty subscribers of forty shillings each to begin with, and ten shillings a year for fifty years.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII) With the little funds that he had, the library was opened. The benefits of the library manifested itself rather quickly, as later on they managed to obtain a charter, and “the company being increased to one hundred.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII)  Franklin's observed that his model of library was being “imitated by other towns, and in other provinces.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII)  As a result, “reading became fashionable,” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII) and the general conservation level of Americans increased. In fact, Franklin also observed that because of the widespread model of the library, it made “the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VIII)  Overall, the library model established by Benjamin Franklin has had tremendous effects toward the intelligence of Americans as a whole at that time.

Section 3 (25 points): Was Franklin a religious man? Why, or why not? Provide specific evidence to support your conclusions.

Franklin was not a religious man, but he believed in God regardless. Throughout the book, he was frequently thanking God for his blessing on him, such as when he thanked God as he believed he “owes the mentioned happiness of my past life to His kind providence, which led [Franklin] to the means [Franklin] used and gave them success.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter I) He also thinks that God is “the fountain of wisdom” (FRANKLIN, Chapter 9) and a guidance when he was trying to attain his moral perfection. However, Benjamin Franklin wasn’t following a specific denomination, even as “had early given me religious impressions, and brought me through my childhood piously in the Dissenting way.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VII)  At one point, he began to doubt the way that he was taught. At one point, he obtained books that were against Deism. Deism is defined generally as belief in the existence of a higher being, but more specifically a higher being that does not intervene. In a sense, Deism is a religion, but at the same time compares to the Quaker and the Puritans of the time, isn’t. These anti-Deism books had a profound impact to Franklin in a roundabout way, as he thought that “for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to [Franklin] much stronger than the refutations.” (FRANKLIN, Chapter VII)  This paved the way as he became a “thorough Deist.”

Section 2 (50 points): Explain Franklin's quest for moral perfection. What process did he use? How successful was he? Which virtues did he find the most challenging to maintain? What was meant by his saying, "a speckled ax is best?"

Franklin’s quest for moral perfection started when he decided that he wanted to live “without committing any fault at any time.” At that point in time, he thought that he knew what’s right and wrong, and he did not see why he “might not always do the one and avoid the other.” His process was long. First he narrowed and name the 13 virtues that “at that time occurr'd to Franklin as necessary or desirable.” This list includes “Temperance”, “Order”, “Silence”, “Resolute”, “Frugality”, “Industry”, “Sincerity”, “Justice”, “Moderation”, “Cleaniless”, “Tranquility”, “Chasity” and “Humility.” He planned that he would fix one of them at a time before moving to the next, and arrange the 13 virtues in a way which “previous acquisition of some might facilitate the acquisition of certain others.” Then, Franklin used a little book where he would chart these virtues, gives it its own page and days, and mark whenever he felt like he wasn’t adhering to these virtues and what they meant. Franklin gave each of these virtue a week to hone, as he “determined to give a week's strict attention to each of the virtues successively.” Overall, for all of his efforts, he fell shorts of his goal and never attained moral perfection. He noted it himself that he “made so little progress in amendment, and had such frequent relapses, that I was almost ready to give up the attempt.” Nevertheless, Franklin in reflections thought that he had improved as a better man, as he noted that “yet [Franklin] was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise.” During his ordeal, Franklin thought that the virtue of Order was the hardest one to obtain. He found it to be “extreamly difficult to acquire.” After everything, he found that “a speckled ax is the best.” From the little story included, Franklin concluded that someone who tries to get good habits and depart the habits, but fail and gave up is better than someone who is perfect but “might be attended with the inconvenience of being envied and hated.” A speckled ax in here is meant to be a character, a someone who is riddled with imperfections.