Index
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
- abolitionism, xvi, 128, 262–63, 264, 267, 268
- l’Academie d’Auteuil, 221
- Achard de Bonvouloir, Julien Alexandre, 211–12
- Acts of Trade and Navigation, 14
- Adams, Abigail, 196, 228
- Adams, John
- attitude toward authority, 236
- BF’s approach to anger and, 159
- on BF’s inventions, 121–22
- on BF’s masking, 41–42, 59
- on BF’s sense of humor, 128
- Boston culture and, 13
- enslavement and, 111–12
- French mission and, 225, 228, 229, 230
- on fresh air, 150–51
- memoire of, 178
- on Philadelphia culture, 50
- Treaty of Paris and, 237
- Adams, Samuel, 8, 158, 196, 236
- “Advice to a Friend Choosing a Mistress” (“Old Mistress’s Apologue”) (Franklin), 110
- aging, 215–16, 235, 295n
- See also Franklin, Benjamin, AGING AND
- American Almanack (Leeds), 105
- American experiment, xvii
- American Philosophical Society, 107–8, 112–13, 210, 252, 275
- American Revolution
- Albany Plan, 186
- beginning of, 192, 198
- BF’s Canada mission, 198–202
- BF’s conversion and, xvi, 104, 146, 170, 193, 196–97
- British contempt and, 159
- Constitutional Convention, 252, 253–61, 296n
- Declaration of Independence, 126–27, 160, 206–9, 247, 283n
- electricity as metaphor for, 122
- Enlightenment and, 14
- forgiveness and, 163, 249
- William Franklin’s imprisonment and, 209–10
- Second Continental Congress, 194–95
- Treaty of Paris, 101, 237, 283n
- winding road to, 148, 198
- See also Franklin, Benjamin, FRENCH MISSION
- anger, 158, 159, 161–63, 164, 170
- Aponte, Ryan, 135
- Aristotle, 19, 97, 127, 159
- Arnold, Benedict, 200
- “Art of Procuring Pleasant Dreams, The” (Franklin), 243, 296n
- Art of Swimming Illustrated by Proper Figures with Advice for Bathing, The (Thévenot), 28
- “Articles of Belief” (Franklin), 226
- Augustine, Saint, 19, 178
- authenticity, 42–43
- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 94, 177–79, 180, 274
- Bache, Benjamin Franklin “Benny” (BF’s grandson), 214, 233, 240, 249, 251–52
- Bache, Richard (BF’s son-in-law), 164, 187, 267
- Balisciano, Márcia, 191–92
- Balzac, Honoré de, 220
- Bancroft, Edward, 229–30
- Barbeu-Dubourg, Jacques, 218
- Beardsley, Ebenezer, 150
- Beaumarchais, Pierre, 223
- Beethoven, Ludwig van, 166
- “Ben Franklin Circles,” 289n
- Ben Franklin effect, 230–31, 236–37
- Benjamin Franklin House (London), 191–92
- Bentham, Jeremy, 284n
- bifocals, xvi, 82, 204, 283n
- Black, William, 287n
- Bond, Thomas, 139–40, 189
- Book of Common Prayer, 166
- Boston
- BF’s birthplace in, 7–8, 284n
- BF’s departure from, 44–45, 46–47
- culture of, 12–14
- images of BF in, 14–15
- print culture of, 17–18, 21–22
- as water world, 27
- Boston News-Letter, 36
- Boston Public Library, 21–22
- Boston Tea Party, 8, 169
- Boylston, Zabdiel, 285n
- Bradford, Andrew, 162
- Bradford, William, 46
- Bray Associates, 266
- British-colonial relations
- BF as loyalist, xvi, 66, 104, 186–87
- BF’s revolutionary conversion, xvi, 104, 146, 170, 196–97
- BF’s satire on, 128–29
- Boston Tea Party, 8, 169
- British contempt, 65–66, 69, 81–82, 159, 169–70, 172, 185
- Coercive (Intolerable) Acts (1774), 185
- felon transportation and, 128–29
- Hutchinson letters affair, 168–70, 292n
- Pennsylvania taxes and, 147–48, 158, 159
- Stamp Act, 171–72
- See also Franklin, Benjamin, LONDON MISSION (1757–74)
- British Empire, 12, 13, 186–87
- Buddhism, 43, 132–38, 142–44
- Building a Bridge to the 18th Century (Postman), xviii
- Bunyan, John, 19
- Burgoyne, John, 223
- Bushnell, David, 12
- busyness, 195–96, 213
- Butler, Robert, 180
- Cabanis, Pierre, 86, 288n
- Campbell, Joseph, 269
- Canada, BF’s mission to, 198–202
- Cato Major (Cicero), 104
- chapbooks, 19–20
- Château Ramezay, 201–2
- Chaumont, Jacques Donatien Le Ray de, 221
- Christian (king of Denmark), 154, 284n
- Cicero, 104, 213
- Colden, Cadwallader, 122
- Cole, Nathan, 173
- Collinson, Peter, 115, 119, 154, 155
- Committee of Secret Correspondence, 211–12, 214
- Common Sense (Paine), 187
- Confessions, The (Rousseau), 83
- Confucius, 103
- consequentialism, 72
- Constitutional Convention, 252, 253–61
- Cook, James, 154
- Coombe, Thomas, 291n
- Cutler, Manasseh, 2, 216, 253
- Darwin, Charles, 70
- Dayton, Jonathan, 253
- Deane, Silas, 212
- Declaration of Independence, 126–27, 160, 206–9, 247, 283n
- Defoe, Daniel, 17, 19, 39, 60, 64
- deism, 67, 78, 247
- Delaval, Edmund, 164–65
- DeNadai, Mary, 73
- Denham, Thomas, 69, 81, 84
- Descartes, René, 29
- Dewey, John, 79
- “Dharma of the Founders” (Aponte), 135
- “Dialogue Between the Gout and Mr. Franklin” (Franklin), 125–26, 203–4
- diligence, 11
- Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, A (“London Pamphlet”) (Franklin), 67–68, 78
- Douglass, William, 140
- Dudley, Joseph, 76
- Dull, Jonathan, 201
- Eagleman, David, 4, 284n
- earthquakes, 109
- Einstein, Alfred, 103
- electricity
- danger of, 2, 116, 284n
- Enlightenment and, 109
- experiential knowledge and, 116–17
- Experiments and Observations on Electricity (Franklin), 114
- fluid dynamics and, 119
- kite experiment, 120, 189–90
- law of conservation of charge, 118, 231, 272
- Leyden jar, 115–16, 117, 123
- lightning rod and, xvi, 71, 119–20, 121, 122
- moral concepts and, 118–19
- popular demonstrations, 45, 113–14
- shock therapy, 122–23, 140
- support for BF’s experimentation, 115
- usefulness and, 121
- Ellicott, Andrew, 252–53, 296n
- Ellison, Ralph, 38–39
- Enlightenment
- American Revolution and, 14
- BF’s birth and, 7
- BF’s French popularity and, 218–19
- Constitutional Convention and, 257–58
- conversation and, 85
- correspondence and, 161
- Declaration of Independence and, 208–9, 247
- experimentation and, 113, 290n
- floating and, 247
- London culture and, 64
- natural philosophers and, 108–9, 117
- print culture and, 34
- progress and, 75–76
- enslavement
- abolitionism, xvi, 128, 262–63, 264, 267, 268
- Declaration of Independence and, 206
- eighteenth-century extent of, 287n
- Franklin as enslaver, xvi, 111–12, 147, 256, 262, 264–65, 269, 297n
- Philadelphia slave trade, 51
- “Ephemera, The” (Franklin), 232
- Essay upon Projects, An (Defoe), 19
- Essays to Do Good (Mather), 22–25
- Experiments and Observations on Electricity (Franklin), 114
- Filleul, Anne-Rosalie Bocquet, 226
- floating, 245–48
- Franklin, Benjamin
- abolitionism and, xvi, 128, 262–63, 267
- aborted formal education of, 15–16
- achievements of, xvi
- appearance of, 288n
- baptism of, 8–9, 284n
- birthplace of, 7–8, 284n
- Buddhism and, 132–38, 142–44
- on capitalism, 137
- as chief executive of Pennsylvania, 252
- childhood, 8–10, 15–16, 127–28, 284n, 285n
- on “chorus of worlds,” xv
- contact with kings, 11, 284n
- on death, 271–72
- enslavement and, 262–64, 268–69
- as enslaver, xvi, 111–12, 147, 256, 262, 264–65, 269, 297n
- final years and death, 1–3, 204, 270–71, 272–73, 274–75
- on flatulence, 126
- floating and, 245
- French popularity of, 40, 218–19, 222–23, 227–28, 232, 240
- grave of, 273
- health issues, 81, 125–26, 183, 200, 203–5, 222, 238–39, 255, 270–71
- honorary degrees, 5, 133
- influence of, 275–76
- London sojourn (1723–26), 57–58, 59–60, 62–69, 163
- loss of son, 84
- moral algebra and, 187–88, 293n
- nakedness and, 145, 148–51, 155–56, 168, 233
- as natural philosopher, 108–9, 117
- parents of, 8, 9–10
- private library of, 18, 21, 285n
- as publisher, 102–6, 128, 129, 162, 263–64, 289n
- racism of, 265, 266
- reading and, 17–21, 22–25, 28, 29
- religion and, 16, 44, 67, 195, 248, 256–57, 271
- as storyteller, 29
- swimming and, 27–32, 68–69, 149, 179, 233, 247, 277–78
- vegetarianism, 18, 19, 134
- wealth of, 106
- wife’s death and, 189, 193
- womanizing reputation, 66, 67, 69, 110–11, 203, 222, 228, 289–90n
- —AGING AND:
- boldness and, 213
- Constitutional Convention and, 253, 254
- French mission and, 215–16, 217, 233, 235–36
- independence and, 216, 252–53
- positivity and, 183–84, 270–71
- revolutionary conversion and, 197
- usefulness and, 225
- —AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND:
- Albany Plan, 186
- Canada mission, 198–202
- Constitutional Convention, 252, 253–61, 296n
- conversion, xvi, 104, 146, 170, 193, 196–97
- Declaration of Independence, 126–27, 160, 206–8, 209, 283n
- Second Continental Congress, 194–95
- Treaty of Paris, 237–38
- See also FRENCH MISSION below
- —BRITISH-COLONIAL RELATIONS AND:
- British contempt, 65–66, 69, 81–82, 159, 169–70, 172
- as British loyalist, xvi, 66, 104, 186–87
- Hutchinson letters affair, 168–69, 292n
- King of Prussia satire and, 40–41
- Pennsylvania taxes and, 147–48, 158, 159
- revolutionary conversion, xvi, 104, 146, 170, 196–97
- satire on, 128–30
- —CHARACTERISTICS OF:
- aloofness, 11
- ambition, 94
- analogous thinking, 118, 120, 124
- athleticism, 68
- attention to appearances, 71, 153–54, 219, 288n
- boldness, 197, 217, 218
- charm, 222–23
- as conversationalist, 85–87
- corporeal nature, xvi
- curiosity, 112–13, 254
- detachment, 178, 254
- devotion to method, 93, 98, 226
- empathy, 228–29
- enthusiasm, 117
- flaws, xvii, 66, 83, 249, 256, 262, 269
- generosity, 63, 86, 124, 136–37, 142, 166
- gratitude, 180, 204, 205, 232
- humility, 119
- independence, 252–53
- interest in the past, 179, 180
- love of animals, 55, 287n
- modest diffidence, 12
- ordinariness, 2
- positivity, 3, 81–82, 168, 181, 184, 204, 205, 225, 270, 277–78
- sense of humor, 125–30, 131, 207, 229, 259
- sensitivity, 167, 190
- serious and playful, 103, 160, 289n
- sociability, 2, 44, 64–65, 83, 149, 154, 225
- social caution, 85, 149, 291n
- —CIVIC IMPROVEMENT AND:
- BF’s influence and, 49, 275
- Junto Club, 87–91, 115, 289n
- masking and, 41
- Pennsylvania Hospital, 139–42, 143, 197–98, 275, 291n
- public positions, 252
- reading and, 18
- usefulness and, xvi, 87–88, 107, 124, 197–98
- —FRENCH MISSION, 212–24
- abolitionism and, 267
- aging and, 215–16, 217, 233, 235–36
- Auray sojourn, 215, 216–18
- Battle of Saratoga and, 223–24
- charm and, 222–23
- enemies and, 229–30
- Louis XVI and, 234–35
- Passy residence, 219–22
- popularity and, 218–19, 222–23, 227–28, 232, 240
- printing and, 101, 227
- success of, 224, 226–33, 235
- travel and, 213–14, 218, 238–40, 242–43, 245, 249–50, 251–52
- womanizing reputation and, 222, 228
- —IMAGES OF:
- in Auray, 216
- in Boston, 7, 14–15, 54
- French popularity and, 227, 234, 236
- French portraits, 226, 236, 295n
- materialism and, 136–37, 138
- ubiquity of, xiv
- —INVENTIONS AND EXPERIMENTS:
- bifocals, xvi, 82, 204, 283n
- currency and, 61, 102, 195
- distance from Europe and, 114–15
- empiricism and, 29
- experiential knowledge and, 116–17
- experimentation and, 113
- fame and, 121–22
- final years and, 1, 2, 166
- flexible catheter, 88, 166
- generosity and, 137, 166
- glass armonica, 164–68
- kite experiment, 120, 189–90
- life after death and, 272
- lightning rod, xvi, 71, 119–20, 121, 122
- magic squares, 253–54
- matching grants, 141
- medicine and, 88, 140, 166, 204
- phonetic alphabet, 166
- scientific writing and, 117–18
- support for, 115
- swimming and, 31–32
- travel and, 192, 288n
- unity and, 186
- usefulness and, 87–88, 166
- words, 101
- See also electricity
- —LONDON MISSION (1757–74), 157
- British contempt and, 81–82, 169–70
- colonial advocacy and, 187
- Craven Street home, 145, 146–47, 151–54, 155, 190–91
- elite rejection and, 185–86
- end of, 190, 191, 192
- homesickness and, 154–55
- Hutchinson letters affair, 168–70, 292n
- last-minute compromise proposals, 187
- length of, 293n
- moral algebra and, 187–88
- pastoral fantasies and, 171
- Pennsylvania taxes and, 147–48, 158, 159
- Stamp Act and, 171–72
- Twyford House visit, 173, 174, 177
- —AS PRINTER, 84, 93
- apprenticeships, 34, 44, 53, 57, 163, 288n
- as assistant to Keimer, 53, 84
- empathy and, 229
- freedom of the press and, 103
- French mission and, 101, 227
- identity of, 101–2
- London sojourn (1723–26) and, 60, 67, 163
- print shop opening, 102, 289n
- George Whitefield and, 173
- —TRAVEL:
- French mission and, 213–14, 218, 238–40, 242–43, 245, 249–50, 251–52
- frequency of, xvii, 58
- inventions and experiments during, 192, 251
- journey from Boston to Philadelphia, 46–47
- journey from London to Philadelphia (1726), 69, 70, 73–74, 77–80
- London sojourn (1757–76) and, 154
- writing during, 58–59
- —VALUES OF:
- approach to anger, 158, 159, 161–63, 164, 170
- “as if” philosophy, 43
- belief in possibility, 3–4, 29, 77, 179, 187, 223
- busyness, 195–96, 213
- character, 95, 177
- consequentialism, 72
- constancy, 97–98
- Constitutional Convention and, 254
- correcting errata, 82–84, 131
- doubt, 259–60
- empiricism, 28–31
- equality, 236, 256
- equanimity, 158–59, 279
- equilibrium, 118, 231–32
- forgiveness, 163, 249
- grace, 31
- happiness, 32
- honesty, 76, 142–43
- materialism and, 137–38, 155, 273
- personal improvement, 92–100
- Plan of Conduct, 79, 84
- politeness, 74, 288n
- political/economic stances, 55
- progress, 75–76
- proto-feminism, 39–40
- public positions and, 212–13, 238, 252
- public service, 122
- righting injustices, 162
- skillful means, 142–43
- unity, 186–87, 199
- virtue, 78, 94–99, 133, 221, 226, 230
- See also usefulness
- —WRITING OF:
- abolitionism and, 128, 267–68
- American Revolution and, 195
- autobiography, 177–79, 180, 274
- correspondence, 160–62
- Declaration of Independence and, 207–8
- early practice, 34–35
- experimentation and, 117–18
- humor in, 127–29, 203–4
- learning process, 34–36
- masking (pseudonyms) and, 39–44, 59, 86, 102, 268
- Silence Dogood essays, 36–38, 39–40, 43–44, 159, 197
- —WORKS:
- “Advice to a Friend Choosing a Mistress” (“Old Mistress’s Apologue”), 110
- “The Art of Procuring Pleasant Dreams,” 243, 296n
- “Articles of Belief,” 226
- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 94, 177–79, 180, 274
- “Dialogue Between the Gout and Mr. Franklin,” 125–26, 203–4
- A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (“London Pamphlet”), 67–68, 78
- “The Ephemera,” 232
- Experiments and Observations on Electricity, 114
- “Join or Die” cartoon, 186
- journal, 72, 73–74, 77
- “The King’s Own Regulars,” 130
- “Light House Tragedy,” 35
- “A Method of Humbling Rebellious American Vassals,” 185
- “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind,” 266
- Plain Truth, 264
- “Rattlesnakes for Felons,” 128–29
- “Thirteen Virtues,” 96–98, 133, 221, 226
- The Way to Wealth, 41, 59, 138, 155
- See also Poor Richard’s Almanack
- Franklin, Deborah Reed (BF’s wife)
- abolitionism and, 264
- BF’s belief in equality and, 256
- BF’s London mission and, 147, 154, 155, 189
- BF’s womanizing reputation and, 110, 111
- British-colonial relations and, 172
- death of, 189, 193, 222
- first meeting with, 53
- glass armonica and, 166
- health issues, 186, 189
- marriage, 84
- Franklin, Francis “Franky” (BF’s son), 84
- Franklin, James (BF’s brother), 34, 36, 37, 43–44, 163, 166
- Franklin, Jane (BF’s sister), 111, 154, 160–61, 166
- Franklin, Josiah (BF’s father), 8, 9, 10, 11, 15–16, 27
- Franklin, Josiah, Jr. (BF’s brother), 27
- Franklin, Sarah “Sally” (BF’s daughter), 166, 189, 252, 272
- Franklin, Temple (BF’s grandson), 214, 227, 248, 249
- Franklin, William (BF’s son)
- BF’s London mission and, 147, 154, 179, 186
- BF’s relationship with, 198, 240–41, 244–45, 248, 250, 274–75
- death of BF’s wife and, 189
- enslavement and, 265
- kite experiment and, 120
- as loyalist, 178, 193, 198, 209–10, 240–41, 244–45
- Franklin Court (Philadelphia), 193–94, 271
- Franklin Museum, 125, 268
- Gage, Thomas, 185
- Galilei, Galileo, 164
- Gandhi, Mohandas, 70
- Gargaz, Pierre-André, 222–23
- George II (king of England), 284n
- George III (king of England), 148, 154, 172, 229, 284n
- glass armonica, 164–68
- gout, 125–26, 183, 200, 203–4
- Great Awakening, 173
- Great Britain. See London
- Great Compromise, 258
- Great St. Bart’s (London), 66–67
- Grudin, Robert, 70
- Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, A (Shantideva), 136
- habits, 92–93
- Hall, Michael, 152
- Hamilton, Alexander (founder), 254
- Hamilton, Alexander (physician), 52
- Harrison, George, 70
- Hartley, David, 237, 238
- Hartley, Leslie, 26
- Havel, Vaclav, 92
- Helvetius, Madame (Anne-Catherine de Ligniville), 228, 240, 249
- Herbert, Eugenia, 14
- Hewson, William, 153, 186
- history. See past, interest in
- Hoffer, Johannes, 180
- Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 49
- Hopkinson, Thomas, 115
- Hôtel de Valentinois (Passy, France), 220–21
- Houdon, Jean-Antoine, 249
- Houston, Alan, 143
- Howe, Caroline, 187
- Howe, Richard, 187
- Huang, Nian-Sheng, 179–80
- Hughes, John, 172
- humor, 125–31, 150, 203–4, 207, 229, 259
- Hutchinson, Thomas, 169
- Hutchinson letters affair, 168–70, 292n
- hyphenated careers, 13–14
- James, William, 79, 115
- Jay, John, 212, 229, 237
- Jefferson, Isaac, 290n
- Jefferson, Thomas
- as ambassador to France, 238, 239, 240
- attitude toward authority, 236
- BF’s French mission and, 228
- as enslaver, 262
- lightning rod and, 121, 290n
- memoir of, 178
- racism of, 266
- revolutionary slogans and, 195
- on virtue, 95
- See also Declaration of Independence
- Jeffries, John, 239
- Johnson, Boris, 152
- Johnson, Samuel, 66, 146–47
- “Join or Die” cartoon, 186
- Jones, John, 3, 270
- Junto Club, 87–91, 115, 289n
- Justice, Donald, 225
- Kant, Immanuel, 120, 121
- Keats, John, 260
- Keimer, Samuel, 53, 84, 102, 103, 163
- Keith, William, 57, 59–60, 77, 97, 163, 249, 287n
- Kierkegaard, Søren, 16
- “King’s Own Regulars, The” (Franklin), 130
- Kinnersley, Ebenezer, 115
- Kinsey, John, 291n
- kite experiment, 120, 189–90
- Kramer, Mitch, 135, 189
- La Rochefoucauld, François de, 178
- Lay, Benjamin, 264
- Lee, Arthur, 161, 222, 228
- Leeds, Titan, 105
- Lefebvre de la Roche, Abbé Martin, 225, 234
- Lemay, Leo, 120, 289n
- Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy (Marana), 19
- Leyden jar, 115–16, 117, 123
- Leyland family, 175–77, 180, 181
- Library Company of Philadelphia, 91, 103–4, 210, 275
- life review, 180–81, 182–83, 271
- “Light House Tragedy” (Franklin), 35
- lightning rod, xvi, 71, 119–20, 121, 122
- Locke, John, 14, 17, 208, 209, 258
- Logan, James, 104
- London
- anti-Americanism, 65–66, 69
- BF’s sojourn in (1723–26), 57–58, 59–60, 62–69, 163
- culture of, 64–65
- modern culture of, 61–62, 151–52
- See also Franklin, Benjamin, LONDON MISSION (1757–74)
- Lopez, Claude-Anne, 14
- Louis XV (king of France), 284n
- Louis XVI (king of France), 211, 217, 234–35, 284n
- Madison, James, 86, 253, 254, 255, 258, 296n
- magic squares, 253–54
- Malloy, Alasdair, 167
- Mandeville, Bernard, 60
- Marana, Giovanni, 19
- Marcus Aurelius, 162
- Marie Antoinette (queen of France), 166, 234–35, 239
- Marx, Karl, 119
- masking, 38–44, 59, 86, 102, 134, 268
- Mather, Cotton, 17–18, 22–25, 36, 37, 89
- Maugham, Somerset, 180
- McHenry, James, 296n
- medicine
- BF’s inventions and, 88, 140, 166, 204
- fresh air and, 150
- Mather and, 23
- shock therapy, 122–23, 140
- See also Pennsylvania Hospital
- Memorable Things of Socrates (Xenophon), 102–3
- Meredith, Hugh, 289n
- Mesmer, Franz, 166
- Mesplet, Fleury, 202
- “Method of Humbling Rebellious American Vassals, A” (Franklin), 185
- Miller, Isabel, 109–12, 115, 124
- Monticello, 121, 290n
- moral algebra, 187–89, 293n
- Morals of Confucius, The, 103
- Morellet, André, 285n, 289n
- Morgan, Edmund, 42, 289–90n
- Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 166
- Musschenbroek, Pieter van, 115, 116
- nakedness, 145, 148–51, 155–56, 168, 233
- Nash, Gary, 263, 287n, 297n
- Native Americans, 13, 51, 87
- Natural History (Pliny the Elder), 19
- Neave, Oliver, 277
- New England Courant, 36–37, 127–28
- Newton, Isaac, 64, 287n
- Nollet, Jean-Antoine, 114
- Norris, Isaac, 140, 142
- nostalgia, 180
- Notes on the State of Virginia (Jefferson), 266
- “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind” (Franklin), 266
- Old South Meeting Hall (Boston), 8–9, 284n
- Paine, Thomas, 187, 296n
- Palmer, Samuel, 67
- Pamela (Richardson), 104
- Pangle, Lorraine, 222
- past, interest in, xviii, 26, 72–73, 176, 179–80, 205–6, 276
- Penn, Richard, 147–48, 158, 159
- Penn, Thomas, 142, 147–48, 158, 159
- Penn, William, 50, 51
- Pennsylvania Gazette, 102–3, 129, 162
- Pennsylvania Hospital, 139–42, 143, 197–98, 275, 291n
- Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, 267, 297n
- personal improvement, 92–100
- behavior vs. intentions and, 94
- constancy and, 97–98
- habits and, 92–93, 98
- lapses, 98–100
- schedule and, 93–94
- virtue and, 94–97
- Philadelphia
- BF’s arrival in, 47, 52–53, 56
- BF’s journey from Boston to, 46–47
- BF’s return to (1776), 193–94
- as BF’s soulplace, 49–50, 55–56
- culture of, 51–52, 53
- enslavement in, 287n
- Junto Club, 87–91, 115, 289n
- modern, 54–55
- origins of, 50–51
- See also Franklin, Benjamin, CIVIC IMPROVEMENT AND
- Philadelphia Academy, 89, 179
- Pierce, William, 253
- Pilgrim’s Progress, The (Bunyan), 19
- Plain Truth (Franklin), 264
- Plato, 127
- Pliny the Elder, 17, 19
- Plutarch, 17, 20
- Plutarch’s Lives, 20
- Politicks (Aristotle), 19
- Poor Richard’s Almanack (Franklin)
- “as if” philosophy and, 43
- BF’s French popularity and, 218
- BF’s health and, 203
- Buddhism and, 137, 138
- on conversation, 86
- humor and, 129–30
- inauguration of, 105–6
- lightning rod and, 121
- masking and, 40, 41
- success of, 289n
- usefulness and, 106
- Pope, Alexander, 178
- Postman, Neil, xviii
- Powel, Elizabeth, 261
- Pragmatism, 79
- Priestley, Joseph, 149, 190
- Pringle, John, 154
- print culture, 33–34
- pseudonyms. See masking
- Puritanism, 8–9, 13, 14, 17–18, 22–23, 45
- Ralph, James, 66, 67, 69
- Randolph, Peyton, 195
- “Rattlesnakes for Felons” (Franklin), 128–29
- Raynal, Abbé Guillaume Thomas de, 18
- Richardson, Samuel, 104
- Richmann, Georg, 116
- Robertson, Ritchie, 290n
- Robinson Crusoe (Defoe), 64
- Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 43, 76, 83, 178, 219
- Royal Society, 64, 85
- Royal Society for the Arts, 159–60
- Rudman, Andreas, 51
- Rush, Benjamin, 285n, 292n, 298n
- Rushdie, Salman, 49
- Salem witch trials, 8, 284n
- Sandys, George, 19
- Sartre, Jean-Paul, 42
- satire, 128–29, 268
- Sauer, Christopher, 264
- scientific writing, 117–18
- “Seasons, The” (Thomson), 272
- Second Continental Congress, 194–95
- Selden, John, 254
- Seven Years’ War, 211
- Sewall, Samuel, 284n
- Shaftesbury, Earl of (Anthony Ashley Cooper), 17
- Shakespeare, William, 19, 42
- Shantideva, 133, 136
- Shelburne, Lord (William Petty), 237
- Shipley, Catherine, 296n
- Shipley, Georgiana, 101, 287n
- Shipley, Jonathan, 55, 173, 174
- skillful means, 142–43
- Skinner, B. F., 94
- slavery. See enslavement
- Sloane, Hans, 62–63
- Small, Abner, 49
- Smith, Adam, 85
- Sons of Liberty, 8
- soulplaces, 47–49
- Spencer, Archibald, 45, 113
- Steele, Addison, 64
- Stevenson, Margaret, 153
- Stevenson, Polly (Mary Hewson), 1, 153, 272–73, 284n
- Stevenson, Robert Louis, 196
- Stiles, Ezra, 271
- Stormont, Lord (David Murray), 229
- Strahan, William, 154, 161, 172, 293n
- Swift, Jonathan, 19, 64
- swimming, 27–32, 68–69, 149, 179, 233, 247, 277–78
- Syng, Philip, 115
- Tale of a Tub, A (Swift), 19
- Thackara, William, 284n
- Thévenot, Melchisédech, 28
- “Thirteen Virtues” (Franklin), 96–98, 133, 221, 226
- Thompson, John, 207
- Thomson, James, 272
- Tourtellot, Arthur, 23
- travel
- interest in the past and, 26
- language and, 224–25
- nakedness and, 150
- speed and, 70–71, 288n
- See also Franklin, Benjamin, TRAVEL
- Travels (Sandys), 19
- Treaty of Alliance with France, 283n
- Treaty of Paris Establishing Peace with Great Britain, 101, 237, 283n
- Tryon, Thomas, 19
- Turgot, Anne Robert Jacques, 121
- Twyford House, 173, 174–77, 180–81
- University of Pennsylvania, 89, 179, 252, 275
- Updike, John, 39
- US Constitution, 261, 283n, 296n
- usefulness, 3
- approach to anger and, 162–63, 170
- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and, 178
- Ben Franklin effect and, 231
- BF’s inventions and, 87–88, 166
- BF’s parents and, 10–11
- BF’s reading and, 20
- BF’s role in American Revolution and, 197
- busyness and, 196, 213
- civic improvement and, xvi, 87–88, 107, 124, 197–98
- Constitutional Convention and, 257
- electricity and, 121
- enemies and, 158–59
- generosity and, 124
- humor and, 131
- Junto Club and, 89–90
- leisure time and, 89
- philosophy and, 68
- planning and, 94
- Poor Richard’s Almanack and, 106
- public positions and, 252
- swimming and, 31
- technology and, 7
- truth and, 78–79
- virtue and, 230
- Van Doren, Carl, 73
- Vergennes, comte de (Charles de Gravier), 223–24, 229, 234, 237
- Versailles, 233–34
- virtue, 78, 94–99, 133, 221, 226, 230
- Volney, Constantine, 296n
- Voltaire, 109, 219
- Washington, George, 130, 166, 197, 218, 223, 255, 259, 262
- Watts, Alan, 43
- Watts, Isaac, 273
- Watts, John, 68
- Way to Health, The (Tryon), 19
- Way to Wealth, The (Franklin), 41, 59, 138, 155
- Wedderburn, Alexander, 169–70
- West, Benjamin, 155
- Wheatley, Phillis, 8
- White, Jerry, 64
- Whitefield, George, 83, 101, 173
- Whitehead, Paul, 41
- Whitney, Eli, 12, 284n
- Wickes, Lambert, 214
- Wilcox, John, 65
- Willard, Samuel, 8–9
- Wilson, James, 259
- Winthrop, John, xv, 11
- Wyndham, William, 288n