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Reappraising Benjamin Franklin: A Bicentennial Perspective

Name: Reappraising Benjamin Franklin: A Bicentennial Perspective
Author: J. A. Lemay
ISBN: 9780874134483

by J. A. Lemay

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Overview

This work contains twenty-four essays by distinguished Franklinists and is the most ambitious single collection of essays on Franklin ever assembled. The contributors include scholars from several foreign countries and from throughout the United States. The French literary scholar Daniel Royot examines Franklin's humor; the German historian of science Heinz Otto Sibum discusses methods of scientific analysis; the English biographer Esmond Wright investigates the personalities and politics involved in the peace treaties of 1782 and 1783; and the English literary scholar Stephen Fender evaluates Franklin's contributions to the literature of emigration. American historian Jack P. Greene examines Franklin's explanation of the American Revolution; J. L. Heilbron probes his contributions as a natural philosopher; and Michael Zuckerman surveys Franklin's ideas and his practice of benevolence and self-interest. Three editors of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin contribute essays: Ellen R. Cohn discusses his knowledge of music, the songs he particularly enjoyed, and the songs he wrote; Claude-Anne Lopez refutes John Adams's charge that Franklin was too French; and Barbara Oberg analyzes his final speech to the Constitutional Convention and its role in the passage of the Constitution. Two art historians examine his portraits: Wayne Craven discusses the American and English portraits of Franklin and Ellen G. Miles considers the French portraits. Three bookmen from the Library Company of Philadelphia contribute essays: James N. Green writes on Franklin as publisher and bookseller; John C. Van Horne appraises Franklin's various philanthropies and his ideas of collective benevolence; and Edwin Wolfe 2nd describes Franklin's personal history. A historian of journalism joins three literary scholars to assess Franklin's journalism: Jeffery A. Smith discusses risk-taking in Franklin's early journalism; Robert D. Arner evaluates Franklin's campaign against drinking and drunkenness;