Summary Of Michael Warner's Franklin And The Letters Of The Republic

In Michael Warner’s Franklin and the Letters of the Republic, Warner argues that through the creation and adaption of print media, Benjamin Franklin found a way to utilize the lack of royal rule in the colonies to embody power. Warner starts off explaining Franklin as a manipulative, calculating thinker. He illustrates Franklin as a man who revolves his life around the art of writing, but adds his opinion by calling this observation “disturbing” (Warner, 111). Warner makes a point to outline the history of print within the colonies, but does not critically analyze why Franklin would have dedicated himself to writing and publishing. If Franklin grew up in the coming age of print, why is it so strange that he would immerse himself in it? Print interested Franklin just as
Meanwhile, Franklin’s existence was based on doing good for society. He was a public figure, an activist, a revolutionary. He was not out to manipulate society in a negative sense, which is how Warner’s wording makes it seem. Franklin did not allow himself to generalization in order to keep his writing as unbiased as possible. He understood that in order to help society, he must create a discussion that allows the audience to think and establish their own opinions and arguments. This exact argument can be seen through the Dogood Papers. At first glance, these letters seem like a flow of a persons opinions and complaints. However, Franklin wrote them with the intention of creating a discussion within society on these particular problems. Warner argues that because Franklin did not have anything in common with Mrs. Dogood when he wrote the letters, the claims are valid, and to some extent, I agree. However, Franklin had to include his own biases, because without them, he would have nothing to write