Franklin’s Family History and his Formative Years (1706-1723)

Benjamin Franklin’s life experiences and worldview fit squarely within the social, theological, and sociolinguistic framework described in Chapter 1. His rejection of his parents’ Presbyterian faith was one of the major sources of tension in his relationship with his parents and the people of South Boston, notably after his espousal of Deism at the age of fifteen and his fascination with Enlightenment philosophy. Despite this, after digging more deeply, one discovers that at the heart of many of his core values lay a reworking of concepts inspired by the most committed Protestant Reformers discussed in Chapter 1. In his Autobiography, Franklin states that the book which most profoundly influenced the conduct of his entire life was Reverend Cotton Mather’s Essays on Doing Good, and his Reformed Mode of Spelling should be understood as one of the many altruistic projects he undertook in an effort to please the Supreme Being and, in this way, elevate the station of the common man.This chapter explores not only Franklin’s fascination with his family’s English roots, which extended back to the reign of Bloody Mary (Queen Mary Tudor, 1553–1558) but also his childhood, education, and early realization that a solid command of the English language, both written and oral, was the key to social and economic advancement. It shows that his earliest source of literary inspiration as a young adolescent was Addison and Steele’s Spectator (specifically, vol. 3, no. 170, 1711), which he read, reread, and dissected in a determined attempt to imitate its witty style and become a skilful writer. The fact that a London-based periodical was the object of this emulation is central to my working hypothesis: the model of pronunciation Franklin designed for his Reformed Mode of Spelling was based on an innovative yet prestigious late eighteenth-century London standard, rather than on his own Boston vernacular, as has commonly been assumed. It was this variety of London English that he ultimately advocated for the common people throughout the British Empire, including America.In short, literacy and mastery of standard English opened the door to the acquisition of knowledge. Combined with faith in Providence, Franklin firmly believed that only a sound education could free people of humble origins from the shackles of servitude.