Benjamin Franklin’s Imperfections

Chapter 1 analyzes The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin as an experimental text written across the revolutionary era and the development of Benjamin Franklin’s thought. Whereas Franklin is often seen as the archetypal rags-to-riches story that parallels American independence, reading the text across the diverse political circumstances that influenced each part reveals what for Franklin was the value of imperfection. Imperfections in the political subject or society do more than humble members or pave the way for a more perfect union: they motivate participants to collaborative efforts in improving themselves and their ties to one another. This chapter offers a new reading of Franklin on authority and shows how only through revision did his work become a claim of experience.