The Compleated Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1757-1790)

by Benjamin Franklin

  Chapter Eleven

  My Final Years, 1787...

  It is a singular thing in the history of mankind that a great people have had the opportunity of forming a government for themselves. After four months of close discussion, the Congress sent copies of the American Constitution of government to the legislatures of the several states, to be submitted by them to the consideration of conventions in each state for approbation. I also sent copies of the new Federal Constitution to my friends in France and England. Our particular state ratify’d the Constitution in early December.

  AMERICA IS TOO ENLIGHTENED TO BE ENSLAVED

  The propos’d Constitution met with a great deal of opposition in every state, it being difficult to reconcile and accommodate so many different and jarring interests, and jealousy of power. Such opposition strengthens an opinion of mine that America is too enlighten’d to be enslav’d. Though there is a general dread of giving too much power to our governors, I think we are more in danger from too little obedience in the governed. A zealous advocate for the Constitution in a certain public assembly said he believ’d if an angel from heaven were to bring down a Constitution, form’d there for our use, it would nevertheless meet with violent opposition.

  But we must not expect that a new government may be formed, as a game of chess may be played, by a skillful hand without a fault. We are making experiments in politics. The players of our game are so many, their ideas so different, their prejudices so strong and so various, and their particular interests independent of the general seeming so opposite, that not a move can be made that is not contested. The numerous objections confound the understanding; the wisest must agree to some unreasonable things, that reasonable ones of the more consequence may be obtained, and thus chance has its share in many of the determinations, so that the play is more like tric-trac with a box of dice. The success of the project, however, means our government will be more energetic, and we shall be in a better condition of being serviceable to our friends on any future occasion.

  IN AMERICA, ANOTHER WAR WITH THE INDIANS . . .

  I received news of a war between the state of Georgia and the Creek Indians. During the course of a long life in which I have made observations on public affairs, it has appear’d to me that almost every war between the Indians and the whites has been occasion’d by some injustice of the latter toward the former. It is indeed extremely imprudent in us to quarrel with them for their lands, as they are generally willing to sell, and sell at such good bargains: And a war with them is so mischievous to us, in unsettling frequently a great part of our frontier, and reducing the inhabitants to poverty and distress, and is besides so expensive, that it is much cheaper as well as more honest, to buy their lands than to take them by force.

  AND IN EUROPE, ANOTHER WITH . . .

  I heard from Dr. Ingenhousz, physician to the Prussian Emperor, that there was prospect of horrid war with Russia. There is so little good gain’d, and so much mischief done generally by wars, that I wish the imprudence of undertaking them were more evident to princes, in which case I think they would be less frequent. If I were counsellor to the emperor of Russia, and found that she desired to possess some part of the dominions of the Grand Signior, I should advise her to compute what the annual taxes raised from that territory may amount to, and make him an offer of buying it, at the rate of paying for it twenty years purchase. And if I were his counsellor, I should advise him to take the money and cede the dominion of that territory. For I am of the opinion that a war to obtain it will cost her more than that sum, and the event uncertain; and that the defense of it will cost him as much; and not having embrac’d the offer, his loss is double. But to make and accept such an offer, these potentates should both be reasonable creatures, and free from the ambition of glory, &c., which perhaps is too much to be supposed.

  AN HONEST HERETIC

  I corresponded with my British friends Benjamin Vaughan, Dr. Richard Price, and the honest heretic Dr. Priestley. I do not call him honest by way of distinction; for I think all heretics I have known have been virtuous men. They have the virtue of fortitude or they would not venture to own their heresy; and they cannot afford to be deficient in any other virtues, as that would give advantage to their many enemies; and they are not like sinners, such as friends who excuse or justify them. Do not, however, mistake me. It is not to my good friend’s heresy that I impute his honesty. On the contrary, ’tis his honesty that has brought upon him the character of heretic.

  HOW DIFFERENT WAS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!

  As it is customary in Europe to make some liberal provision for ministers when they return home from foreign service, during which their absence is necessarily injurious to their private affairs, I did hope that the Congress would at least have been kind enough to have showed their approbation of my conduct by a grant of some small tract of land in their western country, which might have been of use and some honour to my posterity. I saw by their minutes that the Congress allow’d Mr. Lee handsomely for his service in England before his appointment to France, in which services I and Mr. Bollan135 co-operated with him and had no such allowance; and since his return he was very properly rewarded with a good place, as well as my friend Mr. Jay. (These were trifling compensations compared with what was granted by the King to M. Gérard on his return from America.) But how different was what happened to me! On my return from England the Congress bestow’d on me the office of Postmaster General, for which I was very thankful. It was indeed an office I had some kind of right to, as having previously greatly enlarg’d the revenue of the post by the regulations I had contriv’d and establish’d, while I possess’d it under the Crown. When I was sent to France, I left it in the hands of my son-in-law, who was to act as my deputy. But soon after my departure it was taken from me and given to Mr. Hazard, when the English ministry formerly thought fit to deprive me of the office. They left me however the privilege of receiving and sending my letters free of postage, which is the custom when a postmaster is not displac’d for malfeasance in the office. But in America I have ever since had the postage demanded of me, which since my return from France has amounted to above £50, much of it occasion’d by my having acted as minister there.

  When I took my grandson Temple with me to France, I had purposed, after giving him the French language, to educate him in the study and practice of the law. But by the repeated expectations given me of a secretary, and constant disappointments, I was induced and indeed obliged to retain him with me to assist in the secretary’s office; which disappointments continued till my return, by which time so many years of the opportunity of studying the law were lost, and his habits of life become so different, that it appear’d no longer advisable; and I then, considering him as brought up in the diplomatic line and well qualify’d by his knowledge in that branch, took the liberty of recommending him to the Congress for their protection, for the employ of a secretary at least (in which opinion I was not alone, for three of my colleagues, without the smallest solicitation from me, chose him secretary of the commission for treaties, which they were empower’d to do). This was the only favour I ever ask’d of them, and the only answer I receiv’d was a resolution superseding him and appointing Col. David Humphreys in his place; a gentleman who, tho’ he might have indeed a good deal of military merit, certainly had none in the diplomatic line, and had neither the French language, nor the experience, nor the address, proper to qualify him in preference for such an employment.

  But I would never have made a public complaint; and even if I could have foreseen such unkind treatment from Congress, as their refusing me their thanks, it would not in the least have abated my zeal for the cause and ardour in support of it! For I know something of the nature of such changeable assemblies, and how little successors are inform’d of the services that have been render’d to the corps before their admission, or feel themselves oblig’d by such services; and what effect the artful and reiterated malevolent insinuations of one or two envious and malicious persons may have
on the minds of members, even of the most equitable, candid and honorable dispositions, during the absence of the servant in a distant country.

  SETTLING MY ACCOUNTS WITH CONGRESS

  When I was sent to France, I put all the cash I could raise into the loan office. The paper was then of equal value with gold or silver, and indeed part of it had been receiv’d from Congress in discharge of a sum in gold which I had advanc’d to the army in Canada. I saw by the minutes of Nov. 18, 1782, that Mr. Lee’s certificates were order’d to be paid in sterling, at the rate of a dollar. I supposed there must have been some circumstances attending his certificates which entitled them to such favour, and I wished to know what they were. My certificates, I was told, were worth but about a sixth part of my original loan.

  On my arrival in Philadelphia, one of the first things I did was to dispatch Temple to New York to obtain a final settlement of my accounts with Congress. As part of this settlement, I presented a sketch of my services to the United States, but he returned without effecting the settlement, being told that it could not be made till the arrival of some documents expected from France. What those documents were, I was never informed. It is now more than three years that those accounts have been before that honorable body, and to this day no notice has been communicated. But reports have for sometime past been circulating that I am greatly indebted to the United States for large sums that had been put into my hands, and that I avoid a settlement.

  My heavy expense in building five houses (which cost much more than I was made to expect) so exhausted my finances that I was in real and great want of money. I therefore sent my son-in-law Richard Bache to New York to make a final settlement of my accounts with my partner, Mr. Francis Childs, printer at New York, to discharge his bond and pay his debt to me.

  AS I GROW OLDER, I FIND WRITING MORE PAINFUL

  As I grow older, I find writing more painful, and I never have been more burden’d with business than since my return. I was elected a third time by my fellow citizens of Pennsylvania, without a dissenting vote (but my own) to fill the chair of president, the most honourable post in their power to bestow. This universal and unbounded confidence of a whole people flatters my vanity much more than a peerage could do. This however is the last year I can serve, by our Constitution, and so I can enjoy a little leisure before I die.

  THE BOSTON MANNER, TURN OF PHRASE, AND ACCENT REVIVE ME

  My malady the stone makes it so extremely inconvenient to me to dine abroad that I have not once done it since my return to America. In February, 1788, I found myself confin’d to my bed by the bruises of a fall on the stone steps into my garden, which sprain’d my wrist and right arm up to the shoulder. This, join’d to that painful disorder the stone, has continu’d to harass me, and disabled me long as to writing. As to my going to Boston, it can no longer be accomplish’d, as such a journey at my age would be attended with much inconvenience and hardship, and might, with the malady I have, be dangerous. I could neither bear walking nor riding in a carriage over its cobbled streets and above all that I should find very few indeed of my old friends living, it being now sixty-five years since I left it to settle here. At present I am in my place, have all my conveniences and comforts about me, and it seems most prudent to stay where I am and enjoy them, without going abroad to give myself and friends a good deal of trouble, which cannot be compensated by our pleasure of meeting, since that will be balanc’d by the pain of parting. But I enjoy the company and conversations of its inhabitants when any of them are so good as to visit me; for besides their general good sense, which I value, the Boston manner, turn of phrase, and even the tone of voice and accent in all please, and seem to refresh and revive me.

  I live in a house which I built 25 years ago, contriv’d in my mind, and made still more convenient by an addition since my return. A dutiful and affectionate daughter, with her husband and six children, compose my family. The children are all promising, and even the youngest, who is but four years old, contributes to my amusement. The oldest, Benjamin, finish’d his studies at our university, and has entered into business I set him up in as a printer and type-founder. Temple has settled on his plantation, but when in town lives with me. I planned to visit my grandson’s plantation for a month of leisure to write my friends, free from business and the interruption of visitors, although I am so continually harassed by a painful distemper the stone, and have so enfeebled the old machine, that I think it is not far from the final stop of its motions. My rents and incomes are amply sufficient for all my present occasions, and if no unexpected misfortunes happen during the little time I have to live, I shall leave a handsome estate to be divided among my relatives.

  I WISH I HAD BEEN BORN TWO OR THREE CENTURIES HENCE

  I have no philosophical news, except that a Mr. Fitch of this country has executed a boat which goes upon rivers against wind and tide by the force of a steam engine; but whether it may be too expensive and troublesome for common use remains to be determin’d by experience. I have sometimes almost wish’d it had been my destiny to have been born two or three centuries hence, for inventions of improvement are prolific, and beget more of their kind. The present progress is rapid. Many of great importance, now unthought of, will before that period be procur’d. I mention one reason for such a wish, which is that if the art of physic shall be improv’d in proportion with other arts, we may then be able to avoid diseases, and live as long as the patriarchs in Genesis.

  ABUSE OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS

  My gout at length left me after five months confinement, affording me the leisure to read for my amusement the Pennsylvania Gazette and other newspapers. I never see any Boston newspapers; my sister mentioned there was something in them to do me honor. I am obliged to them. In January, 1790, I received a kind letter from Rev. Dr. Ezra Stiles, president of Yale College, who propos’d to honour me by placing my portrait in the same room with the portrait of Govr. Yale. I am much obliged to Yale College, the first learned society that took notice of me, and adorned me its honours.

  On the other hand, some of our papers here are endeavouring to disgrace me. I take no notice; my friends defend me. I have long been accustomed to receive more blame, as well as more praise, than I have deserved. It is the lot of every public man, and I leave one account to balance the other.

  I heard a remark, that on examination of the Pennsylvania Gazette for fifty years from its commencement, it appear’d that during that long period scarce one libelous piece had ever appear’d in it. This generally chaste conduct of the paper does much to its reputation: for it has long been the opinion of sober judicious people that nothing is more likely to endanger the liberty of the press than the abuse of that liberty by employing it in personal accusation, detraction, and calumny. The excesses some of our other papers have been guilty of in this particular have set this state in a bad light abroad, for I could not help but notice the inconsistence that strikes me between the name of our city, Philadelphia, brotherly love, and the spirit of rancour, malice, and hatred that breathes in its newspapers. I learn from those papers that our state is divided into parties; that each party ascribes all the public operations of the other to vicious motives; that they do not even suspect one another of the smallest degree of honesty; that the anti-federalists are such merely from the fear of losing powers, places, or emoluments which they have in possession or in expectation; that the federalists are a set of conspirators who aim at establishing a tyranny over the persons and property of their countrymen and live in splendor on the plunder of the people. I learn too that our justices of the peace, tho’ chosen by their neighbours, make a villainous trade of their office, and promote discord to augment fees, and fleece their electors; and that the Executive Council, with interested or party views, are continually making improper appointments; witness a “petty fiddler, sycophant and scoundrel” appointed Judge of the Admiralty; an old woman and fomenter of sedition to be another of judges; the comptroller and naval officers to prey upon the merchants and dep
rive them of their property by force of arms, &c. And finally, that I, the President, the unanimous joint choice of the Council and the Assembly, am “an old rogue” who gave his assent to the Federal Constitution merely to avoid refunding money he had purloin’d from the United States.

  PENNSYLVANIA IS A GOOD COUNTRY TO DIE IN, THO’ A VERY BAD ONE TO LIVE IN

  There is indeed a good deal of manifest inconsistency in all this, and yet a stranger seeing it in our own prints, tho’ he does not believe it all, may probably believe enough of it to conclude that Pennsylvania is peopled by a set of the most unprincipled, rascally and quarrelsome scoundrels upon the face of the globe. I have sometimes indeed suspected that these papers are the manufacture of foreign enemies among us who write with the view of disgracing our country, and making us appear contemptible and detestable all the world over.

  There is however one inconsistency that consoles me a little, which is, that the dead are all angels. It is delightful, when any die, to read what good husbands, good fathers, good friends, good citizens and good Christians they were, concluding with a scrap of poetry that places them with certainly everyone in heaven. So that I think Pennsylvania a good country to die in, tho’ a very bad one to live in.

  MY LOVE OF FRANCE

  It is true that I enjoy here everything that a reasonable man can desire; a sufficiency of income, a comfortable habitation of my own building, having all the conveniences I could imagine; a dutiful and affectionate daughter to nurse and take care of me, a number of promising grandchildren, some old friends still remaining to converse with, and more respect, distinction and public honours than I can possibly merit (these are the blessings of God and depend on his continu’d goodness); yet all do not make me forget Paris and the nine years happiness I enjoy’d there in the sweet society of a people whose conversation was instructive, whose manner was highly pleasing, and who above all the nations of the world have in the greatest perfection the art of making themselves belov’d of strangers. And now, even in my sleep, I find that the scenes of my pleasant dreams are laid in that city, or in its neighbourhood. I love France, and have a thousand reasons for doing so.