Benjamin Franklin and Widespread Literacy in Eighteenth Cent
Uploaded by us_usboy on Dec 02, 2007
In eighteenth century colonial America, the ability to read and write became more common and a necessity to some. Americans exchanged ideas and debates on political issues with the growing print industry. Increasingly more printed materials provided both the need and want for the public to become literate. The ability to read and write for the general public was revolutionary. The growing literacy among the common people brought about changes and challenges to existing political and religious institutions. The widespread literacy found in eighteenth century colonial American society gives a close connection to Benjamin Franklin as he took the roles of both a beloved writer and publisher, as he wrote and published some of the most popular books in the era, and a man who brought many others with him on the road to literacy.
As early as the settlements of the Puritans in Massachusetts, literacy has been an important aspect of the colonial life. The Bible was essential to Puritan belief. By the time of The Great Awakening, this belief no longer remained in the Puritan society. The importance of people having the ability to read and interpret the Bible on their own was stressed by the religious leaders. However, the need for literacy not only pertained to religious believers but also the general public, or more specifically, the white male population. Living in colonial America was no longer merely a fight for survival and free white males were now much more involved in politics than ever. It was during this time that Benjamin Franklin brought countless contributions to the influential print industry. Eric Foner, the author of Give Me Liberty, states in the book that “The ‘political nation’ was dominated by the American gentry, whose members addressed each other in letters, speeches, newspaper articles, and pamphlets.” The concern for political information was delivered through printed materials. At this time in British North America, widespread literacy created an enormous market for printing industry and thus the press expanded rapidly. According to Foner, as the colonies prepared for the American Revolution, about seventy-five percent of the adult male could read and write, and a majority of American families owned at least one book. As Benjamin Franklin describes in his autobiography, “the schools opened I think in the same year 1749. The scholars encreasing fast, the House was soon found too small.”...