{"id":3359,"date":"2017-11-28T06:49:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T12:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/?p=3359"},"modified":"2017-11-28T06:49:14","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T12:49:14","slug":"benjamin-franklin-and-de-crevecouer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/benjamin-franklin-and-de-crevecouer\/","title":{"rendered":"Benjamin Franklin and de Crevecouer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Etching<\/a>
Benjamin Franklin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The era that de\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Benjamin Franklin were writing\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Lett<\/span><\/span>ers\u00a0<\/span><\/span>from\u00a0<\/span><\/span>an American Farmer<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Poor Richard\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Almanac<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0was during the time of Enlightenment<\/span><\/span>. This is a period<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>w<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>discussions on religion were fading from everyday life to a focus on reason<\/span><\/span>. This era was full of philosophical thought to have reasoning dictate why humans are superior to beasts, the ability to be moral without a religion requiring it. This\u00a0<\/span><\/span>period<\/span><\/span>\u00a0was also when Americans were trying to understand their culture in this new world, where they didn\u2019t need to be a country that was representative of European countries, but could be their own new place.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>This necessity for a new American identity was caused by<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the American Revolution.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>This context illustrates the purpose behind Franklin and de\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0writings, the necessity of forming a new identity as a country.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Benjamin Fra<\/span><\/span>nklin\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Poor Richard\u2019s Almanac<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0was written\u00a0<\/span><\/span>under<\/span><\/span>\u00a0the pseudonym Richard Saunders starting in 1733 (Franklin\u00a0<\/span><\/span>456).<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The almanac is famous for its many axioms about wealth and life that are easy to remember and helped define the hard work ethic of many Americans at the time.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Specifically, the prologue to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Poor Richard Improved<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u00a0is entitled \u201cThe Way to Wealth,\u201d a topic that is especially interesting to the new Americans who no longer have to share the majority of their output\u00a0<\/span><\/span>with\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a ruling aristocracy. With their new-found freedom, the Americans would especially appreciate the idea of frugality and hard work as a way\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to wealth, as that particular idea was not common in Europe where\u00a0<\/span><\/span>leisure\u00a0<\/span><\/span>was envied.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

De\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Letters from an American Farmer\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em>was written\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in London to explain the ideology of the new American. This appealed to the Europeans very much<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>the idea that the colonists didn\u2019t want to form new colonies but rather a new country. In his work, de\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer<\/span><\/span>\u00a0created the term \u201c<\/span><\/span>Ubi\u00a0<\/span><\/span>panis<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ibi<\/span><\/span>\u00a0patria<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u201d as the motto for the emigrants of America. This term means \u201cWhere there is bread, there is one\u2019s Fatherland<\/span><\/span>\u201d (<\/span><\/span>de\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>607). It plays into the idea of the colonists being proud of hard work and how their own hard work is equally and equitably paid out to them without a master class taking an undeserved portion.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Franklin and de\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer<\/span><\/span>\u00a0both illustrate this notion of hard work being something to strive for, not something to be ashamed of. It becomes a sort of calling card of pride to the new Americans, as it allows everyone of differ<\/span><\/span>ent backgrounds to melt together. By being united by the love of hard work and frugality, their backgrounds are no longer relevant. They have the innovative spirit that is needed to create a new country, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>American\u00a0<\/span><\/span>innovation cannot come without hard work. Franklin and de\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Crevecouer<\/span><\/span>\u00a0recognize this and are attempting to show the world why America is special to them, albeit in different ways. They have pride in the new America and want to show how Americans are reacting to the Enlightenment period through their relaxation of religious requirements and observation of a hard work ethic.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/p>\n

De\u00a0Crevecouer, John. “Letter III: What is An American.”\u00a0The Norton Anthology of American Literature<\/i>, edited by Nina\u00a0Baym, W. W. Norton & Co., 2011,\u00a0605-614.<\/p>\n

Franklin, Benjamin. “The Way to Wealth.”\u00a0The Norton Anthology of American Literature<\/i>, edited by Nina\u00a0Baym, W. W. Norton & Co., 2011, 456-463.<\/p>\n

\u201cWilliam Harry Warren Bicknell | Benjamin Franklin | The Met.\u201d\u202f<\/span><\/span>The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I.e. The Met Museum<\/span><\/span>, www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/757703.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The era that de\u00a0Crevecouer\u00a0and\u00a0Benjamin Franklin were writing\u00a0Letters\u00a0from\u00a0an American Farmer\u00a0and\u00a0Poor Richard\u2019s\u00a0Almanac\u00a0was during the time of Enlightenment. This is a period\u00a0when\u00a0discussions on religion were fading from everyday life to a focus on reason. This era was full of philosophical thought to have reasoning dictate why humans are superior to beasts, the ability to be moral without a … Continue reading Benjamin Franklin and de Crevecouer<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[226,237],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3359"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3387,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359\/revisions\/3387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/site\/literarylandscapes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}