Criticism of Nathaniel Hawthorne from John Erskine

The Facts of His Life

A writer who pictures life chiefly in order to project abstract ideas is not likely to reveal in his art more of himself than his general disposition. Hawthorne’s biography makes rich and human reading, for he was an admirable man in all ways and his private life was in the best sense fortunate; if at first he endured poverty, he earned success later, and even in the obscure years he had the admiration of loyal friends. But only in a few instances does his biography aid directly in the understanding of his works, and then for the most part by explaining his contact with Transcendental ideas. Of the nonliterary events in his life it is enough to say that he was born in Salem, Massachusetts, 4 July, 1804, of an old New England family; that after his father’s death he was educated by his mother’s brothers, and in 1825 he was graduated from Bowdoin College; that among his classmates he made three lifelong friends—Longfellow, the poet, Franklin Pierce, later President of the United States, and Horatio Bridge, who first appreciated his genius; that chiefly through Bridge’s thoughtfulness he was made weigher and gauger at the Boston Custom House, 1839–1841, and surveyor at the Salem Custom House, 1846–1850; that President Pierce appointed him to the consulship of Liverpool, 1853–1857; that he lived in Italy for two years, 1857–1859, and that while travelling for his health, attended by Pierce, he died at Plymouth, New Hampshire, 18 May, 1864. His Close Observation of Life Most philosophers can be classed roughly among those who conceive of the ideal ends of life as already existing in heaven, in some order or pattern which may be imitated on earth, or among those who think of the ideal as of something which does not yet exist, but which is implicit in the universe, and toward which the universe evolves. A philosopher of the first or Platonic type, if he notices facts at all, is likely to be disconcerted by them, since they rarely conform to his ideal or serve to authorize it; his comfort is in rising superior to actual life—that is, in ignoring it. Alcott was an almost pure example of this type. The other kind of philosopher is likely to entertain a respect amounting almost to reverence for any concrete existing condition, because as two points determine a straight line, so a recent moment observed against the past gives indication of the order to come. Emerson was partly, like Alcott, a Platonist, but he had also a profound and inconsistent disposition toward this other way of thought; having two points of view at once, therefore, he is not only perplexing at times, but really contradictory, and it is not strange that he should have proved in one aspect of his genius inspiring to Maeterlinck and in the other aspect acceptable to Nietzsche. Hawthorne belonged altogether to the second type of thinker. Concerned primarily with the actual world before him, he found a natural use for the past in the explanation it might give of the present, but the present was to him just as naturally the more important moment, and most interesting of all was the occasional hint or prophecy of that to which time through its past and present changes might be tending. He was a radical, therefore, but he saw clearly that this particular present will soon be no more sacred than any other moment of the past, and that to devote oneself to any cause as though it were a final remedy of circumstances, promising rest thereafter, is merely to postpone stagnation for a while. With this insight he could not readily give his faith to any reform or reformer; even the crusade for abolition and the war for the Union left him cold, for he wisely doubted whether measures conceived in the root-and-branch spirit might not raise more evils in the state than they were intended to cure. True reform, the only kind that could enlist his sympathy, must work hand in hand with nature’s slowly evolving but inevitable order, and so long as that order can be but partially or infrequently discerned, it is best to do nothing violent, nothing headlong. Even when we discern the order, from time to time, we should become humble, observing how little it resembles our own morality, our own dreams of perfection.   8   It needs no fine perception to discover these principles or attitudes in Hawthorne, for they are displayed quite simply on the surface of his early stories. The significance he attached to the present world, whatever it might be, can be seen in the important group of essay sketches such as A Rill from the Town Pump, David Swan, Sights from a Steeple, and Main Street. Some resemblance has been found between this department of his work and the essays of Addison and of Irving, and certainly Addison’s cheerfulness is here, and often something more than Irving’s fancy. But neither The Spectator nor The Sketch Book would suggest that Addison or Irving was in the habit of keeping a diary; whereas Hawthorne’s simple studies, of the group just referred to, are in form nothing more than episodes in a journal. The fact is of some consequence in understanding his genius. When the American and European notebooks were finally included in the complete editions of his writings, they took their place, not as an appendix or illustration of more perfect things, but on equal terms with his other works; for the journal manner was suited to his realistic, unprejudiced search into the world about him, and his lifelong preoccupation with his diary was not, as with most novelists, for the sake of books to be written later, but was itself the satisfaction of a primary literary interest. Like the journals, the essay sketches take the scene as they find it, extract from it all that observation can, and then discard it, having proved no point and exhibited no characters in continuous interplay, but having uncovered possibilities, hints, causes, coincidences. In the simpler essays Hawthorne observed these possibilities and coincidences in a kind of stationary cross-section, and left them undeveloped; but in more elaborate stories he played with the ironic contrasts between the order which we foresee in life and the order which time brings to pass. Emerson often came out of his mysticism and contemplated the “beautiful necessity,” the inevitable consequence of things, to which man must submit himself before he has either happiness or power. Hawthorne was inclined to stress rather man’s inability to submit himself to this necessity, since he seldom guesses correctly what it would be. Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe is a lighter treatment of this theme of consequences; Edward Fane’s Rosebud and The Wives of the Dead are in a darker tone. Or sometimes Hawthorne would turn the irony in another direction, by emphasizing the incredible swiftness with which the present becomes the past, and the insidiousness with which antiquity begins to show its symptoms even in what seems youthful and emancipated. The May-pole of Merry Mount brings this idea home, less in the overthrow of the maskers at Merry Mount than in the expressed faith of the stern Puritan leader that the troubles of life come soon and unexpectedly—a confession which somehow brings a chill over his own righteous success. A still better illustration is Endicott and the Red Cross, which shows the Puritans, who crossed the ocean for freedom of conscience and who in the moment of the story proclaim themselves champions of religious liberty, as having nevertheless instituted already the pillory and the stocks for those who disagree with them. Hawthorne and PuritanismTHE romances of Hawthorne can hardly be understood apart from the current of Transcendentalism in which his genius was formed. Most foreigners and many of his countrymen have thought of him as an affectionate student of the New England past, in a small way comparable to Scott with his love of Border history, and especially they have thought of him as a kind of portrait painter, who magically resharpened for us the already fading lineaments of Puritanism. Reflection might suggest, however, that the portrait he restored bears an unlucky resemblance in its sombreness and its unloveliness to the portrait of Edward Randolph in the Twice Told Tales, and a little further thought would perhaps convince us that Hawthorne usually treats Puritanism, not as the central theme in his canvas, but as a dark background for the ideas and for the experiences which more deeply concern him. Those ideas and experiences have little to do with Puritanism except by contrast; they were partly furnished to his imagination by the enthusiastic but uncritical thinkers among his acquaintance who kindled rapturously at Alcott’s conversations or basked in the indefiniteness of Emerson’s lectures, and partly they were furnished by his own contact with Alcott and Emerson and with their writings. Like them, he was less a Puritan than a lover of the present, and if he seemed often to deal with things long past, it was only because he had the faculty, more than other men, of recognizing in the present whatever had served its purpose or was worn out or dead. Taken from: http://www.bartleby.com/226/0201.html

A Biography of St. Jean De Crevecoeur

St. Jean de Crevecoeur was born in 1735 in Caen, Normandy. His birth name was Michel-Guilliaume-Jean de Crevecoeur, and he spent a dreary childhood attending a Jesuit College. In 1754 he was sent to live with relatives in England, where he learned the English language and also fell in love. Sadly, his fiancé died before they could marry. Crevecoeur left the country and went to Canada just as the French and Indian War was beginning (St. Jean De Crevecoeur, Philbrick, 16-17).


He joined the Canadian militia and in 1758 was a candidate for second lieutenant in the French army. Crevecoeur did well in the military, for he had excellent math skills and designed a plan for Fort William Henry. This design was shown to the king, and even the "Gazette de France" noted his bravery and skill (Philbrick, 17).


Unfortunately, Crevecoeur was injured while defending Quebec and was hospitalized. No one really knows what happened after this, except that other officers insisted he resign from the militia. According to Thomas Philbrick, Crevecoeur did not discuss his military experience again, and in 1759 he moved to New York City (17).


This move signaled a complete change for Crevecoeur; he became a new man. Thomas Philbrick explains: "Lieutenant Michel Jean de Crevecoeur, scion of the Norman aristocracy and officer in His Most Christian Majesty's army, vanishes, and in his place appears J. Hector St. John, itinerant surveyor and merchant." (18) Crevecoeur spent his time exploring British North America, parts of the Atlantic colonies, the Ohio Valley, and the Great Lakes. He also began farming; the occupation that he would later discuss in his writings (Philbrick, 18).
The year 1765 was an important one for Crevecoeur; he met Mehitable Tippet and he also became a naturalized citizen of New York. Mehitable and Crevecoeur were married on September 20, 1769, and he bought one hundred and twenty acres in Orange County so that he could be a farmer. The land was quickly made into a homestead, and Crevecoeur called his home "Pine Hill." (Philbrick, 18-19)


Crevecoeur's first child was born on December 14, 1770, and he named the little girl "America-Frances." He and Mehitable also had two other children; Guillaume-Alexandre was born in 1772 and Phillipe-Louis was born in 1774. Crevecoeur spent these years in a relaxing manner. He talked with his well-educated friends, painted, traveled, and began writing (Philbrick, 19-20). Everyman's Dictionary describes him as an "essayist," (164) and it was during this time that he started to become one.


Crevecoeur's first writings were done before 1774, and these are mainly accounts of his various travels. From 1774 to 1776 he wrote about Americans and their lives, and from 1777 to 1778 his work describes the Revolutionary War's effect upon America. In his work, Letters from an American Farmer,Crevecoeur explains, "The American is a new man, who acts upon new principles; he must therefore entertain new ideas and form new opinions." (Nation of Letters: A Concise Anthology of American Literature, vol.1) This is exactly what the author tried to do; he completely embraced America and the way of life here and he severed all his connections with France. Even his parents did not know what had become of him (Philbrick, 21-22).


Crevecoeur's contented lifestyle did not last long. The Revolutionary War broke out, and Pine Hill was right in the middle of the fighting. Being a Tory, Crevecoeur sympathized with the British, but the atrocities of war shocked him. According to Philbrick, Crevecoeur most likely took an oath of loyalty to the new government because his land was not confiscated (23-24).


In spite of the danger, Crevecoeur left his wife and two of the children at Pine Hill and left for New York City, which was occupied by the British. He wanted to take his oldest son back to France so that he could claim his inheritance. When it was discovered that Crevecoeur had persuaded a friend to take the oath of allegiance to the Revolutionary government, the British threw him in jail for three months. While in jail he became extremely sick, but in 1780 Crevecoeur and his son left the New World. In London Crevecoeur sold the first volume of his writings to a company called Davies and Davis (Philbrick, 24-27).
Once he reached France, his father and Madame d'Houdetot helped him form a connection with Benjamin Franklin. Crevecoeur's new identity was that of a Patriot and staunch supporter of the Revolution. Madame d'Houdetot introduced him to her friends and helped him establish a place in French society (Philbrick, 27-30).


Letters from an American Farmer was published in 1782 and it was quite a success. Crevecoeur began writing a French version of it and returned to America. He was shocked to discover that Pine Hill had been burned down, Mehitable was dead, and his children were gone. The children were eventually found and sent to live with friends, and Crevecoeur focused on strengthening the relationship between America and France. Due to his accomplishments, such as founding a Catholic church and botanical gardens, writing agricultural articles, and trying to establish a free port in France for American products, Crevecoeur was made a member of the American Philosophical Society. He was an honorary citizen of various cities and the town of St. Johnsbury was named after him. However, Crevecoeur felt torn between France and America, and he returned to France (Philbrick, 31-34).


He was just as well received there as he had been in America, and was able to attend meetings of the French Academy. The Royal Agricultural Society of Paris made him its member, and people clamored for a second edition of the French version of Letters from an American Farmer. Although Crevecoeur did go back to America for a short time, he spent his final years in France (Philbrick, 34-35).
Although he tried to maintain the peaceful way of life that he loved, it did not last. The Terror in France began in 1793 and many of his friends were killed or became prisoners. Crevecoeur tried to return to America, but was not allowed to. His new book, Voyage dans la Haute Pensylvanie et dans l'etat de New-York was issued in 1801, but was not very successful. He spent his final years in a fairly peaceful manner, and died in 1813 of heart trouble (Philbrick, 36-39).
As Philbrick explains, readers have been interested in Crevecoeur's writings as documentation of life in America at that time and as an idea of what being an American is all about. More recently, readers have also considered his work an examination of the whole human experience. In The Land Was Everything, Victor Davis Hanson writes, "Mr. Crevecoeur, you had it right- we in America did for a time create a new man nourished from a unique stew of freedom and liberty. But you had it absolutely wrong too: your new man was really not new, for he was, after all, still man himself." (257)



Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 2: St. Jean De Crevecoeur." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/creve.html (November 2, 2011).

A synopsis of de Crevecoeur's Letters

Crevecoeur's most important contribution - Letters From An American Farmer
According to Thomas Philbrick (listed above, pages 43-166), Letters was received as the most recent contribution to a growing body of works which sought (or pretended) to supply the British reading public with reliable accounts of the land and the peoples of the troublesome North American colonies.
I. Outline

Letter I: Introduction - establishes the circumstances of James, the American Farmer's correspondence with Mr. F. B. and suggests the point of view of the succeeding letters (a systematic survey of American society in all its manifestations).                                      Letter II: Consists of an informal and impressionistic report "On the Situation , Feelings, and Pleasures of an American Farmer" as the narrator has experienced them on his farm in central Pennsylvania.    Letter III: "What is an American?" attempts to answer the query of its title by taking a sweeping survey of the impact of America on the European immigrant, a survey which sketches the diversity of American life but which concentrates on the rural culture of the middle colonies.                                                                                 Letters IV-VIII: Describe in detail the manners and customs of the whaling villages of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

Letter IX: Gives a brief account of Charleston, South Carolina.
Letters X-XI: Return the reader to the middle colonies, first for some sketches of the birds and snakes on the narrator's farm and then for the report of a Russian gentleman on his visit to John Bartram, the celebrated Pennsylvania naturalist.
Letter XII: The farmer pictures, in highly emotional colors, the disruption of his life by the outbreak of the Revolution and expresses his intention of fleeing with his family to an Indian village in the remote wilderness.

II. Importance of the Letters

1. Provides useful information and understanding of the New World.2. Creation of personas, or disguises - James, the American Farmer.
3. Tries to create an American identity - it is an attempt to describe an entire country, not merely regional colonies.
4. Celebrates American innocence and simplicity.
5. Describes American tolerance for religious diversity.
6. Asks the important question - what is an American?
7. He is the first writer to explore the concept of the American Dream.

III. Limitations of the Letters

1. Specific details in matters of geography, religion, history, and politics are missing.  

2. He glosses over the issue of slavery.

3. American agriculture is treated generally too - absence of details.

IV. Features of the Utopian Frontier

Mild government, no church tithes or dues, no autocratic prince or lord, no "absurd ordinances," no middleman in agriculture, peaceable inhabitants, no military laws, and no conscription or draft.

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 2: St. Jean De Crevecoeur." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/creve.html (November 2, 2011).

Patrick Henry's Speech to the VA Convention

Ben Franklin's Order of the Day Chart

THE MORNING.Question. What good shall I do this day?	{5}{6} {7} {8}	Rise, wash, and address Powerful Goodness! Contrive day's business, and take the resolution of the day; prosecute the present study, and breakfast.
	{9}{10} {11}	Work
NOON.	{12}{1} {2}	Read, or overlook my accounts, and dine.
	{3}{4} {5}	Work
EVENING.Question. What good have I done today?	{6}{7} {8} {9} {10} {11} {12}	Put things in their places.Supper. Music or diversion, or conversation. Examination of the day.
NIGHT.	{1}{2} {3} {4}	Sleep.

Taken from http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/franklin.html#auto

Ben Franklin's The Autobiography: A Chronology

The Autobiography (1815): A Chronology

Division	Began Writing In	At Age	Place	Years Covered
1	1771	65	England	1706-1730
2	1784	78	France	1731-1748
3	1788	83	Philadelphia	1749-1757
4	1789-90	84	Philadelphia	Inconsistent

Division 1: a. explanation why he wrote the book. b. remarks on his family. c. apprenticeship on The Courant. d. attempts at becoming an independent printer.

 

Division 2: Gives attention to what he considered as the causes for the attainment not only of his success up to this point, but also of his success in later life.

Division 3: a. the extension of virtue from an individual to a worldwide basis. b. a record of public projects - the largest and most important section. c. the progress of his political career.

Division 4: Centers on the dispute between the Proprietaries and the Pennsylvania Assembly and the successful petition of the latter to the King to abolish the tax exemption of these original grantees of land from the Crown. 1. Franklin's meeting and disagreement with Lord Granville on the proposition that the King is the legislator of the colonies. 2. The meeting with the Proprietaries at Thomas Penn's house in Spring Garden. 3. The debate and eventual resolution of the dispute in favor of the Pennsylvania Assembly with the help of Lord Mansfield.

Taken from http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/franklin.html#auto

The Franklin Institute's Page on Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin's Life

Ben Franklin: A Documentary History

Ben Franklin's Documentary History

Ben Franklin Timeline

The following is taken from http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/timeline.htm

1706	January 17. Born in Boston, the youngest son of Josiah and Abiah (Folger) Franklin. (January 6, 1705 by "Old Style" reckoning).
1715	Final formal year of schooling Heard Increase Mather preach
1717	Begins reading Plutarch, Defoe, and Cotton Mather Invents a pair of swim fins for his hands Briefly indentured as a cutler
1718	Apprenticed to his brother James, a printer. Blackbeard the Pirate is captured; Franklin writes a ballad on the occasion
1720	Moved away from home into a boarding house Stopped attending church so he could use Sunday to study At a Boston town meeting, Ben's father Josiah is chosen as a town scavenger for 1721
1721	Brother James Franklin starts publishing The New England Courant Smallpox epidemic in Boston and controversy over vaccination Becomes "a thorough Deist"
1722	Becomes a vegetarian (in part he is motivated by a distaste for flesh, but also because he can save money and buy more books)
1723	Takes over the publishing of the Courant after brother James is jailed due to "contempt" charges. (Sept.) Runs away from apprenticeship, goes to New York and then to Philadelphia, where he gains employment as a printer. Takes lodging with John Read whose daughter Deborah will become Franklin's wife in 1730
1724	Returns home to Boston to try and borrow money from his father to start print shop. Is denied. Returns to Philadelphia and courts Deborah Read. Under encouragement from PA Governor William Keith travels to London in order buy printing equipment. Keith's letters of credit for him never materialized and Franklin is stranded in London. Remains in London working as a printer working for Samuel Palmer.
1725	Publishes his first pamphlet: "A Dissertation upon Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain" Leaves Palmer the printer for the larger shop of John Watts. Attends theater, reads voraciously, and hangs out at coffee houses Back in Pennsylvania, Deborah Read marries John Rogers in August
1726	In July, returns to Philadelphia and works for Thomas Denham, a merchant who had loaned him the money to return home. Franklin works as a bookkeeper and shopkeeper in a store which sells imported clothes and hardware.
1727	Suffers first pleurisy attack Leaves job with Denham Is rehired by printer Keimer It is in 1727 or 1728 that Franklin has an affair with a woman that results in the birth of his illegitimate son William in 1728 or 1729 In England, George I dies and is succeeded by George II In early October quits Keimer after quarreling only to be rehired later in the month — Keimer can find no one to cut currency like Franklin. Helps to establish the Junto, a a society of young men who met together on Friday evenings for "self-improvement, study, mutual aid, and conviviality."
1728	In June, establishes a Philadelphia printing partnership with Hugh Meredith; rents a building that serves as home and printshop Composes "Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion" Deborah Read's husband John Rogers steals a slave and absconds from Philadelphia
1729	Writes a pamphlet entitled "The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency" Purchases The Pennsylvania Gazette from Samuel Keimer
1730	Elected the official printer for Pennsylvania Takes a common law wife Deborah Read Rogers on 9/1 Franklin buys out his printing partner Hugh Meredith Fire destroys the southern part of Philadelphia and Franklin starts agitating for fire protection programs
1731	Joins the St. Johns Freemasons Lodge Drew up the Library Company's articles of association on July 1st. The Library Company is the first lending library in the country, though it is still private. Sponsored his journeyman Thomas Whitmarsh as his printing partner in South Carolina, Franklin buys the printing press and types in return for 1/3 of the profits over a six-year term — in effect becoming a printing franchiser. Franklin rents commercial space to his mother-in-law who sells "her well-known Ointment for the ITCH," a "Family Salve or Ointment, for Burns or Scalds." Prints an article in the Gazette on the imminent passage of the "mortifying" Molasses Act
1732	Birth of his son Francis Folger. In May, Franklin started printing America's first German-language newspaper, Philadelphische Zeitung, which soon failed. Publishes the first edition of "Poor Richard's Almanack" on December 28
1733	Francis Folger Franklin is baptized at the Anglican Christ Church. Deborah attends this church, while Benjamin had stopped attending a Presbyterian church the year before.
1734	Is elected Grand Master of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Masons of PA Buy property on Philadelphia's Market Street. Eventually he will put together several lots of land on Market Street. These will house his print shop and retail space. Today, this property forms Franklin Court. Bribes post riders to carry his PA Gazette. Postmaster Andrew Bradford had forbidden riders to carry the Gazette.
1735	Brother James Franklin dies; Benjamin sends his widow 500 copies ofPoor Richard for free so she can make money by selling them Andrew (the Philadelphia Lawyer) Hamilton defends John Peter Zenger in a seminal Freedom of the Press case. Hamilton will be a patron of Franklin's
1736	Named Clerk of the PA Assembly Prints currency for NJ Son Francis (Franky) Folger dies at age 4 of smallpox Organized the Union Fire Company (Franklin regularly attends meetings of the Library Company, the Masonic Lodge, the Junto, and now the Fire Company) Prints "A Treaty of Friendship held with the Chiefs of the Six Nations at Philadelphia" First public use of the PA State House (Independence Hall, which was designed by Andrew Hamilton)
1737	Appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia
1739	Franklin's house robbed George Whitefield, the Great Awakening preacher, arrives in Philadelphia for the first time Leads an environmental protest against polluting "Slaughter-Houses, Tan-Yards, Skinner Lime-Pits, &c. erected on the publick Dock, and Streets, adjacent"
1740	Official printer for New Jersey George Whitefield preaches to enthusiastic crowds numbering in the thousands; buys 5,000 acres on which he intends to build a school for African-Americans. School not built. Franklin prints much material for Whitefield.
1741	Advertises the "Franklin Stove" Published the first edition of "The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle," one of America's earliest magazines. It failed after six issues.
1742	Franklin organized and publicized a project to sponsor plant collecting trips by renowned Philadelphia botanist John Bartram.
1743	Attends Archibald Spencer's Boston lectures on natural philosophy (including electricity) Comes out with "A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge" (the founding document of the prototype of the American Philosophical Society) Daughter Sally born and baptized at Christ Church
1744	The American Philosophical Society begins meeting
1745	Death of Josiah Franklin, Benjamin's father
1746	Begins extensive electrical experiments
1747	Franklin writes "The Plain Truth," a pamphlet arguing for better military preparedness in PA. In the pamphlet is the first political cartoon published in America. Peter Collinson of London sends Franklin an electric tube. "For my own part, I never was before engaged in any study that so totally engrossed my attention and my time as this has lately done.
1748	Becomes a soldier in the PA militia after turning down a commission as a Colonel citing military inexperience.
1749	Franklin presents his vision for educataion in a pamphlet titled "Publick Academy of Philadelphia." His initiatives and vision would lead to the founding of the University of Pennsylvania.
1751	Letters on electricity published in London by Peter Collinson
1752	Conducts kite experiment Received Copley Medal of the royal Society of London for research in electricity. Deputy Postmaster General of N.A. Wrote a plan for a union of the colonies for security and defense.
1752	Helps found the Philadelphia Contributionship for Insuring of Houses from Loss Against Fire
1753	Received honorary degrees from Harvard and Yale. Appointed joint Deputy Postmaster General of North America.
1754	Proposes plan of colonial union at Albany Congress
1757-62	In England as agent for Pennsylvania Assembly, Massachusetts, Georgia, New Jersey
1759	Receives honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland
1762	Mapped Postal routes in the colonies. Invents glass armonica
1764-65	Charts Gulf Stream.
1766	Examined in House of Commons in support of repeal of the Stamp Act
1768	Named Colonial Agent for Georgia.
1769	Named Colonial Agent for New Jersey.
1770	Elected Colonial Agent for Massachusetts.
1771	Tours Ireland.
1771-72	Begins writing his Autobiography.
1774	Dressed down before London's Privy Council by Solicitor General Wedderburn for leaking letters in the "Hutchinson Affair." Deborah Read, his wife of 44 years, dies in Philadelphia
1775	Elected as a Pennsylvania delegate of Pennsylvania to 2nd Continental Congress; serves as chairman of Pennsylvania Committee of Safety Elected Postmaster General of the Colonies
1776	Presides over Constitutional Convention of PA. Serves on a committee of five who draft the Declaration of Independence. Arrives in Paris on 12/21 as one of the Commissioners of Congress to the French Court
1777	Meets Madame Brillon, an amour.
1778	Signs French Alliance
1779-81	Appointed to negotiate peace treaty with England.
1780	Madame Helvetius rejects Franklin's offer of marriage.
1783-84	Signed Peace Treaty Invented bifocals
1785-86	Elected President of Pennsylvania Executive Council Invents the instrument for taking down books from a shelf
1787	Signs the United States Constitution
1789	Writes anti-slavery treatise He becomes president of the Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery
1790	April 17, dies in Philadelphia at the age of 84. 20,000 mourners attend his funeral at Philadelphia's Christ Church Burial Ground.

Poe's "To Helen"

http://www1.assumption.edu/WHW/Hatch/ToHelen.html