Comparison between Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson

Comparison between Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are two of the most well-known and talked
about founding fathers. Their contributions to the establishment of a free America are
unparalleled. The two, along with John Adams, Rodger Sherman, and Robert Livingston are the
drafters of the Declaration of Independence, the document that enshrouds what it means to be
American. The Declaration of Independence offers an inkling into their perceptions and views on
some issues. Their numerous other works also provide the best indication of what these two first
men thought on some questions ranging from freedom, governance, education, religion, wealth,
and slavery. It is certain that without these two, among other individuals, America would not be
what it is today. Through their literary works, we can catch glimpses into how the two were, their
attitudes, beliefs, and values. The differences, much like the similarities, between Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, deserve rigorous scrutiny if one is to understand either of the
two characters. Further, it is only through the examination of their writing that one ca come to a
comprehension of the attitudes and beliefs that these two great individual held.
Benjamin Franklin is best known as a founding father who drafted the Declaration of
Independence, and the Constitution of the United States. He was born in Boston in 1706 to
Josiah and Abiah Franklin. In preparation for a career in the ministry, his father enrolled him in
Boston Grammar School where he developed a liking for books. As a youth, he interned in his

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brother’s printing press business as a result of which he further developed his keen interest in
reading. Dr. Franklin would later go into the printing business himself, and it is in this enterprise
that he made his fortunes. Through his printing press, Dr. Franklin was able to come into contact
with and disseminate great ideas of his day. It is this exposure that enabled him to enter the fray
of politics and thrust him into the national limelight. This, in turn, facilitated his participation in
the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and Constitution. Also, he was able to serve as
an envoy to France, the crowning achievement of which was the negotiation and the signing of
the Treaty of Paris in 1783 which ended the Revolutionary War. Aside from being an
intellectual, Dr. Franklin was an inventor and is credited with being the discoverer of electricity.
Thomas Jefferson, like Benjamin Franklin, was a founding father who had direct ties to
the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and as President shaped the enactment of the
Constitution. Even more than Franklin, Jefferson is considered the principal architect of the
Declaration of Independence, and he is justly cited as the document’s author. Thomas Jefferson
is also remembered for being the third President of the United States and for the Louisiana
Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States overnight. Jefferson’s mother came from
one of the most distinguished Virginia families while his father was a county surveyor. The
young Jefferson attended school and subsequently enrolled in college where he studied law. He
was posted to France to replace the older Franklin, who had been an envoy in Paris for some
years. On coming back to the States, he ran for office, winning the office of Governor of
Virginia. His foray into politics also saw him serve as a Secretary of State, a Vice President, and
eventually the President. Jefferson though preferred to be remembered for writing the
Declaration of Independence, writing and supporting the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
and founding of the University of Virginia. Jefferson is remembered most fondly for his lifelong

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passion for liberating the human mind from tyranny, whether the said tyranny was imposed by
the church, the state, or our ignorance.
Franklin and Jefferson both believed in the ideal of freedom for all men. The two authors
are regarded as the founders of the republic. America as a nation owes its very existence to the
efforts of the two, along with others. The Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution,
both of which bear their mark testify to this fact. One of the most well-known lines of the
Declaration of Independence reads “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights: that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” (679). The document continues to
cite the tyranny of the King of Britain as the primary reason for the need for a separation with
Britain to establish the free United States. Dr. Franklin also spoke out in support of the ideals of
freedom when he noted that “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” In his autobiography, Dr. Franklin also
states the search for freedom to worship as the primary reason his father emigrated to the
Americas (495). To him, America is the land of the free, and he desired that remains as such.
Also, being the owner of a printing press, and likely to disseminate a myriad of ideas some of
which might have run at counter-purposes with the British expectations, Franklin championed
freedom of expression.
Franklin and Jefferson were united in their vision of a representative government that was
chosen from the governed and put their rights first. The two individuals are founding fathers of
the nation. The two authors are known foremost for their passion and zeal for a representative
government. The Declaration of Independence reads in part “governments are instituted among
men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of

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government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
Jefferson cites the “absolute despotism” of the British over the Americas as the justification to
exercise “their right” and “their duty to throw off such government” (679). In his satirical piece,
Rules by which a great empire may be reduced to a small one, Dr. Franklin addresses the ills of a
non-representative system of Government. He says of the Americas, “they are governed by
severer Laws, all of your enactings, without allowing them any Share in the Choice of the
Legislators” (466). He makes note that, “much of the strength of government depends on the
opinion of the people; and much of that opinion on the choice of rulers placed immediately over
them” (467). To Dr. Franklin, the ability of people to govern themselves was a fundamental
right.
While the two founding fathers were brought up in the Christian tradition, they both
subscribed to the freedom of worship as a fundamental right. Jefferson was raised in a Christian
home, and as such was sympathetic to and in general agreement with the morality and Christian
religious doctrine prevalent in his time. Being a scholar, Jefferson was also interested in theology
and had a keen interest in religion. He even wrote The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth,
what has since been referred to as the Jefferson Bible. Still, Jefferson believed in man’s right to
exercise freedom over all things. It was with this in mind that he drafted and supported the
passing of the Statute of Religious Freedom in the Virginia parliament. Franklin, on the other
hand, was in most ways similar to Jefferson. Raised a Puritan, he turned to rationalism and
Enlightenment, rejecting Puritan thought. Like Jefferson, Franklin harbored an unorthodox view
of Christianity, their primary contention with conventional Christian teaching being the divinity

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of Christ. In a letter to Ezra Stiles on his creed, Franklin went on to say in part “As for Jesus of
Nazareth, I think the system of Morals and Religion as he left them to us, the best the World ever
saw, but I have some Doubts to his Divinity” (Constitution Org). For the two thinkers, what one
believed about God was of small consequence as long as their religion contributed to the
establishment of a more benevolent society and made the world a more enlightened and civilized
place.
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both believed in the inherent right to generate
wealth, provided it was a result of a real engagement in an enterprise. One of the main
grievances against the King of England in the Declaration of Independence was that he had
conspired against the Americans when he “plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our
towns, and destroyed the lives of our people” (665). Jefferson clearly outlines his belief in the
right every citizen has to pursue, gainfully, the creation of wealth. Jefferson had inherited his
father’s 2750 acre farm at his passing, and by his death, he had more than quadrupled it in size.
And all this through enterprise. Dr. Franklin in his part shared similar ideas on the right to
property. In his work The Way to Wealth, Franklin observes that “He that hath a trade hath an
estate; and he that hath a calling, hath an office of profit and honor” (458). He, however, goes on
to add “but then the trade must be worked at, and the calling well followed, or neither the estate
nor the office will enable us to pay our taxes” (459). Franklin believed that it was necessary for
the citizens to be enterprising if they were to reap the benefits and enjoy wealth. He also goes
further to offer his readers advice on how to create a sustainable income stream and become
wealthy from their efforts.
Thomas Jefferson, like his compatriot and mentor in politics Benjamin Franklin believed
in the equality of all men before God. One of the most often quoted passages in the Declaration

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of Independence goes “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”
(669). This was the central tenet of the Declaration that all men were equal and thus entitled to
the same rights. Jefferson was also against slavery and was among those who publicly opposed
it. In the Declaration of Independence, one fact that Jefferson presents as reason for America
distancing herself from Great Britain. Against the English King, he remarks “He has waged cruel
war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons
of a distant people who never offended him. Captivating and carrying them into slavery in
another hemisphere” (666). Jefferson explicitly advocated that the liberty of all people including
the slaves. While Jefferson’s relationship with slavery was complex, he included a phrase in the
Declaration of Independence that expressly ban slavery in the colonies. On the advice of
Franklin, this was later struck out of the document. He even drafted a bill that would have seen
all slaves born after it was passed freed. However, this was not to be as the vote failed in
Congress. During the emancipation from slavery, his was used as an important reference point on
the American ideal of freedom for all.
Franklin believed in the equality of all humanity. Perhaps stemming from his
Enlightenment views, Benjamin Franklin was a huge proponent of the idea that all men were
created equal. He supported the Declaration of Independence and its call for equal treatment of
all men. He was also a proponent for the ending of slavery. Franklin’s preference for the striking
out of the clause condemning slavery was so as to ensure South Carolina and Georgia remained
in the Union. It is a well-known fact that Dr. Franklin’s last public act was to write to Congress
calling for an end to slavery. The founding father was also a firm believer in equality of the sexes
and the rights of women. In his article The Speech of Miss Polly Baker, Franklin formally
presented his take on the patriarchal society, something that Jefferson never did. The doctor took

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particular issue with how little regard the community took on single mothers, not recognizing
that men played a role in fathering these children. Franklin points out the double standard in the
lines “I must Complain of it as unjust and unequal, that my Betrayer and Undoer, the first Cause
of all my Faults and Miscarriages (if they must be deemed such) should be advanced to Honour
and Power, in the same Government that punishes my Misfortunes with Stripes and Infamy”
(464). To Franklin, the men were equally responsible for children born out of wedlock, and
should have borne part of the blame. Considering the author had fathered a son outside of
marriage, he certainly knew what he was talking about in the article.
In conclusion, the similarities and differences between Franklin and Jefferson while not
striking require thorough scrutiny to understand the two founding fathers. Jefferson and Franklin
held almost similar views on the freedom and equality of man, religion, wealth, and slavery.
Both authors believed that man was created equal, and each citizen was entitled to engage in any
meaningful enterprise that would improve their lot and create wealth. Similarly, they held
unorthodox Christian beliefs, but neither though religion should impugn on one’s rights. While
there are some differences in the attitudes they each held about women, they were in some ways
similar, having been influenced by the same Enlightenment thinking. Through an investigation of
the fundamental similarities and differences between the two authors, a deeper understanding of
their attitudes, beliefs and perception can be achieved. In all, the two personalities were
remarkably similar despite some differences in the ideas they harbored.

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Works Cited

Constitution Org,. “Franklin To Stiles”. Constitution.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.