Democracy. Thanks to cspan for being here. We are doing things a little differently today because of cspan being here which means i will say a little more about what the Kinder Institute is so for the tv audience. Founded in 2014 the Kinder Institute is a joint project with the university of missouri Political Science and history departments in cooperation with other scholars across campus. It is dedicated to research, teaching and Community Engagement on the subject of american political thought and history seen in broad context and from a wide variety of perspectives. Created by a gift from rich and nancy kinder. We are grateful they made the bold choice of humanities and social sciences at the university of missouri as one of their philanthropies. Our hope is to teach and learn about american constitutional democracy as the founders created it but not just that. We want to understand the ideas that inspire the founders as well as those they disagreed with and over. We want to understand our public shortcomings as well as accomplishments, the changes it has gone through as well as internal truths and here is a big one, we want to model what we like to think is the true spirit of deliberative constitutional democracy and academia properly understood and practiced. That is working towards enlightenme enlightenment, liberty and just frs all and renewal of democracy through vigorous discussion such as im sure we will have right now. In addition to our programs for graduate and ungraduate students we put on extensive series of public talks and lectures including history series. If you are in town come back and on cspan come back for constitution week next week. We will be hearing from speakers about Thomas Jefferson and james madison. This is tv. I need to say you can find out all about the Kinder Institute and programs at democracymissouri. Edu. Move on to todays speaker. A new neighbor of ours, professor Craig Bruce Smith. Craig is assistant professor of history. He is a graduate of st. Johns university i believe the one in new york. There are a lot of those out there. And he earned his phd where he studied with the great david fisher. He has also taught at a number of other places. He has won awards and fellowships from the Massachusetts Historical Society and fred w. Smith National Library for study. He is also already won above and beyond award from classroom excellence. Good job, craig. Craig one of the reasons craig is here is because he has a book coming out in april from university of North Carolina press called american honor, the creation of the nations ideals during revolutionary era promises strong return to notion of ideas as driving force of the American Revolution. Craig will be arguing that the American Revolution was not only a revolution for liberty and freedom but also a revolution of ethics and hopefully the good kind. Much has been written over the past decades about concept like virtue and honor as they relate to american culture. Maybe you heard about the hamilton musical. Craig has returned to these topics with bold new thoughts. We would like to welcome Craig Bruce Smith to the Kinder Institute today. [ applause ] thanks so much. Thank you, jeff, for that kind introduction and thanks everyone for turning up. I usually sit back there and get to relax. Now i have lights and people watching me. I have to Pay Attention for the next hour or so. Thanks so much for the kinder. They have welcomed me with open arms. I am new to the missouri area. I felt at home here. They have invited me to every talk they have had. It is just a great community. The professors, the staff, the graduate students and i see many new faces and hopefully i get to meet you at some point. So thanks for the kind introduction. I am thrilled to be here to talk about my ideas drawn from my new book american honor shameless plug coming out april 23 up for amazon preorder next week. Done with shameless plug for now. Anyway, thank you for coming. Like jeff said i think it is a very good introduction, looking at the American Revolution based on ideas of honor, of virtue, of ethics. Things that are often dismissed. Today we are talking about ben franklin. Titled it early to rise Benjamin Franklin and the creation of ascending honor. You are probably wondering what is ascending honor . You will wonder a little more. So we join our story in 1784 as a 78yearold Benjamin Franklin has been in paris for nine years on a diplomatic mission. Just outside paris in the village a stopping off point to the royal splendor of versailles Benjamin Franklin resided in lepetite hotel. He was a nonpaying guest, a friend of king louis. He had been here for all nine years. He perched on the terrace. He could watch as the waters meandered past the isle. But the end of the war three months after the peace of paris, a war that ravaged his native country he wouldnt begrudge him a moment of respite to watch the water flow. Inside his mind did not meander as the river did. He wrote to his first born daughter and the words he put down in 1784 fundamentally revolutionized the concept of honor, the concept of aristocracy and birth status that had basically consumed europe for most of its history. Inside he wrote honor does not descend but ascend. What did he mean . Two things. One, he is making a change where it is an honor, merit become linked. No longer are you honorable because of who your parents were. You are responsible for your own actions and not just that, those who taught you to behave that way are also incredible. Before we get started im off just again shameless plug leave the chair for two seconds, moving on. The question i am often asked is what is honor. This is a question asked by academics, my family. So what is honor . And it is a very difficult thing to define. And history, it is understood as many, many different things. The problem is at no real point in history has anyone been particularly clear. You probably think of this. Im not going to rap for you. Hamilton dueling honor as the concept of reputation, what one thought of you was the honor you had. You had to defend it. Risk being shot anywhere to defend your position. Im here to say that this is only a small, small part of it. In fact, it is a part that was dismissed by most of the key members of the founding generation. Franklin, washington among others. So lets look at some supporting evidence. It is no easy understanding to explain a word which is used by all men very unsteadily and by most without any meaning at all. It is very difficult to define honor. It was a it mean . Maybe rutherford at cambridge. Honor is a vague expression to which custom is given different meanings. Essay on the wart art of war f. If youre a literary fan, true honor and virtue are almost synonymous. Honor was any particular virtue much valued. I also dont know why my eye gets a little wonky. Pam larks pamela, a novel that was published in america says i do apprehend that your notions of honor and mine are very different from one another. Even in the 18th century it was confusing as to what these concepts actually were. Quick definitions for clarity. Honor was probably Something Like reputation. Virtue probably similar to morality usually linked to religion. Ethics was a term not very much used in the 18th century. It was reserved for literally talking about aristotle. One of the earliest references to the word ethics in america is made by ben franklin. So where does this leave us . If anyone is familiar with google annograms, you can actually search. It says lots of books. Anything published from 1500 to 2008. Ive done this and before we get to that, because i cant remember my slides, quick rule of thumb. The further north you go, honor and virtue are separate. Virtue takes precedence over honor. The further south you go the terms are almost used interchangeably. Im here to honor and vir tue ae ethics. Im thinking in the modern concept. Doing what is right. What you believe is proper. You plug in the word honor and honour, british and american spelling. And virtue. What you notice here, the spikes right around the revolutionary era. Curious why that was. Looking into this, the basic the patrolmen premise of my book is literally the cause that helps to shape how the founders go into war and how they leave it. So why dont we think of honor anymore . Take a look at the top slide. Youll see honor is slowly, slowly dying. Ethics is rising. And youll see in the early 20th century is literally a moment where honor and ethics intersect and change. So when i want to invite you all to do is to consider the possibility that when the founders are speaking of honor, they dont mean just reputation. Dont mean just courage. They mean something more. So ben franklin was born the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back at a time where birth status actually mattered. The son of a candle and soap maker and he was born right about there on that star. Again, someone with an actual connection, can you tell me what address that represents . Good for you. Very humble beginnings. And his parents couldnt afford to send him to school, so he only had about two formal years. And he turned then to literature. This is something thats very, very common during the period. New england had about a 75 lit rassy rate during this time. He turns to literature. In puritan boston, those are usually going to be religious. Here he learn that honor and virtue are very much connected to religion. A man may cry out against sin of policy, but he cannot abort by v virtue of a godly against it. Ive heard many who can try out in the pulpit who can abide it well enough in the heart, house, and conversation. Its not enough to speak about virtue or honor. You actually have to live it. Who is the perfect example . Well, jesus was such a person of honor. Doesnt mince words. In boston its very clear. Cot to the mather, one of the big families in the boston area writes a series of essays to do good. And hes going to say that it is an invaluable honor to do. It is incomparable pleasure a man must look upon himself as dignified and gratified guy god when an opportunity to do good is put in his hand. This is service to god. Without christ, you are not christian. All virtue is but vice. So franklin from the early age has this idea of puritan honor and virtue. But he also has to struggle with his own birth. In there he finds a reference of a spartan king granting honor, granting prestige to persons of worth and virtue. This is one of the early references that franklin finds that you behave well you can make your way in society. He takes this to heart. One of the chief influencing factors was a gentlemans magazine called the spectator. They collected witty essays and things youd hang out at the coffee house and laugh over. The spectator is going to make the following claims. These are all in volume iii. Dont Pay Attention to volume i. These are all in volume 3 republican with the virtues of that person to whom they apply but they are too often the marks rather of grandeur than of merit. The first person to earn them, the idea to come from merit. Then after that it whittles down. So the person who may hold the generation from now may have literally nothing to do with that initial action. Keep this in mind about ascending versus descending. So if youre doing something for your own personal means, all superiority which is not founded on merit and virtue, so by birth is supported. Just a way to advance. So franklin, again, if you cant see the backdrop, its silence do good letters. His brother runs the new england current. As a teenager he disguises himself as an older woman. You may remember this from such films as national treasure. He takes particularly the name do good from cotton mathers essays to do good t. Shows he. It shows hes understanding of the idea of birth status. He makes sure in the fake introduction where hes posing as an older woman to point out that people need to know who it is thats speaking before theyll actually listen to them. Are they a persons status or are they lowly . He makes sure to remind his readers that she, i should say, is a friend to virtue. Therefore, she must be telling the truth about everything except the identity i suppose. In there he also takes aim at he sees the sort of more unworthy nonmare torrious. He targets one particular institution of Higher Learning not far from him and that is harvard college. He says that students get in only because of the purses of their parents rather than their capabilities. Harvard produces nothing but fenc dunces and block heads. And all they learn how to do is carry themselves handsomely and enter a room genteely. Hes used this as sort of the idea of a senning juding just b money, on your family position as inherently wrong. So 1723 the new england current, in the minutes of a Gentlemans Club meeting he introduces his concept of ascending honor. He says honor properly ascends and not descends. Basically he flip flops this in 1784. And he takes well, my words got cut off. He takes particular issue with this concept of hat honor. What is that . Anyone know . The idea of tossing a cap to your superior. Franklin says, im going to p r paraphrase, honor existed from the beginning, but hats were an invention of man. So therefore, hat honor must be newer and therefore not a truth. To show you the comparison, this is very much modelled after the spectator. Youll see the idea of virtue is most reasonable and genuine source of honor and it comes from merit. Franklin here uses the bible and he says look at the bible. There are no titles of honor. Its not my lord abraham, the right honorable abraham. But is he not entitled to this position . So hes taking issue and hes using the basically accepted beliefs of the time to counter. This is 1723. He does not said another word about ascending honor until 1784. Instead he runs away from his apprenticeship in boston, heads to philadelphia. Then he goes to london and then he has a difference sense of his own morality. At the time lord chesterfield who is going to write a very prominent guide for how young men need to live their lives is going to be there at the very same time as franklin. This is just giving you a sense of what would have been understood. That honor and virtue alone can help you advance in society. And this is what franklin takes to heart. This is his way in. However, while in london hes going to come to the conclusion that nothing could possibly be wrong in the world and that vice and virtue were empty distinctions, no such things exist. I ask you was he one of those gentlemen . Or that gentleman . So he would not be the first young man to come to these conclusions or at least wish them to be true. But on his return to philadelphia, quaker dominated area, he suddenly recants of his sort of idea of vir ttue. He comes to something thats closer to the greater good or the general good. The idea that actions are not right or wrong based on any sort of greater ideas but because they are good for the community. And this is something hes going to advance the rest of his life. The idea of something honorable must serve the community. Must serve the general good. And the influences of the community he forms a sort of a joint meeting where they talk about particularly morality, virtue and politics. He forms the Library Company of philadelphia which is still in existence and Subscription Library to allow people who cannot afford to purchase books to have access. He founds Poor Richards almanack. And he also published many works that deal with it including novels. He lists them specifically as books of ethics. And this is the first one of the first mentions in american newspaper of the term ethics, something other than relating to aristotle. He also comes up with 13 names of virtue. One of them got cut off. The last one is humility, something you could argue ben franklin never had in his life. He comes up with this and he has a specific plan. Literally create a spreadsheet. He says he walks around with a little notebook with columns and he marks off which he excels in every day and mark if he doesnt. But it gets better. You can only do it one at a time. Man is only human. So you have to go down the list. Youll notice chastity is number 12. He has a loose interpretation that chastity allows for affairs and premarital sex as long as no one finds out. These are also coming from his auto biography. But this is what hes actually doing in his life. He comes to other conclusions that selfdenial is not the essence of virtue. This is fundamentally going against a christian culture. You can be wealthy. You can enjoy life. Its nothing sinful. My chopped off quote, stop putting yourself on the cross. Anyone not practicing, anyone not practicing sort of this idea of selfdenial is a lunatic. Im sorry that got cut off. Imagine it was good. Literally insane. He also wants to form whats called a united party of virtue. Literally he imagines a world in which men of Different Countries get together, men of morals based on virtue, and they run the sort of wider World Community based on this concept of the general good. Were still waiting. He founds the college of philadelphia which is based on the concept of honor and reputation depending on the morals and behavior of the youth. The idea that the college has to instruct the students and have the students behave then reflects back on the college. Similar to his idea of ascending honor which he does not mention. So this is the ben franklin we think of. The whole kite thing. This is how hes pictured. Right when he retires from being a printer. Thats what he actually looked like. Franklin became a gentleman when he retired. And he lived like one. And he acted like one. And he dressed like one. Why . Because his learning had helped him advance in the world. It went a little to his head. So hes going to take the line from the spectator to heart and says titles and honors the rewards of virtue. Had he not vn virtuous . He had a notebook that said so. He actually gets made a colonel of the pennsylvania militia. He celebrates this by having 40 mounted calvary ridealong side of him. And apparently this is a pr