Benjamin Franklin: Founding Father…and Much More

Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, 254-327-8012
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WACO, Texas (June 27, 2024) – Benjamin Franklin – printer, author, scientist, Founding Father and American icon. While most people have a general understanding of who Franklin was and what he contributed to the history of the United States, a Baylor University management professor has researched Franklin for decades, possessing a deep understanding of the man… and the myth. 

Blaine McCormick, Ph.D., associate professor in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business and author of Ben Franklin: America’s Original Entrepreneur, discovered his passion for studying the Founding Father after listening to an audiobook of Franklin’s autobiography. As Independence Day approaches, McCormick shares his thoughts on four aspects of Franklin’s legacy.

Founding Father 

One of Franklin’s greatest contributions as one of the nation’s Founding Fathers was his influence at the Constitutional Convention. 

“Ben Franklin’s decades in business taught him the importance of ‘win-win’ negotiations,” McCormick said. “He helped the delegates navigate numerous roadblocks promoting negotiation and compromise – and, in many ways, this same negotiation paradigm is baked into the U.S. Constitution, but we seem to have lost our way at present. Franklin and the other Founding Fathers created a Constitution that requires agreement to reach a majority more than a majority that enforces its views on all others.” 

In addition to his support at the Constitutional Convention, Franklin also served as an early editor and helped with the first round of copy edits on Thomas Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

“This probably led to a stronger Declaration emerging just having Franklin involved,” McCormick said. “After all, his entire business career as a printer was spent in writing, editing and publishing documents.”

Scientist

While many people are familiar with the famous key on a kite lightning experiment, most are unaware of Franklin’s remarkable legacy in science, including his book, Experiments and Observations on Electricity, the most influential science text published in the 18th century. In terms of impact, McCormick said, Franklin’s science text ranks alongside Isaac Newton’s 17th century “Principia” and Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species,” published in the 19th century.

“Franklin’s intersection of business and science has been very important in the United States with people like Thomas Edison, the DuPont family and Eli Lilly continuing this work,” he said. 

Author

Among Franklin’s many writings, “Poor Richard's Almanack” is considered one of the greatest treasures of American literature. Written under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, the yearly almanac was published by Franklin from 1732 to 1758 and produced some of the most famous and memorable quotes attributed to Franklin. 

McCormick offered two of his favorite and most amusing Franklin quotes, the first found in his 1736 almanac: 

“There's more old Drunkards than old Doctors.” 

“It’s a pretty self-explanatory quote, but it took on more meaning when our son began medical school. Medical school is the most difficult thing I’ve seen anybody attempt. In contrast, the road to alcohol dependence is broad and easy. It’s a lot easier to become an old drunkard than an old doctor so let’s challenge ourselves to do the harder things in life,” McCormick said. 

Another of McCormick’s favorite Franklin quotes comes from the 1756 almanac:

“The diligent Spinner has a large Shift.” 

“I’ve worked a lot with the Proverbs 31 ‘noble wife’ passage – and this woman worked with textiles. This saying shows Franklin’s early support for women in business and is a nice pun as well,” McCormick said. “Textile workers had to spin all of their own thread in Franklin’s day and the hardest-working spinners had a ‘large shift.’”

Franklin’s pun uses the word ‘shift’ – as in a woman’s undergarment like a nightgown – but also a means of making a living, particularly via trade and exchange, McCormick said.

“In other words, high productivity resulted in a large customer base as well,” he added.

Personal inspiration

On a personal note, McCormick said Franklin has made him think deeply about his own spiritual formation and helped him understand what makes a person Christian as opposed to being just a good person.

“I think of Dr. Franklin often in my Christian life,” McCormick said. “Have I thought about my own theological tenets as much as he did? Am I committed to doing good to others as he was? Do I avoid vices because they are morally wrong or simply because they are sometimes expensive and unproductive?”

McCormick noted that Franklin made quite a mark as something of a “secular saint” yet explicitly denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.

“I spent the final week of June at a conference about the importance of a virtuous society,” he said. “As a Christian, I prefer classical Christian virtues, but if this proves infeasible, Franklin’s secular virtues might persuade some who reject Christianity to live more virtuous lives.” 

ABOUT BLAINE MCCORMICK, PH.D.

A nationally recognized scholar on the business practices of Benjamin Franklin, Blaine McCormick, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Management in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business. His most recent articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, the Journal of Management History and Operations Management Education Review. He often travels to developing countries to teach business lessons to aspiring entrepreneurs using only a bottle of Coca-Cola as a teaching aid. A native Texan, Blaine grew up working in the cotton fields of West Texas. Before joining the Baylor faculty, he worked in the oil and gas industry. 

ABOUT THE HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS  

Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business strives to further God’s kingdom through the realm of business, using God-given gifts and academic talents to do so. Faculty and students conduct purposeful research and participate in experiential learning opportunities, all while operating in a Christ-centered mission. Undergraduate students can choose from 13 major areas of study. Graduate students can earn their MBA on their terms, either through the full-time, online or a Dallas-based executive program. The Business School also offers three Ph.D. programs in Information Systems, Entrepreneurship or Health Services Research. The School’s top-ranked programs make up approximately 25% of the University’s total enrollment. Visit the Hankamer School of Business website for more information.  

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.