The Political Philosophy of Benjamin Franklin

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I had the good fortune to be introduced to Ben Franklin in a fine seminar given many years ago at the University of Chicago by Ralph Lerner and Amy Kass. The idea for this book arose from a Liberty Fund conference on Franklin organized more recently by Michael Zuckert. For their stimulating observations and questions, I am grateful to the participants in that conference, the participants in a pair of workshops on Franklin for school teachers sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities , the participants in several workshops for judges sponsored by the George Mason Law School, and faculty who took part in colloquia on Franklin at Villanova University and Notre Dame University. For encouragement in pursuing the project, I am grateful to Henry Tom of the Johns Hopkins University Press. I am indebted to Thomas Pangle and an anonymous reader for the press for their thoughtful suggestions on the manuscript , and to the Earhart Foundation for funding to complete it. But for making this book such an enjoyable one to research, I can thank only Ben himself. This page intentionally left blank The Political Philosophy of Benjamin Franklin This page intentionally left blank ...