Benjamin Franklin and the Pennsylvania Germans
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3558005 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Glenn Weaver (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1957 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 536 |
| Publication date | 1957-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The William and Mary Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-5597 • E-ISSN: 1933-7698 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1918520 |
| OpenAlex | W2335510282 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
EO N March io, i787, an act of assembly chartered Pennsylvania's third institution of higher learning, Franklin College in the borough of Lancaster. That the institution was named in honor of one of Pennsylvania's leading citizens is, in itself, not remarkable, for the founders of Dickinson College had already set the precedent. The ironic significance was that Franklin College-conceived by Germanspeaking Pennsylvanians of Lutheran and Reformed religious persuasions for the training of both civil and ecclesiastical leaders-was to be named for a Deist who had seldom spared words in pointing out the political immaturity and social incivility of the Germans of his state. From the beginning of his business and public career Benjamin Franklin had been suspicious of business honesty and political loyalty. Although his feelings toward the sect Germans were doubtless determined by the pacifism of such groups as the Mennonites, Amish, and Dunkers, his estimate of the church (or Lutheran and Reformed) Germans was little better than his views of the pacifists. Franklin knew the Germans well. In his day Germantown was regarded as the German capital,' and in Philadelphia, the place of Franklin's residence and business establishment, there were numerous inhabitants. According to Franklin's own observations in 1753, Pennsylvania had several printing houses, signs had appeared on the streets, and the magistrates had even recognized the use of the language in drawing up legal instruments.2
Political science · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Canadian Identity and History · History · Mormonism, Religion, and History
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,05 |
| Citation span | 1968 - 2021 (54) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |