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In the process of researching the history of the Junto, how the concept was born and how it would evolve over ensuing years, I came to the realization that it was first necessary to research the life and driving philosophies of Benjamin Franklin.  As creator of the original Junto, known as the Leather Apron Club, Franklin’s attitudes towards both intellectual development and societal improvement are evident in the club’s foundation.  The basic elements of his principles would perpetuate themselves and continue to develop beyond the span of his life.  Nearly three centuries after its birth, the concept of the Junto has evolved in conjunction with our modern society, yet it many respects remains faithful to its creator’s original vision.

 

Most of us recognize Benjamin Franklin as a civic contributor and inventor.  Not many associate Franklin as a self-improvement enthusiast.  Yet, his work in the arena of personal development would, in many ways, lay the framework for his accomplishments in other fields.  Franklin’s early adulthood was defined by avid reading, self-education and moral improvement.   As a printer’s apprentice, Franklin spent the formative years of his young adulthood as involved with perfecting his spiritual well-being as he was in mastering his trade.  This is evidenced in his identification and practicing of 13 essential virtues as described by Gaustead (2004), “Franklin’s plan was to keep a little book where he would record his faithfulness to each…he had identified: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility” (p. 28).

 

Immersion into such spiritual and philosophical matters would seem to run antithetical to many presumptions one might make of a budding 18th century tradesman.  For Franklin, however, the mastery of such studies was not only complimentary to his skills as a printer but essential.  It was as important for him to understand the vital relevance of his work as it was for it to be simply profitable.  According to Kerry and Holland (2012), “He held these beliefs with conviction throughout his life.  In some ways, Franklin harkened back to medieval and early-modern artisanal concepts of work as far more than utilitarian physical labor but rather as highly skilled productive activity with as much moral and social as economic value” (p. 93).

 

Franklin’s desire to better understand the moral and ethical values of his surrounding world could only be matched for his love of conversation.  Personal fulfillment of his need to discuss his intellectual stimulations was as much at the heart of establishing the Leather Apron Club in 1727 as any higher purpose.  By bringing together a group of fellow tradesmen, Franklin created a private forum in which not only his personal reflections could be explored, but in which new ones could be routinely presented and examined.  Franklin’s conception of his Junto, in his own words (1903), was as a “club of mutual improvement” in which “every member, in his turn, should produce one or more queries on any point of Morals, Politics, or Natural Philosophy” (p. 88-89).

  

Rather than use his Junto as an opportunity to grandstand in front of a selection of his peers, Franklin exercised the initiative to challenge his fellow tradesmen to engage him on his own level.  The premise for this was not to make statements but to pose questions, to engage one another in the sort of rigorous discussion customary to scholars, but unfamiliar to tradesmen.  Franklin’s club was never intended as a forum for idle pontification, but a venue through which societal change can be affected.  This was not merely limited to the discussion of relevant social and public issues, which certainly took place, but also involved engaging the Junto with its community.  Through the Junto’s engagement, came Franklin’s endorsement of various public investments such as, according to Isaacson (2003), “a tax to pay for neighborhood constables, for creating a volunteer fire force, and for establishing the academy that would later become the University of Pennsylvania.” (p. 59).

 

While the Junto may have been proactive about plugging itself into its community, it was in no way designed to allow the community to interject itself into it.  Junto membership was kept relatively small, approximately a dozen members, and remained restricted to tradesmen and business proprietors local to the Philadelphia area.  This is because the Junto was not merely a self-help organization, but bore many resemblances to our modern day political action committees.   The underlying theme for nearly all of the Junto’s policies and agendas was the conditioning of its surrounding society in order to maximize the profits of its member businesses.  Evidence of this can be identified in Franklin and the Junto’s promotion of paper currency for the colony.  Isaacson describes this as “a proposal Franklin heartily favored because he thought it would benefit the economy and, of course, his own printing business…Franklin and, by extension, the Junto were particularly fond of things that could help the public as well as themselves.” (p. 59).

 

In addition to membership being kept relatively small, the Junto itself was kept secret from the general public.  This reasons behind this are not ominous, however, as Franklin’s intent was to prevent an over-abundance of outside influences from convoluting the club’s agenda.  Franklin preferred to encourage his members to form their own outside groups rather than bring an influx of new voices into his own.  As a result, affiliate clubs were established, undoubtedly sharing commonalities with the Junto’s structure and principles.  Franklin himself established a far more official and public organization in 1743, the American Philosophical Society.  Still in operation after more than 250 years, early prominent members included George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  According to the APS’s website, its purpose is to promote “useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, support of young scholars, publications, library resources, a museum and community outreach.”

 

While the Junto itself would only operate for some thirty years, elements of its legacies persist to this day.   Over the ensuing decades, several organizations that have been modeled after Franklin’s original have sprouted and dissipated.  Institutions bearing the Junto moniker presently call home to cities scattered throughout the United States and Europe.  Some of these institutions emphasize a dedication to academia while others focus primarily on social concerns.  Founded in 1985 by hedge fund entrepreneur Victor Niederhoffer, The New York City Junto, in the words of its own website, brings “together intelligent people to discuss intellectual issues in a respectful manner.”  The stated focus of the NYC Junto is “libertarianism, Objectivism and investing.”  Although the Junto does not endorse any political party, it is difficult not to sense partisan undertones within much of its subject matter.

 

This represents the intrinsic difficulty in operating an organization like Franklin’s Junto within modern contexts.  The omnipresent element of partisan politics presents a factor which Franklin’s Junto never needed to contend with.  The modern ability to fully explore the scope of any issue, be it philosophical, moral or social is often compromised at the expense of a particular value system.  I encountered this very issue when attempting to describe Franklin’s original Junto.  I wanted desperately to label it as either a self-improvement club or a sort of primitive political action committee.  Either label would have been inadequate and brings us back to a requisite examination of Franklin himself.   The Junto, in many regards, was a personal reflection of Franklin’s value system.  Above any motives for economic well-being or intellectual stimulation rested Franklin’s ultimate priority – the pursuit of genuine morality. 

 

Franklin’s own words best describe this:  “I grew convinced that truth, sincerity, and integrity, in dealings between man and man, were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life” (p. 86).

 

References

 

Frankin, B. (1903).  The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.  Chicago, IL: R.R.                                  Donnelly & Sons Company.

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Gastaud, E.S. (2004).  Benjamin Franklin: Inventing America.  New York, NY:                                      Oxford University Press.

 

Heath, D. (2002). Benjamin Franklin. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from                                          http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/index.html

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Isaacson, W. (2003).  Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.  New York, NY: Simon                            & Schuster, Inc.

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Kerry, P.E., & Holland, M.S. (2012).  Benjamin Franklin’s Intellectual World.                                          Lanham, MD: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

 

The American Philosophical Society. (2013). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from                            http://www.amphilsoc.org/about

 

The New York City Junto. (2014). Retrieved September 29, 2014, from                                                   http://nycjunto.org/about/