FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE Individual Responsibility Module
Individual Responsibility Module
Introduction
The principle of the Individual Responsibility means that liberty requires responsibility. Free
government depends on virtue in the people.
Lesson One: What Is My Individual
Responsibility?
Lesson Overview
Song lyrics, books, and bumper stickers
constantly blare messages about freedom and
its value. Americans claim to cherish it, and,
unlike many in the world, enjoy it each day of our
lives. But what does it actually mean? And more
importantly, what is required to preserve it? In
this lesson, students will challenge preconceived
notions about what freedom means, and
understand the way individual freedom is
inextricably tied to personal responsibility.
Recommended Time


CE.C&G.1.4: Analyze the principles and ideals
underlying American democracy in terms of
how they promote freedom (e.g., separation
of powers, rule of law, limited government,
democracy, consent of the governed, individual
rights – life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, selfgovernment, representative democracy, equal
opportunity, equal protection under the law,
diversity, patriotism, etc.).

Objectives
Students will:
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Analyze the importance of civic virtue and
individual responsibility in our society.
Apply the understanding of civic virtue
and individual responsibility to their own
experiences.
Critically evaluate the difference between
liberty and license.
Compare and contrast freedom and
responsibility.
Evaluate how free government depends on
virtue in the people.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Explain how Washington exuded individual
responsibility in his life, writings, and
speeches.
North Carolina Clarifying Objectives
100 minutes

Analyze how individual self-government is
related to government in a society.

CE.C&G.1.5: Evaluate the fundamental
principles of American politics in terms
of the extent to which they have been
used effectively to maintain constitutional
democracy in the United States (e.g., rule
of law, limited government, democracy,
consent of the governed, etc.).
CE.C&G.4.3: Analyze the roles of citizens
of North Carolina and the United States in
terms of responsibilities, participation, civic
life and criteria for membership or admission
(e.g., voting, jury duty, lobbying, interacting
successfully with government agencies,
organizing and working in civic groups,
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE volunteering, petitioning, picketing, running
for political office, residency, etc.)



CE.C&G.4.4: Analyze the obligations of
citizens by determining when their personal
desires, interests and involvement are
subordinate to the good of the nation or
state (e.g., Patriot Act, Homeland Security,
sedition, civil rights, equal rights under the
law, jury duty, Selective Services Act, rule of
law, eminent domain, etc.).
AH1.H.1.2: Use Historical Comprehension
to: 1. Reconstruct the literal meaning of a
historical passage. 2. Differentiate between
historical facts and historical interpretations.
3. Analyze data in historical maps. 4.
Analyze visual, literary and musical sources.
AH1.H.1.3: Use Historical Analysis and
Interpretation to: 1. Identify issues and
problems in the past. 2. Consider multiple
perspectives of various peoples in the past.
3. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and
multiple causation. 4. Evaluate competing
historical narratives and debates among
historians. 5. Evaluate the influence of the
past on contemporary issues.
Individual Responsibility Module
Objectives
Students will:
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Lesson Overview
Recommended Time
80 minutes
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Analyze the misconceptions surrounding
virtue.
Analyze the importance of civic virtue and
individual responsibility in our society.
Apply the understanding of civic virtue
and individual responsibility to their own
experiences.
Understand Benjamin Franklin’s tried to
attain virtue and responsibility, and analyze
the process that he employed to attain these
virtues.
Interpret Franklin’s categorization of what he
deems important virtues.
North Carolina Clarifying Objectives
Lesson Two: Ben Franklin and Virtue
In this lesson, students will begin to analyze
the importance of virtue in a society by
coming to a shared definition of virtue. They
will read a selection from Benjamin Franklin’s
autobiography and reflect on how one of the
Founding Era’s great thinkers tried to attain
virtue in his own life.
Define the term virtue.


CE.C&G.1.4: Analyze the principles and
ideals underlying American democracy in
terms of how they promote freedom (e.g.,
separation of powers, rule of law, limited
government, democracy, consent of the
governed, individual rights – life, liberty,
pursuit of happiness, self-government,
representative democracy, equal
opportunity, equal protection under the law,
diversity, patriotism, etc.).
CE.C&G.1.5: Evaluate the fundamental
principles of American politics in terms
of the extent to which they have been
used effectively to maintain constitutional
democracy in the United States (e.g., rule
of law, limited government, democracy,
consent of the governed, etc.).
CE.C&G.4.3: Analyze the roles of citizens
of North Carolina and the United States in
terms of responsibilities, participation, civic
life and criteria for membership or admission
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE (e.g., voting, jury duty, lobbying, interacting
successfully with government agencies,
organizing and working in civic groups,
volunteering, petitioning, picketing, running
for political office, residency, etc.)


AH1.H.1.3: Use Historical Analysis and
Interpretation to: 1. Identify issues and
problems in the past. 2. Consider multiple
perspectives of various peoples in the past.
3. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships and
multiple causation. 4. Evaluate competing
historical narratives and debates among
historians. 5. Evaluate the influence of the
past on contemporary issues.
AH1.H.1.4: Use Historical Research to: 1.
Formulate historical questions. 2. Obtain
historical data from a variety of sources.
3. Support interpretations with historical
evidence. 4. Construct analytical essays
using historical evidence to support
arguments.
Individual Responsibility Module
Assignment
Have students add to their journals a response
to the Benjamin Franklin quotation: “Only a
virtuous people are capable of freedom. As
nations become corrupt and vicious, they have
more need of masters.” Responses should
address the questions:
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Assessment
Overview
Students will respond to a quote from Benjamin
Franklin regarding virtue to show their
understanding and analysis of the concept and
how it affects society.

Why are only virtuous people capable of
freedom?
What does the character of “people” have to
do with the character of “nations”?
Why would people who fail to display virtue
need masters?
Does this quote help you understand
the relationship between freedom and
responsibility?
Do you think Franklin’s quote is important
in understanding the concept of selfgovernment? Explain your answer.
Do you think Franklin’s quote is important
in understanding the structure of the
government of the United States? Explain
your answer.
Consider the events in England described
in the course introduction/final project. Can
you connect any of those to the Franklin
quotation?
Recommended Time
30 minutes
These resources were created by the Bill of Rights Institute to help North Carolina high school teachers of civics and American
History meet the requirements of the Founding Principles Act.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE Individual Responsibility Module
Individual Responsibility Module:
What Is My Individual Responsibility? Lesson
Overview
Song lyrics, books, and bumper stickers constantly blare messages about freedom and its value.
Americans claim to cherish it, and, unlike many in the world, enjoy it each and every day. But what
does freedom actually mean? And more importantly, what is required to preserve it? In this lesson,
students will challenge preconceived notions about what freedom means and understand the way
individual freedom is inextricably tied to personal responsibility.
Recommended Time
North Carolina Clarifying Objectives
100 minutes

Objectives
Students will:








Analyze the importance of civic virtue and
individual responsibility in our society.
Apply an understanding of civic virtue
and individual responsibility to their own
experiences.
Critically evaluate the difference between
liberty and license.

Compare and contrast freedom and
responsibility.
Evaluate how free government depends on
citizens’ virtue.
Analyze how individual self-government is
related to political self-government.
Analyze the overlap of responsibility and
liberty.
Explain how George Washington
exemplified individual responsibility in his
life, writings, and speeches.
© The Bill of Rights Institute

CE.C&G.1.4: Analyze the principles and
ideals underlying American democracy in
terms of how they promote freedom (e.g.,
separation of powers, rule of law, limited
government, democracy, consent of the
governed, individual rights – life, liberty,
pursuit of happiness, self-government,
representative democracy, equal
opportunity, equal protection under the law,
diversity, patriotism, etc.).
CE.C&G.1.5: Evaluate the fundamental
principles of American politics in terms
of the extent to which they have been
used effectively to maintain constitutional
democracy in the United States (e.g., rule
of law, limited government, democracy,
consent of the governed, etc.).
CE.C&G.4.3: Analyze the roles of citizens
of North Carolina and the United States in
terms of responsibilities, participation, civic
life and criteria for membership or admission
(e.g., voting, jury duty, lobbying, interacting
successfully with government agencies,
organizing and working in civic groups,
volunteering, petitioning, picketing, running
for political office, residency, etc.)
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE 


CE.C&G.4.4: Analyze the obligations of
citizens by determining when their personal
desires, interests and involvement are
subordinate to the good of the nation or
state (e.g., Patriot Act, Homeland Security,
sedition, civil rights, equal rights under the
law, jury duty, Selective Services Act, rule of
law, eminent domain, etc.).
AH1.H.1.2: Use Historical Comprehension
to: 1. Reconstruct the literal meaning of a
historical passage. 2. Differentiate between
historical facts and historical interpretations.
3. Analyze data in historical maps. 4.
Analyze visual, literary and musical sources.
AH1.H.1.3: Use Historical Analysis and
Interpretation to: 1. Identify issues and
problems in the past. 2. Consider multiple
perspectives of various peoples in the past.
3. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships
and multiple causation. 4. Evaluate
competing historical narratives and debates
among historians. 5. Evaluate the influence
of the past on contemporary issues.
Materials
Handout A: Freedom Slips
Handout B: Responsibility Slips
Handout C: Quotes to Consider
Handout D: George Washington and Individual
Liberty
Lesson Plan
Background/Homework [10 minutes
the day before]
A. As students exit, give each a slip from
Handout A: Freedom Slips and Handout
B: Responsibility Slips. Ask them not
to reveal the content of their slips to their
classmates. Have them read the phrases or
quotations on their slips, and ask them to
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Individual Responsibility Module
write out a definition of the word in bold for
homework.
B. Have students also decide on and write
down the opposite of their bolded word.
Warm-up [20 minutes]
A. Before class, create poster stations by
enlarging, printing, and hanging Handout
C: Quotes to Consider around the room or
placing them on top of various desks.
B. Call on one student and ask him or her
to share the definition from his or her
Freedom Slip. Then ask the class if
anyone had a definition that sounds similar.
Continue calling on students to share their
definitions of “free” or “freedom” and write
them on the board. Steer discussion so that
students arrive at a definition along the lines
of: Freedom means the ability to act without
unauthorized or unjust restraints. To further
guide students in their understanding, you
might also ask:
a. Does freedom mean you are free to do
what you would like to do whenever you
would like to do it?
b. Why not?
c. If “freedom” means the ability to act
without unjust restraints, what are some
just restraints?
C. Give students time to visit each poster in
pairs, read each statement, and decide on
a scale of 1-5 how much they agree with it
(with 1 representing completely disagree,
and 5 representing completely agree). They
should then write that number on the poster,
along with their initials. Give students about
one minute at each poster, and then have
them move to the next until all students
have seen every poster. When students
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE are at the final poster station, have each
pair add up the total responses on that
poster, then write down and circle the sum.
Collect the posters and post them on the
board from left to right, in increasing order
of agreement. Give students time to share
their responses to any of the statements
and explain why they agreed or disagreed.
D. Have students share their responses for
their Responsibility Slips. Suggested
definitions: Responsibility means to answer
for one’s conduct. Or, responsibility means
being in charge of or accountable for
something.
Activity [40 minutes]
A. Have students work in pairs to brainstorm
specific situations in their lives in which
their specific freedom gave rise to a need to
act responsibly. Draw a large graph on the
board, and write “Freedom” on the X axis
and “Responsibility” on the Y axis.
B. Using student responses as a starting point,
ask one student volunteer to plot out and
shade in the area representing the level
of freedom and responsibility displayed
by various responses to each situation. In
addition to the ideas generated by students,
you may wish to offer additional ideas:
a. Your parents go away for the weekend,
leaving you in charge of the house. Your
friends want you to throw a party.
b. Your teacher assigns a long paper
and is giving the class independent
research time in the library. When the
period begins, you don’t feel much like
researching.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Individual Responsibility Module
c. Your teacher invites you to stay after
class to get extra help in math. When
she leaves to use the rest room, you see
a copy of the test the class will take next
week on top of her desk.
C. Help students understand the difference
between liberty and license (“license” is
an abuse of liberty; it is liberty without
responsibility).
a. Ask students:
i. What does responsibility have to do
with freedom?
ii. Are freedom and independence
synonyms?
iii. Can you be free if you are
dependent?
b. Point out that as the proportion of
responsibility to freedom of an action
decreases, the action takes on the
quality of license, rather than liberty
(or freedom). License is an abuse
of freedom. For each situation,
discuss possible responses. Discuss
the consequences of acting with
responsibility, versus acting with license.
Ask students to predict what life would
be like if everyone did what they wanted
at any time without considering any
responsibility toward themselves and
others.
c. To have students draw a connection
between liberty and license and
how/why virtue is important in selfgovernment and the governance
of a society, have them brainstorm
hypothetical scenarios about what a
society lacking virtue would look like.
What would the government look like?
How would this affect individuals’ lives?
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE D. Connect the day’s activities to students’
final project. What responsibility do
individuals have to uphold the Constitution
and protect rights? Ask students to reflect
on what happened to Paul Chambers.
What, if anything, was it his responsibility to
do in the situation? What, if anything, was
the responsibility of his family? His fellow
citizens? Members of government? Can
freedom work if no one stands up for the
rights of others?
Activity II [30 minutes]
A. In groups, have students read the excerpts
from Washington’s speeches on Handout
D: George Washington and Individual
Responsibility.
a. Have students write a journal entry
about how Washington exuded
individual responsibility in his life,
writings, and speeches.
Individual Responsibility Module
Homework and Extensions
A. After students have completed all the
activities, have them answer a second
time the questions on Handout A. In small
groups, students should compare their
responses to their pre-assessments and
discuss what, if anything, changed their
minds.
B. Ask students, as individuals or in small
groups, to create plans for a student
assembly program to help their peers
understand the concepts of freedom and
responsibility. Plans should include: title of
the assembly, speakers who will be invited
to present, topics for breakout discussion
sessions, suggested readings, and
“homework” assignments for participants.
When all plans have been submitted,
make copies and distribute them to the
class. Have students vote on the best
plan, and submit it to school officials for
consideration.
C. Have students keep a freedom diary for
24-48 hours in which they keep track of
the freedoms they enjoy. They may wish
to consider their school, their library, and
their town. Then have them choose one
or two situations and evaluate the level of
responsibility required by each situation in a
one-page journal entry.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Handout A: Freedom Slips
Let freedom ring.
Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
The land of the free, and the home of the brave.
Hey, it’s a free country.
You’re free to go.
I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.
Freedom isn’t free.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Free as a bird.
Those shoes are buy one, get one free.
The philosophy teacher presented a lesson on free will.
The truth will set you free.
The skydiver enjoys free-falling.
Free your mind.
The health food store sells free-range chicken.
Freedom is not possible without responsibility.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Handout B: Responsibility Slips
It was my responsibility to take out the trash.
Remembering to turn in homework is the student’s responsibility.
Returning the money she found was a very responsible thing to do.
The principal is responsible for running the school.
Parents are responsible for their children.
She isn’t very responsible. She’s always losing things.
His dad doesn’t believe he is responsible enough to take care of a puppy yet.
He took responsibility for his mistake.
Sometimes it is hard to do the responsible thing.
In dreams begin responsibilities.
Responsibility is the price of greatness.
I have a responsibility to stand up for the rights of others.
Responsibility is a virtue of citizenship.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Handout C: Quotes to Consider
“It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.”
–DICK CHENEY
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men,
undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
–THOMAS PAINE
“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.”
–GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
“There’s only one basic human right, the right to do as you … please. And with it comes the only
basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.”
–P.J. O’ROURKE
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
–JOHN F. KENNEDY
“The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in
what we are free not to do.”
–ERIC HOFFER
“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of
responsibility that comes with his freedom.”
–BOB DYLAN
“I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity,
an obligation; every possession, a duty.”
–JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
“Individuality is the aim of political liberty. The citizen … is left to pursue his means of
happiness in his own manner.”
–JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
“Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.”
–FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”
–DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
“All I ask is equal freedom. When it is denied, as it always is, I take it anyhow.”
–H.L. MENCKEN
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Handout D:
George Washington and Individual Liberty
First Inaugural Address, April 30,
1789
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House
of Representatives:
Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event
could have filled me with greater anxieties than
that of which the notification was transmitted
by your order, and received on the 14th day
of the present month. On the one hand, I was
summoned by my Country, whose voice I can
never hear but with veneration and love, from
a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest
predilection, and, in my flattering hopes,
with an immutable decision, as the asylum
of my declining years–a retreat which was
rendered every day more necessary as well
as more dear to me by the addition of habit
to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in
my health to the gradual waste committed on
it by time. On the other hand, the magnitude
and difficulty of the trust to which the voice
of my country called me, being sufficient to
awaken in the wisest and most experienced
of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his
qualifications, could not but overwhelm with
despondence one who (inheriting inferior
endowments from nature and unpracticed in
the duties of civil administration) ought to be
peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. In
this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that
it has been my faithful study to collect my duty
from a just appreciation of every circumstance
by which it might be affected. All I dare hope
is that if, in executing this task, I have been
too much swayed by a grateful remembrance
© The Bill of Rights Institute
of former instances, or by an affectionate
sensibility to this transcendent proof of the
confidence of my fellow-citizens, and have
thence too little consulted my incapacity as well
as disinclination for the weighty and untried
cares before me, my error will be palliated
by the motives which mislead me, and its
consequences be judged by my country with
some share of the partiality in which they
originated.
Such being the impressions under which I
have, in obedience to the public summons,
repaired to the present station, it would be
peculiarly improper to omit in this first official
act my fervent supplications to that Almighty
Being who rules over the universe, who
presides in the councils of nations, and whose
providential aids can supply every human
defect, that His benediction may consecrate
to the liberties and happiness of the people
of the United States a Government instituted
by themselves for these essential purposes,
and may enable every instrument employed in
its administration to execute with success the
functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this
homage to the Great Author of every public and
private good, I assure myself that it expresses
your sentiments not less than my own, nor
those of my fellow-citizens at large less than
either. No people can be bound to acknowledge
and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts
the affairs of men more than those of the
United States. Every step by which they have
advanced to the character of an independent
nation seems to have been distinguished by
some token of providential agency; and in
the important revolution just accomplished
in the system of their united government the
tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of
so many distinct communities from which the
event has resulted can not be compared with
the means by which most governments have
been established without some return of pious
gratitude, along with an humble anticipation
of the future blessings which the past seem
to presage. These reflections, arising out of
the present crisis, have forced themselves too
strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You
will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there
are none under the influence of which the
proceedings of a new and free government can
more auspiciously commence.
By the article establishing the executive
department it is made the duty of the President
“to recommend to your consideration such
measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient.” The circumstances under which
I now meet you will acquit me from entering
into that subject further than to refer to the
great constitutional charter under which you
are assembled, and which, in defining your
powers, designates the objects to which
your attention is to be given. It will be more
consistent with those circumstances, and
far more congenial with the feelings which
actuate me, to substitute, in place of a
recommendation of particular measures, the
tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude,
and the patriotism which adorn the characters
selected to devise and adopt them. In these
honorable qualifications I behold the surest
pledges that as on one side no local prejudices
or attachments, no separate views nor party
animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive
and equal eye which ought to watch over
© The Bill of Rights Institute
this great assemblage of communities and
interests, so, on another, that the foundation
of our national policy will be laid in the pure
and immutable principles of private morality,
and the preeminence of free government be
exemplified by all the attributes which can win
the affections of its citizens and command the
respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect
with every satisfaction which an ardent love
for my country can inspire, since there is no
truth more thoroughly established than that
there exists in the economy and course of
nature an indissoluble union between virtue
and happiness; between duty and advantage;
between the genuine maxims of an honest and
magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of
public prosperity and felicity; since we ought
to be no less persuaded that the propitious
smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a
nation that disregards the eternal rules of order
and right which Heaven itself has ordained;
and since the preservation of the sacred fire of
liberty and the destiny of the republican model
of government are justly considered, perhaps,
as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment
entrusted to the hands of the American people.
Besides the ordinary objects submitted to
your care, it will remain with your judgment to
decide how far an exercise of the occasional
power delegated by the fifth article of the
Constitution is rendered expedient at the
present juncture by the nature of objections
which have been urged against the system, or
by the degree of inquietude which has given
birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular
recommendations on this subject, in which
I could be guided by no lights derived from
official opportunities, I shall again give way
to my entire confidence in your discernment
and pursuit of the public good; for I assure
myself that whilst you carefully avoid every
alteration which might endanger the benefits of
an united and effective government, or which
ought to await the future lessons of experience,
a reverence for the characteristic rights
of freemen and a regard for the public harmony
will sufficiently influence your deliberations
on the question how far the former can be
impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and
advantageously promoted.
To the foregoing observations I have one to
add, which will be most properly addressed
to the House of Representatives. It concerns
myself, and will therefore be as brief as
possible. When I was first honored with
a call into the service of my country, then
on the eve of an arduous struggle for its
liberties, the light in which I contemplated my
duty required that I should renounce every
pecuniary compensation. From this resolution
I have in no instance departed; and being
still under the impressions which produced it,
I must decline as inapplicable to myself any
share in the personal emoluments which may
be indispensably included in a permanent
provision for the executive department, and
must accordingly pray that the pecuniary
estimates for the station in which I am placed
may during my continuance in it be limited to
such actual expenditures as the public good
may be thought to require.
Having thus imparted to you my sentiments
as they have been awakened by the occasion
which brings us together, I shall take my
present leave; but not without resorting once
more to the benign Parent of the Human Race
in humble supplication that, since He has
been pleased to favor the American people
with opportunities for deliberating in perfect
© The Bill of Rights Institute
tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with
unparalleled unanimity on a form of government
for the security of their union and the
advancement of their happiness, so His divine
blessing may be equally conspicuous in the
enlarged views, the temperate consultations,
and the wise measures on which the success
of this Government must depend.
Excerpts from the Farewell Address,
September 19, 1796
Friends and Citizens:
The period for a new election of a citizen to
administer the executive government of the
United States being not far distant, and the time
actually arrived when your thoughts must be
employed in designating the person who is to
be clothed with that important trust, it appears
to me proper, especially as it may conduce to
a more distinct expression of the public voice,
that I should now apprise you of the resolution
I have formed, to decline being considered
among the number of those out of whom a
choice is to be made.
I beg you, at the same time, to do me the
justice to be assured that this resolution has
not been taken without a strict regard to all
the considerations appertaining to the relation
which binds a dutiful citizen to his country;
and that in withdrawing the tender of service,
which silence in my situation might imply, I am
influenced by no diminution of zeal for your
future interest, no deficiency of grateful respect
for your past kindness, but am supported by a
full conviction that the step is compatible with
both.
The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto
in, the office to which your suffrages have
twice called me have been a uniform sacrifice
of inclination to the opinion of duty and to a
deference for what appeared to be your desire.
I constantly hoped that it would have been
much earlier in my power, consistently with
motives which I was not at liberty to disregard,
to return to that retirement from which I had
been reluctantly drawn. The strength of my
inclination to do this, previous to the last
election, had even led to the preparation of
an address to declare it to you; but mature
reflection on the then perplexed and critical
posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and
the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my
confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea.
I rejoice that the state of your concerns,
external as well as internal, no longer renders
the pursuit of inclination incompatible with
the sentiment of duty or propriety, and am
persuaded, whatever partiality may be
retained for my services, that, in the present
circumstances of our country, you will not
disapprove my determination to retire.
The impressions with which I first undertook
the arduous trust were explained on the proper
occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will
only say that I have, with good intentions,
contributed towards the organization and
administration of the government the best
exertions of which a very fallible judgment
was capable. Not unconscious in the outset of
the inferiority of my qualifications, experience
in my own eyes, perhaps still more in the
eyes of others, has strengthened the motives
to diffidence of myself; and every day the
increasing weight of years admonishes me
more and more that the shade of retirement
is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.
Satisfied that if any circumstances have given
© The Bill of Rights Institute
peculiar value to my services, they were
temporary, I have the consolation to believe
that, while choice and prudence invite me to
quit the political scene, patriotism does not
forbid it…
For this you have every inducement of
sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or
choice, of a common country, that country
has a right to concentrate your affections.
The name of American, which belongs to you
in your national capacity, must always exalt
the just pride of patriotism more than any
appellation derived from local discriminations.
With slight shades of difference, you have the
same religion, manners, habits, and political
principles. You have in a common cause fought
and triumphed together; the independence
and liberty you possess are the work of joint
counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers,
sufferings, and successes…
The basis of our political systems is the
right of the people to make and to alter
their constitutions of government. But
the Constitution which at any time exists, till
changed by an explicit and authentic act of the
whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.
The very idea of the power and the right of the
people to establish government presupposes
the duty of every individual to obey the
established government...
Liberty itself will find in such a government, with
powers properly distributed and adjusted, its
surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a
name, where the government is too feeble to
withstand the enterprises of faction, to confine
each member of the society within the limits
prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in
the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights
of person and property…
This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from
our nature, having its root in the strongest
passions of the human mind. It exists under
different shapes in all governments, more
or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but,
in those of the popular form, it is seen in its
greatest rankness, and is truly their worst
enemy.
It is important, likewise, that the habits of
thinking in a free country should inspire caution
in those entrusted with its administration, to
confine themselves within their respective
constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise
of the powers of one department to encroach
upon another. The spirit of encroachment
tends to consolidate the powers of all the
departments in one, and thus to create,
whatever the form of government, a real
despotism. A just estimate of that love of
power, and proneness to abuse it, which
predominates in the human heart, is sufficient
to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The
necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise
of political power, by dividing and distributing
it into different depositaries, and constituting
each the guardian of the public weal against
invasions by the others, has been evinced
by experiments ancient and modern; some
of them in our country and under our own
eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary
as to institute them. If, in the opinion of the
people, the distribution or modification of the
constitutional powers be in any particular
wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment
in the way which the Constitution designates.
But let there be no change by usurpation;
for though this, in one instance, may be the
instrument of good, it is the customary weapon
by which free governments are destroyed. The
precedent must always greatly overbalance in
© The Bill of Rights Institute
permanent evil any partial or transient benefit,
which the use can at any time yield.
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead
to political prosperity, religion and morality are
indispensable supports. In vain would that
man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should
labor to subvert these great pillars of human
happiness, these firmest props of the duties of
men and citizens. The mere politician, equally
with the pious man, ought to respect and to
cherish them. A volume could not trace all their
connections with private and public felicity. Let
it simply be asked: Where is the security for
property, for reputation, for life, if the sense
of religious obligation desert the oaths which
are the instruments of investigation in courts
of justice? And let us with caution indulge the
supposition that morality can be maintained
without religion. Whatever may be conceded to
the influence of refined education on minds of
peculiar structure, reason and experience both
forbid us to expect that national morality can
prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a
necessary spring of popular government. The
rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to
every species of free government. Who that is
a sincere friend to it can look with indifference
upon attempts to shake the foundation of the
fabric?
Promote then, as an object of primary
importance, institutions for the general diffusion
of knowledge. In proportion as the structure
of a government gives force to public opinion,
it is essential that public opinion should be
enlightened.
Observe good faith and justice towards all
nations; cultivate peace and harmony with
all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct;
and can it be, that good policy does not
equally enjoin it – It will be worthy of a free,
enlightened, and at no distant period, a great
nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous
and too novel example of a people always
guided by an exalted justice and benevolence.
Who can doubt that, in the course of time and
things, the fruits of such a plan would richly
repay any temporary advantages which might
be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it
be that Providence has not connected the
permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue?
The experiment, at least, is recommended by
every sentiment which ennobles human nature.
Alas! is it rendered impossible by its vices?...
After deliberate examination, with the aid of the
best lights I could obtain, I was well satisfied
that our country, under all the circumstances
of the case, had a right to take, and was
bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral
position. Having taken it, I determined, as far
as should depend upon me, to maintain it, with
moderation, perseverance, and firmness.
In offering to you, my countrymen, these
counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I
dare not hope they will make the strong and
lasting impression I could wish; that they will
control the usual current of the passions, or
prevent our nation from running the course
which has hitherto marked the destiny of
nations. But, if I may even flatter myself that
they may be productive of some partial benefit,
some occasional good; that they may now and
then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to
warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue,
to guard against the impostures of pretended
patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense
for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they
have been dictated.
The duty of holding a neutral conduct may
be inferred, without anything more, from the
obligation which justice and humanity impose
on every nation, in cases in which it is free to
act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace
and amity towards other nations.
How far in the discharge of my official duties I
have been guided by the principles which have
been delineated, the public records and other
evidences of my conduct must witness to you
and to the world. To myself, the assurance
of my own conscience is, that I have at least
believed myself to be guided by them…
© The Bill of Rights Institute
The considerations which respect the right to
hold this conduct, it is not necessary on this
occasion to detail. I will only observe that,
according to my understanding of the matter,
that right, so far from being denied by any
of the belligerent powers, has been virtually
admitted by all.
The inducements of interest for observing
that conduct will best be referred to your
own reflections and experience. With me a
predominant motive has been to endeavor to
gain time to our country to settle and mature
its yet recent institutions, and to progress
without interruption to that degree of strength
and consistency which is necessary to give it,
humanly speaking, the command of its own
fortunes.
Though, in reviewing the incidents of my
administration, I am unconscious of intentional
error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my
defects not to think it probable that I may have
committed many errors. Whatever they may
be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or
mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall
also carry with me the hope that my country will
never cease to view them with indulgence; and
that, after forty five years of my life dedicated
to its service with an upright zeal, the faults
of incompetent abilities will be consigned
to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the
mansions of rest.
Relying on its kindness in this as in other
things, and actuated by that fervent love
towards it, which is so natural to a man who
views in it the native soil of himself and his
progenitors for several generations, I anticipate
with pleasing expectation that retreat in which
I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the
sweet enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of
my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of good
laws under a free government, the ever-favorite
object of my heart, and the happy reward, as I
trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers
Geo. Washington
© The Bill of Rights Institute
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE Individual Responsibility Module
Individual Responsibility Module:
Benjamin Franklin and Virtue Lesson
Lesson Overview
In this lesson, students will begin to analyze the importance of virtue in a society by coming to a
shared definition of virtue. They will read a selection from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography and
reflect on how one of the Founding Era’s great thinkers tried to attain virtue in his own life.
Recommended Time

80 minutes
Objectives
Students will:






Define the term virtue.
Analyze the misconceptions surrounding
virtue.

Analyze the importance of civic virtue and
individual responsibility in our society.
Apply the understanding of civic virtue
and individual responsibility to their own
experiences.
Understand how Benjamin Franklin tried to
attain virtue and responsibility.
Interpret Franklin’s categorization of what he
deems important virtues.

North Carolina Clarifying Objectives

CE.C&G.1.4: Analyze the principles and
ideals underlying American democracy in
terms of how they promote freedom (e.g.,
separation of powers, rule of law, limited
government, democracy, consent of the
governed, individual rights – life, liberty,
pursuit of happiness, self-government,
representative democracy, equal
opportunity, equal protection under the law,
diversity, patriotism, etc.).
© The Bill of Rights Institute

CE.C&G.1.5: Evaluate the fundamental
principles of American politics in terms
of the extent to which they have been
used effectively to maintain constitutional
democracy in the United States (e.g., rule
of law, limited government, democracy,
consent of the governed, etc.).
CE.C&G.4.3: Analyze the roles of citizens
of North Carolina and the United States in
terms of responsibilities, participation, civic
life and criteria for membership or admission
(e.g., voting, jury duty, lobbying, interacting
successfully with government agencies,
organizing and working in civic groups,
volunteering, petitioning, picketing, running
for political office, residency, etc.)
AH1.H.1.3: Use Historical Analysis and
Interpretation to: 1. Identify issues and
problems in the past. 2. Consider multiple
perspectives of various peoples in the past.
3. Analyze cause-and-effect relationships
and multiple causation. 4. Evaluate
competing historical narratives and debates
among historians. 5. Evaluate the influence
of the past on contemporary issues.
AH1.H.1.4: Use Historical Research to: 1.
Formulate historical questions. 2. Obtain
historical data from a variety of sources.
3. Support interpretations with historical
FOUNDING PRINCIPLES COURSE evidence. 4. Construct analytical essays
using historical evidence to support
arguments.
Materials
Handout A: What Is Virtue?
Handout B: Benjamin Franklin and Civic Virtue
Lesson Plan
Warm-Up [20 minutes]
A. Have students read Handout A: What Is
Virtue?
Individual Responsibility Module
C. Bring the whole class together and combine
each individual group’s lists into one large
list to post in the classroom throughout the
course.
Activity II [30 minutes]
D. Distribute Handout B: Benjamin Franklin
and Civic Virtue. Have students work
in groups of 2-4 to read this excerpt from
Franklin’s autobiography and answer the
questions that follow.
B. After students finish reading, have them
work in pairs to develop their own definition
of virtue. Post these definitions around the
classroom.
E. Have each student choose one of the
virtues that Franklin discusses and think
of ways in which they exemplify that
specific virtue at school, at home, in their
community, or with friends. Write a short
journal entry on their analysis of this virtue.
Activity I [30 minutes]
Homework and Extension Options
A. Discuss, as a whole group, the definitions
of virtue the students developed and arrive
at one definition as a group.
a. Then discuss each section of the essay
and the misconceptions that arise
regarding virtue.
b. Have the students debate (either in
small groups or as a whole class)
whether or not virtue requires a “just
end” and/or whether virtue requires
“action” as stated in Handout A.
B. Break students into small groups or pairs.
Have students:
a. Make a list of the ways in which virtuous
behavior is important to maintaining
a successful society and government
structure.
b. Make a list of ways in which they can
personally act virtuously in their lives.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
A. Have students research other virtuous
citizens like George Washington, Frederick
Douglass, Alice Paul, the Schechter
Brothers, Rosa Parks, or Elizabeth
Eckford and the Little Rock Nine. From
their research, students should create a
presentation in which they determine how
each of these individuals displayed virtue in
their lives.
B. Have students identify leaders and
prominent individuals from other nations
and societies and analyze how they
expressed virtue in their own works. In an
oral presentation, students should explain
the parallels between these leaders and the
Founders. (Examples could include: Nelson
Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi the Dali Lama,
Mustafa Ataturk, Florence Nightingale,
Marie Curie, or Mother Teresa.)
Handout A: What Is Virtue?
Understanding virtue means acknowledging
that right and wrong exist.
To further justice, we must exercise judgment.
In order to understand and evaluate virtue, we
must be willing to admire heroes and condemn
villains. We must be willing to take a stand.
A special challenge today may be that many
people do not wish to appear judgmental,
especially when another person’s actions do no
harm to others. But what about when they do?
A reluctance to judge the behavior of others
should not mean we do nothing in the face of
evil. All that is needed for evil to triumph is for
good people to do nothing.
“You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view—until you
climb into his skin and walk around in it.”–
Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper
Lee
“Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter.”–Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Being virtuous does not require belief in a
supreme being.
We do not wish to shy away from the
term “virtue”—despite the occasional
misunderstanding that the term somehow
requires religion. Virtue is compatible with, but
does not require, religious belief. To many in
the Founding generation, religion and morality
were “indispensable supports” to people’s
ability to govern themselves. This is because
religious institutions nurtured virtue, and they
knew virtue was needed for self-government
to survive. On the other hand, to paraphrase
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Thomas Jefferson, it does you no injury
whether your neighbor believes in one god or
twenty gods. A person’s religion alone would
not make him virtuous, and his particular (or
lack of) faith would not mean he was incapable
of virtue.
“We ought to consider what is the end
[purpose] of government before we determine
which is the best form. Upon this point all
speculative politicians will agree that the
happiness of society is the end of government,
as all divines and moral philosophers will agree
that the happiness of the individual is the
end of man. …All sober inquirers after truth,
ancient and modern, pagan and Christian, have
declared that the happiness of man, as well as
his dignity, consists in virtue.”–John Adams,
Thoughts on Government, 1776
Why virtues and not “values” or
“character”?
Virtues are eternal because they are rooted
in human nature. Values, on the other hand,
can change with the times. The word “value”
itself implies that values are relative. While
values can change with circumstances, it is
always good to be just, to persevere, to be
courageous, to respect others, and soon. We
take the word “character” to mean the sum total
of virtues an individual displays. A person of
character is virtuous.
Why these virtues?
In consultation with our academic advisory
team, we worked to identify virtues the
Founders believed were required of citizens in
order for the Constitution to work. By studying
primary sources—notably the Federalist Papers
and the Autobiography of Ben Franklin—we
established the “Founders’ Virtues” which
include justice, courage, perseverance,
respect, self-governance, and many others.
Virtue is a habit.
Virtue is a “golden mean.”
For example, a man who finds a piece of
jewelry, intends to keep it, but later returns it to
the owner to collect a reward helps bring about
a just outcome (property was returned to its
rightful owner) but falls short of being “virtuous”
because of the calculation he went through to
arrive at his course of action. While all virtues
must be habits, not all habits are virtuous.
We began with Aristotle’s understanding of
virtue as a mean (or middle) between two
extremes. The same character trait, when
expressed to the extreme, ceases to be
virtue and becomes vice. For example, too
little courage is cowardice, while too much
makes one foolhardy. A healthy respect for
authority becomes blind obedience to power
when expressed too strongly or descends into
unprincipled recalcitrance when completely
lacking.
Virtue is action.
Thoughts may be about virtuous things, but
they themselves do not merit the name of
virtue. Similarly, words can describe virtuous
things but can never themselves be virtuous.
Thoughts and words alone don’t make a person
virtuous— one must act on them.
© The Bill of Rights Institute
We also take the idea from Aristotle that virtue
is a habit. Virtuous behavior is not the result of
numerous, individual calculations about which
course of action would be most advantageous.
Virtue requires a just end.
Behavior can be virtuous only when done in
the pursuit of justice. For example, although
courage is a virtue, a Nazi who proceeded in
killing thousands of people despite his own
feelings of fear cannot be called courageous.
Though respect is a virtue, a junior police
officer who stood by while his captain brutalized
a suspect cannot be called respectful. A
complication can come when one either
focuses on or enlarges the sphere within which
action takes place. Could an officer on the
wrong side of a war display virtue in the form
of courage by taking care of the younger men
in his charge and shielding them from harm? Is
the “end” of his action the responsibility towards
his men, or the continued strength of his army,
which is working towards an evil cause?
Handout B: Benjamin Franklin and Civic Virtue
Directions: When Benjamin Franklin was in
his 20s, he began a project to become a more
virtuous person. Many years later, he wrote
the following selection from his Autobiography
about that time. Read his reflections on virtue
and then answer the questions that follow.
It was about this time that I conceiv’d the
bold and arduous Project of arriving at moral
Perfection. I wish’d to live without committing
any Fault at any time; I would conquer all
that either Natural Inclination, Custom, or
Company might lead me into. As I knew, or
thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I
did not see why I might not all ways do the
one and avoid the other. But I soon found I
had undertaken a Task of more Difficulty than
I had imagined. While my Attention was taken
up in guarding against one Fault, I was often
surpris’d by another. Habit took the Advantage
of Inattention. Inclination was sometimes too
strong for Reason. I concluded at length, that
the mere speculative Conviction that it was
our Interest to be completely virtuous, was
not sufficient to prevent our Slipping, and that
the contrary Habits must be broken and good
ones acquired and established, before we can
have any Dependence on a steady uniform
Rectitude of Conduct. For this purpose I there
forecontriv’d the following Method.
In the various Enumerations of the moral
Virtues I had met with in my Reading, I found
the Catalogue more or less numerous, as
different Writers included more or fewer Ideas
under the same Name. Temperance, for
Example, was by the some confin’d to Eating
& Drinking, while by other sit was extended to
© The Bill of Rights Institute
mean the moderating every other Pleasure,
Appetite, Inclination or Passion, bodily or
mental, even to our Avarice & Ambition. I
propos’d to myself, for the sake of Clearness,
to use rather more Names with fewer Ideas
annex’d to each, than a few Names with more
Ideas; and I included under Thirteen Names of
Virtues all that at that time occurr’d to me as
necessary or desirable, and annex’d to each a
short Precept, which fully express’d the Extent I
gave to its Meaning.
These Names of Virtues with their Precepts
were:
TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not
to elevation.
SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit
others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
ORDER. Let all your things have their places;
let each part of your business have its time.
RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you
ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good
to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d
in something useful; cut off all unnecessary
actions.
SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think
innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak
accordingly.
JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or
omitting the benefits that are your duty.
MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear
resenting injuries so much as you think they
deserve.
CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in
body, cloaths, or habitation.
TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or
at accidents common or unavoidable.
CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health
or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or
the injury of your own or another’s peace or
reputation.
HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
My Intention being to acquire the Habitude
of all these Virtues, I judg’d it would be well
not to distract my Attention by attempting the
whole at once, but to fix it on one of them
at a time, and when I should be Master of
that, then to proceed to another, and so on
till I should have gone thro’ the thirteen. And
as the previous Acquisition of some might
facilitate the Acquisition of certain others, I
arrang’d them with that View as they stand
above. Temperance first, as it tends to procure
that Coolness & Clearness of Head, which is
so necessary where constant Vigilance was to
be kept up, and Guard maintained, against the
unremitting Attraction of ancient Habits, and
the Force of perpetual Temptations. This being
acquir’d & establish’d, Silence would be more
easy, and my Desire being to gain Knowledge
at the sametime that I improv’d in Virtue and
considering that in Conversation it was obtain’d
rather by the use of the Ears than of the Tongue,
&therefore wishing to break a Habit I was getting
© The Bill of Rights Institute
into of Prattling, Punning & Joking, which only
made me acceptable to trifling Company, I gave
Silence the second Place. This, and the next,
Order, I expected would allow me more Time
for attending to my Project and my Studies;
RESOLUTION, once become habitual, would
keep me firm in my Endeavors to obtain all the
subsequent Virtues; Frugality & Industry, by
freeing me from my remaining Debt, & producing
Affluence & Independence, would make more
easy the Practice of Sincerity and Justice,
&c &c. Conceiving then that agreeable to the
Advice of Pythagoras in his Golden Verses daily
Examination would be necessary, I contriv’d
the following Method for conducting that
Examination.
I made a little Book in which I allotted a Page
for each of the Virtues. I rul’d each Page with
red Ink, so as to have seven Columns, one for
each Day of the Week, marking each Column
with a Letter for the Day. I cross’d these
Columns with thirteen red Lines, marking the
Beginning of each Line with the first Letter of
one of the Virtues, on which Line & in its proper
Column I might mark by a little black Spot every
Fault I found upon Examination to have been
committed respecting that Virtue upon that Day.
I determined to give a Week’s strict Attention
to each of the Virtues successively. Thus in the
first Week my great Guard was to avoid every
the least Offense against Temperance, leaving
the other Virtues to their ordinary Chance,
only marking every Evening the Faults of the
Day. Thus if in the first Week I could keep my
first Line marked clear of Spots, I suppos’d
the Habit of that Virtue so much strengthen’d
and its opposite weaken’d, that I might venture
extending my Attention to include the next, and
for the following Week keep both Lines clear
of Spots. Proceeding thus to the last, I could
go thro’ a Course complete in Thirteen Weeks,
and four Courses in a Year. And like him who
having a Garden to weed, does not attempt
to eradicate all the bad Herbs at once, which
would exceed his Reach and his Strength, but
works on one of the Beds at a time, & having
accomplish’d the first proceeds to a Second;
so I should have, (I hoped) the encouraging
Pleasure of seeing on my Pages the Progress
I made in Virtue, by clearing successively my
Lines of their Spots, till in the End by a Number
of Courses, I should be happy in viewing
a clean Book after a thirteen Weeks, daily
Examination.
… on the whole, tho’ I never arrived at
the perfection I had been so ambitious of
obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by
the endeavour, a better and a happier man
than I otherwise should have been if I had
not attempted it; as those who aim at perfect
writing by imitating the engraved copies, tho’
they never reach the wish’d-for excellence
of those copies, their hand is mended by the
endeavor, an dis tolerable while it continues fair
and legible.
I enter’d upon the Execution of this Plan
for Self Examination, and continu’d it with
occasional Intermissions for some time. I was
surpris’d to find myself so much fuller of Faults
than I had imagined, but I had the Satisfaction
of seeing them diminish. To avoid the Trouble
of renewing now & then my little Book, which
by scraping out the Marks on the Paper of old
Faults, to make room for new Ones in a new
Course, became full of Holes: I transferr’d my
Tables & Precepts to the Ivory Leaves of a
Memorandum Book, on which the Lines were
drawn with red Ink that made a durable Stain,
and on those Lines I mark’d my Faults with a
black Lead Pencil, which Marks I could easily
wipe out with a wet Sponge. After a while I went
thro’ one course only in a year, and afterward
only one in several years, till at length I omitted
them entirely, being employ’d in voyages and
business abroad, with a multiplicity of affairs
that interfered; but I always carried my little
book with me.
2. How did Franklin understand virtue? How
did he define, use, and refine the term?
© The Bill of Rights Institute
Questions to consider
1. How did Franklin understand individual
responsibility?
3. What was Franklin’s rationale for ordering
and working on the virtues in the order he
did?
4. Franklin wrote that there was something
more powerful than his intention to live
virtuously; what was that more powerful
thing?
5. Aristotle believed that virtue was a habit.
Would Franklin have agreed with him?
6. How did Franklin incorporate the virtues
about which he wrote into his project to
embody them?
7. What examples did Franklin give of his
struggle to live virtuously?
8. Did Franklin believe he succeeded in his
ultimate goal? Why or why not?
9. What value did Franklin find in the project?
10.What most impresses you about Franklin’s
project?