Ben Franklin: Chess Can Make You A Better Person?

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Use the code I heart to get 20% off in free shipping on your subscription order. That's c y m b i o t ika.com that symbiotic calm And the American people. Our next story is about one remarkable American born the son of a Boston candlemaker Benjamin Franklin grew into the symbolic role of the archetypal American. He was indeed a blend of poor Richard Leonardo da Vinci. Franklin has the distinction of many firsts. He invented the lightning rod the Franklin stove bifocals the catheter just.com also reminds us that Franklin was also the first known chess player, as well as the first chess author in America. Here again to tell us a story is the jack Miller centers editorial officer and historian.

Elliot Drago. Let's take a listen. Entrepreneur philosopher, scientist, inventor and writer. We ought to add chess master to the list of Benjamin Franklin's accomplishments. His essay morals of chess combines his timeless wit, inherit competitiveness, and shrewd strategy that also speaks to the fragile, yet boundless potential of America's founding principles.

Originally written and presented to Franklin small cadre of fellow intellectuals in the 1730s morals of chess would not be released for public consumption until 1786. Much had occurred over the course of that half century in 1732 Franklin released the first poor Richards almanac and immensely successful guide full of practical advice and witticisms for American colonists in 1751 he helped found the educational institution that became the University of Pennsylvania. And throughout the 1750s and 1760s he served as the postmaster general for the crown and eventually an agent for the colonies representing American interest in Great Britain. And of course by 1776 Franklin and his fellow colonists began and would eventually win a war of liberation from Great Britain as the colonies most recognizable figure Franklin's influence became essential to the American cause, especially when he was sent to France as America's first ambassador in 1776. Franklin's convivial nature combined with his diplomatic acumen made him the toast of Paris as he regaled salons with tales, practical wisdom, and Americanisms.

And while battlefield realities back in America certainly compelled France to support the American cause, Franklin's soft diplomacy and charismatic force of personality helped cement the Franco-American alliance. Besides power politics and being playful with his French admirers, Franklin spent much of his five years in France playing chess. While reviewing his personal papers for potential publication in 1779, Franklin came across morals of chess, which at this point was now over 40 years old. Scholars believe that aside from retrieving the material for publication, Franklin was motivated to find this essay due to his indulgence, possibly overindulgence, in playing chess with the Parisian elite.

These games became epic battles that lasted four hours or more, limited solely by the number of candles available to the combatants. Franklin's monomaniacal focus made him oblivious to anything outside the checkered board. Franklin established the edifying purposes of the essay, and one could argue the game itself, by writing in the first sentence, The game of chess is not merely an idle amusement. To Franklin, chess instructed individual conduct and, if played in the proper manner, would teach players four key virtues.

Calling chess a beneficial amusement, he outlined eight tips so players could pass the time agreeably, including observing the rules of the game with fidelity, remaining patient while your opponents plot their next move, and, for spectators, observing the most perfect silence to allow for concentration. However, Franklin's four key lessons, foresight, circumspection, caution, and perseverance, speak as much to the game of chess as to the political and moral responsibilities of the players on and off the chessboard. In a larger sense, Franklin's lessons speak to Americans across time and space. Living in what Americans then and now described as a revolutionary era required foresight.

The Republican spirit and experiment can only be sustained by those who consider the consequences that may attend an action. Circumspection necessitated a keen observance of the scene of action, those relations between chess pieces akin to the various social factions of the American body politic. Yet Americans must move with caution, for, if you touch a piece, you must move it somewhere.

If you set it down, you must let it stand. In other words, Americans must avoid haste to prevent mistakes and steal their resolve once they have made a fateful decision. Finally, Franklin reminds players that supposed insurmountable difficulties ought not exhaust the player nor precipitate in attention or despair. This powerful idea of a perseverance seeded with hope reflects striving to form a more perfect union. Franklin urges us to remember that momentary setbacks are precisely that, momentary, and therefore liable to change if Americans are empowered to cherish those founding principles that inspired the creation of the Republic. On the last day of the Constitutional Convention in 1789, American socialite and political commentator Elizabeth Willing Powell approached Franklin as he left the hall. She asked him, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?

As always, Franklin gave her a memorable reply, a republic, if you can keep it. Through their foresight, circumspection, caution, and perseverance, Americans attuned to their nation's civic needs perpetuated this republic, the United States of America, by emulating the virtues of Franklin's morals of chess. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler, and a terrific job on the storytelling by Elliot Trego, and he is the editorial officer at the Jack Miller Center. And they're a nationwide network of scholars and teachers dedicated to educating the next generation about America's founding principles and history, something we care about on this show a lot.

To learn more, visit JackMillerCenter.org. The story of Ben Franklin's morals of chess, here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here, the host of Our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories from our big cities and small towns.

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