TY - JOUR TI - A working men's literary association in the early American republic DO - https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3XP7520 PY - 2010 AB - A group of tailors, shopkeepers, shoemakers, and other working men in Germantown, Pennsylvania formed the Working Men's Literary Association of Germantown in 1842. Their goal was to foster self-improvement through debates, lectures, and other rhetorical exercises. Benjamin Franklin and his notion of the importance of useful knowledge served as their guiding example as they sought to become responsible republican citizens. Through the examination of newspaper evidence in the Germantown Telegraph and analysis of the group's debate questions, this study seeks to place this group within their historical and cultural context. The pursuits of the Working Men's Literary Association of Germantown represent a microcosm of the larger political and cultural milieu of antebellum America. KW - History KW - Businessmen--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia KW - Working-men's clubs--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia LA - eng ER -