Colonial America was a land without rigid traditions and therefore a land of economic and social opportunity. It was a fluid society in which members of the poor lower class could hope to advance to the upper class. Land was plentiful and a small farmer could become owner of a large estate. Indentured servants, after completing their time of service, could become landowners, craftsman, or well-to-do merchants. There were many opportunities to start new businesses and there was a great need for professional people such as clergyman, lawyers, physicians, and schoolteachers.

          The colonist view of government was to be created anew to service the needs of a new land. This colonial society was the most democratic in the world and a healthy democratic society requires well-informed and educated members who are capable of being critical thinkers.  

Learning to think critically is one of the most significant activities of adult life. When we become critical thinkers we develop an awareness of the assumptions under which we, and others, think and act…Politically, we value freedom, we practice democracy, we encourage a tolerance of diversity, and we hold in check the demagogic tendencies of politician (Brookfield, 1987, p. ix).

          Benjamin Franklin, philosopher, diplomat, scientist, inventor, economist, humorist, printer, and businessman, is often considered the “father of adult education” because he founded the Junto, one of the first organized means of self-improvement.   The Junto would eventually give way to a group of learned scientists who came together to form the American Philosophical Society in May of 1743.  This society has played an important role in American cultural and intellectual life for over 250 years.

          Several years after founding the Junto, Benjamin Franklin began a subscription library with his friends. The group originally brought their books together so they could share knowledge.  Eventually, they charged annual dues to be members of the library. The dues were used to purchase more books and then members could use the books free of charge. That was the first subscription or circulating public library in North America (Adams, 1944, p.158).

          At this time of great change, the general trend of education was also in flux.  It was moving away from domination by theological orthodoxies and European traditions of class structure toward more liberal, more secular, more utilitarian, and more democratic conceptions (Knowles, 1962, p. 11).

          In this spirit, Franklin roused interest in establishing a college by publishing an anonymous pamphlet entitled Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania, in 1749.  The Academy of Philadelphia, which was founded in 1751 as a result of his efforts, was the foundation for the University of Pennsylvania established in 1792. The curriculum of the Academy was a considerable departure from the program of classical studies then in vogue. English and modern foreign languages were to be emphasized as well as mathematics.  Franklin believed that students should learn “everything that is useful and everything that is ornamental.”  The University still follows that advice and has a history of educational innovation consistent with Franklin’s instructions. Today, the University of Pennsylvania is home to the internationally recognized Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. Penn, as it is popularly known, opened the country’s first law school, established the country’s first medical school in 1765 and was a pioneer in computer technology.

Franklin’s liberal and progressive values are reflected in the desire for the self-directed adult learner to gain knowledge by reading books, participating in study groups, attending lectures and courses in philosophy, religion, science, literature, the arts and economics.  While newer forms of contemporary education have more or less placed liberalism in the past, the influence of this approach to education is still present in many areas.  Great Books Programs, liberal arts curricula in colleges, continuing education programs, community based programs sponsored by libraries, museums and institutions of higher education are some of the more easily recognized areas of the liberal approach to learning. Other examples that are often visible on college campuses in include Elderhostel services and Learning-In-Retirement Institutes for older adults. With the growing number of adults returning to higher education the need to support life-long learning in formal and informal settings is at the forefront of curricula development now and in the future (Merriam & Brockett, 1997).

We can thank Benjamin Franklin and his Junto for making outstanding contributions to the adult education field. “Franklin, beyond all other early American heroes,” according to Grattan, “has claim to being a patron saint of adult education” (Knowles, 1962, p. 10).  

The critical thinking of the America colonists created a debunking skepticism of their distant rulers that brought them into conflict with the established laws and institutions. Once they were able to free themselves of the British Empire, they proceeded to establish a political system that supported the ideal of democratic participation by its citizens.  It is these same critical thinking skills that are so fundamental to today’s needs and issues.

At the heart of democratic processes, particularly in representative democracies such as the United States, there must be a willingness and an ability on the part of citizens to subject their elected representatives, the policies they enact, and the justification they provide for those policies to a continuous critical scrutiny [. . .] helping adults become critical thinkers should be a fundamental concern of educators, [for] only if adults’ powers of critical analysis and reflection are nurtured will a truly responsive democracy flourish. In this regard, not to encourage the development of critical capacities is inherently antidemocratic (Brookfield, 1987, p. 67-68).

           Adult education must address the need to develop critical thinking skills in adult learners, challenging them to come to their own judgments, choices, and decisions. In imitation of Ben Franklin and the Junto, today’s citizens must question the legitimacy and accuracy of political policies. We must ask What is just? What is necessary? What are the alternatives?

The tragic events of 9/11 should cause us all to “question [our] previously trusted assumptions about how the world works; this questioning should prompt a careful scrutiny of what were previously unquestioned ways of thinking and living” (Brookfield, 1987, p. 6).    A democratic society requires well-informed and educated members capable of critical thought.  All aspects of education are vital to a healthy democracy, perhaps, at these times, adult education even more than ever.

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