GAETANO FILANGIERI and BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: Between the ITALIAN ENLIGHTENMENT and the U.S
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GAETANO FILANGIERI and BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: between THE ITALIAN ENLIGHTENMENT and THE U.S. CONSTITUTION 3 Special gratitude goes to the Library of Congress, to the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia and to the Museo Civico Gaetano Filangieri in Naples. This research project was ideated and directed by Counselor Giannicola Sinisi. Research work by Dr. Monica D’Agostini. 4 This research, the original product of the Embassy of Italy in Washington’s cultural activity, is published on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy and dedicated to the many Italians who have contributed, through their work and their thought, to the birth and growth of the United States of America. – Washington D.C., March 17, 2011 Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata Ambassador of Italy 5 6 INTRODUCTION This collection of 24 documents from the 18th century illustrates the personal and philosophical-scientific relations between Filangieri and Franklin at a time which was crucial in the United States, as well as in the rest of the modern world. The importance of Gaetano Filangieri’s thought transpires from this study, as does his contribution, by inspiring Benjamin Franklin, to the birth of American democracy. What emerges, once again, is the strength of the thought of the Italian Enlightenment and its European and international projection, in an era when forms of communication were so scarce. 7 The coherency of the correspondence between the two - the logical nexus which endured between both Naples and Paris, as well as Naples and Philadelphia - was never lost, even when it took over six months for a letter to reach its destination. The ideals of freedom and tolerance which were spreading in Europe, albeit hindered by feudalism and monarchies yet paving the way for the Revolution, looked upon the Thirteen States which formed the United States of America as the place where these ideals could be applied concretely, without encountering resistance. The American dream, the seeking of fortune pursued by so many European emigrants, joined forces with the dream of a democracy and of a perfect state, conceived by the many European thinkers and philosophers who were searching for a place where they could create new institutions to serve a better world. Franklin’s genius and experience noted Filangieri’s talent, and certainly applied it to its best. It is only natural that this work doesn’t drawn any conclusions, but it is also fair to assume that the nature of this correspondence, Franklin’s specific interests at the 8 time, and philological traces really do point to Filangieri’s work and thoughts having influenced, to some degree, the founding act of the United States of America. Gaetano Filangieri was preceded and followed by other Italians who, even before our Nation was united, shared a common language and culture and thus already represented Italy. Naples alone, and the same school of thought, provided Antonio Genovesi, with his studies on public happiness, and Francesco Maria Pagano with his Project for a Constitution for the Neapolitan Republic, which are both veritable points of reference for modern constitutions. To these must be added those perhaps better-known figures who came into contact with the Founding Fathers, such as Filippo Mazzei, another friend of Franklin and later of Thomas Jefferson, whom the Declaration of Independence expression “all men are created equal” is attributed to. Not to mention Cesare Beccaria, whose seminal treatise “Dei delitti e delle pene” [Of Crimes and Punishments] is kept to this day in President Jefferson’s private library, preserved so well by the Library of Congress. 9 This work highlights a crucial point in the migration of the strength and beauty of Italian juridical and philosophical thought towards the United States of America. It explains how this contributed, along with our emigrants’ incredible work force, to lay the very foundations of the New Nation. From a method point of view, the publication of today’s research marks an significant moment of collaboration between the Embassy of Italy in Washington and the most important cultural institution in the United States, the Library of Congress, which is also the largest library in the world. The work of both institutions must be recognized, as each has put considerable effort into this work which, I sincerely hope, can give rise to new studies and in-depth research and, even more importantly, contribute to strengthening the deep bonds between Italy and the United States by discovering previously unknown aspects of our cultural identity and our common roots. Giorgio Napolitano President of the Italian Republic 10 INDEX GAETANO FILANGIERI AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ITALIAN ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE US CONSTITUTION .............13 THE LETTERS 1781-1783 ......................................................19 THE LETTERS 1783-1788 ......................................................37 CONSTITUTIONS DES TREIZE ÉTATS-UNIS DE L’AMÉRIQUE .........................................................................44 FILANGIERI’S WORK: ABOUT LIBERTY ...............................64 FILANGIERI AND U.S. CONSTITUTION.................................95 FRANKLIN’S ANNOTATIONON THE FIRST VOLUME OF SCIENZA DELLA LEGISLAZIONE........................................98 PARALLELISM BETWEEN THE US CONSTITUTION AND SCIENZA DELLA LEGISLAZIONE......................................109 THE BILL OF RIGHTS .........................................................113 CONCLUSIONS ...........................................................................121 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN FILANGIERI AND FRANKLIN ...................................................................................123 11 12 GAETANO FILANGIERI AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ITALIAN ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE US CONSTITUTION The letters, the documents and the books exchanged between Gaetano Filangieri (1753-1788) 1 and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) 2 from 1781 and 1787 are a 1 About Gaetano Filangieri’s life and work see F. Venturi, Illuministi italiani. V. Riformatori napoletani, Milano-Napoli 1962, pp. 603-659; M. A. Cattaneo, Illuminismo e Legislazione, Milano 1966, pp. 55-57; M. Maestro, Gaetano Filangieri and his Science of Legislation, Philadelphia 1976; E. Lo Sardo, Dizionario biografico degli italiani, XLVII, s.v. «Filangieri, Gaetano», pp. 574-583; E. Lo Sardo, Il mondo nuovo e le virtù civili. L’epistolario di Gaetano Filangieri, Napoli 1989; A. Villani (a cura di), Gaetano Filangieri e l’Illuminismo europeo: atti del Convegno “Gaetano Filangieri e l’Illuminismo europeo” tenutosi a Vico Equense dal 14 al 16 ottobre 1982 e organizzato dall’Istituto Suor Orsola Benincasa, dall’Istituto italiano per gli studi filosofici e dall’Istituto di filosofia del diritto della Facoltà di giurisprudenza dell’Università di Napoli, Napoli 1991; G. Ruggero, Gaetano Filangieri: un uomo, una famiglia, un amore nella Napoli del Settecento, Napoli 1999; P. Becchi, Recenti studi Filangieriani, in «Materiali per una storia della cultura giuridica», XXXI (2001), pp. 191-210; V. Ferrone, La società giusta ed equa: repubblicanesimo e diritti dell'uomo in Gaetano Filangieri, Roma 2008. 2 For a complete bibliography on life and works of Benjamin Franklin, in the amazing variety of works on this topic, see C. Mulford, The Cambridge companion to Benjamin Franklin, Cambridge 2008; si veda inoltre T. Fleming, The man who dared the lightning; a new look at Benjamin Franklin, New York 1971; C. J. Murrey, Benjamin Franklin: 13 fascinating and complicated tale. The relationship between this two philosophers and political thinkers was born and grew in the shadow of the Ancient Regime, fed by and, in turn, feeding the laboratory of the enlightenment, of the political revolution, of the freemasonry. Their correspondence is meaningful proof of the exchange of new ideas in the European intellectual world, notwithstanding the obstacles imposed by the incumbent governments, stifling and fighting the intellectual blooming of the enlightenment fostered by the revolution and the freemasonry3. This history and importance of this correspondence was first recognized by Filangieri's descendants rather than history scholars, who from the XIV century had tried many times to collect and reorder it, facing many difficulties due Biographical Overview and Bibliography, New York 2002, W. Isaacson, Benjamin Franklin: an American life, New York 2003. 3 On freemasonry and enlightenment see R. Schackleton, The Enciclopédie and Freemasonry, in W.H. Barber, J.H. Brumfitt, R.A. Leigh, R. Schackleton, S.S.B. Taylor (eds.), The Age of Enlightenment, Studies presented to Theodore Besterman, Edimburgh 1967; L. Lemay, Deism, Masonry, and the Enlightenment: essays honoring Alfred Owen Aldridge, Newark London Cranbury 1987; G. Giarrizzo, Filangieri Massone, in Villani (a cura di), Gaetano Filangieri e l’Illuminismo europeo, pp. 420-452; M.C. Jacob, Living the enlightenment: freemasonry and politics in eighteenth-century Europe, New York 1991; G. Giarrizzo, Massoneria e illuminismo nell’Europa del Settecento, Venezia 1994. 14 to historical overthrown and to the privacy, or secrecy, that characterized the transmission of this letter exchange, in Italy overall, since it was first written. The correspondence with Franklin characterized the adulthood of Filangieri4. The philosopher, younger son of a noble Neapolitan family, in 1780 had already published the first two volumes of the Scienza della Legislazione (Science of Legislation):