Click here for Full Issue of Fidelio Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2003 Franklin's 'Lunar Society' And the Industrial Revolution by Marcia Merry Baker new book is welcome about Franklin, and going back to Gott­ A the "Lunar Society"-the fried Leibniz, which were deliberately circle of great figures (Boul­ and consciously committed to scientific ton, Watt, Wedgwood, Priestley, et and technological advance to promote the al.) and great works (steam power, development of nations, on behalfof the canals, factories), centered in the common good. This was an explicit British Midlands during the decades goal, involving international collabora­ from the 1760's through 1800 (the tion of all kinds, through visits, letters, exact period of the successful Ameri­ publishing, political battles, espionage, can Revolution), whose names are and so forth. associated with the advent of the In other words, the "Lunar Men" Industrial Revolution. The Lunar were not just a bunch of gifted, curi­ Men gives extensive biographies, ous, lucky locals. They were nation­ detailed histories by topic (e.g., chap­ builders by vocation, and highly suc­ ter headings-"Steam," "They Build cessful in their work at advancing sci­ Canals," "Ingenious Philosophers," The Lunar Men: ence and economic progress, and back­ etc.) and even a five-page chronology Five Friends Whose Curiosity ing and befriending the American of the Eighteenth century, 50 pages of Changed the World Revolution on behalf of all peoples. notes and sources, a detailed index, by Jenny Uglow In turn, what is underscored by and 144 illustrations. New York, Farrar, Straus and appreciating this interconnected histo­ Giroux, 2002 But, what the new book leaves out­ ry of the Lunar Society and the extend­ 588 pages, hardcover, $30.00 although it is still enjoyable to "read ed FrankliniLeibniz networks is, that into"-is the crucial history and strate- the conventional explanations for the gic context of the "Lunatics," as Erasmus Darwin fondly origins of the Industrial Revolution, are myths and false­ self-described them. Namely, that the Lunar circle of cre­ hoods. The usual idea is that "capitalists"-defined as ative personalities, centered in Birmingham, was intercon­ those with funds (often, with a so-called "Calvinist eth­ nected with international networks led by Benjamin ic"), apply technology, centralize production into factory 74 © 2003 Schiller Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission strictly prohibited. systems, and increase output. The uncontrolled outcome fo rm through the early 1790's, by which time heavy polit­ is guided by the Invisible Hand of free-trade imperialists ical harassment and age had taken their toll. In 1813, the of the Adam Smith variety. In the course of it all, terrible books jointly owned by the Lunar Society were auctioned social ills inevitably result. off. Karl Marx presents the fa mous version of this imput­ This description of the formal side of the Lunar Soci­ ed process in his 1848 Communist Manifesto. Then there ety in no way tells the tale, however. The most efficient is the more academic version by Oxford professor way to understand who they were, and what they were Arnold Toynbee (uncle of the well-known historian about, is to go back to the intellectual author of such an Arnold J. Toynbee), who is credited with popularizing effort as theirs, namely, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz the concept in his Lectures on the Industrial Revolution, (1646-1716), who wrote a series of documents from 1671 1884.1 to 1716, amounting to blueprints fo r national economic These two dismal constructs are thoroughly debunked development, and specifying the role of "Societies" and in a 1988 monograph by historian Anton Chaitkin, titled, "Academies" to fo rge this process. "The Secret History of the Industrial Revolution."2 In his memorandum of 1671, "Economy and Soci­ Chaitkin prefaces his review of Franklin, the Lunar Soci­ ety," Leibniz wrote, "Thanks to these academies (or ety, and related networks, with the essential point: "The societies), which are institutions of research and devel­ secret to modern history is, that all the great break­ opment, with their own manufactures and commercial throughs in technology and living standards were delib­ companies directly attached, the monopolies will be erate projects fo r the improvement of humanity, guided eliminated, because the academy will always offe r a just, by the principles of the American Declaration of Inde­ low price fo r merchandise; and quite often, in fact, these pendence." His specific reference is to the Leibnizian will become even less expensive, as new manufacturing concept of, "Happiness," used in the Declaration's phrase, activities are set up, where they do not presently exist. "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"-n amely, Notably, the trading monopolies will be eliminated ... pleasure in providing fo r the common good. because the wealth of the traders is much too great, and the misery of the workers fa r too profound-a situation seen particularly in Holland, where the method of the The Lunar Society's merchants is to maintain the workers in a state of Leibnizian Provenance poverty and menial labor.. .. Trade cannot transfer The achievements of the Lunar Society, as individuals anything which has not before been produced by manu­ and collaboratively, are spectacular in terms of providing fa cturing. And why must so many people be reduced to fo r the public good. They conspired to do so. such poverty, fo r the sake of so fe w? The Society will First, some fo rmalities. therefore have as its goal to liberate the worker from his The "Lunar" name itself, was said to be chosen simply misery."3 because of the group's intent to meet regularly-at least Thus did the Lunar Society function, in direct opposi­ monthly, and preferably on a Monday or Sunday nearest tion to the spirit and practice of the imperial British East the fu ll moon, when going home late at night would be India and Dutch East India Companies of the day. easier. The Lunar Men, numbering some six to 13 or so, plus frequent guests, would gather at one of their homes, The 'Lunar Men' in Birmingham, Lichfield, or nearby in the Midlands region. They tried to begin at 2 p.m. and work until late, There are over a dozen "Lunar Men" who came to live, even staying through the next day on occasion, in order work, and collaborate directly in the greater Birmingham to confer, conduct demonstration experiments, and area; Jenny Uglow singles out five principals, which is review projects and correspondence together. Their top­ fa ir enough. She traces their lives in great detail. A brief ics ranged widely, on chosen matters of science, technolo­ look at just a fe w of the individual activities and achieve­ gy, infrastructure, policy, medicine, and so fo rth. Author ments of these five,and at the great successes of their col­ Uglow provides us with the household accounts of the laboration in terms of promoting economic advance, good eating involved, and what fa mily members did dur­ gives the sense of the scope of the Society.4 They are all ing Lunar sessions. typical of the energetic, voluntarist men of ideas, who peo­ The grouping took fo rm in the 1760's; made a resolu­ pled Franklin's networks of "American" conspirators in tion as of New Year's Day 1775, to keep as "regular" as Europe. possible in their meeting schedule; and persisted in some Matthew Boulton (1728-1809). The son of a Birm- 75 ingham maker of buttons and small fixtures, Boulton six volumes on Experiments and Observations on DijJerent came to build a vast manufacturing establishment in Kinds of Air. He did similarly significant work on elec­ Soho, Birmingham. Through his firm of Small, Boul­ tricity, and at the request of Franklin, wrote a History and ton & Watt, the steam engine was vastly improved, and Present State of Electricity. Politically targetted fo r mob came into general installation not only fo r pumping in violence, he fled Birmingham in 1794 fo r Pennsylvania, mines, but fo r manufacturing, milling, and general where he continued laboratory work in Northumberland use. County, until his death in 1804. Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795). Born into the trade of Around this core in Birmingham, numbers of others the Staffordshire potteries, Wedgwood made, and/or collaborated in the Lunar Society. U glow lists and applied, a series of significant discoveries in heat, clays, describes, John Whitehurst (1713-1788); James Keir minerals, etc., and using constantly improved organiza­ (1735-1820); William Withering (1741-1799); Richard tions of production, established a vast pottery manufactur­ Lovell Edgworth (1744-1817); Thomas Day (1748-1789); ing operation which exists to this day. He made signifi­ and Samuel Galton (1753-1832). Another noted figure cant contributions to geology, mineralogy, and chemistry. was John Baskerville (1706-1775), the famous printer. James Watt (1736-1819). Born and raised in Special mention-it is covered in detail in U glow's Greenock, Scotland, among marine-serving instrument book-goes to Dr. William Small. A Scottish doctor and rigging makers, Watt became a master at mechanical who taught at William and Mary College in Virginia design, with wide experience among scientific circles at (with Thomas Jefferson as a pupil), Small returned to Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities. Giving great Britain, and in May 1765, aged 30, arrived on Boulton's attention to heat, phase-changes of water, and other fun­ doorstep in Soho, with a letter of introduction from damentals, his work was critical to the Boulton partner­ Franklin, which described him as, "both an ingenious ship, in making improvements to harness steam power.