Domingo Faustino Sarmiento has forever held the revered position as the Father of Civilization in Argentina's history. Fascinated by Benjamin Franklin's ideas that proclaimed that civilization came from a society of "self-made men," Sarmiento thought it possible to apply such a concept in Argentina to make it the most civilized nation in Latin America. Thus, throughout his presidency, Sarmiento aimed to foster this social change by implementing the ideas of Benjamin Franklin into his nation's young government. Although this explanation is widely accepted in Argentine history, very little research has been done in understanding Sarmiento's methods in adopting and applying Franklin's views to Argentine life. Such research is important as a different implementation of Franklin's ideas could explain Argentina's current societal structure and development, and why it varies from what Franklin had initially envisioned for his own society. This study investigates this topic by analyzing Franklin's contribution to American liberalism, and consequently the formation of the concept of the "American spirit," and the influence that these ideas had on Sarmiento and his vision for Argentina. As part of this investigation, the personal and private documents and publications of Sarmiento are explored to understand what led him to become the "Benjamin Franklin of Latin America". Once these points are established, the presentation focuses on Sarmiento's modification and implementation of Franklin's ideas. Through this research, it becomes evident that Sarmiento manipulated Franklin's methods of civilizing society and applied these teachings only to the places and people he deemed fit. This adulterated application of Franklin's principles eventually influenced the dichotomous nature of Argentina's urban and rural lifestyles that continues to plague the nation's progress. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of International Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2012. / January 20, 2012. / Argentina, Barbarism, Civilization, Franklin, Sarmiento, self-made man / Includes bibliographical references. / Edward Gray, Professor Directing Thesis; Robinson Herrera, Committee Member; Juan Carlos Galeano, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183337 |
| Contributors | Arce-Trigatti, Andrea L. (authoraut), Gray, Edward (professor directing thesis), Herrera, Robinson (committee member), Galeano, Juan Carlos (committee member), Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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