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humble Servant,
    Silence Dogood

Silence Dogood Proposes
Civic Improvements
    Picking up on the ideas of Mather and Defoe for voluntary civic associations, Franklin devoted two of his Silence Dogood essays to the topic of relief for single women. For widows like herself, Mrs. Dogood proposes an insurance scheme funded by subscriptions from married couples. The next essay extends the idea to spinsters and cheekily notes that those who claim the money and then marry will have to repay it if they unduly brag about their husbands. In these essays, Franklin was being gently satirical rather than fully serious. But his interest in civic associations would later become more earnest when he became established as a young tradesman in Philadelphia.
    S ILENCE D OGOOD # 10, T HE N EW - E NGLAND C OURANT ,
August 13, 1722
    Optim societas hominum servabitur.
    —Cicero
    Sir,
    Discoursing lately with an intimate friend of mine of the lamentable condition of widows, he put into my hands a book, wherein the ingenious author proposes (I think) a certain method for their relief. I have often thought of some such project for their benefit my self, and intended to communicate my thoughts to the public; but to prefer my own proposals to what follows, would be rather an argument of vanity in me than good will to the many hundreds of my fellow-sufferers now in New England…
    Suppose an office to be erected, to be called An Office Of Insurance For Widows, upon the following conditions:
    Two thousand women, or their husbands for them, enter their names into a register to be kept for that purpose, with the names, age, and trade of their husbands, with the place of their abode, paying at the time of their entering 5s. down with 1s. 4d. per quarter, which is to the setting up and support of an office with clerks, and all proper officers for the same; for there is no maintaining such without charge; they receive every one of them a certificate, sealed by the secretary of the office, and signed by the governors, for the articles hereafter mentioned.
    If any one of the women becomes a widow, at any time after six months from the date of her subscription, upon due notice given, and claim made at the office in form, as shall be directed, she shall receive within six months after such claim made, the sum of 500 in money, without any deductions, saving some small fees to the officers, which the trustees must settle, that they may be known.
    In consideration of this, every woman so subscribing, obliges her self to pay as often as any member of the society becomes a widow, the due proportion or share allotted to her to pay, towards the 500 for the said widow, provided her share does not exceed the sum of 5s.
    No seamen’s or soldiers’ wives to be accepted into such a proposal as this, on the account before mentioned, because the contingences of their lives are not equal to others, unless they will admit this general exception, supposing they do not die out of the kingdom.
    It might also be an exception, that if the widow that claimed had really, bona fide, left her by her husband to her own use, clear of all debts and legacies, 2000 she should have no claim; the intent being to aid the poor, not add to the rich. But there lies a great many objections against such an article: as
It may tempt some to forswear themselves.
People will order their wills so as to defraud the exception.
    One exception must be made; and that is, either very unequal matches, as when a woman of nineteen marries an old man of seventy; or women who have infirm husbands, I mean known and publicly so. To remedy which, two things are to be done.
     
    1. The office must have moving officers without doors, who shall inform themselves of such matters, and if any such circumstances appear, the office should have 14 days time to return their money, and declare their subscriptions void.
    2. No woman whose husband had any visible distemper, should claim under a year after her subscription.
     
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