Final answer:
Benjamin Franklin believed that to maintain their republic, Americans must be educated. This belief stemmed from the idea that an informed and virtuous citizenry is essential to the success and preservation of republican values and governance. Education was seen as a cornerstone of civic responsibility and participation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Benjamin Franklin believed that Americans must be educated to maintain their republic. The success of a republic, according to the Founding Fathers, depended on the virtue and education of its citizens. In particular, the founders emphasized the need to have a well-informed electorate that would participate in governance with knowledge and virtue.
Benjamin Franklin and other Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson endorsed the importance of education for the viability of the nation. They supported the idea of an educated electorate in the belief that citizens should inform themselves about political matters to vote intelligently and uphold democratic principles.
Moreover, these Enlightenment thinkers incorporated the concepts of civic virtue and responsibility into the fabric of American society, proposing that the health of the republic relied on the active participation and virtue of its citizenry. Championing the development of education systems, they believed that liberty and self-governance would flourish only among educated and virtuous citizens.