Similarities Between Edwards And Benjamin Franklin

Many people during the 18th century had a different point of view of America, having their own ‘American Dream’. Many were determined to see America on their own terms, and took action to make it a reality. However, three men--Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Bell, and Jonathan Edwards--our first “historians”--had different goals and different lives.

Benjamin Franklin, a statesman, author, publisher, scientist, inventor and diplomat, was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1708. He spent most of his life working and owning a flourishing printing business, which made him known as one of the richest people in the northern colonies by the age of 42. Once he retired to “live a life as a gentlemen”, Franklin planned to devote himself to public service,

Eventually, Bell was hung for Piracy in 1771 in Kingston, Jamaica. Bell’s mark in history has faded over the years, but it represented a part of the story of America’s people that has continued throughout American history, including outlaws in the West and gangsters in the 1900s. He sought America by taking advantage of the trust other people have given him, swindling money and doing things the easy way, causing mischief at the same time.

Jonathan Edwards, a man who believed that a person who did not live out what religious truths he or she claimed to believe surely signaled that his or her religious experience was not sincere, was a revivalist, preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian. Like most of the Puritans, he held to the Reformed theology. The Enlightenment was very central in his mindset. Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and defined ‘true religion’ as gracious and holy affections that has their part in Christian