Abstract
This paper analyzes the early American settlers in regard to their identity. It compares the attitude of Ben Franklin and the Puritans. It surveys the history of the pre-Revolutionary Puritans and what lead to the search of their identity. It shows how Franklin was a figure who addressed all these issues and was one of the first to document them.

From the paper:

"From Puritan writings onward, and throughout all American literature, a dominant concern has been the question of identity, and/or the search for identity. Puritans, for example, sought to retain their identity and so found themselves having to escape to a ?New World? in order to preserve their convictions about God. In the end, Puritans came to view themselves as a ?chosen people? (?Introduction? 2). Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, as one of the authors of the ?Declaration of Independence? (amongst other important revolutionary documents), helped construct a later version of the American identity as both independent and self-determining. And as he further advanced the question of identity in American letters, he helped bring to the table related notions of the ?American dream? and personal virtue. In so doing, Franklin?s vision of America was forged in ways much different than the more communal vision of his Puritan ancestors."

Tags:settle, freedom, land, independance, community, idealistic, humanity, perfection, secular, religion, worldview

Abstract
This paper considers Ben Franklin to be one of the most important people of his century. The author believes that his contributions shaped America, which changed the world.

Abstract
This paper examines how Benjamin Franklin's collection of maxims for improved living as presented in his autobiography "Virtue" include politically sound principles. It contends that his more profound maxims are either philosophic or political.

From the Paper
"The quintessential American on virtue, Benjamin Franklin author and protagonist of his autobiography, writes ostensibly to tell his son about his life and to furnish a model of self-betterment for him or for any of his readers. "

Tags:American, history., Autobiography., Wisdom, literature., Ben, Franklin.

Abstract
It is the purpose of this paper to outline how Ben Franklin had distanced himself from the puritan writers and, while maintaining some of their sensibilities, wrote an autobiography that reads like a manual for life.

Tags:SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE HISTORY (DISCOVERIES, THEORIES), benjamin franklin's autobiography

Abstract
This paper explores Max Weber's theory of the "rational" in the Protestant Ethic. It explores Weber's use of Ben Franklin to help understand the capitalist spirit.

From the Paper
"In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Max Weber seeks historically and causally to locate the religious origins of modern, western capitalism. Throughout the text he uses Benjamin Franklin's writings to elucidate this specific economic development and concomitantly, "to bring out the complexity of the only superficially simple concept of the rational." Concerned with the, at some levels, irrational ideals of industry and frugality within Franklin's capitalist spirit, Weber emphasizes the dismissal of explicit religious motivations, despite Franklin's overwhelmingly ethical voice. This paper traces Weber's account of the Protestant, especially Calvinist, factors that predicate Franklinesque capitalism and, includes Weber's assessment of the consequent, perverse articulations of latter-day capitalist culture."

Tags:asceticism, calvinism, economics, frugality, industry, protestantism, social, theory

Abstract
The paper discusses how Benjamin Franklin remains an enigmatic figure. He has been revered as a patriot and one of the country's beloved founding fathers. He has also been seen as a self-serving elitist. The paper looks at historian Gordon Woods' book "The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin", where he attempts to answer the question of who indeed was the real Ben Franklin. The paper illustrates how Woods evaluates Franklin based on a historical perspective and shows how political developments affected Franklin's thinking. The paper asserts that Woods clearly shows that the "Americanization" of Benjamin Franklin is the "Americanization" of the new independent America as well.

From the Paper
"Through Woods' approach, the reader is transported to Franklin's time. We are forced to evaluate Franklin not from the perspective of hindsight, but within the context of the 18th century. We are forced to consider the founding father before Franklin came to be appropriated by the different artisans and craftsmen of the 19th century, after the publication of Franklin's Autobiography. In essence, Woods' approach goes beyond the familiar rags to riches emphasis that many other biographies take when telling the story of Ben Franklin."

Tags:politics, change, history, founding, father

Abstract
The writer of this paper examines "Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist" written by historian and author Sheila L. Skemp. This book contains surprising historical fact about one of America's founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin and his son William. This paper details the fact that William not only did not support his father's patriot cause but he actively supported the English loyalist cause and labored to keep America under colonial rule, eventually going to jail for his efforts. This paper discusses Skemp's method of introducing the reader to the facts behind the Franklin family drama as well as insight into the Revolutionary War. The author presents a balanced portrayal of the two men's different interests to show how both men could both believe in liberty, but because they represented different political interests and were subject to different political intellectual influences, they came to hold different political views. This paper details numerous historical facts regarding both father and son, for example, William was royally appointed as governor of New Jersey while in contrast Benjamin Franklin accepted a position as a representative of Massachusetts in England.

From the Paper
"This book shows not only how a father and son can go from loving and esteeming one another's opinions to fighting each other on opposing sides, but how their conflict was emblematic of the of the era. Shelia Skemp presents a balanced portrayal of the two men's different interests to show how two men could both believe in liberty, but because they represented different political interests and were subject to different political intellectual influences, they came to hold different political views. Skemp attempts to show how two Americans from the same family could make such different sense of the events spanning the end of the French and Indian War and the Declaration of Independence because of different political principles about the best way to go about fighting for liberty, life, and happiness, as well as their divergent economic and personal interests."

Tags:american, history, literature, revolutionary, war

Abstract
This paper will be based on "The Autobiography of Ben Franklin" by Louis P. Masur and "The life of Olaudah Equiano" in "The Classic Slave Narratives" written by Henry Louis Gates and will uncover the lifestyles they led in the times they lived in. One will be based on the life of Ben Franklin in the Mid-Atlantic States and the other the way of life that a slave had to live under in the South. The essence of both men will be compared and contrasted to show how they revealed the nature of their environment and in their understanding of the British dominated worlds that they lived.

Abstract
This paper focuses on the following writers: Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Ben Franklin and Frederick Douglass. This paper will provide a brief summary of their life, their social class and how it impacted upon them and effected what they each achieved.

From the paper:

Social class is not just something that is important to Americans, but something that is integral to who they are. The importance of social class can be demonstrated by showing its effect on several American writers. It will also show how social class is something that shapes your beliefs as in the cases of Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau. Or it can be something that an individual can shape and overcome, as in the cases of Ben Franklin and Frederick Douglass

Tags:poetry, literature, transcendentalists

Abstract
This paper discusses how the author's American dream is one where all men are given the same opportunity to succeed. The author also briefly explains how Ben Franklin's five aspects on success in life have had a positive effect on how he perceives his dreams. The paper also looks at how DeTocqueville has had a negative effect on the author's dream
by saying that Americans have no morality when it comes to money and how by comparison, James Adam's theory puts the responsibility on the individual to take on their own personal American dream.

From the Paper
"Certainly, the American dream involves prosperity and success. Benjamin Franklin's five aspects of becoming successful are fundamental to fulfilling the American Dream. For example, Benjamin Franklin once said, "What is the American Dream?...the rise from rags to riches" (Quoted by Lemay 23) Benjamin Franklin has a great influence on my American Dream because his lack of money never restrained him from working and making something of himself. As a result, Benjamin Franklin greatly influenced my conception of the American dream by setting an example of how hard work in this country is rewarded. "

Tags:democracy, freedom