1700s

". . . I began to suspect that this Doctrine tho' it might be true, was not very useful." 
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography, 1771-1790
 

Study Questions

  • Compare Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin. In what ways does each reflect the principles of the Enlightenment? 
  • Citing the work of Philip Freneau, Phillis Wheatley, and perhaps other writers, contrast the literature of this century with the Puritan literature of the previous century. 

Bibliography

  • Emerson, Everett. "The Cultural Context of the American Revolution." American Literature, 1764-1789: The Revolutionary Years. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1977. 3-16. 
  • Rouse, Parke, Jr., and Thomas K. Ford. The Printer in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg. Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg, 1995. 

People

Places

  • Boston, Massachusetts 
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

Events

  • Revolutionary War (1775-1781) 

Terms

  • Enlightenment 
  • autobiography 
  • tone 
  • style