Thursday, February 11, 2010
Franklin
whom of these four authors did the most to define America. . . Was it Franklin, Paine, Crevecoeur, or was it Jefferson. Each individual author has added to the "definition" of America. For instance, Thomas Paine with 500,000 copies of his article "Common Sense" which helped drive Americans to venture away from Great Britain's Government. Thomas Jefferson was a man of many adventures. He has a very elegant tract recorded from congressman to governor, to the president of the United States. One of Jefferson's important contributions to "defining" America was the declaration of independence. I however, would choose Benjamin Franklin as the author who has defined "America" as we know it. He was Governor of New Jersey, chosen as a Representative to the Second Continental Congress, and signed the Treaty of Paris (which brought the revolutionary war to an end). His personal attributions to writing were also very successful. For instances, his publication of "Way to Wealth" and his "Remarks concerning the savages of North America." What we can appreciate from both publications was how he spoke to the reader with his heart in ink. in Franklin's "Remarks Concerning.." he said that "they call them savages because their manners differ from ours." This single passage I believe should define America. We should not judge other cultures or think poorly of them just because they are no just like us.
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I agree with you that the passage from Benjamin Franklin's "Remarks Concerning..." should define America. Franklin did a great job of pointing out that just because cultures can be completely different, doesn't mean that one culture is better than the other. He writes that, "Our laborious manner of life, compared with theirs, they esteem slavish and base; and the learning, on which we value ourselves, they regard as frivolous and useless." (226). We all value different things but we shouldn't look down on people who value something that we think is pointless.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view that “his personal attributions to writing were very successful.” His “Way to Wealth” must have influenced American economic developments at the time. During the post-war period, there was hunger in Japan, and people were urged to work in order to reconstruct the economy. Most people knew they could not afford to take long holidays until the economy caught up with those of the West. As a result, Japan achieved miraculous economic recovery, becoming one of the world's major countries. However, in recent years, NEET (young people Not in Education, Employment or Training) population has been steadily increasing. Experts warn they may impact economic growth.
ReplyDeleteI also liked that Franklin was welcoming the differences of the Native Americans because we had to welcome many different people who came to America. People from Ireland, Germany, France and other countries came over to America to find freedom. Along with their different backgrounds ~ they all had their different cultures as well. It was not only the Natives that were different from everyone else. Even today, there are many different cultures living within our boundaries and Franklin taught us to be tolerant of people who are not like us or how we want them to be. In fact, we could learn from them instead.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you on how it is hard to choose just one of the four how describes “America” as the best. However you do have some convincing issues towards Franklin, with all of his personal contributions towards America as it is today such as being governor of New Jersey, chosen as a Representative to the second continental congress, and signed the Treaty of Paris. Franklins “Way to Wealth” has to be one of the biggest contributions in calling him the person who defines “America” the best. Within the “Way to Wealth” he proclaims ways in how to help Americans even the poorest of Americans.
ReplyDeleteI like what you wrote about Franklin. I picked Paine due to his connection with the average person and his ability to speak out, but you brought up a great point with how we should not judge others. America was the "melting pot" so they would have had to accept many other culters even though their all going to be different. That was definatly important in defining America. It is also something that should not be forgoten in todays culture.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right when you say that each writer added something of their own to what we call America. It’s almost as if we are not just a melting pot of people but also one of ideas and each one of these men added something to the idea that we now consider American.
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