Essay
(Puritans and Benjamin Franklin)
During the 18th century we had the enlightenment period where America was slowly
transforming into a period of different ideologies. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most
important figures during this time. He is known as one of the founding fathers, scientist,
diplomat, publisher and as a respected inventor. During this period, Puritans were actively
persuading Americans to change their faith and to follow their God. Puritans had very strict ideas
and believed that the bible was the true law of God. Benjamin Franklin was not a religious
person and did not share the same ideas as the Puritans. Puritans would have judged the values,
beliefs, and life of Benjamin Franklin in a negative way, as distant from God and not worthy of
salvation. To Puritans, the life of Benjamin Franklin would have not been of moral perfection,
and not achieving a place in heaven due to lack of obedience and a lack of special bonding with
“God.”
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. As a young
boy he was sent to school to become a minister. His father quickly realized that Benjamin was
not interested in pursuing higher education. At age 10, Benjamin ended his education and
worked in his father’s candle and soap shop. Benjamin was intrigued about other subjects that
did not have a direct association with academics. He later went on to work for his older brother
as an apprentice at his brother’s print shop. Benjamin was different. He was not the traditional
kid that follows his parent’s orders or wishes. This would have been unacceptable behavior for
Puritans, as they believed that obedience was crucial in order to please their God.
Benjamin Franklin was not a religious person. He would not attend church and in fact, his
beliefs and values were so different compared to those of the Puritans. Benjamin believed that
the world was created by a God but that God was not involved in our world. Benjamin was a
Deist. Deists believed that God is distant and does not interfere with our world.Deists also
believed that God does not perform miracles, and answers prayers. This idea contradicted what
the bible said and what Puritans believed. Puritans would have disagreed with Benjamin because
they believe that God is involved in all our activities and it’s present anywhere in the world.
They in fact believed that there was an agreement between puritans and God.Puritans believed
that they were ordained to live a life following the rules set forth by God.
Puritans believed that men were the ones that had authority over females and that they
were culturally inferior than men. In fact, only men could be elected as ministers and community
leaders. Women had the responsibility of caring for their husbands and giving birth to the next
generation of Puritan children. They had limited rights at this time and were not allowed to vote.
