The readings from Skemp mention several times that Benjamin Franklin dreads returning to the Colonies after spending time in England. He prefers the intellectual environment in England over simple company in America. What if Benjamin Franklin decided to never return to the colonies? Would losing his impressive influence reshape our country? How integral a part of America's history is Benjamin Franklin?
The Enlightenment was a very important part in the development of logical thinking, reason over religion, and democracy. The movement had no clear spark that started the entire thing. It seams that maybe the thinker's like John Locke may have sparked it but maybe the movement sparked the thinker's whom helped spread the Enlightenment. I believe that there was a spark before the theorists and thinkers that probably inspired them to spread theses ideas. There is no doubt in my mind though that the contributors to the Enlightenment and its spread played an important role in revolutionizing the way we think.
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Wow, what if Benjamin had stayed in Europe? It seems as though so many things would not have been achieved today without that one man. I think the American colonies would have lacked many things without this brilliant man. Thank goodness he came to his senses and returned home! As we said in class, Benjamin Franklin IS America.
i definitely agree that the enlightenment played a huge part in the way we think today as well as bringing about the revolution. not to say the colonist were mindless robots before the enlightenment, but they definitely adhered to a more programed way of thinking. the enlightenment seems hard to comprehend from todays point of view. the power of being able to choose your faith, more so being able to have some sort of say in your house of religion. thinking of these things makes you realize how much we really do take freedom for granted and just what it means to be free. don't get me wrong, Im not implying religious freedom is what it means to be free, just that the thought process transpires into other parts of life. think of what it would be like now with out separation of church and state. would we still have a united states of America? would we have such technological advances as computers? while far flung, i believe it is linked. its all about the ability to think outside the box. take medicine for ex. since the enlightenment it has continued to advance, i believe its because people realized science was a legitimate path to partake in, no longer would people turn to absolute faith to cure illness. people started looking for the answers else where, and it has worked.
It seems that revolutionary ways of thinking are often ignited when the old ways of thinking no longer feed society's insatiable hunger for understanding. At the time of the Enlightenment, the old system of thought, religion, and societal conventions seemed to hinder, and almost hold back the increasingly growing colonies from reaching a zenith of production and excellence. I personally believe that even without Benjamin Franklin, John Locke, and Immanuel Kant, that the enlightenment as we know it still would have broken through the floodgates of mystical and pseudoscientific thinking. Humans react to situations in one of two ways. They try and understand the situation and develop a system of strategies to solve similar problems that may arrive in the future; or humans resort to wishful, and sometimes imaginative explanations of their surroundings in order to bring the complexity of the situation down to a single or basic idea that can be easily digested.
Which way would you have gone if you found yourself in-between the Salem Witch Trials and the exploration of a “new world”?
I think it is difficult to place the success of America on one person. I agree that Ben Franklin was an intregal part of the begining of our country, but I don't believe America would have failed with out him.
The elightenment was a key factor in how the world was shaped and how we think in today's society. It pushed people to make decisions for themselves, instead of being told, allowing them to decide what was good for colonist and society. This type of thinking also allowed people to stop taking the bible literally, it shaped different religions and different ways to serve those religions.
Historical "What if" scenarios can be fun. If Franklin had decided to abandon Pennsylvania and the Americas and had stayed in London (and therefore in opposition or at least neutral in the American Revolution)we might assume that there would not have been anyone of his stature to persuade the French to lend their vital support to the rebel cause. Without their assistance, especially the French fleet at Yorktown, the revolution would at best drug on and at worst quite likely, failed.
You bring up some very interesting facts.....didn't really ever think about that until you brought it up but yeah thats something to think about. I believe that History as we know it would seriously change athough I also believe that we would still have the same outcome.
The enlightenment seems like it not only made people rethink their beliefs but also rethink their culture and establishment as a whole (democracy, as you said). Churches weren't impervious to taxes and other challenges anymore, and religions seemed to bicker about what their religion wanted to become. I think this was an important part of making people think for themselves instead of simply following the majority. The enlightenment spurred people to develop what they personally believed. It makes me wonder if it divided America more or united it more.
I definitely think that Ben Franklin was an integral part of America's history. It is interesting to think about what America would be like if he hadn't moved back to the colonies. I think things in America would be very different though I don't think it would have failed. If Ben franklin hadn't have discovered all the things he did, it just means someone else would have.
I definitely think we take the freedom we have for granted. It was a huge change in society to come to create and allow these new, upcoming religions. It definably added to the diversity of America. The Enlightenment was the way society needed to be led. Things were too alike, and ideas were too similar. The advancement of religion in society was a revolution that has strongly shaped the way we live and learn today.
I think that Benjamin Franklin was a big part in the development of the American colonies and where we stand today. He discovered many things and made out world a better place. I do not think America would have failed because of just one man. On the other hand, America would have been a lot different.
It's very accurate in saying that Benjamin Franklin was an immense asset to colonial America. His revolutionary ideas and convictions are those found in the integral ring of our founding fathers. True, ONE person is most likely not going to change the face of a nation. However, I do strongly believe that one voice can spark that of many in agreement. Not only was his democratic voice heard but his story in general, self-manufactured success, is that of which the basis of our great nation rests upon. I don't really see Benjamin Franklin, physically as one solitary man being the end all be all, to America. However, it his symbolism, and ideals that makes him alomst iconic and legendary. His story and influence is one section of the patchwork that creates American precedence and foundation, without him America indeed could have survived but it would have been a quite a loss.
The enlightenment as a movement was a collection of ideas and actions by many people over a long period of time. I agree that it wasnt one person's ideas that sparked the movement or even the movement that sparked the persons idea. It seems that the two came out of a society that had created the need for them.
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