ENG 231
Karen Williams
The French Indian war had put a huge dent into British economy and they were aggressively trying to make up for the financial loss. British government started the parliamentary taxation of American colonies during 1763 and a series of acts were forced upon American colonists that involved taxes on goods such as tea, paper, currency etc. Americans had no one to represent them in the British Parliament. American literature of that time reflects the revolutionary mindset and the struggle towards independence and sovereignty. This paper will examine the American authors and revolutionaries of the 18th century.
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He wanted to unify the thirteen colonies and his ideologies became a symbol of liberty. Franklin’s most interesting publication appeared in his newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette which depicted a cut snake as the 13 colonies with a caption “Join or Die”. He used figurative language and the ‘either/or’ logical fallacy as a persuasion technique. Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is the epitome of the ‘American Dream’. He believed that any man could achieve prosperity and …show more content…
This representation of the Native Americans was unpopular and unheard of during the 18th century. Benjamin Franklin was also largely involved in bringing the Enlightenment to America which the base upon which the American Revolution was placed.
Thomas Paine was born in England into a poor Quaker family. He was a philosopher and a revolutionary. His works include Common Sense, The American Crisis, The Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason. His religious beliefs were radical for his time and attracted criticism but his pamphlet Common Sense promoted the idea of independence. His literary works sparked a revolutionary mind set into the American