Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin Were Both

Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin were both prominent leaders in colonial America who were dedicated to hard work and a belief in the basic goodness of all men. Sharing in these basic concepts they went about making a major contribution to society but did so in different ways. The personalities of Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin could not have been any different. Edwards was a strict Calvinist who was serious and reserved while Franklin was a Deist whose warmth and gregarious personality was legendary.

Taking different views in many ways to life they still adhered to their basic beliefs that there was no substitute for hard work. As a Deist, Franklin believed that every life situation could be resolved through the use of reason. Franklin's writings on life and his extensive work in the areas of philosophy and science are evidence of his basic attitude toward life.

Edwards, meanwhile, believed strongly in the Calvinist concept of predestination and the idea that a strong belief in God was the key to understanding life and its mysteries. For Edwards, everything was explainable through God. For Franklin, reason was the key. Nevertheless, both men were reflective and determined to spend their days examining their own lives and considering how they could improve themselves. In the process, Edwards felt it his obligation to be an example for others and to go about preaching his beliefs.

Franklin, however, never viewed himself as a role model for others or did he set out to suggest to others how to lead their lives. Both Franklin and Edwards were highly driven men who had an intense desire to succeed. Franklin began his wide and varied professional career as a printer who eventually became actively involved in the political affairs of the day. Reading and learning were his passion and he spent his entire life educating himself on a variety of matters.

He may have been the most Renaissance man of his times. Edwards was a preacher whose primary concern was preparing himself for life after death. He had little concern for worldly possessions or the problems of the day including politics. His belief in God was all encompassing as he spent nearly every hour of his day dedicated to doing God's work and helping others to save their souls. While Franklin was busy educating himself about nearly every subject imaginable, Edwards was focused on only one thing; religion and God.

Despite their different approaches, both worked hard and diligently to better themselves. Motivation was never a problem for either of them. Franklin and Edwards were both leaders in their respective movements. Franklin was part of the Enlightenment which promoted the philosophy that everything in life could be understood and resolved through reason .Edwards was one of the leaders of the American Great Awakening that was a last desperate effort to revive Puritanism. The Great Awakening enjoyed remarkable success and spread nationwide and Edwards was highly instrumental in its success.

Operating from a different set of philosophical beliefs, Franklin and Edwards, both became leaders of the time. Franklin rose to become one of the political leaders of the American Revolution and Edwards eventually became President of Princeton University and.