Question

Because of his involvement in a variety of areas, this famous American from Pennsylvania is said to demonstrate the spirit of the Enlightenment.

John Locke


George Washington


Jonathan Edwards


Ben Franklin

Answer 1

Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin was an inventor, diplomat, and founding father from Pennsylvania.

Ben Franklin was one of the older members of the founding fathers. He spent a lot of time in France through the Enlightenment period. The time spent in France was spent learning about new ideas and creating connections that would later help the US during the Revolution. He assisted in the writing of the Declaration of Independence as well as the writing of the Constitution. Franklin would lead arguments against slavery and wanted to prohibit the system in the Constitution.

Answer 2

The famous American from Pennsylvania that is to demonstrate the spirit of the Enlightenment was Benjamin Franklin.

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, started in the 18th century in Europe and advocated ideas of freedom, tolerance and constitutional government. Enlightenment philosophers saw reason as a way to liberate people since they believed that through the use of rational thinking people could be free. One of the Americans that brought the ideas of the Enlightenment to the New World was Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a politician, scientist and inventor from Pennsylvania and is considered one of the Founding Fathers of America. As a scientist, he was one of the figures of the Enlightenment in America. He also rejected political and religious autoritarism as the Enlightenment philosophers in Europe.

Even though John Locke was an influential figure for the Enlightenment, he was a philosopher from Great Britain and not from Pennsylvania.

George Washington was an American politician, considered one of the Founding Fathers as Benjamin Franklin but he did not advocate the Enlightenment ideas. He was a fervent religious person and was part of the Mason Lodge.

As regards Jonathan Edwards, he was an American preacher and philosopher born in Connecticut. Jonathan Edwards, as a puritan, is mainly associated with the Reformed theology and not with the Enlightenment ideas of reason and science.