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William Bradford and Benjamin Franklin, Two Early American Literary Pioneers

Early American literature was much like the early American settlers, with many different ideas and many changes over a short period of time.

Two very influential writers of early American literature were William Bradford and Benjamin Franklin. William Bradford was a very divine writer and obtained most of his knowledge through his belief in God while Franklin became greatly influenced during the Enlightenment period where the use of science and logic was used to gain knowledge. These two major American literary authors had very different views on society, and the pursuit of knowledge, yet both became very influential and played a major role in the changing and ultimate development of early American society.

William Bradford came over to the new world on the Mayflower and was considered one of the first "Pilgrims," a word Bradford himself used to describe the community of believers who sailed on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts (Norton p.75)." Bradford did not receive much of a formal education and instead was taught the arts of farming. When he was around the age of thirteen he was greatly influenced by a set of sermons he heard from his local minister, and these sermons would changed his life. He joined a group know as "Separatists," whom had no hope of reforming the Church of England from within. They became strong believers of faith and came over to the new world to get away from the Church of England and form their newly founded Puritan faith. Bradford became deeply committed to the Puritan cause which can be seen throughout his major literary works.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the first major domestic authors of early America. He became intense in literature at an early age and became an apprentice to his brother at the age of twelve. Here, he began writing career and his first writings were published by his brother without his knowledge. He later became very individualistic and became very interested with the sciences and logic. His religious views were very different then those of William Bradford. Benjamin Franklin had the following view about religion:

Franklin believed that people were naturally innocent, that all mysteries that charmed the religious mind could be explained to our advantage and that education, properly undertaken, would transform our lives and set us free from the tyrannies of the church and monarchy (Norton p.220).

These two men had very different backgrounds that resulted in even more different ideas and writing topics.

Bradford's religious past manifests itself into his writings. They present a message of strict faith and belief in God's ultimate will being done. A prime example of Bradford's divine intentions comes from his work "Of Plymouth Plantation," when he recounts the pilgrims safe arrival at Cape Cod; "Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees amp; blessed ye God of heaven…(Norton p. 78)." In this quote, Bradford explains that the Mayflower reached Cape Cod successfully because God wanted them to be there, and that God protected them from the troubled seas and many other obstacles, and therefore it was expected of them to give thanks to God and the heavens.

Another key example of Bradford's divine intentions took place when he described the events of John Howland. John Howland was one of the passengers on the Mayflower who during a storm attempted to help save the crew, but was thrown overboard. However, he was able to grab hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and was saved because his attempt, as Bradford described, pleased God:

…thrown into sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold… till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with a boat hook and other means got into the ship again and his life saved (Norton p. 77).

Howland was "allowed to live" according to Bradford because he was trying to save God's people, therefore God chose to let him live. He later continues to describe John Howland saying he lived many more years and became profitable and an important member in both the church and the commonwealth. Why did he become successful, because God wanted him to. Those were Bradford's beliefs. Bradford was as divine as they come, and believed nothing other then what he learned through God. Everything he knew and experienced was God's work, and nothing else.

Another important religious reference that Bradford makes during his writings comes later on in "Of Plymouth Plantation," when he describes the settlers search for land. Bradford writes, "Neither could they, as it were, go up to the top of Pisgah to view from this wilderness a more goodly country to feed their hopes (Norton p. 78)." Pisgah is a direct reference to the mountain from which Moses saw the Promise Land. Bradford continually makes references to God and explains that God is the reason they are there, and that by following God, they will not only survive this difficult journey, but thrive in the new world as well.

Franklin's intellectual stance resulted in his rejection of the doctrinal church. Also, the Age of Enlightenment encouraged his curiosity and individuality. The changes in Benjamin Franklin's life can be closely related to the changes that took place in America during this time period. "Franklin's abandonment of Puritanism in favor of the enlightenment's rationalism reflects a central shift in American society in the eighteenth century (Larson)." The Age of Enlightenment was a shift away from the church and a shift towards the use of reason and logic which allowed people to obtain a more objective viewpoint of the world. Benjamin Franklin's work is largely influenced by his enlightenment qualities.

Franklin was much more individualistic and logical when writing and explaining daily occurrences, not divine. Franklin became distraught with sermons. He believed that the pastors did not relate things to society and therefore became self taught in religion, even making up his own prayers. Franklin developed his thirteen virtues; temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility (Norton p. 285). This was the way he would strive towards perfection, or at least what he thought was perfection. These virtues had to be done in order, and you could not move on to the next without completing the previous virtue.

Eventually, after many years, Franklin believed that he had completed the first twelve, and therefore developed the thirteenth virtue, humility. He was proud of the fact that he was able to complete the first twelve virtues, but felt that people looked at him as vain. Therefore, he developed the last virtue which was humility. He was near perfect, but believed that no one was perfect, which is why he began to practice humility. This reference to humility can also be described as Franklin's first reference of religion. Franklin always challenged people to question things in life, much like Socrates (reason) did, but at the same time strive for perfection like Jesus (religion). So Franklin was not completely without God, he was a mixture of reason and divinity, and therefore, not completely different from Bradford.

Bradford and Franklin were two very important writers of early America with their own respective ways of presenting thier ideas:

Bradford's thought, with its attempt to understand this world in the light of Puritan assumptions about God and his divine scheme for humanity, can be contrasted with Franklin's, which focuses on this world, largely ignores the next, and sees morality and experience as more important than faith (Larson).

As previously described, there were many differences in the ways Bradford and Franklin viewed things but at the same time, both had a similar focus; the pursuit of knowledge. Where these two very influential authors search for knowledge is what made them so different. Both Franklin and Bradford believed in God. However, Franklin chose a more unconventional belief, viewing God like a clockmaker, God created the world but let the people dictate what would happen next. Whereas Bradford believed that God was present in every phase of life, and that everything happened because that is what God wanted to happen and there were no other reasons for it.

Another similarity can be made between these two in that they were both striving for perfection in one way or another. Bradford looked to God for perfection and that by following God in every part of life would lead him to perfection. Franklin was much more individual and focused more on the "self-made man" when striving towards perfection using his thirteen virtues. Albeit these two very important authors had many differences and few similarities, it is interesting to see how both of their main ideas translated into the early American society.

Both Bradford and Franklin's beliefs can be seen in The Declaration of Independence. Bradford's religious beliefs combined with Franklin's individualism are a reflection of the combined societal views in the early days of America that are presented within the framework of the Declaration. The Declaration of Independence, "reflects enlightenment philosophy, including the concepts of natural law and self-determination (Wikipedia). The belief of natural law can be seen in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these Truths to be self-evident …" The rights portrayed here are inherent, which is a belief of Benjamin Franklin. However, "the acknowledgment of the transcendent Creator-God granting certain unalienable rights and the reliance upon Divine Providence are themes which cannot be ignored (Ziegler)."

References to the divine beliefs of America can be seen in the Declaration of Independence as well, "and for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." These excerpts show how both the beliefs held by Bradford and Franklin were used in the framework of the Declaration of Independence.

William Bradford and Benjamin Franklin both played a very important role as writers in the early years of the "new world." Each of these two influential authors had his own beliefs and way of viewing the world, one through reason, and one through God. Bradford believed that God was the reason behind everything, while Franklin took a more scientific approach to finding life's answers.

The views of both of these historical authors were heavily reflected in the early American society and both played a prominent role in defining what America was back in it's early days, as well as what it is today. American society has, and continues to contain many aspects related to the divine, while at the same time has many aspects related to views generated during the enlightenment period. These two drastically different viewpoints were very influential when the American culture was first being born, and can still be seen in the American society today.