Lets get it out of the way, Henretta is BORING! But it has as much actual facts than that of a book twice its size. Everything from mercantilism with goods of trade to talking about politics and the Radical Whig party, and thats only chapter three. In chapter four, all of the juicy parts of pre- Revolutionary war come into play. This chapter talks about how the Enlightenment, and especially the Great Awakening, advance society. Writing of John Locke and Benjamin Franklin start to define a nation with the new thoughts on religion and cultural by standard, to men like George Whitefeild who could captivate and astonish people with the utterance of but simple words within his preachings. The book also talks about how the end of the Seven Years war almost directly helped create the need for an American Revolution, as is also what Professor Weber talked about.
In Skemps book of the Franklin's, clearly shows how the relationships of people , kin or not, can deter the vary pages of a nation. In the first chapter of the book, Skemp gives a very basic back ground of Benjamin up until his time of moving into Philly(Philadelphia).She later tells of how Benjamin had a "bastard child", known as William. William and his father are not very close to each other until about the time that William joins the army. He and his father realize that they both have a strong nationalistic feeling for their mother country, and in this realization, they find an almost inseparable bond with each other. They both, together, take a trip to England it's self and find that they both love it their and would be happy to never leave that place. But they end up coming back to America, both for political and emotional needs, but thats another story. the Third chapter ends with the Franklin's feeling ok in their new positions in the colonies, despite them both almost being threatened with their lives.
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6 comments:
After Thursday's discussion, I was finally able to connect all the pieces of the puzzle together. It is cool to see the different causes and effects of everything in history. For example: the scientific revolution lead to the enlightenment which in turn lead to the great awakening!
I don't remember learning about the Enlightenment occurring in America when I took history in high school or younger. I could have simply forgotten. I also thought it was something unique to Europe, so I was very interested to learn about Ben Franklin, the founding fathers, and other nameless folks being involved in science, philosophy, and just thinking in generally (i.e Deism). In my mind at least it makes the colonists worth something, although in class we learned that the British didn't think the British Americans were worth anything.
I had never heard of George Whitefield but it was interesting to learn about someone who could inspire people the way he did. After the discussion on Thursday, I realized that the Seven Years War is not emphasized enough when talking about the American Revolution since before this class I did not know much about. Understanding the Seven Years War paints a picture of the stars aligning for the American Revolution.
I also found George Whitefield a very interesting. I find it inspiring how one man can make such a difference using his words. I believe what made him such an icon was the emotion and enthusiasm he put into his speeches.
It is true that Henretta is VERY boring, but reading Skemp makes it more bearable. Granted I don't necessarily believe in the same things as Whitefield it was definitely interesting to hear how he had such a great affect on people in his preaching. It is also very true that no matter how boring Henretta is it teaches us as much information as the HUGE even more boirng texts.
I also found the attraction of the people to George Whitefield interesting. The easier to read Skemp was also interesting as it follows two people unstead of America as a whole like most history classes in the past has.
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