Ben Franklin
Patrick Henry
The Age of Reason
1750-1800
Thomas Paine
Thomas Jefferson
The Age of Reason AKA…
The Enlightenment
The Augustan Age
The Neoclassical Period
Topics of the Age of Reason
Science
Government
Ethics
How are these subjects like the subjects of The
Age of Faith?
How are they different from the subjects of the
Age of Faith?
Literary Forms
of the Age of Reason
•Biographies/Autobiographies
•Government Documents
•Newspapers/Pamphlets
•A little poetry
•The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
•Speeches
•The Declaration of Independence
•No Fiction
•Common Sense/ The Crisis
•Philip Freneau
•Speech at the Virginia Convention
Rhetoric
using language effectively to
please or persuade
Situation
Purpose
Audience
Method
 Ethos
•Appeals based upon perceived reputation.
 Pathos •Appeals based upon emotions.
•Appeals based upon logic.
 Logos
Authors we will study
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas
Paine
Patrick Henry
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Franklin
Born January 17, 1706 in Boston, MA
Died April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia
Franklin was the tenth of seventeen
children and the youngest boy.
Attended school for only two years.
By the age of ten, began working for his
father.
Work Experience
At 13, began working for his brother who
was a printer.
Wrote essays that were published
anonymously in his brother’s newspaper.
Took over newspaper while his brother
was in jail for slander, or libel.
Ten years later he began his own printing
shop.
Facts
Benjamin Franklin was the embodiment of the
American Dream-came from poverty to achieve
fame and fortune.
America’s first millionaire
He was an inventor, scientist, statesman, printer,
philosopher, diplomat, and writer.
He invented bifocals, the Franklin stove, the
rocking chair, the lightning rod, the odometer.
He established the first public library, the first fire
company, and the first fire insurance company.
Poor Richard’s Almanack
Poor Richard’s Almanack sold 10
thousand copies
Contained many aphorisms: Short pointed
statements that express a wide or clever
observation about the human experience.
“Never confuse motion with action.”
Thomas Paine
Born in England in 1736
After meeting Benjamin Franklin in
London, he moved to America.
From August 1776-January 1777 he was a
soldier in Washington’s army.
Wrote The Crisis, Number 1 while at the
front.
The Crisis, Number 1 is the first of a set of
sixteen essays
The Crisis boosted the morale of soldiers.
At the time of its writing the American
colonies were losing the war with Britain.
Also wrote the pamphlet Common Sense
Left America after the revolution and went
to France
Wrote The Rights of Man
Made a citizen of France
Voted against the execution of Louis XVI
Almost guillotined because officials in
Washington would not claim him as an
American citizen.
After nearly a year, he escaped from
prison because the door was left open
Came back to America in 1802.
Despite his help during the American
Revolution, he had all but been forgotten in
America.
Died in poverty and obscurity in New York in
1809.
Ten years after his death his remains were
exhumed with the intention that they would be
reburied in England
Great Britain (England) refused the burial and
his remains were lost
Patrick Henry
Born 1736
Died 1799
Educated by his father (including reading
Latin). Studied law on his own.
Henry was a lawyer and a member of the
Virginia House of Burgesses
First governor of Virginia under the new
constitution
Five-term governor of Virginia
Henry was also a well know orator
(speaker)
“Speech to the Second Virginia
Convention”
“Speech” was delivered in 1775
Patrick Henry urged his fellow Virginians
to arm in self-defense, closing his appeal
with the immortal words: "I know not what
course others may take; but as for me,
give me liberty or give me death."
He was dissatisfied with the federal
constitution and opposed its ratification in
1788.
He felt that it gave the general government
too much power.
Thomas Jefferson
Wrote The Declaration of Independence,
the most important American document of
the 18th Century in 1776.
Born in 1743 in Virginia
Was the 3rd of 10 children
During his youth, studied for 15 hours a
day
Had a great love for music, especially the
violin
Served as the 3rd president of the US for
two terms
Believed that all men are created equal
Jefferson was a lawyer before entering
politics
Created separation of church and state
Believed that slavery was a war on
humanity; we are all born free in nature
Designed the University of Virginia and his
own personal residence Monticello.
Died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth
anniversary of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence (the same
day as John Adams).