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Molly Stroosma
Professor Pringle
ENG 310
October 21, 2016

The Earliest American Dreams

The Puritans left Europe during a time of great religious turmoil and began to create their

own set of ideals as soon as they set sail from the docks. These archetypes of what it meant to be

model citizens in their new world are what helped the Puritans form the earliest American

Dream. Roughly a century later, Benjamin Franklin, an American who was born into a Puritan

family, began to shape his own ideals that helped form a second draft of the American Dream.

Though both Benjamin Franklin and the Puritan ideals for prosperity that are given by William

Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation shaped the foundation of their own American Dreams in

different time periods, there are some strikingly similar elements in both renditions. Both the

Puritans and Benjamin Franklin highly regarded the need to work hard and persevere through

hard times as well as valued the sense of and betterment of their community in order to achieve

success. The biggest difference between these two authors versions of the American dream lies

in their treatment of religion. However, despite its similarities and contrasts from the Puritan

American Dream, Franklins American Dream as a whole can be most closely aligned with the

American Dream present in todays society.

From the moment the Puritans left Europe, they were faced with many challenges and

were forced to either give up or persevere through hard times. Many Puritans lost their lives to

sickness and disease as they crossed the Atlantic and first stepped foot on their new soil. William

Bradford recounts some of the tough circumstances the Puritans encountered, such as their

voyage across the Atlantic, in his historical account. Bradford makes note of the rough times the

Puritans faced, stating, After they had enjoyed fair winds and weather for a season, they were
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encountered many times with cross winds, and met with many fierce storms, with which the ship

was shroudly shaken, but the Puritans were not halted by the bad weather and terrible effects it

had on their ships (Bradford 131). Circumstances did not get easier for the Puritans as they

started to colonize the east coast. Thus, perseverance became the first character of the Puritan

version of the American Dream, because without the strife the Puritans faced, they would not

have been able to make any advancement. They needed to start at a point of struggle in order to

be able to imagine a better life and set goals to be able to achieve that life, as nothing is as sweet

as when one has to endure hard times in order to taste their success.

The ideal of perseverance did not end in the Puritan American Dream. Like the Puritans,

Benjamin Franklins work highlights the necessity to include this ideal in the framework of his

American Dream. The same themes surrounding perseverance present in Bradfords work are

evident in Franklins too. Franklins Autobiography recounts the story of the American genius

Franklin was, and how he was able to persevere through the rags of life in order to obtain the

riches. At just ten years old, an intelligent Franklin was pulled from school to assist his father in

his candle making business and help support his family, a turn of events that certainly shaped and

changed his outlook on life. Franklin recalls the work he did for his father, stating, I dislikd the

Trade and had a strong Inclination for the Sea; but my Father declard against it, as it was not

his first choice of work, but he persevered through and was able to teach himself many useful

skills on the side that aided him later in life (Franklin 485). Franklin was only able to achieve the

success he did because of the struggles that he faced early in his life, as they provided him with a

humble beginning and a lot of room to grow into and imagine a more successful. Joyce Moss and

George Wilson describe the power Franklins perseverance had on America in their critical piece.

Moss and Wilson state, The land in which he rose to success was a land where people were not
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limited by class origins, where the son of a candlemaker could succeed as a diplomat, where a

self-educated man could emerge as a great scientific mind where in short, common people

could become extraordinary, which highlights the incredible advancements Franklin made

himself that gave others hope for a brighter and more prosperous future because he persevered

through such hard times (Moss and Wilson 4). Much like the Puritans modest beginning at

Plymouth Plantation, Franklin too had such a beginning that led him to achieve incredible

success.

Secondly, the Puritan American dream is deeply rooted in the sense of community. When

the Puritans first got to America they had absolutely nothing. Bradford describes their desolation

as, They had now no friends to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their

weatherbeaten bodies, no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor which when

contrasted with how far the Puritans were able to come suggests a huge emphasis on their value

of community because by working together they were able to build homes and grow successful

crops after just being in America for a short time (Bradford 133). In order to prosper in their new

land, the Puritans realized they needed to work together on a deeper level than just growing

crops and building structures and thus emerged a part of their American dream, community. As

Bradfords particular group of Puritans established themselves in Plymouth, they became united

in an early form of democracy which highlights their commitment to community and the

bettering of all. During the Puritans of Plymouth Plantations first year on new soil, they created

a governing system which included a voting process in which they were able to elect a governor.

Bradford notes their communal advancements in his work as, And combine ourselves together

into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends

aforesaid; and by virtues hereof to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws,
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ordinance, acts, constitutions, and offices, and later notes that their democratic system is for,

The general good of the community, showcasing just how important the association between

the Puritans at Plymouth Plantation became in order for them to see prosperity being a possibility

at all (Bradford 139).

Benjamin Franklin also stresses this ideal of community in his American Dream detailed

in his autobiography. Although Franklin achieved a lot of inward success throughout his life, he

also continually emphasized the need to better his community at the same time and took on many

projects in order do so. One of the ways in which Franklin showed that he valued community

was through his desire to continue learning throughout his whole life and then extended his

knowledge to help society strive to achieve success. Moss and Wilson make note of Franklins

commitment to learning as they state, A devotion to learning, however, set him apart from many

other colonists, a claim that can be expanded upon to see that though Franklin was different

from others in his time, he still cared about their education and the community they shared

because of the projects he took on to better not only himself, but others as well (Moss and

Wilson 2). Later in his life, Franklin established the first common library. This was a project that

highlighted his ideal of community because it gave more than just those who could afford

expensive books at the time access to an abundance of knowledge. Franklin emphasizes the

nature of his library being for the greater people in his autobiography as he writes, And now I

set on foot my first Project of a public Nature, that for a Subscription Library, propelling and

instilling a desire in the American people to prosper through education and thus better their

community as a whole (Franklin 526). Like the foundation and democracy of their community

that the Puritans worked through to achieve success, Franklin too accomplishes success by

investing in his community through the library he establishes.

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Many connections are drawn between the Puritan American Dream and Benjamin

Franklins American Dream through the ideals of perseverance and community. These two ideals

and each American Dream helped two different groups of early American people prosper in

times when living wasnt easy for anyone. Elements of the ideals present in the Puritan American

Dream that reappeared in Franklins American Dream are still present even in todays society,

but the strength of Franklins ideals are more closely represented in America today. However, the

biggest difference between the Puritan American Dream and Benjamin Franklins American

Dream comes about in their varying treatments of religion thus dividing the two dreams. The

Puritans directly saw God working in their lives during a time of declension across the globe,

whereas Franklin saw God as a wise figure, but not someone who impeded on his everyday life

during a time where humanity as a whole was on the upswing.

The Puritans saw God working in everything that they did and fully committed to this

ideal of religion. Bradford recounts all of the situations both good and bad that the Puritans faced

and how God was speaking to, answering, and working through the Puritans in each. As the

Puritans came across the Atlantic and faced many issues with their ship they succumbed to God

and let him take the reign in each hardship. Bradford specifically speaks of one instance on the

boat when they were struggling to keep water out and that amongst the chaos, the Puritans,

Committed themselves to the will of God, and resolved to proceed, which highlights their

strong faith and their dependence on God having a hand in their lives (Bradford 132). However,

if the Puritans would have continued to grapple with this issue on their ship, they too in that

situation would have given everything in to God and realized that the work he was doing through

them, even though it was ending terrible, was supposed to happen. Every day a Puritan woke up

he or she embarked on a daily journey with God in which God completely interfered and played
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a role in their activities. At the end of the day, the Puritans thanked God for having mercy on

them despite the hardships they faced.

In a very different way, Franklin too worked the treatment of religion into his American

Dream. Franklin, unlike the Puritans did not regard himself as a formally religious person even

though as noted by Moss and Wilson, The two cities in which Franklin spent the first half of his

life were centers of religion, but somehow he was able to escape formally practiced religion and

lead a life of his own (Moss and Wilson 1). Franklin who labeled himself a deist explains the

reasoning behind why he ditched the formal religion his parents practiced in his autobiography,

But I was a scarce 15 when, after doubting by turns of several Points as I found them disputed

the different Books I read, I began to doubt of Revelation itself, giving reason to his studies and

desire to continually educate himself (Franklin 517). The different way in which Franklin

approached religion had significant impacts on his American Dream and on the American Dream

of today. Franklin didnt find it necessary to give everything one had in them to God in order to

achieve success as a person and with this viewpoint he was able to keep a more open mind and

accomplish more than the Puritans. Similarly today, with America being so diverse, people are

able to focus on their own selves without being tied down to one specific religion unlike the

Puritans. This also gives everyone striving for prosperity more room to persevere through hard

times, learn, and serve their communities like Franklin did. Not having to continually accept

everything that God threw at him, Franklin was able to challenge his situations and fulfill his

ideal parts of the American Dream, community and perseverance very much unlike the Puritans

who just had to accept everything God made them go through.

It is important to consider both the similarities between the Puritan American Dream and

the version of the American Dream that Benjamin Franklin presents because both share core
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elements that are still instilled in the desire to prosper of American people in todays society.

However, the differences in the ways in which the Puritans treated Religion and Franklin treated

religion deserve careful consideration too because of their lasting impacts. Franklins care for the

balance between the person and the community as a whole coupled with his independence from

organized religion are what make his dream the more successful and evident in todays society of

the two dreams presented. In todays society an American striving to achieve the American

dream would most closely align with that of Franklins dream.

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Works Cited

Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation. Norton Anthology of American Literature.

General editor, Nina Baym, vol A, 8th ed., W. W. Norton, 2012, pp. 121-156.

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography Norton Anthology of American Literature.

General editor, Nina Baym, vol A, 8th ed., W. W. Norton, 2012, pp.481-596.

Moss, Joyce and George Wilson. Overview: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical

Events that Influenced Them. vol 1. Gale, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web.

Accessed 16 Oct. 2016.