American Cultural Identity

During the 18th century American Cultural began to become uniquely American. Colonies began to develop their own newspaper and literacy rates were higher in New England and the Middle Colonies than they were in England. This allowed a large majority of colonist to read the works of European philosophers John Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. Moreover, people in the American colonies were also able to read the works published in America like those written by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine.

Choose one of the following philosophers and take notes on the impact of their works on American society. Try to answer how they influenced the colonist to seek independence from Britain.

Benjamin Franklin
Montesquieu
John Locke
Voltaire
Rousseau
Thomas Paine

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Chapter 5