Short answer: primary source

Benjamin Franklin on George Whitefield

Unit 2
3 points
About 13 minutes

You read a source written at the time and answer three short parts about its ideas, its historical situation and the developments around it. On the exam: Short-answer question 2 of 3, required; the three short-answer questions share a 40-minute section worth 20% of the score.

The question and its sources

George Whitefield, an English minister, toured the British colonies preaching to huge outdoor crowds. In 1788, nearly fifty years after Whitefield first came to Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin described him in this part of his autobiography. The spelling of the printed edition is kept. Read the source, then answer parts a, b and c. Write a few sentences for each part; you don't need a thesis.

Source

“In 1739 arrived among us from Ireland the Reverend Mr. Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our churches; but the clergy, taking a dislike to him, soon refus'd him their pulpits, and he was oblig'd to preach in the fields. The multitudes of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons were enormous, and it was matter of speculation to me, who was one of the number, to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers, and how much they admir'd and respected him, notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them they were naturally half beasts and half devils. It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. . . .

“Some of Mr. Whitefield's enemies affected to suppose that he would apply these collections to his own private emolument; but I, who was intimately acquainted with him (being employed in printing his Sermons and Journals, etc.), never had the least suspicion of his integrity . . . . He us'd, indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion, but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard. Ours was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both sides, and lasted to his death.”

[Itinerant: traveling from place to place. Pulpits: the platforms where ministers preach; here, permission to preach in a church. Collections: money Whitefield raised at his sermons for an orphanage in Georgia. Emolument: profit. Franklin misremembered one detail: Whitefield arrived from England, not Ireland.]

Source: Benjamin Franklin, printer, writer and scientist, Autobiography (this part written in Philadelphia in 1788); text from the edition edited by Frank Woodworth Pine (New York: Henry Holt, 1916)

Suggested time: 13 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Briefly describe ONE way Franklin characterizes Whitefield or the effects of his preaching in the excerpt.

Your answer to part (a)

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Part (b)

1 point

Briefly explain ONE way the religious revival known as the Great Awakening challenged established religious or social authority in the British colonies in the period 1730 to 1760.

Your answer to part (b)

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Part (c)

1 point

Briefly explain how ONE aspect of Franklin's point of view, purpose or situation as a writer may have shaped his description of Whitefield.

Your answer to part (c)

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