compare and contrast essay

The 1700s was a significant time period for Americans. American had yet to gain their independence from Great Britain. Many well-known Americans were born in this time period and they played an influential role in shaping the way that America is today. Many of those same prominent Americans were writing during that time. Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin were two of them. Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin were two of the most prominent people during the 1700s. They shared a lot of similarities between each other. One similarity was that they both played quite an interesting role during this period where America was fighting for its independence. They were both phenomenal writers, and their works sold all over the world in large numbers. Both Paine and Franklin published their work anonymously as well. As many similarities Thomas Paine and Benjamin Franklin shared, they also had many differences. One obvious difference between the two was their background. Thomas Paine was born on January 17, 1737 in Thetford, United Kingdom. Even though he wasn't a American citizen, he was a major cause for America wanting independence. Paine received little formal education and he worked in numerous jobs with little success until his mid thirties. He was an ardent supporter of American and French revolutions. He is most known for being the author of Common Sense, which was published in 1776. Paine connected with Benjamin Franklin in the early 1770s and from there he relocated to Pennsylvania and began to work with Franklin. He became a very influential icon in America. Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, was not only a writer. He was a scientist, inventor, and a statesman as well. Franklin entered the printing trade at the age of twelve as his brother's apprentice. He set up his own printing business when he was only seventeen, the Pennsylvania Gazette. His greatest literary success was Poor Richard's Almanac, that he published from 1732 to