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      Against the religious backdrop of pre- and postcolonial America stands
        the towering figure--and mind--of Benjamin Franklin. A Renaissance man
        in a Revolutionary time, Franklin had interests and knowledge not only
        in religion but in literature, philosophy, politics, publishing, history,
        and scientific inquiry, among many other disciplines.
      Kerry S. Walters examines Franklin's search for the Divine using a similar,
        multifaceted approach--and in so doing has created the first extended
        treatment of Franklin's religious thought in thirty years. Walters brings
        the same intellectual range and depth to the understanding of Franklin's
        beliefs that Franklin brought to his own quest. What emerges from this
        pilgrimage into the soul of one of America's greatest figures is a very
        human Benjamin Franklin who grew with the accumulation of knowledge to
        arrive at a "theistic perspectivism," which provided him with
        a philosophical explanation for the diversity of religious faiths--and
        a justification for the liberty of conscience he advocated throughout
        his life.
      Benjamin Franklin and His Gods is an original and beautifully
        challenging spiritual and intellectual biography. Destined to be a classic.
 

British colonial relations with the native peoples of eastern North America This is an annotated edition of the treaties between the British colonies and Indian nations, originally printed and sold by Benjamin Franklin. Last published in 1938, Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania, and the First Nations makes these important treaties available once again, featuring a simpler, easier-to-read format, extensive explanatory notes, and maps. A detailed introduction by Susan Kalter puts the treaties in their proper historical and cultural context. This carefully researched edition shows these treaties to be complex intercultural documents, and provides significant insight into the British colonists’ relationship with native peoples of North America. They also reveal the complexity of Benjamin Franklin’s perceptions of Native Americans, showing him in some negotiations as a promoter of the Indian word against the colonial one. Finally, the treaties offer an enormous wealth of linguistic, aesthetic, and cultural information about the Iroquois, the Delawares, and their allies and neighbors.