Everything Everywhere Daily · Sunday, September 6, 2026
Benjamin Franklin, though a deist and skeptical of the Great Awakening's fervor, was deeply impressed by George Whitefield's preaching in 1793. Initially resolved not to donate, Franklin found himself moved by Whitefield's oratory, eventually emptying his pockets of gold, silver, and copper into the collection dish.
“I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I resolved that he should have nothing.”
“Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and I determined to give him the silver.”
“And he finished so admirably that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.”