For Anyone Struggling- A Sample Body Paragraph

Both Ben Franklin in his Autobiography and Patrick Henry in Speech to the Virginia Convention strike upon the same theme that the source of morality comes from the individual. In great opposition to their comtemporaries, who believed morality came from above or from the Bible, both men expressed an idea based on individuality. Before Franklin states his list of virtues and after his discussion on moral perfection, the Autobiography reads "I knew,..., what was right and wrong"(Franklin). This is an example of his acceptance that the concepts of good and evil stem from his personal moral compass. He does not look to others for the answers but becomes his own judge and jury. Throughout Revolutionary America, this idea of individualism becomes more prevelant. Illustrating his own take on this idea, Patrick Henry uses a metaphor of a lantern. "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past"(Henry). This rings true with Franklin's idea discussed above. Henry will not look outside himself for guidance or morality. He has only the light of experience. For Henry, the things he has seen, the things he has done, and the things he has heard are the only guides to his idea of truth. Good and evil, truth and lies, and immoral and moral are judged internally as opposed to externally. Both the Autobiography and the Speech to the Virginia Convention exposed a emerging common idea that many Americans still believe today: The source of morality and a code of conduct is found internally instead of externally.
***Note how much of the paragraph is direct quotation. While the direct quotations are important, be sure to integrate them with your own work.