Prompt 1: restoration of family name and want for money

kristenm

I think that the main reasons of Benedict Arnold’s psychological journey as a traitor were his want for money and continuous want to redeem his family name. His father, also Benedict Arnold, had a problem with drinking too much. His frequent drinking was started after his daughters died and his wealthy shipping business collapsed. Soon after, he was arrested for not paying his debts. The younger Benedict was forced to take care of his uncontrollable father while others looked on in disgust. When Benedict’s father died, Benedict had to pay off his father’s debts and was unfortunately left with a bad family name. Benedict made it his goal to restore his family name and do something big that would change history forever. In order to restore his family name, Benedict needed to pay off his father’s debts. Benedict would do anything for money. Eventually, he became a trader and sold many goods. He grew to be very wealthy and later became more involved with political affairs-he became the leader of the local Patriots. He believed the best way to restore his family name was by playing a big part in the upcoming war with the British. Benedict followed through with his plans and was made a general. Benedict was pleased with his new status, but he felt that he needed to do something even bigger to be remembered forever. He also felt the urge to have more money, even though he was already making a good salary. He decided to plot against his previous side, the Americans. He gave John André, a man with high rank in the British Army, an easy plan in which to defeat the Americans. He was offered plenty of money, equivalent to $1.5 million today, to do this. His actions would make him an extremely wealthy man as well as making his name immortal. Because of Arnold’s continuous want for money and urge to redeem his family name, Arnold became a traitor to his country, America.

Kristen Mascarenhas

jfrazee

You and Matthew agree on the point of money. He had given so much of his own and even risked his life for the Revolutionary cause, it just seems so odd to switch sides for something he had been so passionate about. I just kept thinking, what if Washington had been more proactive with him? Would he have sold out if he had felt appreciated by Congress?

kristenm

I think that even though Benedict Arnold was aggravated with Congress for not showing their appreciation as much as they could have, he still would have decided to join the British just for the money. Arnold started off in the American army because he wanted to make a difference and fight for his country. After his great success, he was rewarded with a lot of money. Only then, did he develop his uncontrollable want for more. I think Arnold felt that Congress not being proactive with his request to be a general was an annoyance, but not the reason he switched sides. I think that Congress was paying him a more than decent amount of money because he was able to afford a lot of alcohol, his own huge house, and magnificent clothes. He had a lot of extra valuables that he did not need, but could afford because of his wealth. He had become used to this rich style of living and always wanted more. I think this is why he joined the British because they were offering him more money than the Americans wanted to pay him. I think that even if Washington had been more helpful to him and Congress had paid more attention to his work, he would have still joined the British. I think that the only way the Americans would have been able to keep Arnold would be if they offered him more money than the British did, but they were unable to because Arnold kept his plan a secret.

Kristen M.

wallish

I agree with Kristen's thought that Arnold only did it for the money. He was in a lot of debt. He had to ask for loans just to make it look like he and his wife were wealthy. He thought that if he betrayed the Americans and took the money that the Brittish were offering him he could pay off his debts and his life would go back to normal. Of course, this did not happen. He had not liked the amount of money the americans paid him compared to the amount that Brittish generals were payed beacause they were payed so much more. He also disliked that the brittish were always payed compared to the fact that his monthly salary was rarely given to him. Even when he had completly switched to the brittish side he was stilll a disliked man because the other brittish soldiers knew that he was a traitor. This just goes to show that money cannot fix everything and that Arnold was selfish enough to betray his own country because he thought that it would.

michaelaw

i also think that Benedict Arnold betrayed the Americans for money. i agree that he needed the money to pay off his debts and he also wanted to be treated more fairly since the Americans had not recognized some of his accomplishments. Ever since Benedict's father had died, his family was left with a bad family name. Benedict wanted to create a new family name and to be seen by people as a popular and wealthy family. To do this he had to first pay off his family debts. To restore his family name Benedict joined the war against the British as a General. This wasnt enough for Benedict, he wanted to become known by everyone, to get more money and to finally end the war. For the most part this did not turn out as he planned, although he became famous and wealthy it was for all the wrong reasons.

Johnnn

Well, in nearly every possible way i disagree with everyone above. I have a completely different side on Benedict Arnold. I look up to him as a respectable man, a great leader in combat, smart and cunning. He was bold.
"He also felt the urge to have more money, even though he was already making a good salary. " -Kristen M.
Kristen made this comment in her first post, which i greatly disagree with (and feel somewhat offended by, too). For one thing, he wasn't making a good salary. He was payed in Confederate money, worth nothing at the time. a pair of pants costed 1,000 dollars, while he had under 400 Confederate dollars a month. And he didn't betray his country solely for money. He did it due to the other generals giving him a rough time, because of the men trashing his good name. People seemed to have forgotten the fact that Benedict Arnold WAS an American general, and rightly so. The only problem was, after so many enemies were made on his own side, Arnold started to lose sight of the fact of whose side he was on. The war took on a more personal matter; he felt hurt, and insulted.
His own country, which he fought gallantly for, serving as a general for many years, decided to rank five other low ranking officers up to major general, while Arnold remained at general. In addition to that, Arnold was hit by many slurs, people insulting him every which way he turned. Benedict went to Congress about it, spending many hours complaining, but to no avail.

Johnnn

Now, I don't know what you or anyone else would think after this, but, I can tell you my thoughts. My opinion being that Benedict was treated unfairly by too many of the Americans. His only true friend on the American side was George Washington, and although George Washington was leading the wars, All Benedict wanted was for the wars to be over. He wanted it done, over and forgotten about. If he helped the British win the war, he would forever be known as the man who ended the great war of the Americas. And it could be done so easily! And why fight for the Americans if all the generals were jerks to him; he didn't want a country ran by self-righteous, pompous jerks, now, did he?

And do I blame him for his treacherous actions? No! Not in the least! The Americans deserved it! None of the high-ranking men at the time were honorable, or respectable; they all insulted Benedict, greedy for fame and fortune, wishing to best Benedict, trying to dishonor the man. Benedict was an amazing general, everyone knew it. That's why everyone was mean to him, for the reason that he was the best. Although he made some wrong choices in his career, and did make some fairly large errors on his way, I still consider him a very admirable, memorable leader.

Johnnn

And one last thing. Although Benedict Arnold did some bad things, he was still a leader in our nation's history. Much like Adolf Hitler in fact. Both could lead an army into war, and convince themselves and their army that what they were doing was right. They felt no guilt, because they believed they were in the right and their enemies in the wrong. Both were great leaders, and it's just a disappointment that neither decided to hang with the Americans.

(And to those who say Hitler was a terrible leader: Although he was a bad man, no one should call him a terrible leader. He convinced his army to slaughter millions of people, for no truly ethical reason. He was a mastermind at persuasion, thus, a good leader.)

austinj

I don't agree with those who thought Arnold's actions were for money. I think his family was looked down upon because his father was a drunk; however, I don't think it was because they did not have money. Arnold did need money to pay his debts and live but it was not the primary reason for committing treason. I agree with John that he was a great leader and focused on the end result (to win a battle). Arnold was dissatisfied with the American military for not giving him the general position. Also, he was angry that the other officers were trying to take credit for his success and blamed their failures on him. Arnold was a risk taker and this is a characteristic of a true leader. Think about this. How would you feel if you worked at a company for a long time and did a good job at your position and then you were passed up for a promotion by someone who had not worked as hard and had not been employed there very long? I think Arnold simply wanted power and respect.

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