We discussed Benjamin Franklin's persona in his autobiography as one of the "self-made" successful man, humbly dispensing advice to his son. His labeling of moral lapses as "errata" places the anchor of his values in a civic sphere, a place where how one is perceived in society is the ultimate standard of morality. His autobiography shifts the contemplative mode of expression of the Puritans from focusing on the relationship of man to God to the relationship of man and society. Furthermore, his systematic behavior and firm belief in the "perfectability" of man indicates a mindset of distinctly post-Puritan mold, and the beginnings of the American myth of self-reliance as one of the highest virtues.

Washington Irving's character of Diedrich Knickerbocker is similar to Franklin in his central focus on man instead of God. However, Knickerbocker is not so much concerned with his appearance in society, but rather the society from which he comes. His concern, bordering on obsession, with the past indicates a search for a new American identity. This is shown in the attitudes of Knickerbocker and the Dutch settlers of which he speaks towards the land: whereas Puritans saw the American wilderness as a desolate haunt of the devil, Knickerbocker sees it as a place that the past of the people inhabits. Ghosts of soldiers and Henrik Hudson inhabit the land as their eternal home. Here, the persona is shaped not so much by hard-work and self-determination, as in Franklin, but rather by history and the land.

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