The Eighteenth Century was a period of increased science and reason; Religion was playing less of a role in the daily lives of the Colonists. With the increased use of the printing press, written documents could be obtained my the masses, thereby circulating ideas and theories throughout the navigable world. Because of the great influence of organized religion and ruling monarchies, many were unable to disregard ingrained notions of Anglican Christianity. The Enlightenment Movement brought forth the First Great Awakening, each providing aspects which affect the intended structure of the United States. Relationships between the English, French, American Indians, and new immigrants, became tense, thereby leading to destruction, ambition, fear, and hatred. However, alliances which were built and destroyed did not cross all lines, but rather lived peacefully along side remote their neighbors. Thoughts of reason and science began to take over the Colonies, just as it had swept throughout the regions of the Atlantic Trade Route. Unconventional thoughts and great discoveries led by an Enlightenment overshadowed the Protestant and Eurocentric societies, thereby developing a reemergence of religion in daily life. Thomas Jefferson, although an individual of his own development, played a prominent political figure and was well respected by many stated that "Under the law of nature, all men are born free, every one comes into the world with a right to his own person, which includes the liberty of moving and using it at his own will. This is what is called personal liberty, and is given him by the Author of nature, because necessary for his own sustenance.” Jefferson challenged Buffon’s Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux by studying and... ... middle of paper ... ... nations changed became tense, therefore erupting into another major marker in the Indian Wars. Influences were changing; Religion was no longer the center of daily life. Science and reason were contributing to the American identity by advancing away from the oppressive state which the Colonists had been subjected to for generations. Not only did the Enlightenment bring a desire for exploration, it also brought greater conflict with the American Indians. The Great Awakening would bring Religion back into the forefront, although it would not play center stage to the Founding Fathers the way it had in European politics. The desire to satisfy curiosities led the Nation to progress rapidly in technology and sciences, therefore creating an identity which would prove that a nation could survive without a ruling monarchy and all people have an opportunity to succeed.
With the development of a civilized society in America during the 1700s and 1800s, the role religion played in an everyday person's life was becoming more and more diminished. To combat this, a series of religious revivals were set in motion: The Great Awakenings. These were a series of large, sweeping religious, social, and political changes that sought to use the basis of religion to revive faith in a neglected belief, bring about numerous social reforms, and use political factions to great effect upon society's mentality. Although most view the First Great Awakening as the first' and greatest' religious, social, and political influence to American society, the second Great Awakening can be considered far more influential in its religious, social, and political aspects of influence.
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
Advancement from Enlightenment As the 1900's rolled around, many changes were to come. New leaders, government styles, and new ideas were just the start. The main focus of the Enlightenment era was based on reason, rationalism, and the idea of "Inevitable Progress. " Enlightenment was pushed forward by great people such as Kant, Bulgaria, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Newton, Francois-Marie Ardouet de Voltaire, Thomas Hobbes, to name a few.
The Great Awakening was before the American Revolution, therefore the forefront in the minds of many colonists was religion. But, it also caused some tensions between religious ideologies. The American Revolutionary era was a period where the nation was finding an identity to unify with. Both George Washington and Jonathon Edwards, believed that religion was necessary for the stability of a nation. However, the way how Washington and Edwards accomplished their plans with religion were different. The differences between the two men show varying degrees of religious acceptance. Both men wanted religion in America, but only by their own definition of religious acceptance.
By the late eighteenth century, the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason as it was called had begun to rapidly spread across Europe. People began believing in the ideals of popular government, the centrality of economics to politics, secularism, and progress. This cultural movement was sparked by intellectuals and commonwealth thinkers such as the influential writer John Locke and the famous scientist Isaac Newton, both who emphasized the fact that man, by the use of reason, would be able to solve all of his problems-whether it be problems with the government, morals or the society. However, these ideals weren’t just limited to the European nations where they had first begun. On the other side of the world, off in the United States, American intellectuals began to reason with these ideas as well. As a result, the influence on the profound of modern economic and political thought had a huge impact on the United States, resulting in one of the most important documents in known in American history; the Constitution.
Unlike previous centuries, the eighteenth century was the dawn of a new age in Western Europe where intellectuals thrived, science was honored, and curiosity was encouraged; and the framework of how civil society was changed as a whole. From the dawn of the Enlightenment Western European culture was changing due to the revolutionary new ideas that were changing. With the social change going on, political change was as ever evident as time went on. With these changes rooted in social change went out, the effects of the Enlightenment can be seen over 18th century Western Europe and beyond.
Both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment had significant impacts on society in the 1700s and even had long-term effects that can be recognized today. The Great Awakening was a religious revival which emphasized every person’s potential to break away from their past and begin anew in their relationship with God. It was considered the first great American revival, and was the result of concerns about declining piety and growing secularism. The Enlightenment, conversely, focused on human rationality and science as methods of making decisions and coming to conclusions. It emphasized individualism rather than tradition. It celebrated reason and was the product of scientific and intellectual discoveries made in the seventeenth century. Additionally, contrary to popular belief, it can be attested that the Enlightenment’s influence on religion and the relationship between it and the Great Awakening were not entirely negative or conflicting. Both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment helped to undermine the power of traditional authority.
During the Enlightenment, it was a time when educated intellectuals came together to discuss political, religious, economic, and social questions. From these discussions some people questioned the types of monarchies and which would be better for the society. These people were revolutionary thinkers that became known as philosophes, or philosophers, who brought new ideas on how to better understand and improve their society. They were all modern thinkers who had the best interest in society. Although each philosopher had their own individual ideas, they all focused on one common theme, which was equality and human rights.
Prior to Enlightenment the colonists, like the Europeans, were guided by their fear of God and rulers. They followed their church’s teachings blindly, as many of them could not read the scripture themselves. As the colonists began to educate themselves, they found that their interpretation of the readings did not always match what was preached to them in Sunday’s sermon. Even with the vamped up services and revivals during the Awakening many continued to question organized religion and separate from the Catholic Church. Many smaller denominations resulted from these breaks caused by the Awakening, leading to the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther even wrote entire doctrines based on his differences of opinion which would eventually form the basis for the Lutheran Church. The colonists also questioned the authority of their European rulers. Many believed that God himself had put their rulers in charge, but with all the political disasters and condemnation they were seeing they began to question their...
...ing shattered denominational loyalties and allowed Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists to leap ahead of all other Protestant rivals after 1780. It also destroyed the systems of established churches and recognized hierarchies, and replaced them with Evangelicalism, which mainly consisted of missionary work and reporting conversion experiences to others. The Great Awakening and westward expansion provided the American colonies with a few characteristics that led to the development of an American culture that distinguished it from British culture.
The American Revolution, perhaps the most momentous war-related milestone in American history, would not have been possible without the strenuous efforts of the courageous men we call Patriots or otherwise known as the Founding Fathers of America, who gave their all in the fight for freedom against the British. Many names of great men come to mind when we think “founding fathers,” such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, or Samuel Adams. Yet there is still one great patriot and founding father who seems to stand out above the rest, and that man is Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson is widely known as being the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase that bought more than 20% of the U.S. However, what most people seem to overlook is his vast knowledge of mathematics and science, and his strong position and belief in Republicanism.
By the beginning of the 18th century, there was an unmistakable feeling in the American Colonies that its intemperate society had become too comfortable and assertive, and had forgotten its original intentions of religious prosperity. The result was a revitalization of religious piety that swept through the American colonies between the 1730s and the 1770s, a movement known as "The Great Awakening". This revival was part of an evangelical upsurge occurring simultaneously in England, Scotland, Germany, and other inhabitants on the other side of the Atlantic. In all these Protestant cultures, a new Age of Faith had arisen contrasting the currents of the Age of Enlightenment, advocating the belief that being truly religious meant relying on biblical revelation rather than human reason.
Enlightenment had an enormous impact on educated, well to do people in Europe and America. It supplied them with a common vocabulary and a unified view of the world, one that insisted that the enlightened 18th century was better, and wiser, than all previous ages. It joined them in a common endeavor, the effort to make sense of God's orderly creation. Thus
... was imposed on the Indians. Finally, Edward Countryman foregrounds the significance of the American Revolution and its impact on the making of the U.S. as a nation.
The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this “awakening” time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a time in history where individualism was widely accepted amongst the new world. Puritan society believed strongly in myth, magic, and religious superstitions that was immensely used by the Puritans before democracy, capitalism, and the scientific revolution gave rise from the Enlightenment period.