Benjamin Franklin was a very important man in the Enlightenment period due to his vast knowledge of science and politics. The American Enlightenment provided the structure for the colonists of America to evolve into a unique American character by 1763 through the circulation of reading materials, the scientific discoveries that lead to unique inventions, the development of a different government, and the tolerance for many religions. This evolution can be assessed by the life of Benjamin Franklin, a key proponent of the Enlightenment. The 18th century was when Britain and its colonies grew closer because of the circulation in letters, newspapers, and books.
The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal that cleared the American colonies (particularly New England) and took place in 1730 through 1760. In the 1730’s, a religious revival swept through the British American Colonies and a man named Jonathan Edwards refused to convert to the Church of England. Eventually, people were even beginning to suggest predestination was wrong and good works might save a soul. Not only Jonathan Edwards started this but people like George Whitefield and the Wesley brothers started to preach to God and began to disassociate themselves which led to a general sense of complacency.
During the time of the Enlightenment and Great Awakening, colonists began to take a new view on life. The Enlightenment brought many new ideas and concepts on how the world worked. The Great Awakening brought forth the revival of a religious life. For example, throughout the Enlightenment, colonists started believing more in scientific theories rather than religious beliefs. Benjamin Franklin wanted to obtain the truth through experimentation and reason.
Impowering the Nation The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment (Deism) were both important in shaping the religious, political, and social lives of Americans. However, the revivals of the Great Awakening were able to reach more of the population and therefore gave voices to those previously uncounted. The Great Awakening was a time of excitement that included all facets of society within the colonies. The message crossed barriers and spoke directly to the individuals, it awakened emotions and gave life to those that participated.
As two of the most prominent movements in American history, both the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening have had a tremendous impact of the colonists in America. The Enlightenment brought forth a ton of attention to learning and knowledge. With new ideas brewing in the European nations from the Renaissance, travelling colonists spread word very quickly which led to the Enlightment. The Enlightenment increased literacy in a big way and affected politics as well. Colinists wanted to improve their style of living, and by doing so, they needed the Enlightenment era to improve everyday life with new inventions, experiments, and theories.
The Great Awakening and Enlightenment were two very different cultural phenomena that happened during the 1700s but they both had a similar effect on colonial society. The Enlightenment was based on reason, science, rationality and progress. Benjamin Franklin, an Enlightenment thinker from Pennsylvania, believed that science could benefit society. Other Enlightenment thinkers had rational views of God and viewed him as a clockmaker that controlled the universe.
The Second Great Awakening The American Revolution had been known for having no religious or spiritual beliefs. This mainly was due to the separation from the control of political leaders. A number of religious revivals swept through the US from the 1790s and continued on into the 1830s. During this period of time, there has been a transformation of religion throughout the different aspects of the country.
The Enlightenment can be summarized as the movement to bring the human capacity to reason to light as a very important aspect in social as well as economic life. During the 1700's, many people were still in the mid-evil mindset, which encompassed the ruling of both spiritual and secular rulers, the belief that humans did not possess the ability for social change, and that the time on earth was simply a waiting period for either heaven or hell (Schultz, 2013). However, with the expansion of social life and interaction, many people were starting to question this mindset.
Just like the Puritans advocated for hard work, self discipline, and self improvement, the Enlightenment thinkers valued the same ideals. However, the motivations between the two groups are what differed: Puritans were motivated to improve themselves because they thought it would please God and get them into heaven whereas Enlightenment thinkers believed individual improvement would lead to social progress. Even though the Enlightenment occurred in the US over two hundred years ago, it’s still very easy to identify elements of the movement in our current culture and society. The ideas of self improvement, self discipline, hard work, curiosity, exploration, and progress are what Jamie Hyneman, of the television show Myth Busters, advocates
The aspects of European Enlightenment influenced the educated Americans during the eighteenth century. Enlightenment was a type of thought that emphasized science and reason over the aspects of religion. The Enlightenment thinkers basically applied careful investigations based on research and trials to the social and political aspects of life. European Enlightenment spread to America from across the Atlantic with goods and people. The thinkers of the Enlightenment ideas hoped that reason could govern human life instead of religious enthusiasm.
The First and Second Great Awakening brought forth religious and social movements that impacted the American culture, appealing to the individual. Occurring in the early 18th century, the First Great Awakening was born within the 13 British Colonies with the Revolutionary War on the horizon. Decades later, the Second Great Awakening flourished under revivals and reforms, impacting the 19th century and years to follow. Despite being born out of different climates, The First and Second Great Awakening was characterized by the rejection of rational thinking for emotional preaching that reached the heart and soul, inspiring change in the negative perception of reason and positive perception of emotion and individualism in religion as well as the
The Enlightenment was a period during the 1600 and 1700s where authority, power, government and law was questioned by philosophers. The causes of the Enlightenment was the Thirty Years’ War, centuries of mistreatment at the hands of monarchies and the church, greater exploration of the world, and European thinkers’ interest in the world (scientific study). A large part of the Enlightenment was natural law, which was the belief that people should live their lives and organize their society on the basis of rules and precepts laid down by nature or God; the principles of the Enlightenment in the 1600s through the 1700s influenced the development of the USA by advocating religious and social freedom, freeing the people from oppression, and providing
The development of science is one of the most significant achievements of the Enlightenment era, as it shaped both socio-economic and political spheres of life. In this paper, I would like to highlight the importance of the institutionalization of science as one of the most significant factors that affected intellectual, social and political aspects of the history of the Enlightenment era. The beginning of the Enlightenment era in Europe coincided with revolutions, struggles, wars and instability generated by the destruction of empires, church, corporate and feudal relations. At the same time, new capitalist and liberal relations started to form. Rapid emasculation of social ideas and religious leaders, along with technical progress led to the necessity for new social and political order.
The Enlightenment of 18th century was an extension of the scientific revolution in which rational thought and reason was extended from nature to society. Thinkers of the Enlightenment, known as philosophes, completely rejected the supremacy of religion, superstition and Church authority and replaced it with reason (mmuntazir.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/influence-of-enlightenment-on-economic-social-thought). Many of the ideas developed during the Enlightenment underpin elements of our society today. The idea that government is a social contract between the state and the people, for instance, is fundamental to democracy. It is critical to note, however, that many of the ideas of the Enlightenment have had a negative impact since their elaboration
Over 200 years after the end of the generally recognized Age of Enlightenment, during the “long 18th century” (1685-1815) , we, along with many others are still discussing and discovering what the impact of this time is on our world today. Simply put, the Enlightenment is the cause of how we are, where we are and why we are the way we are right now. It is not a simple thing for us today to comprehend, partially because of the denseness of the content and partially because the language is not as easily understood (at least compared to how we talk and write today). One such discussion that has been brought about from this period is that of morality, which is also a topic individuals continue to try to comprehend today. Is there something within
