THE ENLIGHTENMENT

THE AMERICAN TRANSITION As we move forward with our study of American History, it is important to recognize a significant shift. To this point we saw how people migrated to each continent and established communities. We also saw how the European people asserted their dominance by overtaking the Native American people. The Europeans, whether we recognize this action as right or wrong have established new communities which developed along ethnic and regional lines. Therefore, we must shift our thinking to the American identity. A new culture of mixed peoples who have set out to live their dreams of freedom. There will still be difficulties, controversy and growing pains as a new nation and a new form of government emerges.

WHAT STARTED THIS NEW WAY OF THINKING ? The word “Enlightenment” is defined as the action of being made aware or the state of being enlightened. This is usually associated with the European intellectual movement of the late 17th and 18th centuries which emphasized reason and individualism rather than tradition.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT The Enlightenment has been defined in many different ways, but at its broadest sense it can be understood as a philosophical, intellectual and cultural movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It stressed reason, logic, criticism and freedom of thought as opposed to religious dogma, blind faith and superstition. Logic was now included in a worldview which argued that the overall observation and the examination of human life could reveal the truth behind human society and the universe. All men were deemed to be rational and understandable. The Enlightenment held that there could be a science of man (study of humanity), and that the history of mankind was one of progress, which could be continued with the right thinking.

THE ORIGINS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT The scientific revolution of the seventeenth century shattered old systems of thinking, and allowed new ones to emerge. The teachings of the church and the Renaissance, were suddenly found lacking when dealing with scientific developments. It became both necessary for the Enlightenment thinkers to apply the new scientific methods to the study of humanity. It was argued that what happened during the Enlightenment was that the overarching religious stories and myths were replaced by scientific ones.

POLITICS AND RELIGION In general, Enlightenment thinkers argued for freedom of thought, religion and politics. The philosophers were largely critical of Europe’s absolute rulers. The philosophers were also deeply critical, indeed even openly hostile, to the organized religions of Europe, especially the Catholic Church whose priests, pope and practices came in for severe criticism. Therefore, personal freedoms or liberty was widely encouraged by Enlightenment thinkers, who were in favor of international thinking.

THE EFFECTS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT The Enlightenment affected many areas of human existence, including politics; perhaps the most famous example is that of the US Declaration of Independence. There is also debate about whether the Enlightenment actually transformed popular society to match it, or whether it was itself transformed by society. The Enlightenment era saw a general turn away from the dominance of the church.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN AMERICA The Enlightenment was crucial in determining almost every aspect of politics, government, and religion. Without the central ideas and figures of the Enlightenment, the United States would have been drastically different since these concepts shaped the country in its formative years. Both during and after the American Revolution many of the core ideas of the Enlightenment were the basis for monumental tracts such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Concepts such as freedom from oppression, natural rights, and new ways of thinking about governmental structure came straight from Enlightenment philosophers.

ENLIGHTENED PHILOSOPHER JOHN LOCKE John Locke believed that government should exist only to protect the rights of its citizens. According to Locke, these rights included life, liberty, health, and possessions. Locke believed that human nature was rational and tolerant. He also believed that man was inherently selfish; this is why government was necessary to protect man from infringement by other men. For this reason, Locke believed "Checks and Balances" were necessary for a functioning government to prevent one group from becoming more powerful than another. He also stated that in some circumstances, revolution was not merely a right, but a necessity. This would be the case in which a government began restricting civil liberties of its citizenry. These basic principles had a profound affect on both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

ENLIGHTENED PHILOSOPHERS IN AMERICA Key figures in the founding of the United States such as Thomas Jefferson were greatly influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment. Jefferson was a perfect man of the Enlightenment as he was both classically educated and trained in the humanities. As the author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson shaped the country by solidifying the ideas of natural rights in terms of government and religion. In addition, he understood the importance of education in making these ideals work in the new nation. In many ways, Jefferson represents the way Enlightenment ideals could be put into practice in the new colonies. Other men, such as Benjamin Franklin was also instrumental in formulating many of the institutions and philosophies that the country is based on, their Enlightenment ideas live on.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.