American Enlightenment facts for kids
| 1732–1845 | |
|
|
| Preceded by | European Enlightenment |
|---|---|
| Including | American philosophy |
| Followed by | American Revolution |
| Leader(s) | Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington |
The American Enlightenment was a special time of new ideas in the thirteen American colonies. It happened in the 1700s and early 1800s. These new ideas helped lead to the American Revolution and the creation of the United States of America.
This period was inspired by the European Enlightenment and also by unique American ways of thinking. Historian James MacGregor Burns said that the goal of the American Enlightenment was to make these big ideas practical. They wanted to use these ideas to improve the lives of people and the new nation.
During this time, people started using scientific thinking to understand politics, science, and religion. They promoted the idea of allowing different religions to exist peacefully. They also brought back literature, arts, and music as important subjects to study in colleges. Many colleges changed their classes to include science, modern astronomy, and math. New American-style colleges were also started.
Politically, this era focused on economic freedom, republicanism (a government where citizens hold power), and religious freedom. These ideas are clearly seen in the United States Declaration of Independence. Some leaders even started to believe in deism. This was a belief in a creator based on reason, rather than traditional religious teachings.
Important figures of the American Enlightenment included college presidents like Jonathan Edwards and Ezra Stiles. Key political thinkers were John Adams, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and Alexander Hamilton. Two very famous thinkers were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who were good at many different things.
The name "American Enlightenment" was actually created much later, after World War II. People in the 1700s just talked about becoming "enlightened."
Contents
When Was the American Enlightenment?
Historians have different ideas about when the American Enlightenment started and ended. Some suggest it was from 1750 to 1820, or 1765 to 1815.
One specific start date proposed is 1714. This was when a collection of Enlightenment books was given to the library at Yale College in Connecticut. A student named Samuel Johnson read these books. He found that they challenged his old Puritan beliefs. He felt like he was "emerging out of the glimmer of twilight into the full sunshine of open day."
In 1716, Johnson became a tutor at Yale. He introduced a new curriculum using these Enlightenment books. He called it "The New Learning." It included ideas from thinkers like Francis Bacon, John Locke, and Isaac Newton. These new ideas spread to the colonists through Puritan schools and religious groups, especially through Yale College.
Religious Freedom and Tolerance
Many of the Founding Fathers, like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington, worked hard for religious freedom. They wanted people of all faiths to live together peacefully in the United States. James Madison famously said in 1792, "Conscience is the most sacred of all property." This meant that what you believe in your heart is very important.
The period from 1775 to 1818 saw a big change from having an official state religion to allowing religious tolerance. The new Connecticut Constitution in 1818 is seen as a sign of this change. It overturned an old system that had been in place for 180 years. This new constitution guaranteed freedom of religion and ended the official status of the Congregational church in Connecticut.
New Ideas and Education
The American Enlightenment was influenced by European thinkers like Montaigne, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. These thinkers even got some of their ideas about democracy from stories about Native Americans' governments. Ideas of freedom and modern democracy were born in places like "Native American wigwams."
Between 1714 and 1818, America changed a lot. It went from being a distant colony to a leader in many areas. These included moral philosophy, education, religious revival, technology, science, and especially political ideas. Many of these changes had roots right here in America. There was a shared belief in a "pursuit of happiness" for everyone.
Colleges also changed. Instead of focusing only on religious studies, they started teaching moral philosophy. Yale College and the College of William & Mary reformed their programs. Even Puritan colleges like the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and Harvard University added science, modern astronomy, and mathematics to their classes. New American colleges were also founded, such as King's College New York (now Columbia University) and the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania).
European Influences
American thinkers learned a lot from European books. They had a strong book trade with Great Britain, so they knew about European literature very quickly.
Early influences came from English writers like James Harrington and Algernon Sidney. John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon were also important, especially their Cato's Letters. Joseph Addison's play Cato was very popular.
A very important English legal writer was Sir William Blackstone. His book Commentaries on the Laws of England greatly influenced the American Founders. It helped shape American law. While John Locke's Two Treatises of Government is often mentioned, his Essay Concerning Human Understanding was actually read more widely.
The Scottish Enlightenment also influenced American thinkers. David Hume's Essays and his History of England were popular. Hume's political ideas especially influenced James Madison and the Constitution. Another important Scottish writer was Francis Hutcheson. His ideas about ethics, along with good manners taught by the Earl of Shaftesbury and others, influenced upper-class Americans.
The most important French influences were Montesquieu's Spirit of the Laws and Emer de Vattel's Law of Nations. Both helped shape early American ideas about government and the Constitution. Voltaire's history books were read a lot. Rousseau's influence was less direct, but Noah Webster used Rousseau's ideas about child development for his famous Speller book. A German writer, Samuel Pufendorf, was also often quoted by American writers.
Science in the Enlightenment
Many important scientists emerged during the American Enlightenment. Benjamin Franklin was famous for his work on electricity. William Smith organized observations of the Transit of Venus. Jared Eliot worked on metals and farming. David Rittenhouse was an astronomer and instrument maker. Benjamin Rush contributed to medicine. Charles Willson Peale studied natural history. Cadwallader Colden worked in botany and city sanitation. His daughter, Jane Colden, was the first female botanist in America. Count Rumford was also a leading scientist, especially in the field of heat.
Architecture, Arts, and Culture
After 1780, American architecture started to develop its own style called the Federal-style. It was different from the British Georgian style. In 1813, American architect Ithiel Town designed and built the first Gothic-style church in North America, Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven. This was even before the Gothic style became popular in England.
In literature, poetry, music, and drama, there were early attempts at American art, especially in Philadelphia before the war. However, for most of this period, American culture in these areas was still very similar to British culture.
Republicanism
American republicanism was a political idea that focused on several key things. It meant that the government's power came from the people (consent of the governed). It also meant getting rid of the idea of a ruling class (aristocracy) and fighting against corruption. This idea combined older Roman and Greek republican ideas with English republican ideas from the 1600s and 1700s.
Historian J.G.A. Pocock explained that American thinkers studied many writers. These included John Milton, James Harrington, Sidney, Trenchard, Gordon, and Bolingbroke. They also studied ancient Greek, Roman, and Renaissance thinkers like Montesquieu.
These ideas promoted a "civic and patriot ideal." This meant that a person's identity was based on owning property and being a good citizen. But this ideal was always threatened by corruption. Government itself could be a source of corruption through things like giving out favors, political groups, and standing armies (which were opposed to the idea of a citizen militia). They also opposed official state churches and the power of moneyed interests.
The strong belief in these republican values made the American Revolution almost certain. Americans increasingly saw Britain as corrupt and a threat to the freedoms they enjoyed.
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
This famous phrase comes from the United States Declaration of Independence. Many historians believe it comes from John Locke's idea that "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions." Others suggest Thomas Jefferson got the phrase from Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England. Some also point to William Wollaston's 1722 book, The Religion of Nature Delineated, which described "natural religion" as "The pursuit of happiness by the practice of reason and truth."
The Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason in June 1776, stated:
That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights ... namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
A few days later, on July 4, 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted. It was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson. The second part of the Declaration says:
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.
Deism
Both the moderate and radical parts of the Enlightenment reacted against the strict rules and old ways of established churches. Thinkers like Voltaire believed that organized religion was against reason and scientific progress.
An alternative belief was deism. This was a philosophical belief in a God based on reason, not on religious stories or rules. Many Enlightenment thinkers adopted deistic ideas. Deism greatly influenced intellectuals and Founding Fathers, including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and especially Thomas Jefferson.
The clearest supporter of deism was Thomas Paine. His book The Age of Reason was written in France in the early 1790s and quickly came to the United States. Paine's ideas were very controversial. When Jefferson was criticized for his deism during the 1800 election, his political allies tried to distance him from Paine.
See also
In Spanish: Ilustración en Estados Unidos para niños
