The Enlightenment, the Great Awakening and the American Revolution

• • It challenged established religious hierarchies and fostered a sense of individual empowerment.
  • It also promoted a sense of unity among colonists from different regions and denominations.
• The Revolution's Synthesis:
  • The American Revolution can be seen as a synthesis of Enlightenment ideals and the Great Awakening's spirit.
  • Enlightenment principles provided the intellectual framework for challenging British authority, while the Great Awakening instilled a sense of popular participation and religious fervor that fueled the revolutionary movement.
  • Essentially, the enlightenment gave people the ideas, and the great awakening gave them the passion to act on those ideas.

How American Society Was Impacted:

• Enlightenment Impacts:
  • It fostered a culture of intellectual inquiry and scientific thinking.
  • It shaped the political ideals of the Founding Fathers, leading to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
  • It promoted the development of educational institutions and libraries.
• Great Awakening Impacts:
  • It democratized religion, empowering ordinary people to challenge religious authority.
  • It contributed to the growth of new denominations and the decline of established churches.
  • It fostered a spirit of individualism and self-reliance.
  • It helped to unify the colonies.

Liberty: Then and Now:

• Eighteenth-Century Liberty:
  • For eighteenth-century Americans, liberty encompassed both political and religious freedom.
  • Politically, it meant freedom from arbitrary rule and the right to self-government.
  • Religiously, it meant freedom of conscience and the right to worship as one pleased.
• Modern Liberty:
  • To me, liberty means the freedom to express oneself, pursue one's goals, and live without undue interference from the government or other individuals.
  • It includes freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press, as well as the right to equal protection under the law.
  • It also includes the freedom to make personal choices about one's life, relationships, and beliefs.
• Similarities:
  • Both eighteenth-century and modern conceptions of liberty emphasize individual rights and freedoms.
  • Both include the desire to be free from opression.
• Differences:
  • Modern conceptions of liberty often include a greater emphasis on social and economic equality.
  • Modern ideas also focus more heavily on the rights of minority groups.

Enduring Value:

• The concepts of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening remain highly relevant today.
• Enlightenment principles of reason, individual rights, and limited government continue to shape democratic societies.
• The Great Awakening's emphasis on personal experience and social justice resonates with contemporary movements for equality and human rights.
• These concepts help to ensure that governments are held accountable, and that individuals are protected from opression.
• They provide a framework for ethical decision-making, and for the pursuit of a just and equitable society.