Question

briefly, 2 pages long explain How did the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening impact the American Revolution?

Answer 1

HOW DID THE ENLIGHTENMENT & THE GREAT AWAKENING IMPACT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:

Both the Enlightenment and the Great awakening caused the colonists to alter their views about government, the role of government, as well as society at large which ultimately and collectively helped to motivate the colonists to revolt against England.

The Enlightenment was vital in almost every part of the founding of America, which included everything from government, to politics itself, as well as religion. Many of the ideas from the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening shaped our country as a whole in its seminal years, inspiring everything from the American Revolution, to the Constitution, and even electricity and stoves.

Without the central ideas and figures of both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment era, the United States would not be the nation that Americans are accustomed to living in today.

The Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason) is described by scholars a method of thinking and knowing (“epistemology”) based off of the ideas that the natural world is in fact better understood through close observation, as well as dependence on reason.

An important note to point out is that the Enlightenment added a more secular environment to colonial life, which had always been based on religion.

The ideas of the Enlightenment actually originated in eighteenth century Europe, allowing for the birth of colonial “deists” who often looked for God’s plan in nature more than the Bible as they had in the past.

Many of the deists began to look at science and reason.

How did the Enlightenment influence the American Revolution?

The ideas of Enlightenment thinkers had a significant influence on the philosophical basis of the American Revolution. I'll go over the key ideas of the Enlightenment and how these ideas, which can be found in important documents from the revolution, influenced the American Revolution itself.

Enlightenment Ideas

Natural rights - John Locke is well-known for claiming every human has certain rights not given to them by the law or society. Things such as freedom, privacy, life etc.

Social Contract - Again Locke, but also prominent in Jean-Jaques Rousseau's writings. A political philosophy which claims that the government and people are bound under a contract, the government protects the people's natural rights and, in return, the people allow the government to rule.

Revolution - If the government fails to protect the people's natural rights, Locke argued that it is essentially obligatory for the people to revolt.

Reason - The ideas of the enlightenment are supported by reason, differing from previous eras which relied on supernatural and spiritual justifications.

The American Revolution

Throughout the Dec. of Independence, the influence of the enlightenment ideas is made clear. Take this famous quote for example:

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.

These "unalienable rights" are the natural rights Locke talks about.

Another quote reveals the influence of the social contract on the country's founders:

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

The "ends" the government destroys are the natural rights of the people. The Declaration of Independence echoes Locke's ideas that such destruction justifies a revolution.

Essentially, the philosophical basis for the revolution is grounded in enlightenment ideas on natural rights and the social contract. Since the colonists believed the British government had destroyed their natural rights, they believed the British had violated their portion of the contract. The American colonists therefore believed the British government did not have the right to rule them and decided to revolt.

The enlightenment also influenced the ideas behind the subsequent government created once the American's won the revolution. The political philosophies of enlightenment thinkers influenced James Madison and other writers of the Constitution. This is a whole other can of worms, however, so I'll simply acknowledge the existence of such an influence.

In what ways did The Great Awakening influence the American Revolution?

It had a variety of effects that would extend 30 years later to the Revolution. It was a common event throughout the 13 Colonies, giving them the sense of being a unified region rather than separate and competitive units. This was caued by the rise of print media that largely covered the events of the Awakening and reprinted the sermons for general consumption, especially George Whitfield’s itinerary. It gave people a greater sense that the world was getting better and should be improved, as well as a greater sense of the presence of evil and injustice that would try to steal that goodness away if they were not vigilant.

This lead to a more focused, black and white world view that saw things very dualistically- either good or evil and a passion to fight for the good.

It gave rise to a rumor that England was going to take away religious freedom by imposing royally chosen bishops that would oppress non Anglican religious groups and impose conformity to royal edicts on existing Anglican congregations that were vestry lead in areas where they were dominant, and demand more money to support episcopal activity.

The Awakening also led to the formation of a great number of tightly knit congregations that were passionately committed to the freedom to speak and worship, the desire to glorify God in all aspects of their lives, building a better world as part of that, and these often became units in the Continental Army with their church officers serving as their army officers.

The influx and spread of Presbyterian ideas resulted in the reinforcement of the desire for elected officers with a representative government, the belief in human nature needing checks and balances, as well as the sense that all- from the king to the poorest man- were all equal before God and in society. all of these ideas were engendered or reinforced by the ideas and events of the Great Awakening.