The Age of Enlightenment

A Cultural MovementWhat differences do you see between these pictures?

What is a Cultural Movement?

• A change in the way people act and think

• Movements are often led by a group of people hoping to advance certain goals.

• African American Civil Rights Movement:– What change occurred?– Who were leaders? What goals did they have?

Key Characteristics of the Enlightenment

• Skepticism (asking questions)

• Emphasis on logic and reason– Conclusions based on sound evidence

• Disregarded tradition

• Opposed intolerance and superstition

Do you like Bacon?• The Enlightenment began in

Europe and was motivated by scientific discoveries.

• Sir Francis Bacon was a key contributor with his scientific method and process.

CONTRAST:• How did Puritans test or prove their theories or ideas? (Crucible)

• How did Puritans explain natural phenomena? (Bradstreet)

• What methods did Puritans use to control the population (Edwards)

The Baconian method looked for logical connections to find the source or cause of an effect. For example concluding that the sun produces heat because it burns your skin.

Locke it Down!Locke was a Doctor/Lawyer/Philosopher

He used logic and reason to create the philosophy of Liberalism.

He wrote important essays such as “Two Treatises of Government” and “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.”

What rights do people have today?

Who is in charge of the government now?

What rights did people have under monarchies or theocracies?

Who is in charge of monarchies?

Liberalism states that people have natural

rights, and that people should have the

freedom to do whatever they want so long as it

does not hurt other people.

Locke’s Logic• Consider an example of Locke’s use of reason to

arrive at a conclusion:– People cannot confirm with evidence which religion is right

– Even if so, some would not be convinced.

– You cannot force a person to believe a religion

– Therefore forcing people to follow a religion will lead to

problems.

– The best way to avoid problems is to permit all religions.

• Consider how Locke concluded that a government by the people was the most stable and therefore useful. • People revolt against governments because they are

unhappy with them.

• People have no influence in a monarchy.

• Therefore, it is more likely that they will be unhappy with

the monarchy.

• If common people ran the government, they would control

its decisions. They would therefore not need to revolt.

• A government by the people is more stable.

American EnlightenmentThe Enlightenment influenced the Founding Fathers greatly. The ideas of the Enlightenment were quite well received:

• Colonists already enjoyed considerable civil liberties

• Most colonial governments were already quite democratic

• All the colonies were autonomous and were quite separate from the English Crown

• Opinion of the crown was low as the King started imposing new taxes and restrictions

RepublicanismAmerican Enlightenment uniquely featured the idea of Republicanism. Republicanism had several characteristics:

• A government of a Republic, meaning a union of member states.

• Government officials must be elected by a majority of the people

• The government should be limited in power and not trusted

• Property rights were extremely important

• These ideas arose specifically from the colonist’s complaints about England

The combination of Liberalism and Republicanism formed the ideals for a new country: The United States of America

And the Rest is History