Religion in Colonial America

Summary

This lecture explores the religious landscape of Colonial America, highlighting the Great Awakening's role in fostering religious diversity and unity among the colonies. It discusses the emergence of denominations like Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, and Lutheranism, and the shift from state-supported to disestablished religions. The video also connects the Awakening to the Enlightenment, showing how both movements influenced the American Revolution by promoting ideas of individual rights and self-governance.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The video discusses the impact of religion on Colonial America, highlighting the distinctions between Catholicism, Christianity, and Protestantism, and the emergence of various Protestant sects post-Reformation.
• ⚛️ The Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s led to significant religious diversity in the American colonies, challenging the established religious norms and leading to the formation of new religious movements.
• 🌐 Before the Great Awakening, the main religions in the colonies were Puritanism in New England, which evolved into Congregationalism, and Anglicanism in the middle and southern colonies.
• 🏛️ Established religions were those that received tax support and were the official religion of a colony, with examples including Anglican faith in some colonies and Congregational faith in New England, except Rhode Island.
• 🏫 Early American colleges were founded to train ministers for specific religious denominations, such as Harvard for the Puritan faith and the College of William and Mary for the Anglican faith.
• 🔄 The Great Awakening was a religious revival that spanned all 13 colonies, marking the first major unifying event for the colonies and leading to the establishment of new churches and colleges.
• 📜 The script emphasizes the shift from traditional religious authority to a more personal and individual approach to faith, with people believing in their ability to interpret religious texts without intermediaries.
• 🌱 The Awakening contributed to the birth of new religious movements like Baptism and Methodism, which emphasized personal salvation and good works, contrasting with the predestination beliefs of Calvinism.
• 🔗 The Great Awakening prepared the ground for the American Revolution by fostering a spirit of independence from religious and political authorities, encouraging the belief in self-governance and natural rights.
• 💡 The Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason, science, and individual rights, influenced the American colonies, leading to a surge in literacy, the establishment of schools, and the promotion of ideas that would shape the American Revolution.

Q & A

What are the three major sects of the Christian church mentioned in the script?

The three major sects of the Christian church mentioned are Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestantism.

What was the primary religion in New England during the early establishments of the colonies?

In New England, the primary religion during the early establishments of the colonies was Puritanism, which later became known as Congregationalism.

What significant religious event occurred in the 1730s and 1740s that increased religious diversity in the American colonies?

The Great Awakening, which occurred in the 1730s and 1740s, was a significant religious event that increased religious diversity in the American colonies.

What is the term for a religion that is officially supported by a colony, receiving tax support from the colony's residents?

An established religion is a religion that is officially supported by a colony and receives tax support from the colony's residents.

Which colonies had an established religion, and which ones did not?

Colonies like Georgia, North Carolina, and others had established religions, while Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania never had an established religion.

What was the purpose of the first colleges established in the American colonies?

The first colleges established in the American colonies, such as Harvard and Yale, were created to train ministers in their respective religions.

How did the Great Awakening contribute to the unification of the American colonies?

The Great Awakening contributed to the unification of the American colonies by being the first event to span all 13 colonies, promoting a sense of shared religious experience and awakening.

What was the main message of George Whitfield, one of the key preachers of the Great Awakening?

George Whitfield's main message was that good works and godly lives would bring salvation, contrasting with the Calvinist belief in predestination.

What new religious movements emerged as a direct result of the Great Awakening?

New religious movements that emerged as a result of the Great Awakening include Baptists and Methodists.

How did the Great Awakening influence the American Revolution?

The Great Awakening influenced the American Revolution by promoting ideas of equality, the right to challenge authority, and the belief in self-governance, which later translated into the colonists' willingness to break away from British rule.

What is Deism, and how did it relate to the Enlightenment and the American Revolution?

Deism is the belief in the existence of a god who created the world and then left it to run by natural laws without further intervention. It relates to the Enlightenment through its emphasis on reason and science over traditional religious authority, and it influenced the American Revolution by advocating for natural rights and self-governance.

Outlines

00:00

🏛 Religion in Colonial America

This paragraph discusses the religious landscape of colonial America, highlighting the distinctions between Catholicism, Christianity, and Protestantism. It explains the emergence of the Protestant Reformation, which led to the creation of new religious sects such as Anglican, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist. The Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s is introduced as a significant period that increased religious diversity in the colonies. Before this, New England was dominated by Puritanism, which evolved into Congregationalism, while Anglicanism was prevalent in the middle and southern colonies. The paragraph also covers the concept of established religions, where taxes funded both the state and the church, and notes the shift towards disestablishment as the colonies sought greater separation of church and state.

05:01

📚 Higher Education and the First Great Awakening

The focus of this paragraph is on the establishment of early American colleges, such as Harvard and the College of William and Mary, which were founded to train ministers in their respective religious faiths. It then delves into the First Great Awakening, a religious revival that swept through the American colonies and represented the first major unifying force among them. The paragraph discusses the reasons for the Great Awakening, including a decline in religious observance and the diminishing authority of Puritan ministers. It also touches on the role of personal interpretation of the Bible and the rise of individualism in religion, which challenged the traditional religious hierarchy.

10:03

🌟 The Great Awakening and Evangelical Preachers

This paragraph details the impact of the Great Awakening on American religious life, emphasizing the rise of evangelical preachers like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. It contrasts Edwards' fear-based sermons with Whitefield's focus on good works and godly living as a path to salvation. The paragraph also discusses the movement's appeal to the economically poor and the backcountry populations, who were drawn to the promise of a personal relationship with God and the potential for salvation through Christian doctrine. The Great Awakening is portrayed as a period of significant religious and social change, with new denominations emerging and a shift towards personal faith over traditional religious authority.

15:06

🔄 The Outcomes of the Great Awakening

The paragraph discusses the outcomes of the Great Awakening, including the split within established religions like Anglicanism and Congregationalism, leading to the formation of new sects such as Baptists and Methodists. It highlights the establishment of new colleges with religious affiliations, reflecting the movement's influence on education. The Great Awakening is also credited with promoting equality and challenging traditional authority, which laid the groundwork for the Enlightenment's ideas to gain traction in America. The paragraph suggests that the Great Awakening played a crucial role in preparing the colonies for the American Revolution by fostering a spirit of independence and self-governance.

20:08

🏛 The Rise of Deism and Enlightenment

This paragraph explores the emergence of Deism and the Enlightenment in the context of the American colonies. Deism, characterized by belief in a non-interventionist God, gained traction alongside the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and scientific inquiry. The paragraph introduces key Enlightenment thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu, whose ideas on natural rights, separation of powers, and government by social contract would influence the American Revolution. The paragraph also notes the increased literacy rate and the proliferation of newspapers and schools as indicators of the Enlightenment's impact on colonial America.

25:09

📈 Enlightenment's Impact on Colonial America

The final paragraph summarizes the Enlightenment's impact on colonial America, noting the surge in literacy, the establishment of schools, and the rise of Deism among notable figures like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. It connects the Enlightenment's emphasis on natural rights and the social contract to the growing sentiment of self-governance that would eventually lead to the American Revolution. The paragraph suggests that the Enlightenment reinforced early American ideas about governance and laid the intellectual foundation for the revolution against British rule.

Keywords

💡Religion in Colonial America

Religion in Colonial America refers to the various religious beliefs and practices that were present in the American colonies prior to the United States' founding. The video discusses how religion was a significant aspect of colonial life, with different regions having their own dominant faiths such as Puritanism in New England and Anglicanism in the South. This diversity laid the groundwork for the later religious freedom enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

💡Great Awakening

The Great Awakening refers to a series of religious revivals that swept through the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. It was a period of heightened religious enthusiasm, which led to significant religious and social changes. The video highlights how the Great Awakening led to the emergence of new religious denominations, increased religious diversity, and contributed to a sense of unity among the colonies, which was a precursor to the American Revolution.

💡Puritanism

Puritanism was a religious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to 'purify' the Church of England from its remaining Roman Catholic practices. In the video, Puritanism is mentioned as the dominant religious belief in New England, which later evolved into Congregationalism. The script discusses how Puritanism's influence waned over time, contributing to the conditions that led to the Great Awakening.

💡Congregationalism

Congregationalism is a form of Protestant Christianity that emerged from the Puritan movement, emphasizing the autonomy of individual congregations. The video explains that in New England, Puritanism eventually became known as Congregationalism, reflecting a shift in religious organization and practice. This change is indicative of the evolving religious landscape in the colonies.

💡Anglicanism

Anglicanism, also known as the Church of England, was the established church in England and its colonies. The video notes that Anglicanism was the predominant religion in the middle and southern colonies, such as Virginia. It was often supported by the colonial governments, reflecting the close ties between religion and state during that period.

💡Established Religion

An established religion is a state-supported or state-endorsed religious body that often benefits from financial support and recognition. In the video, it is mentioned that most colonies had an established religion, which received tax support and was closely linked to the colonial government. This system began to change as the colonies moved towards greater religious freedom and the eventual disestablishment of state religions.

💡Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a religious and political movement of the 16th century that led to the creation of Protestantism as an alternative to the Roman Catholic Church. The video discusses how the Reformation resulted in the formation of various Protestant denominations, such as Presbyterianism and Lutheranism, which had a significant presence in the American colonies.

💡Deism

Deism is a philosophical belief in a single, supreme being who created the universe but does not intervene in its workings. The video explains that Deism emerged as a significant religious movement during the Enlightenment, influencing key figures like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Deists believed in natural laws and reason over divine intervention, which contrasted with the more traditional religious views of the time.

💡Enlightenment

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and philosophical movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. The video connects the Enlightenment to the Great Awakening, suggesting that both movements contributed to the growing sense of personal freedom and the questioning of established religious and political norms that eventually led to the American Revolution.

💡Higher Education and Religion

The video discusses the establishment of early American colleges, such as Harvard, Yale, and the College of William & Mary, which were founded to train ministers and propagate religious beliefs. This highlights the close relationship between religion and education in colonial America, with education often serving to reinforce religious values and practices.

Highlights

Three major sects of the Christian church: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestantism.

The Protestant Reformation led to the creation of new religions such as Anglican, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist.

Before the 1730s, New England was dominated by Puritanism, which later became Congregationalism.

Anglicanism was the main religion in middle and southern colonies before the Great Awakening.

The Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s led to significant religious diversity in the colonies.

By 1775, religious diversity was evident, with Congregationalists, Anglicans, and Presbyterians being the most prominent.

Presbyterianism and Lutheranism emerged from the Protestant Reformation in Scotland and Germany, respectively.

Established religions were official religions of colonies, with taxpayers supporting both the state and the church.

Rhode Island had religious freedom and a clear separation of church and state, unlike other colonies.

The first colleges in the colonies were created to train ministers in respective religions, such as Harvard and Yale.

The Great Awakening was the first major unifying force for the American colonies, spanning all 13 colonies.

Religious revivalism during the Great Awakening brought people back to spiritual life and a greater intimacy with God.

The Great Awakening led to the formation of new religions like Baptists and Methodists, and the establishment of new colleges.

Deism, an offshoot of the Great Awakening, posits that God created the world and then left it to run by natural laws.

The Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason and science, influenced the American Revolution and challenged traditional religious and political authority.

Prominent Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Voltaire advocated for natural rights and freedoms that influenced the American Revolution.

The Great Awakening and Enlightenment led to a surge in literacy, increased publication of newspapers and books, and the establishment of schools.

Transcripts

all right today we are going to talk

about religion and colonial america

um and this is just to kind of show you

the splits in the catholic church so a

lot of times people get confused when i

talk about catholicism versus

christianity versus protestantism and so

here you see that there are three major

sects

that's

s-e-c-t-s

of our divisions of the christian church

so the eastern orthodox is going to be

found primarily in eastern europe and

russia

roman catholic

is

what most of europe was first

essentially and then from roman catholic

because of the protestant reformation

which you've already learned about

they protested

the roman catholic religion and they

created new religions and so you kind of

see

different religions shooting off from

protestants so anglican calvinists

lutheran anabaptists and then things

like methodist quaker

episcopal presbyterian all of those are

also protestant religions

all right before the

1730s so we're going to start we're

going to talk about the great awakening

which happened in the 1730s and the

1740s before that time

and from the early establishments of the

colonies there were two major religions

in new england it was puritanism which

eventually became known as

congregationalism so puritanism and

congregationalism are essentially

the same thing

in the middle colonies like new york and

the southern colonies like virginia

anglicanism tended to be the main

religion there

yet by 1775 so this is on the eve of the

american revolution as we move into our

next unit you'll see that there is

significant

religious diversity throughout the

colonies and largely that's because of

the great awakening that happened in the

1730s and the 1740s

here's another image this is another map

really that's showing essentially the

same thing

the amount of religious diversity

by the time of the rebel revolution

and here this particular chart of course

shows the number of people in 1775

that associated themselves with a

particular religion so

congregationalists you can see have the

largest number anglicans as a close

second presbyterians as a close third

and so on and so forth from there

presbyterianism arose as part of the

protestant reformation in scotland

and lutheranism which was actually the

beginning of the protestant reformation

emerged in germany so that's why we see

a lot of

those presbyterians in the frontier

because we know the scots irish live

there and the germans largely in

pennsylvania remember the pennsylvania

dutch or the deutsche mis misconstrued

to be dutch

really germans that had settled in

pennsylvania

all right i want to talk about what an

established religion is

so an established religion is when the

religion is kind of the official

religion of a colony and when the people

of that colony pay taxes

they pay taxes both to the state and

then a portion of that taxes also goes

to the religion so most colonies had

an established religion or a tax

supported religion so you can see here

that the anglican faith was supported in

georgia north carolina and so on and so

forth those colonies and the

congregational faith was supported in

new england with the exception of rhode

island because as you guys know

rhode island had religious freedom and a

clear separation of church and state

so

that's important to note

of those particular

established churches and here is just

another

chart that shows exactly the same thing

it also identifies the year that it was

disestablished so as time went on people

began to advocate for a greater

separation of church and state and for

the most part those religions were

disestablished rhode island new jersey

delaware and pennsylvania never had an

established religion

i want to talk a little bit about higher

education so the first colleges in

what would become the united states in

the colonies

are all created to train ministers in

respective religions so harvard for

example created in 1836

the very first college in the american

colonies was meant to train candidates

for ministry in the puritan or the

congregational faith um seeing that the

anglicans followed several years later

actually about six years later um and

created the college of william and mary

to train ministers in the anglican faith

and then shortly thereafter yale was

created again to change trained

ministers in the congregational faith

and so those are the first three

colleges in the americas all three

created

two trained ministers in those faiths

i want to get into

the

first grade awakening and notice i

called it the first great awakening

because there are two

sometimes people view it as four in

general when we talk about a great

awakening we're talking about when the

american public

awoke to

religion and so we have this trend that

happens throughout american history

where we are very religious and then

over the next century that religiosity

wanes

and then there's a great awakening and

then america becomes very religious

again and then over the next century it

wanes and so on and so forth so we've

seen this happen several times

throughout american history

one of the most significant things about

talking about the great awakening is not

only to talk about the religious

contributions to american society but

the fact that this was

in a sense the first major unifying

force for the american colonies so we've

gotten done talking about the colonies

and we know that they are varied and

they are extremely different from one

another new york is not

the same as pennsylvania is not the same

as massachusetts is not the same as

georgia or south carolina and so

the great awakening is significant

because this is the first event that is

actually going to span all 13

of the colonies

so

why does it happen well for one people

began to feel that religion was dry dull

and distant so

when we look at um why

you know plymouth the separatists were

established in 1620 and the puritans

massachusetts bay were established in

1630. by the time we get to the 1730s

it's been a 100 it's been 100 years and

people are

becoming less religious

also to add in the puritan faith

the ministers began to lose authority so

the only way

you could be a full member of the church

and therefore a full participating

member in massachusetts bay colony is if

you were considered a visible saint

somebody that

claimed that they were saved or believed

that they had been saved from god

as a result of this the puritan church

began to decline in membership

and so

as time went on they began to accept

members of the church who had taken what

is called the halfway covenant where

their

their family members

that went before them had been visible

saints but they no longer were and so

essentially we see kind of a reduction

in religious

acceptance there

people in new england can read and

interpret the bible on their own was one

of the biggest arguments against needing

church because remember the puritan

ministers were claiming that only they

could read and interpret the bible and

when people started to be able to read

the bible on their own they started to

question

some of the things that the puritan

ministers were teaching that maybe they

were contrary to what the bible actually

said and so this has caused over the

century

waning in religiosity

i think that this is always kind of a

funny yet interesting quote john

winthrop invested his facing faith in

god in his own efforts in the task of

creating a spiritual community his

grandsons invested in connecticut real

estate so again showing how time has

changed since the initial establishment

of a massachusetts bay colony

so

origins of the great awakening there was

no organized state religion as in

england

so anybody could be any religion and

that is going to pave the way to the

opportunity for new religions to emerge

as a result of the great awakening by

1691 no colony had religious laws that

directly affected the political order

religion as private as it could be in

the 18th century western civilization so

that just means that people realize that

there was a private aspect to religion

it didn't all have to be community

everything in north america was very

fractured this

led to a lot of open dialogue regarding

faith and practice

um and i can't read the bottom thing of

faith then overwhelmingly a matter of

personal initiative so it no longer had

to be something that what came from the

government or even passed down through

your lineage you could choose the faith

that you wanted to practice the other

major reason is that large regions

of the colonies were disconnected from

religion altogether namely the back

country and the back country are going

to be the group that is going to

participate in the great awakening

probably the most

people

like that have a need a lot of younger

people that have a need to find a faith

at this time in history people that are

especially economically poor

are going to be ones that like the ideas

that are going to be portrayed by

christian

doctrine as they begin to talk about

these things and so as a result of this

in the 1730s and 1740s there was a huge

religious movement that swept through

north america converting people to a

variety of religions now

the

congregationalists did not want to lose

out on this opportunity and so it

actually begins in massachusetts

with two famous um

evangelical preachers so an evangelical

preacher is somebody that proclaims the

word of god largely by moving from place

to place

and trying to convert people to that

religion

so jonathan edwards and george whitfield

are going to be the two major ones

coming from massachusetts but they had

various different

ways to convert people to religion

jonathan edwards did so

through

largely

using fear and and preaching god if they

don't come to god they're going to go to

hell and really articulating what the

um what hell was like um his most famous

sermon is called sinners in the hand of

an angry god to give you an idea of

the tone he took on the other hand

george woodfield took on more of the

evangelical role touring the colonies

he led a lot of revivals convincing

people to join the religion

countless people to

convert

to the religion and this spurred a lot

of

other evangelical people who are going

to go from place to place to preach

um to try to convince people to

come to religion

one of the most significant things he

preached was that good works and godly

lives would bring you salvation and that

is very different from the standing

belief of the calvinist religions which

advocated

excuse me

and preach for what's called

predestination

that your destiny

is predetermined

before you are even born whether you are

going to go to heaven or hell it doesn't

matter what you do on earth

you will have your destined location

whitfield's going to change that and

he's going to say if you're good a good

person

you do good things if you live a godly

life you can

earn salvation you can earn your way to

heaven

and other evangelical preachers are

going to emerge and you can kind of see

this is actually the movement of

different evangelical preachers

throughout the great awakening moving

from place to place to preach

the

gospel that they were choosing to preach

all right i'm just going to read this to

you and then i'm going to explain it so

the great awakening was a spiritual

renewal that swept the american colonies

particularly new england during the

first half of the 18th century it began

in england before catching fire across

the atlantic

unlike the somber largely puritan

spirituality of the early 1700s the

revival revivalism ushered in by the

awakening brought people back to

spiritual life as they felt a greater

intimacy with god so one of the major

preachings of the great awakening was

that people can have a personal

relationship with god that they don't

need a minister to interpret the bible

and interpret those messages for them

and so as a result of that

lots more people began to join

religion that previously were not part

of it

so in the already established religions

of anglicanism and

congregationalism they actually split

into two separate divisions two separate

sects

um on the one hand

um

some people

embrace a more reformed religion while

others embrace the very traditional

religion um also

new religions formed as part of the

great awakening so you notice the

baptists and the methodist religion

actually emerge as a result of this

great awakening new colleges form so i

had gotten as far as yale

but as you can see after the great

awakening a lot of new colleges are

established again with religious

purposes so princeton was established

for as presbyterian college

kings college or what we call columbia

today was established as an anglican

college a reformed anglican college

brown university baptist rutgers dutch

reform

dartmouth

congregational reformed college so we

see a lot of the what we would consider

ivy league schools

being emerged because of the great

awakening

across class barriers that emphasize

inequality of all which many people

liked especially lower class people and

you're going to find that lower class

people are going to

take on the great awakening much more

than wealthy people because wealthy

people don't want things to change

and so the great awakening suggesting

that

anybody has an opportunity to salvation

especially poor people who were living

kind of a crummy life on earth that idea

that if they came to faith

upon

dying they would go to heaven and go to

the kingdom of god and be wealthy

in

the in his love

that was something that was very

appealing to

lower class people in society

as i mentioned previously unified

americans as a single people because

every single colony embraced the great

awakening

and um it emerged missionaries for both

blacks and indians to convert them to

christian religions at this time

and again here are where some of those

newer

colleges were formed as a result of the

great awakening

outcomes of the great awakening i

already mentioned that it appealed to

the commoners and the poor

the birth of deep religious convictions

in the colonies

baptists and methodists if you guys know

anything we have in our nation what's

called the bible belt so right straight

through our middle latitude we have lots

of

methodists largely baptists in the south

they have strong religious ties and

religious convictions

new churches were built and we already

talked about colleges being formed

um but i want to show you how the great

awakening actually leads to the

acceptance of another

school of thought that being the

enlightenment so because the great

awakening encouraged the ideas of

equality because it encouraged the ideas

of the right to challenge authority that

you didn't need that minister to tell

you what the bible said anymore

that is going to play a role

in a greater acceptance of a new

movement coming from europe a new

movement of thought called the

enlightenment

um the awakening's biggest significance

was the way it prepared america for its

war of independence

because it again was a first start to

uniting the colonies in the decades

before the war revivalism taught people

that they could be bold when confronting

religious authority and that when

churches weren't living up to the

believers expectations the people could

break off and form new ones think about

that related to britain we could become

bold americans could become bold when

confronting british authority and when

they weren't living up to the

expectations of the colonists they could

break away so we see the great awakening

as having major

major

political

consequences and effects as time goes on

through the awakening the colonists

realized that religious power resided in

their own hands rather than in the hands

of the church of england or any other

religious authority after a generation

or two passed with this kind of mindset

the colonists came to realize that

political power did not reside in the

hands of the english monarch but in

their own will for self-governance so

there's a lot of connections between the

great awakening and the ideas that are

going to

promote and move forward

the american revolution

all right and like i mentioned a couple

times throughout here it was the first

event to happen throughout all of them

now i want to talk about a new type of

religion that emerges kind of as an

offshoot of this

and that religion is deism

and so a deist is going to be somebody

that acknowledges the existence of god

but believes that god created the world

and then left the world to run by

natural laws that god does not have a

hand in the day-to-day life of the world

or of human beings rather he lets human

beings have free choice make their own

decisions

and

as a result of that

humans should choose their own morals

ethics and customs that they are going

to

utilize in life and then as time goes on

and they die

god will decide whether those

morals ethics and customs were

appropriate to come into heaven

and a lot of this goes hand in hand with

a new thinking that was emerging from

europe at this time that thinking called

the enlightenment the enlightenment is

also known as the age of reason

and

with kind of the rejection of the

traditional religions came also a

rejection of a lot of different

scientific and political ideals

um that people had previously believed

so up until this point in time largely

the church had been the expert on just

about everything and i'm talking about

largely the catholic church but what the

catholic church said about science about

religion about politics was simply what

everyone took as truth but because of

the great awakening and because of the

enlightenment people began to start to

consider

that there was a more rational and

scientific way to explain and understand

the world around them

and then eventually that's going to be

associated this new way of thinking is

going to be associated with politics

like for example the catholic church at

one point taught at one point taught

that the earth was the center of the

universe and that was debunked and so

people started to question well maybe

there were other things that the church

was wrong about so when the church

anointed a sovereign to rule over the

land and that sovereign was god alike in

a sense

maybe

that wasn't actually true

and so the enlightenment thinkers began

to argue that using science and using

reason

could actually answer a lot of the

questions concerning government itself

so on the previous page we had a picture

of john locke and we'll talk about him

in just a moment but here are some of

the most prominent enlightenment

thinkers whose ideas then

became the forefront of the american

revolution

so thomas hobbs believed in what's

called a social contract the idea that a

government is

established

to

create social order

and in order to have social order people

obey laws and give up some of their

rights and then the government protects

them

in in exchange

so we're going to see how

the

colonial governments and the government

great britain maybe

denies that or breaks that idea of a

social contract

john locke is the guy that advocated

that all people have natural rights to

life liberty and property and that those

rights cannot be arbitrarily taken away

bacaria

advocated for rights of the accused

things like that people should have a

trial by a jury of their peers that

there shouldn't be searches without a

warrant that people should be guaranteed

free trials that there should not be

cruel and unusual punishment just to

name a few

voltaire was a french enlightenment

thinker that advocated for freedom of

religion and freedom of speech

baron de montesquieu

was the french leader um enlightenment

thinker that believed that government

should have a separation of powers that

there shouldn't just be one head rather

there should be an executive legislative

and judicial branches and that those

branches should have checks and balances

within each other barry wilston craft

was an enlightenment thinker that

advocated for women's equality and for

women to have rights in society so i'm

sure by just reading through that list

you can

make some connections

to

some of the ideas that become part of

the american revolution

what happens because of the

enlightenment well number one there's a

great surge of literacy in the colonies

americans actually are the greatest

readership in the world

over 50 percent of americans

are literate at the time of the american

revolution which is the highest

percentage of anywhere in the world

newspapers and book publications

increase

schools become synonymous with new towns

and villages so previously we talked

about how that was primarily in new

england

as we move into the mid-1700s

schools are commonplace throughout all

colonies in the united states

and um

deism becomes more prominent um

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people like benjamin franklin and thomas

jefferson were deists they believed that

god created earth but

didn't exactly determine how people

acted on it

people began to agree with locke that

people are born with natural rights that

the government has an obligation to

protect those natural rights

and that kings have no right to govern

people

rather people empower the government

think back to the house of burgesses

think back to the mayflower compact so

simply those ideas that emerge early on

are being reinforced by the ideas of the

enlightenment and of course these ideas

then carry over into the american

revolution

all right and we'll continue that

conversation as we get there in history