Enlightenment/Great Awakening Gallery Walk
1) Enlightenment
 Movement that began in Europe and came to America
 Had a main focus on thought, reason, and science as opposed to
religion and spiritual nature
 Played a role in the American Revolution because it led colonists
to believe in their own independence and personal gain
 Personal happiness as an integral part of domestic life became
common during this time period
 Constitution was based on these beliefs
 Begins in the late 17th-early 18th century
 The Enlightenment is often referred to as the age of reason
 Began with intellectuals in Europe and moved over to America
 Every social, political and economic problem could be solved
through the use of reason and scientific method
2) Great Awakening
 Movement rooted in spiritual growth which brought a national
identity to Colonial America
 Preachers felt that people needed to be concerned with inner
emotions and spirituality as opposed to outward religious behavior
 First real outburst of religious behavior in the colonies
 Huge spread of Christianity came as a result
 Colonists could be bold when confronting religious authority, and
break away if they were not meeting expectations
 Just as with religion, political power did not reside with English
Monarchs, but with colonists self-governance
 First Great Awakening took place during the 1730’s-1740’s in colonial
America
3) John Locke
 Played a major role in the development of our
government through his ideas
 Believed governmental power was not derived
through god to monarchs but rather was derived
from the need to preserve “life, liberty, and property”
of the governed
 His thoughts were the basic foundation of our
government
4) Jonathan Edwards




Influential preacher in the Great Awakening
Had many fear based sermons
Traveled across the colonies holding revivals
Put much emphasis on the severity of sin in God’s eyes