A.P. US
Mods 6/7/8
Artem Kholodenko
0109
Notes for pgs. 124-128
Enlightenment and
Awakening
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The Enlightenment in
America
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Ben Franklin and Junto
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American Philosophical
Society
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Knowledge Reaches Few
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John Locke’s Ideas
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Deists
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About 90% of all white males and 40% of females could
read in New England; in other places it varied from 35-over
50% males; in England it was no more than 1/3; most read
the almanac, Psalter and Bible; when read, the words could
move many with tremendous force
The rich had access to expensive books and paper, and
drowned themselves in the education utopia of the times;
the upper-class Americans had the money and wanting to
participate in the education enlightenment and
advancement
Some of the thoughts in the Enlightenment came from
people such as Franklin and Newton who in 1687 explained
the universal gravitation rules of the universe
Franklin was the most influential in the 2nd ½ of the 18th
century, and in 1727 made a group called the Junto who
wanted to debate “highbrow” questions and collect
information for “mutual improvement”
He did the right thing by moving to Philadelphia, which was
growing faster than Boston, where Franklin found people
like him looking for answers; in 1732, he printed Poor
Richard’s Almanac which by age of 42 earned him enough
to retire and devote personal time for science and service
His 2 goals of science and community led him to say that all
science would benefit people one way or another, like his
electricity discovery with the kite; he organized the
American Philosophical Society in 1743; this blossomed in
to inter-colonial network of amateur scientists by 1769
He also established the 1st fire station with an engine in
1736, a library with some of the best books, in 1740 the
College of Phil. (U. of Pennsylvania) – 1st medical school
But only few people – the gentry could get the books to
read and the seashore cities usually got the latest books,
while the poor were still lacking the knowledge which
progresses the sciences
He wrote his famous essay: Concerning Human
Understanding (1690); it said that the idea of god is not
born with us, but put into us by experiences and
investigations; some carried this further, saying that people
should listen to reason and not the bible
The people who took it a step further were called Deists,
included Franklin and Jefferson; they said that god might
have created the universe, but is not watching it over, but
just left it to grow naturally
The people effected by Enlightenment still went to church
and considered themselves Christians, but had their doubts
and questions
Before 1740 the intellectuals looked at their time as an era
of progressive reasonableness, but it changed after the
great Awakening
The Great Awakening
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Jonathan Edwards
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George Whitefield
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James Davenport
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Old Lights Fire Back
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New Lights Lose Control
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Long Term Effects of the
Awakening
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The intellectuals thought they were pretty big – shots
because the world was so predictable, but the epidemic of
diphtheria in 1737 and 1738 which killed every 10th child
under 16 moved people more into religion
The revival of religion began to sweep the N.A. colonies,
and even some of the elite became preachers
It represented the unleashing of anxiety and longing among
ordinary people living in an oral world and culture
The preachers tried to intimidate the congregation with hell
and other things alike, such as Edwards who led a revival in
1735 in Northampton, Massachusetts
Even before, in New Jersey and New York, people tried to
bring others together, such as Whitefield, who pieced it all
together in 1739; he was an English clergy man, who
stocked fires of revival in the Anglican church; he used
powerful words and spoke very loudly
He inspired many to join churches, and from the 630 joining
churches in 1740, the # went to 3,217 in 1741, and every
5th man and woman under 45 was “born again:
Whitefield even inspired Franklin, who was one the people
who said they wouldn’t get involved; Whitefield went from
town to town, and invited Gilbert Tennent to join him;
Tennent build up a following, and so did another firebrand,
James Davenport
He preached for 24 hours non-stop in New York once
Tennent and Davenport led a new group of New Lights, who
diversified the religious groups in the colonies
Old Lights didn’t like this Charles Chauncy said the revival
was an epidemic
The Awakening opened splits in American Protestants, and
in 1741 the New & Old Light Presbyterians formed rival
branches that didn’t unite until 1758; Anglicans lost many
members to Presbyterians and Baptists, while the
Congregationalists were doing so bad within 20 years of
1740, that the New Lights went down from being 1/3 of all
churches and made other parishes
In Massachusetts and Connecticut, the Old Lights denied
legal status to N. Lights and forbade the revival churches; in
Windham County, N. Lights were arrested for not paying
tithes and Elisha Paine gave sermon from her cell after
convicted for illegal preaching; N. Lights only got control of
the assembly in Connecticut in 1759
The N. Lights made progress until 1770s, but the peak was
in 1742, everywhere but in Virginia, where it was in 1755,
with Baptist conversions, who had harassment
1st: lowered Quaker, Anglican, and Congregationalist power;
the # of Presbyterian and Baptist churches increased after
1740 & Methodist after 1770; 2nd: new colleges were
founded; Princeton in 1746; Columbia in 1754, Brown in
1764; Queen’s in 1766, and Dartmouth in 1769; 3rd: the
blacks and Indians also began to participate and be
effected, unlike before 1740; slaves were reached orally and
by 1790 many blacks were Christians
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Exception of various beliefs began to be accepted among
people as well after the Awakening
The revival has not been proven to have political effects, yet
the generations of the revolution were effected by it