THE AMERICAN
ENLIGHTENMENT
THE AMERICAN ENLIGHTENMENT
The 18th-century American Enlightenment
was a movement marked by an emphasis
on rationality rather than tradition, scientific
inquiry instead of unquestioning religious
dogma, and representative government in
place of monarchy. Enlightenment thinkers
and writers were devoted to the ideals of
justice, liberty, and equality as the natural
rights of man.
Illuminating the Enlightenment
Age of Reason: began in 17th Century England,
spread to France and Europe, and then colonies
Philosophy of Rene Descartes (1596-1650):
rejection of medieval authoritarianism
Writings of Voltaire (1694-1778) attack on
dogma
Founding of Royal Society of London in 1662 for
the “improvement of natural knowledge”
Discoveries of Isaac Newton (1642-1727): natural
universe can be understood by any person;
offered a single mathematical law that accounted
for movement of tides, earth, stars; beginning of
modern science, which also weakened faith in
miracles, holy books, idea of divinity of kings
Enlightenment
John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher morality is capable of demonstration as well as
mathematics
Benjamin Franklin - advocated reasonable “science
of virtue”
Thomas Paine -wrote The Age of Reason attacked irrationality of traditional Christianity
Theology became rational; religion became deistic
Deism - informal, unorganized religious movement
among upper classes and intellectuals
Humanitarianism, natural philosophy, scientific
observation
Progress became dominant concept of the age
Movements arose for social betterment, prison
reform, sympathy for Native Americans, slaves,
poor and oppressed
Enlightenment
John Locke wrote Treatises of Civil Government
(1690) = governments resulted from agreements
between people, not divinely ordained from God to
kings to men
Enlightenment was an age of dissent, revolution
Human mind is a tabula rasa: blank slate, thus
man is born neither good nor bad, but the result of
experiences
By end of 18th Century:faith in human
perfectability at its apogee with writings of JeanJacques Rousseau (1712-1778) - “man is not
merely free of evil—he is naturally good.”
Enlightenment
Thomas Paine wrote and spoke of the rights of man (and
woman)
Thomas Jefferson - “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”
Writers used the idea of a new Rome/new Athens—
neoclassicism—in their works, with ideals of clarity,
decorum, regularity; exhibited “ clear sense” and “
mathematical plainness”
Prose: rhythm of cultivated speech; poetry: measured
cadence of heroic couplet; drama: unities of time, place,
action
John Dryden (1631-1700) glorious founder of neoclassicism
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) splendid high priest of
neoclassicism
By mid-18th Century, neoclassicism gave way to
romanticism - sentimentalism, extravagant feelings,
emotionalism
Idea of “noble savage” permeated writings of the
wilderness, of primitive man
An Emerging American Literature
Beginning of the 18th Century, colonies had one
newspaper; by 1800 there were 200
Benjamin Franklin began first American magazine
- General Magazine, in Philadelphia in 1741; by
1800, 91 magazines
Franklin exemplified and wrote secular ideals,
humanist concepts, scientific ideas, master of
diplomacy; he was instrumental in starting libraries,
schools, hospitals, urban fire stations, post office
American writing patterned on 18th Century
English writing, but lagged behind slightly
First American novel -The Power of Sympathy, by
William Hill Brown in 1789
Emerging American Literature
Penn law in 1700 prohibited stage plays; early
colonists thought plays were indecent and
corrupting, actors immoral and spread disease
First play in America - Thomas Godfrey’s The
Prince of Parthia, in 1767; Not performed again
until 1915
First comedic play in America - Royall Tyler’s The
Contrast
American literature in 18th Century dominated by
pamphlets, essay, journal articles, newspapers,
and the political documents we use still
Enlightenment Contradictions
American Revolution was an upper-class rebellion
Not everyone benefited from “life, liberty, pursuit of
happiness”
Forcible removal of Native Americans became
U.S. policy after the revolution
“Science” and “reason” used to justify slavery and
“inferiority of darker races”
Slavery was the most divisive issue at
Constitutional Convention - led to compromises
that ultimately helped create the Civil War
Nevertheless, founding documents have been
interpreted in modern times to support freedoms
and liberties for minorities, poor and women
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Perfect example of “poor boy makes good”
Born in Boston, fifteenth child of poor candlemaker
Apprenticed to brother who was a printer – by 16 he
was a master printer, writing for brother’s newspaper
Used pen name Silence Dogood to write satirical
commentary on Boston society, politics, religion
At 17 he went to Philadelphia, set up a printing
business
In 1732 began publishing “Poor Richard’s Almanack”
At 42, wealthy and famous, retired from business to
devote his life to science and public service
Organized American Philosophical Society, University of Penn,
first charity hospital, invented bifocal spectacles and lightning
rod, made discoveries about electricity
Benjamin Franklin
Between 1757-1775, represented colonies in
England
Returned to Philadelphia, was named delegate to
Second Constitutional Congress and member of
committee to write the Declaration of Independence
In 1776 Congress sent him to be Minister to France,
to seek aid for faltering Revolution
Played the noble rustic, wore fur cap
Negotiated Treaty of Alliance in 1778 - joined
France and America against England
Returned to America in 1783, named as delegate to
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, worked to
gain ratification of the Constitution
Benjamin Franklin
Only American to sign all four documents that
created the Republic: Declaration of Independence,
Treaty of Alliance with France, Treaty of Peace with
England, US Constitution
At his death, he was considered the Father of the US
Helped create cult of self-reliance - beginnings of
transcendentalism and industrial society
Europeans thought he was greater than Voltaire,
wiser than Rousseau
Master of satire and political journalism
With his autobiography, he set the form for
autobiography
Remains most influential and most read of
American writers
Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
Born in Thetford, England, son of Quaker farmer and
corset maker
After attending grammar school, worked as
staymaker for his father, than served as sailor,
schoolteacher, government tax collector
By 37, he had failed at variety of professions,
declared a bankrupt
Met Franklin in London; left for America with Letter
of Introduction from Franklin
In Philadelphia he wrote for Pennsylvania Magazine
Published Common Sensein January 1776 - filled
with rhetoric of revolution, called for independence
from England
Within 5 months 100,000 copies had been
distributed in Colonies
Thomas Paine
In 1776 he published first of Crisispapers = “These
are the times that try men’s souls”
Fifteen more Crisis papers over the next 7 years –
argued for revolution, independence
After Revolution, Paine devoted time to designing
an iron bridge, returned to England in 1787 to find
financial backing
In England Paine wrote a reply to Edmund
Burke’s Reflections on the French
Revolution(1790), which supported monarchies
and condemned revolutions - The Rights of
Man(1791-2) -defended revolution and insisted
man not bound to hereditary rulers
Thomas Paine
British government charged Paine with sedition,
order him to trail
He fled to France, given French citizenship and
seat in National Assembly
Opposition to execution of Louis XVI angered
Jacobins, he was arrested and imprisoned for ten
months
James Monroe, Ambassador to France, gained
Paine’s release on grounds that Paine was
American citizen
Paine completed The Age of Reasonin Paris,
1794-6 attack on irrationality of religion and support
of deism; vilified by clerics and journalists
Thomas Paine
In 1802 Paine returned to America, poor and ill
His illusions about man’s innate goodness were
shattered
He died in 1809 – request for burial in a Quaker
cemetery was refused
Buried on his farm in New Rochelle, New York
Ten years later, his remains were exhumed and
taken to England—and lost. Final resting place is
unknown
He preached doctrines of natural rights, equality of
men, social contract
THE AMERICAN ENLIGHTENMENT
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Paine
If there were just one development that
directly caused the American Revolution
and uplifted the intellectual culture of the
continent while it was only a British
colony, it would be the American
Enlightenment. Broadly, the
Enlightenment was an intellectual
movement that changed the fundamental
perspective of the masses, urging them
to foster skepticism and apply scientific
principles in matters of religion and
morality.
Its chief values were:
Liberty
Democracy
Republicanism
Religious Tolerance
The movement gained momentum
with the publication of landmark texts
like Thomas Paine’s The Age of
Reason, and the Jefferson Bible, but
the most influential thinker was
undoubtedly John Locke, whose
ideas spread to the colonies and
across Europe.
John Locke (1632-1704)
Widely regarded as the Father of Liberalism, John
Locke published “Two Treatises of Government,”
which helped shape Revolutionary thought.
Despite being English, Locke summarily rejected
the aristocratic form of government, and
maintained that any governing body must grow out
of the people and work for the common welfare.
Much of the credit goes to Locke for rejecting the
idea of original sin, and focusing instead on the
self, which he believed was a blank slate (tabula
rasa) on which experience writes by creating
impressions. This idea of the individual creating
his or her own destiny led Benjamin Franklin and
others to adopt the ambition of freedom.