The american englitenment

-Colonies stardet to be independent from Great Britan and Unated States were created.

It started in Europe.

There was a science

European intellectual movement, which had its epicentre in France, but it wasn’t only an European
movement, but it also influenced the United States.

Emphasis on Rational thinking – they claimed that emotions do not lead to the discovery of
knowledge, it about using an intellect. Things were understood reasonably, reason was a key to
truth.

It was the time were people started to educate. Books with Enlightenment ideas were sprea
throughout the colonies,

Jefferson – writer of declaration of independence, explanation of why colonies were declaring their
independence, based on ideas of John Locke like that people have natural right to life, liberty and
property. It said, that if government does not protect these rights, people can ovethrov the
government and create a new one. It eventually created USA.

All men are created equal – they should all be equal under the low, no social groups should be
treated differently. People have natural rights, that government have to recpect.

Franklin – polititioan, inventor, he was doing some experiments on electricity. Emphasis on science,
he popularizes usind experimentation and reason to find answers.

Paine – professional revolutionary – common sense, the right od man, the age of reason –

An advocate of deism –It was about not having faith, but experiencing. It was belief in God, but only
in a way that God created world, which can be seen in nature. This God doesn’t really stay connected
to people. God is discovered by nature.

He had a much greater impact on the common people, who, after reading these two works, became
much more supportive of the Revolutionary cause

LIBERALISM: The belief that humans have natural rights and that government authority is not
absolute, but based on the will and consent of the governed.

TOLERANCE: the belief that hatred of others can interfere with economic trade, extinguish freedom
of thought and expression, erode the basis for friendship among nations and lead to persecution and
war emerged and therefore resulted in more tolerance of others.
SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS: to remove the need of an constantly intervening god and led to practical
inventions. Examples are electricity, mathematical formula of gravity, rejection of the geocentric
theory of the universe, etc.

REPUBLICANISM: a commitment to the idea that a nation should be ruled as a republic, in which
selection of the state’s highest public official is determined by a general election, rather than through
a claim to hereditary right.

CONSERVATISM: conservatives also operated within the framework of Enlightenment ideas. Some
claimed that Enlightened ideas are turned back upon themselves and shown to break down when
applied more generally to human culture.

Literature:

Literary works were meant to persuade and inform the common man of a specific viewpoint or
ideology. Therefore, literature came in short forms such as pamphlets, essays, pieces of poetry, and
speeches. In addition, the agrarian, revolutionary, and intellectual aspects of this time period
impacted literary elements. The tone of many works was bland and lacking emotion. Many literary
works served as arguments or explanations. Therefore, plots and characters were largely absent.

FoAmerican Enlighment

Biography (only basic facts) – no more than 5 minutes

Overview of literary output (major types of work [poems, plays, novels?], major
themes, major elements of style
2 major works (other than the one from the reading list)

1. Overview – gdzie się zaczęło, skąd się wzięło, czym skutkowało

The American Enlightenment was a period of intellectual movement in the thirteen American
colonies in the 18th to 19th century, which led to the American Revolution, and the creation
of the United States of America. The American Enlightenment was influenced by the 17th-
century European Enlightenment and its own native American philosophy.

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an intellectual and cultural
movement in the eighteenth century that emphasized reason over superstition and science
over blind faith.
Many consider the Enlightenment a major turning point in Western civilization, an age of
light replacing an age of darkness.

In 1776 the thirteen colonies declared their independence from Britain.

The American colonists resented being taxed by the British, without being represented in the
Parliament.
Although they were rebelling against the British, many of the ideas for the American
Revolution came the Natural Rights philosophy of John Locke.
 Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
“We hold the truths to be self evident that all men are created equal. That they are endowed
by their creator with certain unalienable rights including: life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.”
The Declaration stated the reasons that the 13 colonies wanted to be independent.

Main ideas:

2. Literature:
The American Enlightenment was a direct result of the Enlightenment in Europe.
Consequently, the literature of this time period was influenced by European intellectuals
such as Locke, Rousseau, Bacon, and Newton. A majority of the American Enlightenment
literature focused on government and its principles. However, as one will see, not all
literature centred around government.

Literary works were meant to persuade and inform the common man of a specific viewpoint
or ideology. Therefore, literature came in short forms such as pamphlets, essays, pieces of
poetry, and speeches. In addition, the agrarian, revolutionary, and intellectual aspects of this
time period impacted literary elements. The tone of many works was bland and lacking
emotion. Many literary works served as arguments or explanations. Therefore, plots and
characters were largely absent.