The Enlightenment & Great Awakening

Two Movements That Led the Colonies Toward Revolution

The Enlightenment & the Great Awakening

These two movements led American colonists to begin thinking for themselves and realizing that they were capable of leading themselves. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening changed the colonists' beliefs about their society and their relationship with the Mother Country. They realized that they didn't require the Mother Country for survival and these movements changed their way of thinking about themselves and England.

Ancient Greek and Roman Thinkers

The founding fathers read the work of the ancient thinkers a great deal. Their thinking in philosophy, science and government influenced them heavily.

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Montesquieu is famous for his theory of separation of powers, which is implemented in many nations' constitutions. He is also known for doing more than any other author to secure the place "despotism" in the political lexicon. He was a lawyer and a philosopher in the late 17th century in France.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

Rousseau was a philosopher and writer. He lived in the Enlightenment years and his writing influenced modern political thought and educational philosophy. He also influenced the French Revolution and the American rebels.

The Great Awakening: A Mini-Video!

John Locke

John Locke was an English philosopher & physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". His contributions to classical republicanism & liberal theory are seen in the Declaration of Independence.

Deism

Many of the founding fathers subscribed to Deist beliefs. Men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were Deists.

John Locke's Work

Limited government is a concept in political philosophy in which governmental power is restricted by law, usually in a written constitution. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism. The U.S. constitution represents an important milestone in limiting of governmental power. The earliest use of the term limited government dates back to King James VI and I in the late 16th century.[

The Great Awakening!

The Great Awakening was a religious movement that began in the late 1720s in England/Europe and spread to the American colonies by the early 1730s. Men like George Whitefield, Gilbert and William Tennent and others led a revival of religious fervor in the colonies over a period of 30 years.

George Whitefield (1714-1770)

George Whitefield was the poster child for the Great Awakening. He led revivals up and down the Eastern Seabord in the 1730s and 1740s. He was charismatic and preached with such conviction that people could not resist his message. Even Deist Benjamin Franklin donated money to Whitefield's minstry!

Gilbert & William Tennent

The Tennents were a father-son team who were also itinerant preachers during the Great Awakening in the colonies in the 1730s and 1740s.

The Wesley Brothers

John and Charles Wesley were ministers who established the Methodist church in the early 18th century. They were responsible for bringing George Whitefield to the colonies to work in the Bethesda Orphanage in Savannah. From Savannah the Wesleys and Whitefield parted ways when Whitefield went north to begin his revivals.