THE ENLIGHTENMENT INFLUENCED THE COLONISTS PHILOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT EUROPE IN THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES EMPHASIS ON REASON AS THE MOST IMPORTANT HUMAN ABILITY JOHN LOCKE ARGUED THAT PEOPLE POSSESSED NATURAL RIGHTS SUCH AS LIFE, LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY. HE BELIEVED THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT WAS TO PROTECT THOSE RIGHTS. BARON dE MONTESQUIEU ARGUED AGAINST ABSOLUTE MONARCHY COLONIAL LEADERS BELIEVED THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT VIOLATED THESE IDEALS AND DISCUSSED STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME THE OPPRESSION OF KING GEORGE III LOCKE MONTESQUIEU

THE GREAT AWAKENING The Great Awakening was a spiritual renewal that swept the American Colonies, particularly New England, during the first half of the 18th Century.  It began in England before catching fire across the Atlantic.  Unlike the somber, largely Puritan spirituality of the early 1700s, the revivalism ushered in by the Awakening brought people back to "spiritual life" as they felt a greater intimacy with God. 

INFLUENTIAL MINISTERS THE GREAT AWAKENING INFLUENTIAL MINISTERS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT THROUGHOUT THE COLONIES IN THE EARLY 1700s. IT WAS BASED ON REVIVALISM WHICH STRESSED INDIVIDUAL RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN NEEDING CHURCH LEADERS TO CONNECT WITH GOD CONTRIBUTED TO A SENSE OF EQUALITY SINCE ALL PEOPLE WERE QUALIFIED TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE CHURCH IT IS WIDELY BELIEVED THAT THIS WAS A MAJOR FACTOR WHICH LED TO THE SENSE OF FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE UNDERLYING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION JONATHON EDWARDS GEORGE WHITEFIELD

RELIGIOUS REVIVAL: THE GREAT AWAKENING A series of religious revivals aimed at restoring devotion & piety swept through the colonies in the mid the mid-1700s Fire & Brimstone style of worship; large, emotionally charged crowds Like the Enlightenment the movement stressed the importance of the individual

The Great Awakening Began in Mass. with Jonathan Edwards (regarded as greatest American theologian) Rejected salvation by works, affirmed need for complete dependence on grace of God (“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”) Orator George Whitefield followed, touring colonies, led revivals, countless conversions, inspired imitators Puritan Minster who used raw emotional sermons to reach all classes of colonists Preached that “good works” and “godly lives” would bring you salvation Forced to give sermons in open areas (revivals) Jonathan Edwards George Whitefield

Higher Education Harvard, 1636—First colonial college; trained candidates for ministry College of William and Mary, 1694 (Anglican) Yale, 1701 (Congregational) Great Awakening influences creation of 5 new colleges in mid-1700s College of New Jersey (Princeton), 1746 (Presbyterian) King’s College (Columbia), 1754 (Anglican) Rhode Island College (Brown), 1764 (Baptist) Queens College (Rutgers), 1766 (Dutch Reformed) Dartmouth College, 1769, (Congregational)

Impacts The movement brought independence from the clergy. The movement pushed people to “shop” around for preachers that suited them. Encouraged a democratic spirit in religion which spilled into government.

Outcomes of the Great Awakening Birth of deep religious convictions in the colonies New churches built to accommodate new members Colleges founded to train new ministers Encouraged ideas of equality and right to challenge authority Birth of charity and charitable organizations