1. The Changing Role of Science and Religion
The Enlightenment | The Great Awakening
USI History | Ms. Burke

2. The Enlightenment New scientific ideas are developed in Europe
Used reason and the scientific method
Investigated how the world worked
Example: the Earth revolves around the Sun / mathematical laws and constants
Ideas would travel from Europe to the colonies and spread very quickly
Literacy was HIGH in New England because of the influence of the Puritans – Why?

3. Benjamin Franklin
Embraced the notion of obtaining truth through experimentation and reasoning
Most famous experiment – flying a kite in a thunderstorm to demonstrate that lightning is a form of electrical power

4. Changing Political Thought
The Enlightenment changed political thought in the colonies
Thomas Jefferson used reason to conclude that individuals have natural rights
Governments must respect those rights!
Causes colonists to question the British rule

5. The Great Awakening
By the early 1700s, the Puritan Church has lost it’s control over society
Church membership was down
New Massachusetts Charter of 1691 forced Puritans to allow freedom of worship AND banned the practice of permitting only Puritan church members to vote
Many people seemed to be doing well in life, so they stopped paying attention to the afterlife
People started liking material possessions

6. Jonathan Edwards Northampton, Massachusetts
Wanted to revive the intensity and commitment of the original Puritan church
You must acknowledge your sinfulness to feel God’s love

7. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors [hates] you, and is dreadfully provoked: His wrath towards you burns like fire; He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire; …and yet it is nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment.”

8. The Great Awakening
Preachers would travel from village to village, stirring people to rededicate themselves to God
Sometimes, 1000s of people would go to these meetings
Had to meet outdoors
Lasted throughout the 1730s and 1740s

9. The Great Awakening EFFECTS
The movement brought many colonists – as well as Native Americans and African Americans – into organized Christian churches for the first time!
Challenged the authority of established churches
Some colonists abandoned their Anglican / Puritan churches and joined new ones – Baptist or Methodist
More interest in higher education (college)
Colleges were founded to train ministers!

10. How are the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening similar?
Emphasized the human experience
Emotionalism // reason
People started questioning traditional authority
Stressed the importance of the individual
People started questioning British rule over the colony

11. If you were a colonist and believed in Enlightenment ideas, what would you think of the Salem Witch Trials? What if you were a member of the Great Awakening? What would you think of the Salem Witch Trials? ANSWER THIS QUESTION IN YOUR NOTES FOR DISCUSSION