The Period Of Enlightenment In The 18th Century

The period of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century took place in Europe, France, Germany, and England. The era is divided into three parts “The Early Enlightenment:1685-1730, The High Enlightenment:1730-1780, and The Late Enlightenment and Beyond:1780-1815.” (“Enlightenment”) The period of Enlightenment would change the way people viewed the world around them in a way no other era before it had. In order to understand the era of Enlightenments impact on The New world it is imperative to understand what the Enlightenment era is, then look at Ancient Greek philosophers whose philosophy’s may have been the building blocks for reasoning, and then outline the major thinkers who helped to establish The United States of America.
Starting in 1715 …show more content…
According to Henry J. Sage the era allowed societies to change from prominently religious driven societies to societies that were born from rational ideas born from its own citizens. The Enlightenment can be seen as time when every problem was questioned and not left to fate or a higher being. This reflects the aspect of developing questions for everyday observations and problems that took place a century earlier during The Scientific Revolution. In The Enlightenment In America by Sage it is reinforced that religion was altered and at times either completely changed or discarded when forming a new belief system. Humanity understood that their own lives and the events in them are not controlled by the divine, and that “the world was a rational place that could be controlled by adherence to rational processes.” (Sage) Revolutionaries such as Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson would later create the Declaration of Independence and spur the American Revolution. According to Sage the American Revolution went beyond revolting English rule and authority and created a democratic society. The enlightened concept of a democratic government was a result of European ideals from political thinkers. By infusing their ideas with their experiences in America a nation was formed with ideals of “individualism, self-reliance, and freedom from tight government control.” (Sage) It was believed that Enlightenment thinking was coffee shops, newspapers, and in salons in Paris and Berlin but the “ideas were carried out most vividly in the American colonies.” (Sage) During The Late Enlightenment of 1780-1815 old authority was overturned to form a society based on rationality. The time period attracted many feminists and nations who wanted