American Enlightenment

powerful positions in the government. Commoners and peasants had to deal with manorial rights, which gave nobles the right to overwork and overtax them. The culture had dramatically changed after the Enlightenment Era and the American Revolution. This Enlightenment Era presented new ways of thinking. The American Revolution caused the French to become interested in the concepts of individual liberty and a representative government. King Louis XVI did not realize how bad the conditions were for…

Advancement in a society is paramount to the progression of mankind. During the Age of Enlightenment, a group of brilliant scholars known as philosophes came together to discover the laws of nature. They sought to improve societal living. The Age of Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, ranging from the 17th to 18th century, was a period of high intellect and new ideas. While each philosophe expressed a different area of concern in relation to the society, they all expressed a central…

civil rights. The argument for liberalism grew popular with the coming of the Age of Enlightenment as people longed for more individualism over the tradition authority of monarchs. Of course, there were conservatives like Clemens von Metternich who opposed such changes, but many philosophers were promoting cooperation to develop a society with more freedoms. The ideology of Liberalism began during the American Revolution. Adam Smith, a Scottish…

events occurring in society. The rediscovery of ancient art and literature, study of anatomy, and the Protestant Reformation, shaped the art of the Renaissance. Romanticism was a reaction to the French aristocracy and their belief in the Age of Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution in England artists wanted to focus on nature and emotions due to the oppression people were facing. The world was in shambles after World War I, war refugees wanting to escape reality created…

the 18th Century three important revolutions took place, The Glorious Revolution, American Revolution, and The French Revolution. Each related to each other with similarities and differences and had a slight domino effect. The definition of Revolution is a radical change in society, especially one made suddenly and this creates a guideline to understand what a true revolution is. The Glorious Revolution, American Revolution, and The French Revolution have many similarities and were all started…

The French Revolution started in 1789 with the storming of the Bastille. The French society was divided into three classes or estates. It was the Third Estate that revolted to bring about change. There were three main causes that led up to the French Revolution. First were unequal rights in a divided society, second was the financial crisis that occurred at the same time as an extreme famine, and thirdly was the enlightened thinking of the Third Estate. The estates were divided between the Third…

revolution was The American revolution, as it showed that enlightened leaders could beat a monarchy which represented freedom, and the second is financial troubles as many people had low food supply and had to pay taxes which they could not afford, however, one long term causes will be discussed that helped affect the revolution which is the social side of things. The American war of independence started is 1775, the war was between the Great Britain and the American colonists. Both American and…

To begin, the French Revolution was the uprooting of traditional institutions including the absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Similar to the previous American Revolution, the French Revolution was heavily influenced by the Enlightenment, especially the ideas of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although the revolution did not succeed with all of its goals, the Committee of Public Safety was able to achieve their main purpose: protect the Revolution from its enemies by closing…

understanding that the world around us was more than just dirt and rock but that there was a divine infinite universe in front of us to explore and all you had to do was look up. While both of these men could be found laying the bricks for the age of enlightenment in the colonies and paving the way for a new country, free of British rule, they were also vastly different in individual temperament. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine alike observed the world through a scientific lens, although…

experimental science. Positive philosophy emerged during a time of tremendous social change which occurred at the end of the time for Enlightenment thinkers, and it was an explicit repudiation or reaction to the critical and “negative” philosophy of Enlightenment thinkers. Two of the most recognizable figures of positive philosophy are Saint-Simon who fought in both the American and French Revolutions and his secretary and protégé Auguste Comte. Saint-Simon opposed radical reform, as it…