The Enlightenment and Revolution Ages
The Age of enlightenment occurred during the late 17th Century before the revolution age. Although there was a considerable gap between the enlightenment age and the Age of revolution, enlightenment ideas contributed significantly to the revolution. Towards the late 17th Century, scientists and writers challenged the old order, leading to the rapid spread of the enlightened Age, also known as Age of reason. Isaac Newton, through the law of gravity, explained that the world was in control of natural laws whose power exceeded that of spirits (Winterer, 2016). There was also a political turmoil wake where Locke encouraged people to change governments, which failed to protect their rights regarding property, liberty, and life. Europeans also began to doubt God’s existence, an idea that changed them forever. The American intellectuals also read such ideas, all over the Atlantic, rational thoughts concerning progress and liberty spread without Old European shackles. Indeed, the enlightenment thoughts transformed the Western world from absolutism age to that of revolution liberalism.
Moreover, leaders of religion changed their initial positions of dogma, insisting that there was a significant similarity between Puritan Congregationalists and the Anglican Church. The minister of Massachusetts also contributed to the enlightenment by speaking and writing about witches’ existence and the importance of smallpox immunization (Yenicirak, 2020). There was also the liberalization of ministers from Harvard, leading to the formation of Yale College aimed at retaining the initial ideas in 1707 at Haven. The old idea retention attempt failed, and most people went through conversion into the England church in 1722. The end of the 17th Century led to several England Ministers becoming Utaritarians and doubting Christ’s divinity.
The new ideas brought about by enlightenment changed the attitudes of people regarding politics. John Locke, for example, defended the monarch’s displacement with claims of failing to protect the English people in terms of their properties, lives, and liberties. Jean Jacques Rousseau also contributed to the Age of reason by suggesting the need for ruling societies according to people’s will (Nordin, 2018). Besides, Baron De Montesquieu condemned the idea of giving a single individual the power to rule people. According to Baron, the power needed to go through separation into government branches, which included executive, legislature, and the judiciary. Surprisingly, there was idea absorption by the intellectuals of America.
Moreover, when declaring independence from Britain, delegates applied enlightenment ideas. John Locke’s ideas formed the base of Thomas Jefferson’s Independence Declaration opening. United States constitutions, for example, have a great reflection of principles regarding enlightenment. Additionally, Benjamin Franklin’s writings enabled the accessibility of the ideas concerning enlightenment to the public in general. The people’s old traditions were full of superstition, authority submission, and representation of an angry supreme being. The Age of the reason, therefore, brought about a new attitude, which changed people’s thinking, leading to great achievements by humankind (Knutsen, 2020). Besides, people stopped accepting despair and embraced the new way of life, which resulted, in tones of progress and happiness. Kings, on the other hand, stopped ruling by divine right and adopted the idea of considering their obligations towards their subjects. For nearly a Century, European experienced the Age of reason’s impacts while Americans turned out as the first people to practice the principles of enlightenment.
The ideals regarding equality and liberty, necessary for overthrowing Louis XVI by France’s feudal society resulted from influential writings of thinkers in the Enlightenment Age. The thinkers had doubts about the initial authorities of traditions and the feudalism divisions. The French Revolution resulted from the application of Enlightenment ideas after intellectuals’ discussion towards them.
References
Knutsen, T. L. (2020). Enlightenment politics: The revolutionary rise of popular sovereignty. History of International Relations theory (third edition). Manchester University Press.
Nordin, J. (2018). From seemly subjects to enlightened citizens: Censorship and press freedom from the Middle Ages to the 18th Century.
Winterer, C. (2016). American Enlightenments: Pursuing Happiness in the Age of Reason. Yale University Press.
YENIÇIRAK, H. (2020). TRADITIONS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND ITS POLITICAL REFLECTIONS. Social Sciences Review of the Faculty of Sciences & Letters University of Uludag/Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 21(38).