AP WH 5.1 The Enlightenment
Enlightenment: an intellectual movement that applied new ways of understanding, such as rationalism, and empiricist approaches to both the natural world and human relationships
rationalism: reason, rather than emotion or any external authority, is the most reliable source of true knowledge
empiricism: the idea that true knowledge is gained through the senses, mainly through rigorous experimentation
empirical and rationalist ways of thinking were developed earlier during the Scientific Revolution that occurred in Europe during the 16th and 17th century
during that revolution, scientists ignored biblical and religious authority and used the rigorous process of reason to discover how the world really worked
experienced scientific breakthroughs in understanding the complexities of the cosmos, the internal workings of the human body, etc.
Enlightenment is really just an extension of that same kind of scientific and rationalistic thinking
however, Enlightenment philosophers applied those methods to the study of human society
one of the crucial components to the Enlightenment was the questioning and reexamination of the role of religion in public life
Enlightenment began in Europe where most people were Christians and where the Church had been an instrument of state power for a long time
according to Enlightenment thinkers, Christianity is a revealed religion
revealed religion: words of the Bible along with all its commands was revealed by God and therefore could not be questioned
Enlightenment represented a significant shift of authority, carried over form the Scientific Revolution from outside a person to inside a person
new ways of relating to the divine were developed
deism
exceedingly popular among Enlightenment thinkers
deists believed there there was a God that created all things and then no longer intervened in the created order
atheism: complete rejection of religious belief and any notion of divine beings
new political ideas emerging during this period
individualism: phenomenon that the most basic element of society was the individual human and not collective groups
therefore the progress and expansion of the individual over or against society was a key tenant
natural rights: individual humans are born with certain rights that cannot be infringed upon by governments or any other entity
John Locke argued that each human being was born with the natural rights of life, liberty, and property and that those rights were endowed by God
if those rights were given by God, then those rights cannot be taken away by a monarch
social contract: idea that human societies, endowed with natural rights, must construct governments of their own will to protect their natural rights
by consequence, if that government becomes tyrannical and tramples on the rights of the people, then those people have the right to overthrow that government and establish a new one
effects of Enlightenment ideas
created the ideological context for the major revolutions that occurred during this period
including the American, French, Haitian, and Latin American revolutions
the Enlightenment’s emphasis on the rejection of established traditions and new ideas about how political power ought to work played a significant role in each of these great upheavals
those revolutions in turn created the conditions for the intensification of nationalism across the world
nationalism: a sense of commonality among a people based on shared language, religion, social customs, and often linked with a desire for territory
led to the expansion of suffrage in some places
suffrage: right to vote
Enlightenment ideas like liberty and equality were revered in America as part of the cultural heritage beginning with the Declaration of Independence
after the American Revolution, only land-owning white males could vote
in the first half of the 19th century, laws were passed that recognized the right of all white males to vote
in the second half of the 19th century, black males gained the right to vote
led to the abolition of slavery in some places
Enlightenment thinkers criticized slavery because it completely disregarded people’s natural rights, most notably liberty
in response to a powerful abolitionist movement, Great Britain abolished slavery in 1807
Britain was also the wealthiest nation in the world
gained much of that wealth during the Industrial Revolution by means of paid labor
abolition was a natural move and made economic sense at the time
enslaved people also contributed to the abolition of slavery as well
in 1831, a massive slave rebellion known as the Great Jamaica Revolt occurred in British Jamaica
the scale an casualties of that rebellion played a significant role in Britain’s decision to abolish slavery throughout their empire
contributed to the end of serfdom in some places
in the midst of the transition from agricultural to industrial economies during the Industrial Revolution, serfs became more unnecessary to economic flourishing
serfs: peasants bound in coerced labor
even so, peasant revolts in various places induced state leaders in England, France and Russia to abolish serfdom
led to increasing calls for women’s suffrage
despite revolutionary movements and their basis in Enlightenment ideas of equality, women in Europe and the United States did not share as much liberty especially in terms of voting rights
during this period, a burgeoning feminist movement arose and women began to demand equality in all areas of life
French activist Olympe de Gouges in her major work, the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen harshly criticized the French Constitution for sidelining women in the birth of post-revolutionary France
in the United States, women organized themselves at a gathering at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to call for a constitutional amendment that recognized women’s right to vote