American Enlightenment

E10823

cultural movement historical period intellectual movement

The American Enlightenment was an intellectual and cultural movement in 18th-century America that emphasized reason, science, and individual rights, profoundly shaping the ideals of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.

Aliases (2)

Statements (64)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	cultural movement → historical period → intellectual movement →
associatedInstitution	American Philosophical Society → College of Philadelphia → Harvard College → Yale College →
coreValue	education → individual rights → liberty → popular sovereignty → progress → reason → religious toleration → science → separation of church and state →
country	United States →
endTime	late 18th century →
field	education → moral philosophy → natural science → political philosophy → theology →
hasCharacteristic	circulation of pamphlets and newspapers → critique of hereditary privilege → critique of monarchy → emphasis on empirical science → expansion of higher education → growth of learned societies → promotion of republican government → use of print culture →
historicalContext	American Revolutionary era → colonial America →
influenced	American Revolution → American educational institutions → American political thought → American religious thought → Bill of Rights → Declaration of Independence → United States Constitution →
influencedBy	British Enlightenment → European Enlightenment → French Enlightenment → Isaac Newton → John Locke → Montesquieu → Scottish Enlightenment → Voltaire → natural law theory → republicanism →
mainRegion	Thirteen Colonies →
notableFigure	Alexander Hamilton → Benjamin Franklin → James Madison → John Adams → John Witherspoon → Noah Webster → Thomas Jefferson → Thomas Paine →
relatedConcept	Deism → Great Awakening → liberalism in the United States → republicanism in the United States →
startTime	early 18th century →

Referenced by (6)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
British Enlightenment → Scottish Enlightenment →	influenced
Princeton, New Jersey Colony ("American Enlightenment (intellectual movement)") →	associatedWithEvent
Republic of Letters ("Republic of Letters and American Enlightenment") →	hasKeyConcept
Age of Enlightenment →	hasPart
Benjamin Franklin →	movement