The 18th-century colonial and early American intellectual landscape was, to put it mildly, a cauldron of ferment. It was a time when the very foundations of thought and governance were being pried apart, examined, and, in many cases, utterly rebuilt.

American Enlightenment 1732–1845

American Enlightenment

The so-called American Enlightenment wasn’t some sudden, divine spark, but rather a protracted period of intense intellectual and philosophical upheaval. Stretching from the 18th into the 19th century, this era unfolded within the confines of the British Thirteen Colonies . It wasn’t merely an academic exercise; it was the crucible that forged the very notion of a new nation, culminating in the seismic event known as the American Revolution and the subsequent, rather ambitious, creation of the United States . This distinct American intellectual movement drew heavily from the broader, earlier Age of Enlightenment that had swept across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it also developed its own unique flavor, deeply intertwined with nascent American philosophy . James MacGregor Burns , with a rather optimistic take, suggested that the core spirit of the American Enlightenment was to take those lofty, often abstract European Enlightenment ideals and ground them, giving them a practical, tangible, and useful form within the daily lives of the nascent nation and its people. A quaint notion, perhaps, but one that undeniably shaped the future.

One of the more telling shifts of this era was the gradual, yet profound, displacement of traditional theology from its central position in many college curricula. In its stead, a non-denominational moral philosophy began to take root, suggesting a subtle but significant move away from purely religious doctrines as the sole arbiter of truth and conduct. Beyond this, several colleges, in a rare display of intellectual agility, undertook significant reforms to their academic offerings. They began to integrate subjects previously considered peripheral, such as natural philosophy (which we now simply call science ), modern astronomy , and rigorous mathematics . Furthermore, this period saw the emergence of entirely “new-model” American-style colleges, designed from their inception to embody these progressive educational ideals. Politically, this age is characterized by a relentless emphasis on foundational concepts that, frankly, still echo (or clang, depending on your perspective) in modern discourse: the absolute necessity of the consent of the governed , the radical idea of equality under the law , the fervent pursuit of liberty , the embrace of republicanism , and the surprisingly contentious (even then) principle of religious tolerance . These ideals, for better or worse, found their most eloquent—and certainly most influential—expression in the United States Declaration of Independence .

Among the intellectual heavyweights who shaped the American Enlightenment , one finds a varied cast. Presidents of colonial colleges played a surprisingly prominent role, including figures like the Puritan religious leaders Jonathan Edwards , Thomas Clap , and Ezra Stiles . The Presbyterian minister and college president John Witherspoon also stood out, as did the Anglican moral philosophers Samuel Johnson and William Smith . However, the most enduring legacies often belong to the leading political thinkers of the era: John Adams , James Madison , Thomas Paine , George Mason , James Wilson , Ethan Allen , and Alexander Hamilton . Not to be forgotten are the true polymaths, individuals whose intellectual curiosity spanned multiple disciplines, most notably Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson . These individuals, in their own distinct ways, carved the intellectual landscape of a nascent nation.

It’s worth noting, with a weary sigh for historical accuracy, that the term “American Enlightenment ” itself wasn’t a contemporary label. It was a retrospective coinage, emerging in the post-World War II era. In the 18th century, people simply spoke of a process of becoming “enlightened,” a more organic and less neatly packaged concept than the academic designation we use today.

Dates

Pinning down precise dates for any historical epoch is, of course, a fool’s errand, or at least a highly contentious academic exercise. Various scholars have proposed different temporal boundaries for the American Enlightenment . Some suggest a span from 1750 to 1820, encompassing the immediate pre-Revolutionary fervor and its direct aftermath. Others narrow it slightly to 1765–1815, perhaps focusing more acutely on the revolutionary period itself. A more expansive view stretches from 1688 to 1815, attempting to capture the earlier influences and longer-term consequences.

However, one particularly precise, if somewhat arbitrary, start date has been proposed: 1714. This year marks the rather prosaic event of a collection of Enlightenment books, generously donated by Jeremiah Dummer , arriving at the library of Yale University in Connecticut. These volumes landed in the hands of a post-graduate student named Samuel Johnson , who, with a diligence that now seems quaint, immersed himself in their contents. He quickly discovered that these new ideas directly contradicted the rigid Puritan learning he had been steeped in. Johnson, in what must have been a rather dramatic personal revelation, wrote that this intellectual encounter was “like a flood of day to his low state of mind,” and he felt as if he were “emerging out of the glimmer of twilight into the full sunshine of open day.” Two years later, in 1716, in his capacity as a tutor at Yale, Johnson, with a boldness that undoubtedly ruffled some feathers, introduced a new curriculum. This curriculum, which he rather grandly termed “The New Learning,” was built upon Dummer’s donated Enlightenment books and included the foundational works and ideas of luminaries such as Francis Bacon , John Locke , Isaac Newton , Robert Boyle , and Copernicus . He even dared to include literary works by Shakespeare , John Milton , and Joseph Addison , expanding the intellectual diet beyond pure philosophy and science. Thus, these Enlightenment ideas, often through the diligent efforts of Dissenter educational and religious networks, began their slow, inexorable diffusion among the American colonists.

Religious tolerance

The enlightened Founding Fathers —a group that included prominent figures like Benjamin Franklin , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison , and George Washington —embarked on a protracted, often arduous, battle to secure and eventually achieve religious freedom for various minority denominations. Their vision, articulated with a clarity that still resonates, was for the United States to be a nation where individuals of all faiths could coexist peacefully and contribute to the mutual benefit of society. James Madison , ever the concise philosopher, encapsulated this ideal in 1792 with the powerful declaration: “Conscience is the most sacred of all property.” A rather bold statement, considering the societal norms of the time, and one that laid a critical cornerstone for the separation of church and state.

This profound shift from a system of established religion , where one denomination held official state sanction, to one of broad religious tolerance , stands as one of the defining characteristics of the period from 1775 to 1818. Indeed, the ratification of the Connecticut Constitution in 1818 has been proposed by some as a symbolic triumph, if not the conclusive end, of the American Enlightenment . This new constitution, a testament to the evolving intellectual climate, effectively dismantled the 180-year-old “Standing Order” and abrogated the provisions of The Connecticut Charter of 1662 , which had governed the state since its founding in 1638 and was rooted in the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut . The new legal framework explicitly guaranteed freedom of religion and, crucially, formally disestablished the Congregational church , severing its official ties with the state. A small step for a state, perhaps, but a giant leap for the principle of individual conscience.

Intellectual currents

Ah, the intellectual currents. Always swirling, rarely tidy. This period, roughly spanning from 1714 to 1818, witnessed a remarkable intellectual metamorphosis within the Thirteen Colonies . What began as a largely provincial, distant backwater of the British Empire slowly, almost imperceptibly, transformed into a burgeoning leader across a spectrum of fields. This included the refinement of moral philosophy, the implementation of significant educational reforms, the eruption of powerful religious revivals, advancements in industrial technology, pioneering work in science , and, perhaps most notably, a groundbreaking evolution in political philosophy. The fascinating, and often overlooked, aspect of this transformation is that the roots of this profound change were largely homegrown, cultivated within the unique environment of the American colonies.

During this era, America developed a peculiar consensus around a political structure founded, in large part, on the rather nebulous “pursuit of happiness.” And here’s where it gets interesting: some scholars, with a flair for the provocative, suggest that elements of this structure were based, however misunderstood or romanticized, on “Native sources.” The notion that concepts of freedom and modern democratic ideals could have been “born in Native American wigwams ” and later found a rather sanitized permanence in Voltaire’s fictionalized Huron is certainly a narrative that challenges conventional wisdom.

Furthermore, the persistent attempts to reconcile the burgeoning discoveries of science with established religious doctrines sometimes led to a rather inconvenient outcome: a wholesale rejection of prophecy, miracles, and even revealed religion itself. This intellectual friction often nudged some of the era’s major political leaders toward an inclination for deism , a belief system that posits a creator deity but largely dismisses divine intervention or supernatural phenomena. A practical solution for practical minds, perhaps, but one that certainly caused its share of theological consternation.

The aforementioned shift away from purely religious instruction also manifested profoundly in the highest echelons of colonial education. A non-denominational moral philosophy systematically replaced traditional theology in the core curricula of the nation’s three most prominent colleges at the time. Yale College (now, of course, Yale University ) and the College of William & Mary underwent significant reforms to reflect this new intellectual direction. Similarly, the Presbyterian College of New Jersey (which would later become Princeton University ) and Harvard University meticulously reformed their own curricula, making sure to prominently feature natural philosophy (science ), modern astronomy , and rigorous mathematics as central pillars of their academic offerings. It seems even the most venerable institutions eventually realize that clinging to outdated paradigms is rarely a path to progress.

European sources

One cannot discuss the American Enlightenment without acknowledging its rather significant intellectual debt to Europe. The sources are, predictably, numerous and varied, shifting in influence depending on the specific time and place within the colonies. Thanks to a surprisingly robust and extensive book trade with Great Britain , the American colonies were, for the most part, remarkably well-acquainted with contemporary European literature, often with very little time lag.

Early influences included a cadre of English writers whose ideas permeated colonial thought. Among them were James Harrington , Algernon Sidney , the Viscount Bolingbroke , John Trenchard , and Thomas Gordon . The latter two, in particular, exerted considerable sway through their influential collection of essays known as Cato’s Letters . Joseph Addison , whose tragedy Cato achieved immense popularity, also contributed to the intellectual climate. A particularly indispensable English legal scholar was William Blackstone , whose monumental Commentaries on the Laws of England served as a foundational text and a major influence on the American Founders. It remains a key source in the ongoing development of Anglo-American common law . While John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government has long been cited as a paramount influence on American thinkers—a fact that, frankly, is often overstated—historians David Lundberg and Henry F. May have meticulously demonstrated that Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding was, in fact, far more widely read and absorbed in the colonies than his political treatises. A minor, but telling, distinction.

The Scottish Enlightenment also cast a long and influential shadow across American intellectual circles. David Hume’s Essays and his comprehensive History of England were devoured in the colonies. Hume’s political philosophy, in particular, left a discernible mark on James Madison and significantly informed the drafting of the U.S. Constitution . Francis Hutcheson’s ethical ideas, coupled with the refined notions of civility and politeness championed by the Earl of Shaftesbury and popularized by Addison and Richard Steele in their periodical The Spectator , profoundly influenced upper-class American colonists who, in a rather predictable display of social climbing, sought to emulate sophisticated European manners and learning.

When it came to French sources, the most critical contributions to the American Enlightenment undoubtedly came from Montesquieu’s seminal work, Spirit of the Laws , and Emer de Vattel’s equally significant Law of Nations . Both of these texts were instrumental in shaping early American conceptions of government and served as major intellectual pillars in the construction of the U.S. Constitution . Voltaire’s various histories were widely read, though curiously, less frequently cited, perhaps due to his more radical critiques of religious institutions. Noah Webster , in a more practical application of European thought, drew upon Rousseau’s educational theories regarding child development to structure his phenomenally successful Speller. Even the writings of the German scholar Samuel Pufendorf found a receptive audience, being commonly cited by American writers of the period. It seems intellectual borrowing was a rather robust enterprise.

Science

The American Enlightenment , while often celebrated for its political and philosophical innovations, also fostered a robust, if often pragmatic, scientific environment. Leading scientists of the era made significant contributions across various disciplines. Benjamin Franklin , of course, stands as a towering figure for his groundbreaking work on electricity, including his infamous kite experiment and the invention of the lightning rod—a practical application of pure scientific inquiry. Jared Eliot contributed notably through his work in metallurgy and agriculture, demonstrating a keen interest in improving practical applications for the burgeoning nation. David Rittenhouse excelled in the fields of astronomy , mathematics , and instrument making, showcasing the precision and intellectual rigor of the colonial scientific community. Benjamin Rush made significant strides in medical science, often at the forefront of nascent public health initiatives. Charles Willson Peale explored natural history with an artist’s eye, often combining scientific observation with artistic representation. Cadwallader Colden was recognized for his botanical work and his efforts in town sanitation, demonstrating an early understanding of public health principles. Notably, Colden’s daughter, Jane Colden , holds the distinction of being the first recognized female botanist working in America, a quiet but significant step for women in science. Finally, Benjamin Thompson emerged as a leading scientist, particularly renowned for his pioneering work in the field of heat, further illustrating the diverse scientific pursuits of the age. These individuals, often working with limited resources, laid crucial groundwork for future scientific development in the United States .

Architecture, arts, and culture

The period following 1780 marked a distinctive turning point in American aesthetic sensibilities. The Federal style of American Architecture began its deliberate divergence from the more established, and frankly, rather derivative, Georgian style . What emerged was a uniquely American genre, characterized by a refined classicism, often with delicate ornamentation and a sense of republican gravitas. In a rather surprising architectural twist, Ithiel Town designed the first Gothic-style church in North America in 1813, Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut . This pioneering effort in Gothic Revival architecture actually predated its widespread adoption in England by a full decade, a rare instance of American architectural innovation leading the European trend.

In the broader fields of literature, poetry, music, and drama, the colonial and early American period saw some nascent, often tentative, artistic attempts. Philadelphia, in particular, prior to the Revolutionary War, emerged as a minor hub for these creative endeavors. However, it must be stated with a certain degree of detached observation that American (non-popular) culture in these domains remained largely imitative of British culture for the vast majority of this period. Originality was a slow bloom, often overshadowed by the practicalities of nation-building and the lingering influence of European artistic traditions. The nation was busy defining itself politically; its artistic voice would take a little longer to find its own distinct cadence.

Republicanism and liberalism

The intellectual bedrock of the American Enlightenment was fundamentally shaped by two powerful, often intertwined, ideologies: republicanism and liberalism . American republicanism placed a heavy emphasis on the absolute necessity of the consent of the governed , advocating for the systematic dismantling of any form of aristocracy and the complete rejection of all inherited political power. It harbored a profound intolerance towards corruption, viewing it as a corrosive force that could undermine the very fabric of a free society. This particular brand of republicanism represented a potent fusion of classical republicanism —drawing inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman ideals of civic virtue—and the more contemporary English republicanism of the 17th-century Commonwealth men and the 18th-century English Country Whigs . It was a heady mix, indeed.

In the decades leading up to the pivotal year of American independence in 1776, the intellectual and political leaders of the colonies engaged in an intense study of history. They meticulously scoured historical accounts, searching for guiding principles or cautionary tales that could inform their understanding of good (and bad) governance. Their focus, unsurprisingly, gravitated towards the evolution of republican ideas in England, seeking precedents and inspiration. Historian J.G.A. Pocock, with his characteristic erudition, illuminates the complex tapestry of intellectual sources that informed the United States :

“The Whig canon and the neo-Harringtonians, John Milton , James Harrington and Sidney , Trenchard , Gordon and Bolingbroke , together with the Greek, Roman, and Renaissance masters of the tradition as far as Montesquieu , formed the authoritative literature of this culture; and its values and concepts were those with which we have grown familiar: a civic and patriot ideal in which the personality was founded on property, perfected in citizenship but perpetually threatened by corruption; government figuring paradoxically as the principal source of corruption and operating through such means as patronage, faction, standing armies (opposed to the ideal of the militia), established churches (opposed to the Puritan and deist modes of American religion) and the promotion of a monied interest—though the formulation of this last concept was somewhat hindered by the keen desire for readily available paper credit common in colonies of settlement. A neoclassical politics provided both the ethos of the elites and the rhetoric of the upwardly mobile, and accounts for the singular cultural and intellectual homogeneity of the Founding Fathers and their generation.”

This profound commitment of the vast majority of Americans to these deeply ingrained republican values ultimately rendered the American Revolution an almost inevitable outcome. Great Britain , from the colonial perspective, was increasingly perceived as a corrupt, decaying empire, fundamentally hostile to the principles of republicanism and, more critically, an existential threat to the established liberties the Americans enjoyed . It was a clash of ideologies as much as a clash of arms. Leopold von Ranke , a preeminent German historian, writing in 1848, posited that American republicanism played a truly crucial, and often underappreciated, role in the broader development of European liberalism:

“By abandoning English constitutionalism and creating a new republic based on the rights of the individual , the North Americans introduced a new force in the world. Ideas spread most rapidly when they have found adequate concrete expression. Thus republicanism entered our Romanic/Germanic world… Up to this point, the conviction had prevailed in Europe that monarchy best served the interests of the nation. Now the idea spread that the nation should govern itself. But only after a state had actually been formed on the basis of the theory of representation did the full significance of this idea become clear. All later revolutionary movements have this same goal… This was the complete reversal of a principle. Until then, a king who ruled by the grace of God had been the center around which everything turned. Now the idea emerged that power should come from below… These two principles are like two opposite poles, and it is the conflict between them that determines the course of the modern world. In Europe the conflict between them had not yet taken on concrete form; with the French Revolution it did.”

A rather grand assertion, but one that highlights the seismic impact of the American experiment on global political thought.

Declaration of Independence

The United States Declaration of Independence , a document primarily authored by the endlessly complex Thomas Jefferson , was formally adopted by the Second Continental Congress on that now-hallowed date of July 4, 1776. Its words, particularly those in the second section, have resonated through centuries, perhaps more for their aspirational power than their immediate historical reality. The text reads:

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident , that all Men are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights , that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness .”

The origin of that iconic phrase, “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ,” has been a perennial subject of academic debate and historical inquiry. Many historians find its roots firmly planted in John Locke’s philosophical framework, specifically his assertion that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” This interpretation suggests a direct lineage from Locke’s emphasis on natural rights to Jefferson’s articulation. However, other scholars propose that Jefferson drew inspiration from William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, a foundational text in Anglo-American legal thought. Still others point to William Wollaston’s 1722 work, The Religion of Nature Delineated , where he describes the “truest definition” of “natural religion” as being “The pursuit of happiness by the practice of reason and truth.” The precise intellectual genealogy may be debated, but the enduring power of the phrase itself is undeniable, even if its initial application was, shall we say, rather selective.

It’s also crucial to consider the Virginia Declaration of Rights , a document penned by George Mason and adopted by the Virginia Convention of Delegates on June 12, 1776, just days before Jefferson’s draft of the national declaration. This earlier text, in part, declares:

“That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights … namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”

The parallels are striking, suggesting a shared intellectual climate and a common wellspring of ideas that were circulating among the revolutionary leaders.

Deism

The American Enlightenment was not merely a period of political and philosophical innovation; it was also a profound reaction against the perceived authoritarianism , entrenched irrationality, and deliberate obscurantism of the established churches of the era. Both the moderate and more radical, revolutionary strands of the Enlightenment shared this critical stance. Philosophers like Voltaire , with his characteristic wit and biting critique, frequently depicted organized religion as a formidable impediment to the advancement of reason and the progress of science , often dismissing its tenets as being incapable of empirical verification.

In this intellectual vacuum, an alternative religious philosophy began to gain traction: deism . Deism, in its essence, is the philosophical belief in a deity based purely on reason and observation of the natural world, rather than relying on religious revelation, dogma, or supernatural interventions. It became a popular intellectual stance among the philosophes of the Enlightenment, who adopted deistic attitudes to varying degrees, finding it a more rational and less dogmatic approach to the divine. This deistic perspective profoundly influenced the thought of many intellectuals and Founding Fathers , including John Adams , Benjamin Franklin , and, quite possibly, George Washington . Most notably, it heavily shaped the worldview of Thomas Jefferson .

The most articulate and, arguably, most controversial exponent of deism in America was Thomas Paine , whose incendiary work The Age of Reason was written while he was in France and quickly made its way across the Atlantic to the United States . Paine’s unapologetic critique of organized religion proved highly divisive. When Thomas Jefferson faced attacks for his own perceived deistic tendencies during the fiercely contested 1800 United States presidential election , Democratic-Republican politicians went to considerable lengths to distance their candidate from Paine’s more radical positions, illustrating the lingering power and controversy surrounding deistic thought. Unitarianism , a theological movement that emphasizes the singular nature of God and the humanity of Jesus, was also strongly connected to deistic thought, having been brought to America by the influential Joseph Priestley . Indeed, Samuel Johnson even went so far as to label Lord Edward Herbert as the “father of English Deism,” tracing the intellectual lineage of this rationalistic approach to faith.

See also

• George Washington and religion
• Jefferson Bible
• Liberal democracy
• Secular state
• Separation of Church and State