Analytical Essay: The American Enlightenment

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Kevin Shultz (2014) states, "The American Enlightenment stemmed from European Enlightenment, which was a movement to prioritize the human capacity for reason as the highest form of human attainment" (p.69). Shultz (2014) also states that in the Western world in the 1600s people believed that (1) That rulers both religious or secular were not to be questioned. (2) That change was not possible for humans. (3) That human lives on Earth were nothing more than a short stop on a journey to Heaven or Hell. Scientist began to question this way of thinking in the 1500s and a scientist name Copernicus was one that made a name for himself by questioning this way of thinking (Shultz, 2014). Educated people began pondering whether humans through the use of reason could obtain a different way of life through natural laws (Shultz, 2014). Regarding government, politics, and religion, Enlightenment is the key element in just about every aspect of life, including religion, has been influenced by it (Smith, 2011). …show more content…
Locke believed it was not by divine laws that decided one's character, but a person's environment (Shultz, 2014). A person was not predestined to be a particular way. Through this new way of thinking, humans decided their own individual destiny. Rousseau believed that life, liberty, and property were a person's natural rights in life and even rulers did not have the right to encroach on these liberties (Shultz, 2014). A man named Adam Smith brought forth the idea of supply and demand which aided in the economy (Shultz, 2014). These men were able to give people a whole new outlook on their lives and slowly made people realize that each was in control of their destiny (Shultz, 2014). This new way of thinking laid the groundwork for the revolution and the independence of
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