Digital Creative Project by Nikki

The Enlightenment

a02440362 — 2025-04-09 15:48:15 UTC

Benjamin Franklin

a02440362 — 2025-04-09 15:48:23 UTC

Benjamin Franklin was a later Enlightenment thinker. He grew up in Europe but most of his impact was seen after he moved to the American colonies. He worked for many newspapers, writing under both his name and pseudonyms before he became well-known and credible.

He wrote an autobiography (dedicated to his bastard son whom he had not claimed) detailing his upbringing and experiences in America that led him to his work in politics, and more of his personal life that affected his writings.

Later on in his life, when he became more involved in American politics, he used many of Locke's ideas and had a profound effect on the American government and news that can still be seen in laws and policies today.

John Locke

a02440362 — 2025-04-09 20:18:19 UTC

John Lock was arguably the most influential Enlightenment thinker to emerge from Europe. He was an English man with most of his focus on politics. In his early life, he grew up witnessing revolutions all over Europe and watched the mistakes of many governments. This, combined with his higher education, gave him a unique outlook on government in his writings.

Many credit him as an unofficial Founding Father because although he was not alive when the United States declared independence, he wrote the document that inspired the British Bill of Rights, and thus the American one as well. He was the man who came up with the idea of "life, liberty, and property" as basic human rights, which was later developed into the American Declaration of Independence. Locke's influence can be seen in governments all over Europe and the Americas even today, and his influence will likely live on for the rest of human civilization.

Origins

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The Scientific Revolution- Beginning in Europe in the 16th Century, people began to make a shift from trusting biblical and religious knowledge to searching to find their own scientific truths about the world. Most believed this to be a better way to understand God; by understanding his creations in the world around humans.

Characteristics

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Science- People were making an effort to understand God's creations, so much more of the natural world was studied. Astronomy especially flourished because so many began to search for real evidence of Heaven.

Art- Before this time, art almost entirely consisted of religious figures, but because of the focus on science, people began to do many more landscapes. There was also more focus on anatomy, so there was a rise in art portraying the naked body.

Literature- Scientists were motivated to write about their findings, which encouraged other fields of education to do so. There was a surge of new information published to the world, further contributing the the education of the rising literacy rates.

Effects

a02440362 — 2025-04-09 20:30:49 UTC

The Enlightenment- The Scientific Revolution led to a new generation of much more educated people who had more time in school and thus more time to research the world around them. many breakthroughs were made in the fields of science and literature. Many people also had opportunities to publish their work because of strengthening economies and access to news in all of Europe.

Historical Significance

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Education- Allowing children to continue their education became an expectation rather than an exception. More education led to more scientific advancements, art, and literature. All of these things have lasting impacts on the world today, especially the literature. Many of the ideas and policies in European and Western countries stemmed from early enlightenment thinkers like John Locke and Benjamin Franklin.

Art- The Enlightenment brought forth an unprecedented shift in the subjects of art, becoming one of the largest artistic revolutions apart from the Renaissance. It allowed artists to express much more without the influence of the Church overlooking them.

Literature- Literacy rates in Europe and the colonies skyrocketed, allowing the fields of literature to flourish and reach a larger audience and spreading more ideas, allowing for the cycle of improving education to continue.

Sources

a02440362 — 2025-04-09 20:51:22 UTC

Haydn Mason. “The European Enlightenment: Was It Enlightened?” The Modern Language Review, vol. 94, no. 4, 1999, pp. xxvii–xxxviii. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3737337. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.

Ryle, Gilbert. “John Locke.” Crítica: Revista Hispanoamericana de Filosofía, vol. 1, no. 2, 1967, pp. 3–19. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40103863. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.

Franklin, Benjamin. “Letters of Benjamin Franklin.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 40, no. 4, 1916, pp. 480–83. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20086288. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.