George Whitefield: The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that took place in mainly Europe, and mainly in North America during the late 17th century and early 18th century. In my opinion, Benjamin Franklin, Baron de Montesquieu, and John Locke were the most important philosophers.

The Enlightenment was a time of change in Europe. There were many new ideas, and various influential thinkers that inspired new invention and also inspired revolutions. All of these thinkers had different views on people and government and different views of people and how they act. Many of these authoritative individuals thoughts still influence us even today. Many of their ideas are used in government and also as guidelines for people to live their lives by.

The Enlightenment was the root of many of the ideas of the American Revolution. It was a movement that focused mostly on freedom of speech, equality, freedom of press, and religious tolerance. The American Revolution was the time period where America tried to gain its independence from England. They got influenced very much from many philosophers. That will be discussed throughout the essay. The Enlightenment ideas were the main influences for American Colonies to become their own nation.

The Enlightenment period was an extremely impactful revolution which caused changes in societies around the world. It began in 1651, people across the country took a stand against their unfair rights. In order to have a peaceful society, everyone must be treated with equality which can only occur if there is a fair government system in place. If people have to fight and kill to have their natural rights granted, something has to be done about it. The enlightenment period encouraged the people to share their ideas when before they felt they had no say. When the people come together to fight for something they believe in many good and bad outcomes can take place. This time period led to many changes that have drastic effects on history. As people joined multiple documents were created showing the impact of this time period. A couple of these influential documents was the English Bill of Rights, U.S constitution, and the Haitian Constitution.

The Age of Enlightenment, a movement during the 17th and 18th century started from the Europeans, later moving into American colonies. The point of this movement was for the society to reform on a new base such as emphasizing reason and individualism over tradition. Enlightenment thinkers, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Beccaria, Locke, and Voltaire helped launched this project amongst Europeans. John Locke, for example, criticized absolute monarchy and favored self-government. Voltaire also believed that people should be able to speak their minds without the fear they may be punished. Through these philosophy influence, this eventually leads to European rulers ruling with a sense of equality, democratic governance, and abolition.

The Enlightenment was a period in the eighteenth century where change in philosophy and cultural life took place in Europe. The movement started in France, and spread to Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany at more or less around the same time, the ideas starting with the most renowned thinkers and philosophers of the time and eventually being shared with the common people. The Enlightenment was a way of thinking that focused on the betterment of humanity by using logic and reason rather than irrationality and superstition. It was a way of thinking that showed skepticism in the face of religion, challenged the inequality between the kings and their people, and tried to establish a sound system of ethics. The ideas behind the

The Enlightenment era was a new intellectual movement that stressed reason and thought and the power of individuals to solve problems. Even though different philosophers approached their goal differently, they achieved it none the less. They all approached their goal differently due to their different upbringings, their different backgrounds, and most importantly their different environments. A few among the many enlightened thinkers were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron Do Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau. While some of their idea’s are not used in modern society, they were all instrumental to the modern society we live in today.

The passage that African slaves were carried through during the slave trade. The passage carried slaves from Africa to North America and the West Indies. The passage moved across the Atlantic Ocean on boats with extremely bad conditions.

The Enlightenment formed off of another movement known as the Scientific Revolution in the seventeenth century. The Scientific Revolution brought about new scientific discoveries especially in Astronomy changing the preconceptions of how the cosmos affect the natural world. These dramatic discoveries made people question the existing political and social orders. The Enlightenment challenged the traditional hierarchical ideals such as a king’s divine right to rule, the privileges of nobility, and the political power of religion. It also inspired the ideals of individual determination, freedom and equality, and the basic principles of human reason and natural rights.

The Middle Passage, the second, or middle, leg in the triangular trading routes linking America, Africa, and Europe, was the name for the voyage of the slaves across the Atlantic Ocean. America was the popular destination for people selling slaves because they were sold for up to thirty times the price of the slaves sold in Africa. The higher amount of money made by selling the slaves in America caused a number of crammed vessels full of African-American men, women, and children to head through the Ocean towards America. The conditions on the ships were horrible for the slaves. The slaves were chained to the decks by their necks and legs, and the enslaved people were so packed that they could not even turn around. Death of many of the slaves

The “Triangular Trade” was the trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. They traded crops, goods, and slaves. The transportation of slaves from Africa to the New World is what has been labeled as the “Middle Passage.” Many accounts have been documented about this transportation, in the eyes of historians, crew members of the actual ships, and even slaves who went through this voyage themselves. All of them have a different way of describing how the Middle Passage was truly experienced. However, when looking at them in a general sense, a very clear conclusion can be made: slaves were kept in a horrific environment, which often affected the crew on board, but the only reason the slaves were kept alive was because the white crews saw them as monetary beings rather than human beings.

The Enlightenment was a cultural movement that challenged the authority of the church in science and philosophy while elevating the power of human reason. One of the most influential Enlightenment writers was John Locke. He argued with the church that people were not born with sinful minds. He believed that their mind was shaped by society and education, which made people better. Baron Montesquieu, another writer, contributed to American colonies by creating our three political powers: Executive,

George Whitefield was born into a thespian society and family. His whole world revolved around schoolboy performances. Whitefield paid to put himself through Pembroke College by helping out the wealthier students and by waiting on them. George Whitefield joined a group that called themselves “Methodists” led by the Wesley brothers John and Charles. Whitefield experienced a “new birth” through this new view of the Methodists. Whitefield decided to become a missionary and travelled to the Georgia colony to spread his message of his new found life; however, his ship was delayed and he ended up being ordained as a deacon in the Anglican church. When Whitefield spoke he amassed huge crowds. Whitefield incorporated his thespian career into his sermons to give the audience a more realistic view of what is really going on in the scriptures. When preaching on eternity Whitefield stopped and spoke excitedly "Hark! Methinks I hear [the saints] chanting their everlasting hallelujahs, and spending an eternal day in echoing forth triumphant songs of joy. And do you not long, my brethren, to join this heavenly choir?". Whitefield made it to Georgia and returned to England just three months later; although, when he returned he found out that many churches did not welcome his unconventional preaching methods. Whitefield did not let this stop him- he instead starting to looking for places to preach in the open, outdoors. He felt closer to his audience in this way due to the fact that there was not a paper or a pulpit to keep him from engaging with his audience instead of a physical barrier that stood between him and his audience members. In 1739 Whitefield returned to tour around the American colonies. Whitefield sailed to the “New World” and his first stop was Philadelphia.

Whitfield (or Whitefield) was an English Anglican priest born in Gloucester, England; the youngest of seven children, the son of a saloon operator; who died when George was two. Also, Whitfield graduated from Oxford University and converted to Calvinism in 1733. Afterward in 1739, he began his preaching career in the colony of Georgia with authoritative fervor. Whitfield preached a moderate Calvinistic message rooted in faith, grace, and salvation only through Christ Jesus during The Great Awakening period in America which changed the Calvinsm message. In addition, Whitfield preached over 80,000 sermons in churches, jails, open fields, and did extensive missionary work. As a result, Whitfield has been heralded as the primary trailblazer of

An intellectual movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the 18th century. France absolute monarch was criticized by Enlightenment thinkers concerning the tax burden on the Third Estate. Democratic reforms were also requested.