The Enlightenment Era

A detailed Summary of The Enlightenment Era


On a cold winter morning a group of colonists stood on the corner of downtown Philadelphia crossroads. With frostbitten noses and wind-burnt cheeks, the frozen crowd awaited anxiously for the newest edition of Benjamin Franklin's newspaper and the current essay of Silence Dogood. The comedy and satire of each month's essay was allowing the colonists a new way of thinking about their lives. Today's story was about a man who justified eating fish, because the fish he ate had eaten a smaller fish. The "punch line" was that most men would use any excuse to justify their behavior. The colonists enjoyed reading witty material that had a different message than they had ever been exposed to. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the others responsible for our constitution radically changed history with their profound thinking. Two examples of this are the establishment of a democratic government that has authority because its people allow it to; and the encouragement of an economic system based on natural forces of supply and demand.

Prior to the colonization of America the world was ruled by com


plete monarchies. Policies were not begun by the people, but by the ruler. The beliefs of the majority or rights of minorities were not important in government by monarchy. Famous philosophers, writers, and even inventors during Enlightenment put dramatic thought into such radical thinkers as Franklin, Jefferson, and Henry. In Thomas Jefferson's first Inaugural Address, he stated, "Sometime it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question." He felt confident that history would probe that the democratic process would win out. He also advocated a "wise and frugal government " that would offer protection but leave men to seek their own "pursuits of industry and improvement." These intelligent radicals were who educated the nation to think and understand the power of the man-made liberties and the Declaration of Independence. Majority ruled, but the minorities still enjoyed rights formed by a democracy.

Our forefathers were al

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Approximate Word count = 747
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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