The Enlightenment in British North America

US History – The Philosophical Foundations of the American Revolution

In this course, Professor Ed Gray (Florida State University) discusses the philosophical foundations of the American Revolution. In the first module, we look at the enlightenment in British North America. After this, we explore the radical Whig tradition in Anglo-American thought. Then, we look at how colonial government worked and discuss the so-called the Republic of Letters. In the fourth module, we focus in to look at the radicalization of British North America. Finally, we explore how the new system of government can be seen as Radical Whiggism in practice.

The Enlightenment in British North America

In the first module, we look at the enlightenment in British North America. In particular, we will focus on the key questions: (i) What are the broad currents of thought that informed the philosophical and ideological origins of the American Revolution?; (ii) How does the Enlightenment contextualize the intellectual environment of the American revolutionaries?; (iii) What are the key elements of Enlightenment thinking, particularly empiricism and rationalism, and how did they contrast with previous modes of understanding?; (iv) How did the Enlightenment's emphasis on rationalism and empirical knowledge influence political philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries?; (v) What roles did Thomas Hobbes and John Locke play in shaping Enlightenment political thought, and how did their ideas address religious and confessional conflicts?; (vi) How did Hobbes and Locke propose to separate religion from politics, and why was this separation considered necessary?; (vii) What is the relationship between Enlightenment rationalism and religion, and how were these elements intertwined rather than opposed?; (viii) How did the diverse religious landscape of the American colonies in the 18th century reflect the Enlightenment's influence on toleration and separation of church and state?; (ix) How did institutions of higher education in the American colonies contribute to the development of new Enlightenment ideas and intellectual movements?; and (x) What role did the doctrine of toleration play in fostering intellectual diversity and the spread of Enlightenment ideas in the American colonies?