Jahleel Brown
Global History

AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT The Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual movement that emphasized reason and individualism rather than tradition; Started in the 18th century and gave people a chance to find reason and truth on their own, without help from others. Religion became one of the main targets during this period, because it was a belief that you learned from others. The scientific revolution in the 17th century brought forth new views on science and religion, proponents used the scientific method to answer questions about the order, reason, and truth of the universe. Both of these eras opened the door for the philosophes during the Age of
Enlightenment.
Voltaire, a former Enlightenment thinker, was known for his religious toleration and criticism towards traditional religious views. In Document 6
, Voltaire wrote a letter on the english contradicting their ideas. Voltaire also wrote a book called Treatise On Toleration, as described in
Document 12
, in which he stressed the fact that other countries such as
England and Arabia that practiced religious toleration had no problems.
New thinking and writings that came out of the Enlightenment period influenced ideas of american colonists. One of the most important influences was John Locke and his essays on the Treatise of Government, as described in
Document 11
. Locke argued that people had natural rights and liberties that allowed them to do whatever they wanted to do without breaking any law, such as killing another human being. In the state of natural rights people were given the basic