Enlightenment in American Literature - Research Paper Example

?The Enlightenment was a period which came about at some point in the eighteenth century that led to the scholarly change in Europe and North America. Among its most fundamental ideals was the fact that human beings were free to develop themselves using their own intellect instead of blindly following the teachings of others. Another ideal was the propagation of freedom where human beings were free to reason things for themselves. Next was the belief that enlightenment was a universal characteristic among all human beings and that they all had the ability to become enlightened. The most crucial aspect of the Enlightenment was the belief in the secularization of society where the church was to be separated from the state. The Enlightenment was spearheaded by the philosophes, who were scholars whose work gave life to this age. Among the most influential philosophes were Voltaire, Rousseau, and Kant and it is the ideas of these men, such as the equality of all men and the belief in the separation of Church and state that led to the French Revolution (Radzins 240). The effect of this revolution was that many European states, in an attempt to avoid such a situation, attempted to reform their societies to accommodate those who were likely to rise in revolt, namely the middle classes of society. The work of these men also came to influence the people of America, especially in the fields of literature, and this may have had a direct hand in the American Revolution and the ideals which are still prevalent in American society today. Quite a number of the European colonists who came to settle in North America brought the ideas of the Enlightenment with them. Many of these people believed in the equal rights they had with the people of their mother countries, as well as the right to determine their own future. The writers who wrote during the American Revolution often wrote about the need for democracy because it was a fundamental right for all human beings. Thomas Jefferson, for example argued that liberty and equality were the rights of all humans and these could not be denied them (Hatzenbuehler 288). Furthermore, Benjamin Franklin believed that in order to be successful, all the American colonies had to unite and speak with one voice. He was among those who stood up to oppose the Stamp Act and it was because of his efforts that it came to be repealed. Because of his efforts in fighting for the freedoms of the American people as well as representing them in Europe, specifically in France, he came to be considered as one of the founding fathers of the United States. Among the greatest ideas from the Enlightenment that came to influence Americans was the belief in religious tolerance as well as individual thinking. The idea of religious tolerance was such a great influence that the founding fathers chose to include it in the constitution of the young nation. This in effect ensured that the church and the state in the United States remained separate, and this continues to be the case today. In addition, individual thinking enabled people such as Benjamin Franklin, among others, to study nature through scientific means and this created an environment conducive for the many discoveries that have taken place since (Branham 54). The writings of such men as Thomas Payne and Alexander Hamilton, who were influenced by the ideas from the Enlightenment, established the spirit of revolution among the British colonies of America. These writings gave the people of the colonies to rise up against the British and end their rule over them through the Revolutionary War. Thomas Payne was an Englishman who had moved to America prior to the Revolution in a bid to achieve the religious and political freedoms that he was denied in his home country. His works, such as Common Sense, advocated for the complete severance of all links between the American colonies and Britain. Payne’s work was so influential that there are some who declared it to be more than 25000 men in its effectiveness. Alexander Hamilton was a man whose ideas were incredibly influenced by the Enlightenment and this can be seen through his fighting to ensure that American freedom was retained. He wrote the Federalist papers to the people of all the states encouraging them to accept the Constitution, which would eventually give rise to the American nation (Abbott 525). The United States would not have come into existence had the Enlightenment not influenced the men whose writings helped spark the American Revolution. The Enlightenment has had an immense influence not only in American literature, but also in the way that its democracy is conducted. Before the age of Enlightenment, most of the literature written tended to be based on religion and it was used to interpret the teachings of the Church. However, with the coming of the Enlightenment, all this changed as literature started to focus more on individual human beings and less about religion, which was often relegated to the background. Ernest Hemingway found plenty of inspiration for his work through the independence he got from going on a voyage at sea. His independent thinking inspired him to write one of his most recognizable works, For Whom The Bell Tolls, a novel which went on to become a bestseller (Solow 103). The Enlightenment continues to influence many of the American writers, whose display of individualism in their works has ensured that American literature remains among the most successful in the world (Grenda 567). American writers are not afraid to delve into controversial subjects in their work, because in their doing so, they tend to address the diverse problems that are plaguing the society. Their work is indeed done in the spirit of the Enlightenment because not only does it deal with issues concerning the relationship between man and nature, but it also deals with issues concerning the society. It can, therefore, be said that the success of American literature can be attributed to the ideas that were first propagated during the Enlightenment, and made their way into American lives through the writings prior and after the Revolution. References Abbott, Philip. ""What’s New in the Federalist Papers?" Political Research Quarterly 49.3 (1996): 525-. Branham, Anne K. "Teaching the Enlightenment in American Literature: Shedding Light on Faith and Reason." English Journal 87.3 (1998): 54-9. Grenda, Christopher S. "Thinking Historically about Diversity: Religion, the Enlightenment, and the Construction of Civic Culture in Early America." Journal of Church and State 48.3 (2006): 567-600. Hatzenbuehler, Ronald L. "Thomas Jefferson and the Rhetoric of Virtue/Thomas Jefferson: A Chronology of His Thoughts." Journal of the Early Republic 23.2 (2003): 288-91. Radzins, Inese. "Modern Christian Thought: The Enlightenment and the Nineteenth Century." Church History 77.1 (2008): 239-42. Solow, Michael K. "A Clash of Certainties, Old and New: For Whom the Bell Tolls and the Inner War of Ernest Hemingway." The Hemingway Review 29.1 (2009): 103. Read More