Browse Exhibits (2 total)
The Enlightenment Influence on the American Revolution
Many people have previous interpretations of how the American Revolution came to be. Whether it be political, economic, or independence driven war, there was also a variety of different ideologies that helped spark this movement. We already know that the Enlightenment started in 1685 and this era was crucial for many new ideas including questioning traditional authority, challenging religion, and opposing power of monarchs. Key figures like John Locke, Adam Smith, and Montesquieu were at the root of the intellectual movement. They also happened to spark many new ways of thinking for key members of the American Revolution such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison. These three men were at the heart of the fight of freedom for the 13 colonies, but what many do not know is how much Locke, Smith, and Baron de Montesquieu inspired Jefferson, Franklin, and Madison to create this revolution.
Public Education: More Revolutionary Than We Thought?
When we think about the history of public education, we might think about one-room schoolhouses, Horace Mann, or John Dewey. But what we typically don't realize, is that our history goes back further. A LOT further. The Enlightenment movement in Europe produced new ideas about society and government, and American colonial academies taught these ideas in the generation leading up to the Revolutionary War. Our founding fathers came to believe that public education was the cornerstone to a democracy and, while it didn't materialize on a national level for the first century of American independence, they built the foundation for so much of what we have today.