The Age of Reason and Revolution
B. The Age of Reason and Revolution (1750-1800) – 8 points
Definition: An 18th-century movement marked by an emphasis on:
1. rationality rather than tradition
2. scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious belief
3. representative government instead of monarchy
Beliefs:
1. Devoted to the ideals of justice, liberty, and equality as the natural rights of man
2. The universe is a logical, orderly place
3. Man will one day uncover the laws that govern the universe
4. Science led to a decline in the importance of religion in everyday life
5. Deism – based knowledge of God on reason, not revelation
C. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) (Fill in the blank notes) – 5 points
(If you have misplaced the handout, then all notes should be copied by hand to be turned in)
WHO:
- Devoted to improvement: self-improvement and the improvement of society
- writer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and political thinker
- A major contributor to establishing the USA as a country independent of Great Britain
- helped found the first public library in America
- helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776
- was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787
- Poor Richard’s Almanack was his biggest publishing success
The Autobiography:
- recounts his rise to financial success
- is addressed to his son
- offers advice on life and living
- is illustrated by stories – some exaggerated – from his own life
Summary of The Autobiography:
1. “Leaving Boston”
- Young Franklin leaves his brother’s print shop at the age of 17 to seek work in New York.
- Finding no work there, he hears of a job in Philadelphia.
- He sets sail for Philadelphia, gets caught in a storm, and suffers several mishaps. 1. They are stuck in a boat with no food or water; they’re wet and have poor shelter 2. He gets a fever 3. He’s suspected of being a runaway servant
- Once on land, he walks 50 miles to Burlington, New Jersey, where after some
Definition: An 18th-century movement marked by an emphasis on:
1. rationality rather than tradition
2. scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious belief
3. representative government instead of monarchy
Beliefs:
1. Devoted to the ideals of justice, liberty, and equality as the natural rights of man
2. The universe is a logical, orderly place
3. Man will one day uncover the laws that govern the universe
4. Science led to a decline in the importance of religion in everyday life
5. Deism – based knowledge of God on reason, not revelation
C. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) (Fill in the blank notes) – 5 points
(If you have misplaced the handout, then all notes should be copied by hand to be turned in)
WHO:
- Devoted to improvement: self-improvement and the improvement of society
- writer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and political thinker
- A major contributor to establishing the USA as a country independent of Great Britain
- helped found the first public library in America
- helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776
- was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1787
- Poor Richard’s Almanack was his biggest publishing success
The Autobiography:
- recounts his rise to financial success
- is addressed to his son
- offers advice on life and living
- is illustrated by stories – some exaggerated – from his own life
Summary of The Autobiography:
1. “Leaving Boston”
- Young Franklin leaves his brother’s print shop at the age of 17 to seek work in New York.
- Finding no work there, he hears of a job in Philadelphia.
- He sets sail for Philadelphia, gets caught in a storm, and suffers several mishaps. 1. They are stuck in a boat with no food or water; they’re wet and have poor shelter 2. He gets a fever 3. He’s suspected of being a runaway servant
- Once on land, he walks 50 miles to Burlington, New Jersey, where after some