Connections between Enlightenment & Great Awakening Ideas and Republican Ideals

Throughout the middle of the 18th century, ideas of the Enlightenment and Great Awakening both from Europe and the Americas played a pivotal role in the establishment and furtherment of Republican ideals. Enlightenment ideals which stressed individual rights were essential in empowering the people of the colonies to fight for their rights- and eventually independence from the mother country. In turn, Great Awakening ideas which emphasised not simply showing full obedience to authorities (specifically church authorities), were key in Republican ideals of the idea that everyone should have a say in various matters of not only religion, but of government itself.

Baron de Montesquieu was a key French Enlightenment thinker. In his “Spirit of the Laws” he addresses the importance of “a love of the republic… a sensation, and not a consequence of acquired knowledge” (“The Spirit of the Laws,” 1). The idea of the importance that the love is towards the “republic” and not towards a specific ruler or towards the monarchy stresses the importance of individual liberties, or a republic. Barn de Montesquieu also goes on to look at how in a republic adherence to the laws and customs is much higher due to the fact that everyone has a say in choosing these laws and customs, which is in great contrast to what happens in a monarchy. Baron de Montesquieu’s ideas were targeted to everyone – and spread rapidly. Not only did his ideas become popular and, in some ways, inspire the later French Revolution, but instead they also made their way to what would become the United States and established several key ideas of the distribution of power in American government and helped inspire revolution against the tyranny of the monarchical rule over the Americas.

The Great Awakening also played a central role in fostering the ideas which would later inspire movements such as the American Revolution. In “Christian Knowledge” by Jonathan Edwards, a passage clearly intended to inspire normal people to take a stance and begin to seek wisdom and “grow in knowledge in divinity” (“Christian Knowledge,” 1). The ideas expressed by Jonathan Edwards fit well with the spirit of the Great Awakening – a spirit of breaking free from previously set boundaries and from simply listening to the all-knowing authorities and instead experiencing intense inner spiritual revival. As Jonathan Edwards states “this is indeed esteemed the business of divines and ministers: it is commonly thought to be their work… but if the apostle had entertained this notion, he would have never blamed the Christian Hebrews for not having acquired knowledge enough to be teachers” (“Christian Knowledge,” 1). This emphasises the idea of breaking away from authority in religion, although these concepts would later be expanded into a larger domain – the domain of politics – to question the traditional and absolute monarchical authority. George Whitefield, in “The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial” expresses the opinion that we should live in “a constant state of voluntary suffering and self-denial” (“The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial,” 1), an idea which is expressed in Luke 9:23 in the Bible. The idea itself of living in self-denial is not directly a link to the Great Awakening – instead, it is the idea of going back to the traditional sources (like the Bible) which is truly vital (at least as expressed by Whitefield). In turn, the idea of going back to old, traditional and rudimentary ideas can also be seen as a pattern which should be followed in politics – this phenomenon can be clearly seen as the USA goes away from monarchy and instead approaches a system similar to the democratic governments of classical Greece and even more analogous to the Republican governmental system present in the Roman Republic. Whitefield’s intended audience, just like that of both Jonathan Edwards and Montesquieu, was the masses – with his sermons he preached to many and helped them experience what they considered a spiritual awakening.

John Adams’ Letter to Mercy Warren allows us to link together ideas expressed by both thinkers of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening and connect them to the gradual approach of the colonies towards Republican ideals. John Adams clearly articulates in his letter that “there must be a positive Passion for the public good” and that “men must be ready, they must pride themselves… when they stand in Competition with the Rights of Society” (“John Adams, letter to Mercy Warren,” 1). This connects to the ideas of the English Enlightenment thinker John Locke – who said that if the people did not approve of the governmental system, they had the right to rebel against it. John Adams’ letter clearly embraces the Republican ideals and shows how the idea of a Republic where the people are involved in the matters of ruling themselves strengthens their commitment to their country. Although the audience of this letter is a single person, the idea that the people can also choose who they want to represent them stresses the ideas of individual rights and embraces both ideas of the Enlightenment (individual rights, virtue in a Republic) as well as those of the Great Awakening (going against traditional authorities and instead letting the people choose). This truly shows how the ideas of the Enlightenment and Great Awakening have come together to form the idea of a Republic – where individuals have rights and can choose their authorities.

In conclusion, the impact which the Enlightenment and Great Awakening philosophy had on the Republican ideals cannot be overstated. Enlightenment ideals which stressed individual rights were essential in empowering the people of the colonies to fight for their rights- and eventually independence from the mother country. In turn, Great Awakening ideas which emphasised not simply showing full obedience to authorities (specifically church authorities), were key in Republican ideals of the idea that everyone should have a say in various matters of not only religion, but of government itself.

Works Cited

Baron de Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, trans. Thomas Nugent, rev. ed. (New York: The Colonial Press), 1:40, accessed September 26, 2021, http://web.archive.org/web/20080821125602/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/MonLaws.html.

Jonathan Edwards, Henry Rogers, and Edward Hickman, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, A.M., vol. 2 (London: John Childs and Son, 1839), 157–159, http://books.google.com.

George Whitefield, "The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial," in Selected Sermons of George Whitefield (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library), 298–299, accessed September 26, 2021, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.pdf.

John Adams to Mercy Warren, 16 April 1776, The Founders' Constitution, vol. 1, chap. 18, doc. 9, http://press- pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch18s9.html.