In this story of how
federalism, a perception regarding the relationship between the individual and
his/her government, has fared during the American experience, this blog has
reached the foundation of a new colony, that of Connecticut. The original motivation to establish that
eventual colony and state was spearheaded by Puritans in three towns to
separate themselves from the Anglican influence one found in Massachusetts. That development is described in the last
posting.
It is of importance to this story since in one of the towns
seeking separation was Hartford that would become the home of Yale. There, Samuel Johnson would be influenced by
the writings of Enlightenment thinkers and as a post-graduate student and tutor,
led the way to institute a new curriculum called “The New Learning.”
In the reading list of that
curriculum were the works of Francis Bacon, John Locke, Isaac Newton, Robert
Boyle, Copernicus, and that was only on the philosophic/science side of scholarly
works. On the literary side there were
the stories of Shakespeare, Milton, and Addison. These works and their ideas hit the
“grapevine” of that time, i.e., the religious networks that, in this case, were
centered in Yale College. All this began
roughly in the year 1718.
A historian who has studied
this development and has reported certain central elements of it is James
MacGregor Burns.[1]
According to his reportage, the Enlightenment in Europe coincided with the
Reformation and, as a result, the church came under critical review when it exercised
its authority over questions regarding nature and government.
Starting with Copernicus
and his theorizing that the earth, contrary to religious dictum, was not the
center of the universe, led to enormous energetic interest in the study of
physical existence. This encouraged a
whole new approach to investigating nature that began with the Cartesian premise
that nothing was known (except one’s own existence), and one needed to go out
and hypothesize, observe, measure, and tentatively conclude what the basic elements
of that reality are.[2]
The second element Burns points out is how
extensively this newer view took hold.
It stretched throughout Europe and even led to the overthrow of
governments. And once taking hold in
America, it played a role in encouraging and emboldening a generation of
leaders that would lead toward the independence of the colonies that would
become the US.
Third, he makes a definite
connection between Enlightenment ideas and the direction American leaders would
take. These leaders will include John
Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.
Of particular concern were the philosophizing of certain social / economic
/ political qualities such as liberty and equality. Here one can trace the original importation
of the natural rights view as a legitimate philosophic tradition that owes a
lot of its original arguments to John Locke, although, through the ensuing years
that tradition has gone through extensive change, especially of late.
And fourth, Burns summarily
sees the overwhelming effect of the Enlightenment as a “light” that made
visible the realities of existence through the use of reason. That light shone the way to go past the
obstacles of traditional, faith-based thought that had stymied people’s ability
to discover what humans have to contend with through the various turns in their
lives. This ranged from diseases, to
movement, to meeting the wants and needs of people to survive and live better,
more comfortable lives.
The aim of the
Enlightenment here in America, as in Europe, was to apply reasoning to science,
politics, and religion. That reason, for
example, encouraged religious tolerance; why engage in constant religious
fights that in Europe led to the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) that ended due
to exhaustion with no side winning? It
upgraded the arts as important pursuits.
It promoted a secular or, at least, a non-denominational moral approach
that could replace theology. And,
probably most effective, was the introduction of science as a higher education
discipline.
One form or result of a
secular moral view was the upstart of deism – the belief in an uninvolved deity
that might have created what is, but basically stands back and lets that
creation do its thing. Apparently, this
belief became common among the leadership class of the American colonies.
What became disfavored
among the elite class were such beliefs in the ability to prophesize and the
occurrence of miracles. But of most
importance was the influence the Enlightenment had on the leadership and on many
of the common folk as to the reasonableness and prudence in adopting religious tolerance. This and the other Enlightened views, through
the slow process outlined above, took hold especially among the educated.
It did not directly lead
toward demanding independence but laid the foundation that would later make
Americans less tolerant of English policies they found distasteful and that was
not limited to the upper class. It grew
among the population in general. So, as
for the relevant history of the 1700s, one can see related influences taking
hold, but did they eliminate federalist foundational beliefs? This writer believes they did not, but
instead were incorporated under the federated framework the Puritans had
established.
Again, that influence can
be best summarized as one of congregationalism.
This foundational form is counter to the vertical structure of such
religions as Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism.
The formation of congregations is the result of local people bonding
together to establish a church and it was through that mode that Puritanical
churches were established in New England.
In turn, historians basically agree that this mode naturally led to the
establishment of the colonial polities.
They also led to the early educational institutions such as Harvard and
Yale.
Next, this story will
review how Harvard reenters the story of the Enlightenment through mostly the
work of Increase Mather. His work will
be the topic of the next posting as that posting aims to fill in some the
information gaps regarding the development of the Enlightenment among Americans
during the 1700s.
[1] James
MacGregor Burns, Fire and Light: How the
Enlightenment Transformed Our World (New York, NY: MacMillan, 2013).
[2] As the philosophy of science would later state (under the philosophizing of Karl Popper), all conclusions are subject to disproof. This is known as the principle of falsification.
