1700-1820

I thought it was very interesting to read the section "Enlightenment Ideals" in this introduction. A big part of the American colonies before this time was based on religion and the people were typically very spiritual. In this section, however, it said that the colonists started defining their highest duties in social rather than spiritual terms. There was a shift in this period from being interested in God and the metaphysical to being interested in people and relating to other colonists. It is curious that this change happened because it led to a more political mindset in many of the colonists, because they became more concerned with government and the order of relating to other people instead of just focusing on the spiritual aspect of life. This change was one of the causes of the writing of the Declaration of Independence. I don't usually stop to think about why and how documents like the Declaration were written, but reading this gave a good insight into it because there was a shift from spiritual to governmental importance in the colonies.