The Enlightenment Teacher Resources

An overview of how the Age of Enlightenment influenced the American colonies in thought, Benjamin Franklin, and the colony of Georgia.

The Enlightenment was a period of time, starting around 1715, when people developed new ideas about human existence, including people's basic rights and the purpose of government. When our Founding Fathers created a government for the...

The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason shaped philosophical, political, and scientific discourse from the late 17th to the early 19th century. This article traces the Enlightenment back to its roots in the aftermath of the Civil War, and...

Use the video "The American Enlightenment" [1:10:55] to consider the two learning outcomes below. It features discussions of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress; perfectionism; Deism; Benjamin Franklin; errata; Thomas Jefferson; syllogisms;...

Short video compares the teachings of "revealed" religion of Christianity vs. the "natural" religion of Deism, two veins of religious thought during the Enlightenment. [3:54]

Use the video and text of "Give me liberty, or give me death!" a quotation by Patrick Henry from a speech he made to the Virginia Convention in 1775, at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, to consider the two learning outcomes...

Use the text or audio of Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin to consider the two learning outcomes below. Describe the major historical and cultural developments of the Enlightenment; explain key concepts. Describe the major conventions,...

Article on the History of Germany and the Age of Enlightenment, 1648 to 1789.

Links to a concentration game where students must match famous Enlightenment thinkers to their ideas.

A profile of the Bodh Gaya, the place where Gautama Buddha attained unsurpassed, supreme Enlightenment, and the pilgrimage site there, the Maha Bodhi Temple.

Today we continue our discussion of the Enlightenment.

Online tour of objects in the museum's galleries explains attempts by eighteenth-century scholars to classify art according to Enlightenment ideas and ideals.

A tutorial that looks at the ideas from the Enlightenment that influenced the Founding Fathers, particularly those of John Locke and Montesquieu. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

Editor's introduction to Age of Reason

The Civil Wars and the Restoration of the monarchy, the Enlightenment or 'Age of Reason', and British colonialism: investigate the political and religious contexts of Restoration and 18th-century literature.

An informational site on Thomas Paine. Includes general information about his life, works, and writings, including Common Sense and The Age of Reason. Also includes links to other sites.

Some of the earliest depictions of the Buddha reaching enlightenment appear as sculptural friezes on the exterior of sacred Buddhist monuments known as stupas. View pictures of these friezes and read the history of Prince Siddhartha in...

Meet three significant absolutist monarchs from the Enlightened period. The PowerPoint will detail the significance of Enlightened Absolutism, also referred to as Enlightened despotism.

On the podcast today, we continue our discussion of the Enlightenment.

AP European History video by Tom Richey in which he discusses Enlightened Absolutism and the contributions of Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great and Joseph II. [15:26]

[Free Registration/Login Required] The lesson is designed to review the main thoughts and ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers and how their ideas contributed to the American governmental system.

In this podcast, we begin our discussion of the Enlightenment. [1:20]

Learning activity in which students study the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Lesson includes individual, group and whole class activity in which students write, discuss and debate the role...

Contains a brief history and listing of artists in France during the late 18th century. Focus of this site is on painting and portraits of key figures from this time.