In many ways, the Enlightenment gave birth to the United States. Enlightened ideas informed protests over imperial governance and taxation and over whether there should be an American bishop.

If we want to understand early America, we need to understand the Enlightenment.

Caroline Winterer, a Professor of History at Stanford University and author of American Enlightenments: Pursuing Happiness in the Age of Reason, takes us through her ideas about the Enlightenment and how it influenced early America.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/127

 

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• Bonus: Why Historians Study History
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• Episode 109: John Dixon, The American Enlightenment & Cadwallader Colden
• Episode 117: Annette Gordon-Reed, The Life & Ideas of Thomas Jefferson

 

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