The Age of Enlightenment refers to the 18th century in European philosophy, and is often thought of as part of a

larger period which includes the Age of Reason.

• This movement advocated rationality as a means to establish an authoritative system of ethics, aesthetics, and knowledge.

The Social Contract: "Man is born free but everywhere he is in

chains."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

John Locke

• "government with the consent of the governed" and man's natural rights—life, liberty, and estate (property)—

New York Skyline 1771

• George

Whitefield

George Whitefield

mesmerizing the

masses.

John Wesley

• Cotton Mather

The New York Weekly written by James Alexander but printed by John Peter

Zenger

critical of Gov. Wm. Cosby for replacing NY Chief Justice

Lewis Morris

The burning of Zenger's New York Weekly

Journal (Bettman Archive)

“…affect every free man that lives under a British government on the main of America.  It is the best cause.  It is the cause of liberty… “

Andrew Hamilton – Atty for John Peter Zenger

Fort Necessity

Fort Duquesne

Gen. Braddock’s

Death

Meeting of the Albany Congress

– Issuance of the Albany Plan

The Declaratory Act

• The Declaratory Act asserted Britain's exclusive right to legislate on and tax its colonies. The taxes were mainly used to finance war debt which had been accumulated during a recent series

of wars.

• Sugar Act (Revenue Act of 1764) was intended to raise revenue to repay England's national debt.

The Sugar Act imposed duties on a number of goods including molasses and other forms of sugar, textiles and dye, coffee, and wines.

The Sugar Act

The Quartering Act

• Quartering Act, which required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British troops. 

• The Quartering Act was an indirect tax for the colonist.

The Stamp Act

• The Stamp Act required all legal documents, licenses, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards to carry a tax stamp.

The Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766 

• “I rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of people so dead to all the feelings of liberty as to voluntarily submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of the rest.”

• —William Pitt, in the House of Commons, January, 1766

The Townshend Acts

• The act established a board of customs collectors in Boston.  The money collected from these import taxes  was used to pay the salaries of the British colonial officials.  This made them more independent of the colonial legislatures and more able to enforce the British orders and laws.

• In March, 1770, the Townshend Acts were repealed except for the tax on tea.

• The Townshend  Acts called for new import taxes on glass, lead, paints, paper, and tea. .

The Tea Act

The Intolerable/Coercive

Acts• The British closed the Boston

Harbor pending the people of Boston paying for the lost tea, and paying the required tax

• eliminated the Massachusetts elected government council

• gave the governor new powers, such as the ability to control

public meetings • changed the Justice Act so

that people charged with violent crimes would be tried in England

• to prevent the colonies from growing bigger and stronger, they passed the Quebec Act which extended the Canadian border southward to the Ohio River eliminating the colonies claim to the land.

Olive Branch Petition