Rationalism Period (1750-1800)

Merideth Hanscom

Julian Orjuela

Megan Shannon

Historical Background

• Gaining independence from Great Britain.

• Government being established.

• George Washington 1st President (elected in 1789)

• Benjamin Franklin discovering electricity and establishing United States Postal Service.

Historical Background

• Constitution and The Declaration of Independence being written and signed by our Founding Fathers.

• Poor Richard’s Almanac and other statistical works being written and published.

• Revolutionary War (1775-1783)

Historical Background

• The first American hospital, the Pennsylvania Hospital, founded (May 11). Opened Feb 11, 1752

• Stamp Act (Passed March 8th)

• Captain Cook discovered Hawaii (Jan. 18)

• Encyclopedia Britannica began weekly issue in 1786.

Historical Background

Some popular American songs that were written during this time period were The Star Spangled Banner, America, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. These were written either during or after the American Revolution.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)1826)

• Born in Virginia• Attended the College of William and Mary and

obtained a degree in law. • Served in Virginia House of Burgesses and

became an outspoken defender of American rights.

• After the war, served as the American Minister to France.

• Became our nation’s first Secretary of State and second vice president before becoming the third president in 1801.

Thomas Jefferson

• As president, he nearly doubled the size of the U.S. by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France.

• He was the third child in a family of eight children along with his mother and father.

• He was best known for helping write The Declaration of Independence.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

• Born Boston, Massachusetts;

• Was sent to grammar school at 8 years old, and attended math and writing school until he was ten. He did not attend college.

• Was born into a big family with 7 sisters and 5 brothers.

• Best known for The Way to Wealth and Poor Richard’s Almanack

• Invented bifocals and the lightening rod, and established the first post office.

Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

• Born in Hanover County, Virginia.

• Son of John Henry and Sarah Winston Henry.

• Was educated by his father, learned Greek and Latin, and studied law independently.

• Considered most powerful orator of the American Revolution.

Patrick Henry

Most known for his speeches-

• 1775- Most famous speech at Virginia Provincial convention urging resistance to England.

• 1765- Elected to the Virginia house of Burgess.

Thomas Paine (1737- 1809)

• Born in Thetford in Norfolk on January 29th, 1737.

• Married twice; first wife died & separated his second wife.

• Never had any children.

Thomas Paine

• His father sent him to Grammar School, but eventually had to discontinue his education to force Paine into apprenticeship.

• Paine went out to sea for a portion of his life.

• He managed a small shop in London before leaving London for the American colonies.

Thomas Paine

• Paine wrote his most influential works called “the Rights of Men (Part I in 1791, Part II in 1792).

• He also made many speeches and led rallies against Britain.

• Bifocals were invented in 1760 by Benjamin Franklin. He had the lenses of two pairs of spectacles cut in half and put half of each lens in one sole frame. Today these are used by millions everywhere.

• Attire in the 18th century was of the Classical Baroque style of the French and English court; instead, women wore clothing that emphasized "softness, prettiness, and delicacy.“

• The attire one wore was what demonstrated ones social standards

• Decorative embroidery and frills served to enhance the lines of the body and soften edges of the dresses.

• The American Revolution: 1775-1783.

• When the Colonies rebelled against Britain to become the United States of America.

• Also known as the American war of Independence.

• Music was a large role in this era.• Many people thought highly of musicians.• Concerts were a new concept, and composers

such as Bach and Mozart were first introduced in this era. This a master copy of one of the first symphonies in colonial America.

Themes• Emphasis on self-knowledge and self

control.– In this time, people began to explore

the true meaning of basic things you need to know to live.

– They began understand the responsibility that they needed to take on to make their society grow and prosper and to abide by.

Themes• Reason and scientific observation.

– In this time period, it was the boom of thinking logically. This was called the Enlightenment or The Age of Reason.

– They were inspired by great thinkers and philosophers of the seventeenth century, and valued reason over faith.

– They had less interest in the after life, and believed instead in the power of reason and science to further human progress.

Themes– Man’s ability to perfect himself and

society• In this time, they also started to

develop a sense of self-fulfillment by forming a government and society that they would be satisfied with.

• They also began to live life with independence and acquire the needs of society.

Themes

• Rule of law and order

- This new government conducted laws that would govern people to abide by rules to represent independence in opposing difference to the English rule were as the people would not be able to speak their minds.

Themes• Freedom from restrictive laws

– With this in mind they developed a government that allowed the people to obtain control of their choices but must abide the laws that kept them in line.

From where these people originated they had to follow all the kings wishes, and this government would protect them from this line of ruling.

Bibliography

• “History of the Music Classical Period”. Think Quest.org. 08-20-08 http://library.thinkquest.org/16020/data/eng/text/education/theory/classical.html

• Kreis, Steven.”History Guide.08-20-08 http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/paine.html

• Larver, James. "american revolution". 08-23-08 <http://www.americanrevolution.org/clothing/clothing.html>.

• kindig, thomas. "ushistory.org". 08-23-08 <http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/henry.htm>.

• \Kreis, Steven.”History Guide.08-22-08 http://www.historyguide.org/rights/jefferson.html

• Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The American Experience. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. page numbers. 135-165.

The End!