A great essay on the Enlightenment period of the 18th century with hyperlinks to many individuals and movements of the time. A very scholarly look at the "age of enlightenment."

First section of a longer discussion on the Age of Johnson. Taken from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.

A chapter from a history text that looks at the Northern colonial economy, colonial town life, the immigrant groups who settled there, slavery in the North, the role of women, the Salem witchcraft trials, and the influence of the...

Through two primary source activities and a short video, understand how Franklin embodied Enlightenment values and used his talent in writing and printing to have his opinions heard and help shape the world.

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.

The Secular Humanism site looks at Thomas Paine and his political philosophy based in deist thought.