History of Republicanism – Term Paper

Introduction

A wise man once said, “you cannot know where you going if you do not know where you are from.” These wise words had the intention of reminding people how important history is and why it should not be overlooked. As much as history remains unchanged and there is nothing that can be done to change it, history defines and gives us a sense of belonging. It is through history that we get to learn a lot of things about our past, in the both lines of success and failure.

What is republicanism

In the history of United States, republicanism has been a major political philosophy ever since its founding. This philosophy was founded in the mid-18^th century by the Founding Fathers. The Founding Fathers refers to the thirteen individuals of each British Colony in North America. They are called the Founding Fathers because of the great roles they played in liberating the United States of America against the British rule. They are directly affiliated with the liberation of the Americans from colonization. It also refers to those who took part in signing the Declaration of Independence. They came up with the philosophy of Republicanism which had its basis on liberty and campaigning for individual rights. The Founding Fathers are also knows as the leaders of the free world as they made United States citizens sovereign and rejected systems such as monarch and aristocracy.

The Great Awakening Definition

The Great Awakening refers to a movement that was in British America and Protestant Europe. This movement was evangelical and based on revitalization. The most impacted group by this movement was the American colonies. The values and enlightenment it brought played a crucial role in the attainment of independence of the United States of America. The Great Awakening left a large impact on Protestants in America. The teachings and values upheld by the Great Awakening had a lot to do with personal salvation. The listeners obtained a need of salvation and Jesus Christ was the way to that. Several rituals were done away with during this period such as: hierarchy and ceremonies. Ethics and personal morality were highly advocated for.

Connection

The two movements have a lot in common. The first teaching that they both advocate for is the freedom of individual. The Great Awakening preached for personal reflection and salvation from evil. People were being asked to accept Jesus Christ who is the key to salvation so as to free them from evil and sins. On the other hand, Republicanism was against colonization and stressed on individual rights as paramount. Republicanism was all about the freedom of people to choose and decide their lives in the lines of politics, leadership, economic activities and lifestyle.

Secondly, the two movements had a sense of rebellion. They were formed to oppose the normal way of life that they were not contented with. Republicanism was against colonization and denial of liberty. They did not like how leadership of the states was decided by selected few and the rest had no say. They were against the idea that individual rights were not put to consideration and that the independence of citizens was limited in so many ways. The Great Awakening was against the Protestant way of life. They were against the various rituals conducted and wanted to enhance Christianity.