Facts and Details in Intellectual and Cultural History from Pre-Columbian History to 1789

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both written at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jonathan Edwards was a Christian minister and theologian whose religious traditions were rooted in the Enlightenment and Puritanism. He was one of the driving forces behind the First Great Awakening in America in the 1730s and 1740s. The First Great Awakening was a religious movement that swept through Europe and North America in the middle decades of the Eighteenth Century – it emphasized personal communion with faith and moved religious observation away from devoted adherence to ceremony and scripture.

Calvin and Luther were both Christian reformers in sixteenth century Europe who were primarily responsible for dividing Christianity into Catholic and Protestant branches. Dwight L. Moody was a notable religious figure during the Third Great Awakening in the nineteenth century. John Winthrop was a leading figure in the settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Thomas Paine was neither a politician nor a civic leader, but simply a talented writer who passionately argued for the rights of colonists. His "Common Sense," (1776) an engaging pamphlet advocating for the rights of colonists against the tyranny of the British crown, was the most widely read piece of writing in the colonies during the mid 1770s. Its widespread popularity was a major catalyst for the politicians and leaders to organize a revolutionary movement.

The writings of Thomas Paine, the Anglo-American revolutionary, inspired Americans to seek independence from Britain before their Revolutionary War.

The Iroquois are a Native American tribe found outside of the mesoamerican time period and geography.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers, never served in the army.

On October 12th, 1492, Christopher Columbus set foot in Guanahani, which he called San Salvador.

Embittered by his experience with the Continental Army, General Benedict Arnold schemed to deliver the American fort of West Point to the British. Today, his name remains tarnished in the USA for his actions.

Entry into the early Puritan church in the seventeenth-century American colonies required that the user be baptized and undergo a “full religious experience,” but the church began to decline rapidly in membership as the children and grand-children of the first generation Puritans were excluded from the full religious community. In an attempt to counter this trend, the Puritan church passed the Half-Way Covenant to allow for the baptism of children of the holders of the Covenant. The idea was that these children would still reap the social and moral lessons of the Puritan church and then later in life would come to experience the “born again” moment and become full members.

Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.