Revolutions & the Modern AgeLentWeek 25 of 32

The Enlightenment: The Age of Reason

Essential Question

What did the 'Age of Reason' get right, what did it get wrong, and where did it lead?

This week opens the Revolutions & the Modern Age unit. The student studies the Enlightenment — the eighteenth-century 'Age of Reason' — meeting the philosophes (Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire) and weighing their genuine achievements against their errors. We trace how these ideas crossed the Atlantic to shape American liberty, and how a Catholic mind should sift truth from error in any age of competing ideas.

Liturgical note: Late Lent, approaching Holy Week (April). The penitential season invites discernment — testing every spirit, as St. Paul urges, holding fast to what is good.

Threads at a Glance

What Each Thread Covers This Week

World History

The Enlightenment — reason, liberty, and the philosophes (Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire); achievements and errors; the Catholic response; the stage set for revolution.

US History

The Gilded Age: industry, fortunes, and labor's revolt

Historical Figure

John Locke — government, natural rights, and consent.

Geography

The Atlantic world of ideas and trade (~1760); the Atlantic powers and the triangular trade.

Art History

Rococo and the turn to Neoclassicism — Watteau's elegance, then Jacques-Louis David's return to classical ideals.

Music History

The Classical era — Haydn and the birth of the symphony, the young Mozart; clarity, balance, and sonata form.

Saint

St. Alphonsus Liguori — moral theologian and founder of the Redemptorists.

Virtue

Discernment — right judgment amid competing ideas.

Catechism

YOUCAT — the seven petitions of the Our Father and the forms of prayer (Q485-Q510).

Grammar

Cumulative review — parts of speech and sentence diagramming.

Writing

Literary analysis — analyze a primary text (a founding-era document excerpt).

Weekly Writing Assignment

Reading a Founding Document: A Literary Analysis

Choose one short excerpt from a founding-era document (the opening of the Declaration of Independence, or a paragraph from John Locke's 'Second Treatise of Government,' or a passage from a Federalist essay). In 4-6 paragraphs, analyze HOW the author makes the reader believe and feel the argument. Examine word choice, sentence structure, appeals to reason and emotion, and any use of repetition or balance. Quote at least three short phrases and explain each. End by judging whether the passage persuades you, and why.

Skill: Literary analysis of a primary text — quoting accurately, explaining diction and rhetoric, building a claim from evidence.Length: 500-650 words

Show rubric ▾

Names a specific text and states a clear claim about how it persuades.
Quotes at least three short phrases accurately and analyzes each (not just summarizes).
Discusses both reason and rhetoric (diction, structure, repetition, or balance).
Organized in clear paragraphs with smooth transitions.
Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation of quotations.

The Week