A guiding question of the Enlightenment, a period of thought that emphasized radical new ideas of liberty and natural rights, was; where lay the balance between individual interests and the good of the collective? The question of balance found its way into discussions taking place in the early 1600s up until the late 1700s in American life, and these discussions would ultimately shape much of the United States as it stands today. The balance or theme behind the various balance points that American thinkers developed was an idea that to aid themselves as individuals; they would necessarily have to support the whole of society. A second theme common amongst arguments regarding the balance of the individual and the whole was a notion that to some extent there was a higher calling found in helping society as a whole and the only way to experience this was by aiding neighbors and their communities. Comment by Andy: Comment by Andy: lies Comment by Andy: awkward One of the most foundational frameworks of thought in early American society is the Puritan religious ideologies. This particular grouping of thought brought the key questions of the Enlightenment with them, from the heart of England to the shores of the new colonies. One of the questions brought over by Puritans was a question of what was the role of the individual and how to balance that with society, in particular, reference to the church. The Puritan belief system made the question of social balance particularly interesting because its system argued for an imbalance and one where a person would assume that Puritans would feel no social obligation or duty at all to a society or community, but as Cullen points out, the counterintuitiveness of this notion was not the reality because "The Puritans believed and acted as if a person could make a difference in making the world a better place- indeed, had an obligation to do so"(Cullen, pg. 19). The social duty expressed by Cullen though was more social than religious, and this is because of the fact that Puritans created a society equally reliant on religion and social pressure. This is indicated in the fact that there is a separation between the elect and non-elect, and one is certainly going to heaven while the other is certainly damned, but both groups would still participate in religious practices regardless of their predetermined destiny. Rationally one, in a predestined reality, would just accept reality and have fun in life, but because the society surrounding the Puritanical life would not allow an individual to live a wild life they would still adhere to strict Christian laws rather than risk being ostracized by the rest of the community. Still some religious pressure would be applied in a supplementary manner to the societal pressures, and in fact, teachings were a tool to force compliance and ensure a successful society. These supplemental teachings are seen in an argument made by Finney "But because they are wholly disinclined to o...
