Even though the American colonies developed original American beliefs through their westward expansion; British Enlightenment ideas and Anglicization laid the foundation for American ideals, proving that the culture that emerged in the mid-18th century colonies was not distinct from Britain. The English Enlightenment represented technological innovation, the advancement of communication, and the destruction of absolutism, all of which significantly affected American culture. Scientific discoveries in Europe, primarily cultivated by Isaac Newton, Galileo, and Copernicus, constituted the pinnacle of scientific rationalism, or science that provides answers to questions posed by human research, not the scriptures of the Bible. These discoveries went completely against the religious ideals of the time, one example being the discovery of craters on the moon, which proved that not all things created by God are perfect. The printing press allowed scientific ideas to spread efficiently throughout the world. The upheaval of religion by science spread across Europe, to Britain, and ultimately to the American colonies. As religious beliefs were replaced by scientific facts, North American universities grew and became secular. In Europe, absolute monarchs were ousted and established churches were denied the right to exercise hierarchical power. The rise of science was also reflected in new political ideas. The Spirit of Laws by Montesquieu, The Social Contract by Rousseau and The Two Treatises of Government by John Locke justified the ostracism of absolute monarchs by the principle of a government based on social contracts and not on divine rights. The social contract was created to protect what Locke described as the natural rights of man - life, liberty and rights...... middle of paper ...... ing broke loyalties denominational and allowed the Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists to outpace all other Protestant rivals after 1780. It also destroyed the systems of established churches and recognized hierarchies, and replaced them with evangelicalism, which consisted mainly of labor missionary and reporting conversion experiences to others. The Great Awakening and westward expansion provided the American colonies with some characteristics that led to the development of an American culture that distinguished it from British culture. The ideas of the Enlightenment in Britain and the lasting effects of Anglicization in the American colonies ultimately caused American culture. be based on British beliefs, but westward expansion and the Great Awakening also provided additional American ideals, which made American culture indistinct from Great Britain..