Some of the central values and benifits that helped shape the emerging cultures of the american colonies were The Great Awakening and The Enlightenment
The Great Awakening refers to some periods of rapid and dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. Its beginning is considered to have been in 1730. It was also described as a period of revolutions in American religious thought.
The Enlightenment, also known as the century of lights and illustration, was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century.