Writers in the Enlightenment were reacting against: the brutality and horrors of the Indian wars the restrictive Puritan morals and beliefs the wild romantic notions of the Explorers the emphasis on science and reason

Writers in the Enlightenment were reacting against the restrictive Puritan morals and beliefs.

The era that preceded the Enlightenment was very strict and uptight - however, the authors and artists during the Enlightenment period wanted to rid themselves of the ideas of the previous era. They thought that humanity and rationality were important, and that they shouldn't be constrained by morals and religious beliefs.