Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / M.J. Sauter -- Introduction / M.J. Sauter -- Chapter One. The Frederickian Monarchy And The Enlightenment In Prussia / M.J. Sauter -- Chapter Two. The Ponytail, The Enthusiast, And The Enlightened Public Sphere / M.J. Sauter -- Chapter Three. The Enlightenment On Trial / M.J. Sauter -- Chapter Four. Conscience And The Rhetoric Of Freedom / M.J. Sauter -- Chapter Five. Counting The Enlightenment / M.J. Sauter -- Chapter Six. What Was Enlightenment? / M.J. Sauter -- Conclusion. The Limits Of Publicity / M.J. Sauter -- Appendix A / M.J. Sauter -- Appendix B / M.J. Sauter -- Appendix C / M.J. Sauter -- Bibliography / M.J. Sauter -- Index / M.J. Sauter.

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This book examines the public battle sparked by the promulgation in 1788 of Prussia's Edict on Religion. Historians have seen in this moment nothing less than the end of the Enlightenment in Prussia. This book begs to differ and argues that social control had a long \'enlightened\' pedigree. Using both archival and published documents, this book reveals deeply the entire Prussian elite was invested in social control of the masses, especially in the public sphere. What emerges is a picture of the Enlightenment in Prussia as a conservative enterprise that was limited by not merely the state but also the social anxities of the Prussian elite.