Outline
I.
Historical Context
A.
The Meeting of Two Worlds
1.
Early writings focused on describing their
environment and the people around them
2.
Early writers chronicled how Native Americans
and Europeans interacted
3.
Native Americans had established their
communities already
B.
From Colony to Country
1.
First permanent colony was established at
Jamestown in 1607
2.
Colonists practiced self-government
3.
Colonists saw themselves as English subjects
4.
They had no representation in Parliament
5.
They exported raw goods and imported
manufactured ones
6.
Britain fought for colonists in French and
Indian War
7.
England made alliances with the Iroquois
8.
Colonies declared themselves free and
independent in 1776
9.
Fought one of worlds greatest military powers to
maintain freedom
10. Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both helped write the Declaration and the
Constitution
11. Constitution
was approved in 1788
II.
Cultural Influences
A.
Puritan Beliefs
1.
Majority of settlers were Puritans
2.
Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of
England
3.
Also wanted to return to simpler ways of worship
4.
Their beliefs were unwelcome in England
5.
Many came to America
6.
Saw human sin as a daily mission
7.
Believed that the Bible would help them through
anything
8.
Believed humans were essentially sinful
9.
Thought select few would be spared by God
10. Hard
work, thrift, and responsibility were seen as good and a sign that God was at
work
11. Puritan
settlements thrived
12. Puritans
were inflexible in their religious faith
13. Involved
in Salem Witch Trials
III.
Ideas of the Age
A.
The Enlightenment
1.
In the 1700s the Enlightenment took place
2.
Enlightenment thinkers began to question who
should hold the power in the government
3.
They thought up a government by the people
4.
American colonies adopted these thoughts
5.
These ideals encouraged action and gave
colonists a better idea for revolution
6.
“I know not what course others may take. But as
for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Patrick Henry at the second Virginia
Convention in 1775
B.
The Great Awakening
1.
Many people worried about losing Puritan values
2.
Jonathan Edwards wanted people to reedicate
themselves the original Puritan vision
3.
New wave of religious enthusiasm began to rise
called First Great Awakening
4.
This united diverse colonists
5.
People joined in belief that there was a higher
power helping set Americans standard of life
6.
Enlightenment and Great Awakening emphasized
reason and emotionalism
7.
Both had similar consequences- people
questioning traditional authority
8.
This eventually led to colonists becoming
America
IV.
Early American Literature
A.
The Native American Experience
1.
When explorers arrived in America more than 300
different Native American cultures existed
2.
They all had strongly differing customs and
there were around 200 different languages
3.
One activity was featured prominently in Native
Americans cultures-storytelling
4.
Native Americans did not have a written language
5.
Their history, legends, and memories were only
in memory
6.
Passed from generation to generation through
oral tradition
7.
One type-creation stories- were in every culture
8.
Much of this literature did not survive the
attack of European diseases on the Native Americans
9.
90% of Native Americans died
B.
Exploration and the Early Settlers
1.
Native American literature lets us somewhat see
the ways and values of the indigenous people
2.
Most information comes from first-person
accounts, journals, diaries, letters, logs, and historical narratives
3.
The first were Christopher Columbus’ journals
and letters form his voyages
4.
50 years later La Relation by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca appeared
5.
He was one of the four survivors of the 600-man Narvaez
expedition
6.
It chronicled his eight years of wandering
through Florida, Texas, and Mexico
7.
It told of people, land, and animals he
encountered
8.
The French and Dutch also sent explorers
9.
Samuel de Champlain of France wrote vivid
accounts of New England and the Iroquois
10. Early English settlers used letters, reports,
and chronicles to describe their new lives
11. A Brief and True Report of the New Found
Land of Virginia by Thomas Harriot captured the natural resources, the ways
of life of the Native Americans, and the potential for a successful colony
12. It
was published in 1588 accompanied by illustrations that helped many many people
understand American life much better
13. Writing
began to focus less on pure description and more on the story of the growth of
the colonies.
14. Captain
John Smith wrote sometimes-embroidered accounts of the histories of New England
and Virginia.
15. His
accounts also attracted settlers to Virginia, helping the colony become more
successful.
16. William
Bradford and John Winthrop Sr. wrote about what they saw as their roll in God’s
plan.
17. Oladah
Equiano described his capture from his home in Africa and the violent and
“un-Christian” treatment he given when he was a slave in the West Indies.
C.
The Puritan Tradition
1.
Puritan writers thought writing should be a tool
to help readers understand the bible better.
2.
Logic, clarity, and order were most important in
these writings.
3.
The direct, powerful, plain language of much of
American literature is caused by Puritan influences.
4.
The works of puritan writes include the
histories of the colonies and fiery sermons about sinning ways.
5.
Cotton Mather chronicled the Salem witch trials,
were 20 people were condemned to death.
6.
Jonathan Edward’s account on ballooning spiders
was the first natural history essay on that subject. He also said that God
“holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome
insect over the fire.”
7.
Melodramatic contrasts between good and evil,
vivid imagery, powerful language, and strong moral lessons characterized this
form of literature.
8.
The first book issued in the North American
colonies was the Bay Psalm Book in 1640
9.
People viewed poetry as a means of exploring the
individual’s relationship with God
10. Writing was intended to help the readers grasp
the spiritual world beyond them.
D.
Writers of the Revolution
1.
Revolutionary writers focused more on government
rather than religion.
2.
Pamphlets were very popular, and are said to be
“the fuel of the revolution.”
3.
Thomas Paine, writer of Common Sense, believed
that America was destined to be a model to the rest of the world, and
encouraged freedom.
4.
The Declaration of Independence was basically a
persuasive essay stating that The Colonies were no longer part of Great
Britain, and that they would become a group of states and work together to from
a proper government.
5.
Later on, poetry sometimes examined political
and social themes, such as women’s rights and slavery.
6.
Abigail Adams encouraged her husband to discuss
women’s rights in his political papers.
