Outline

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.