Transcript Early American Writing

Early American
Writing
DISCLAIMER
Neither Ms. Makler nor Staunton
High School is pushing any type of
religious belief or practice on you.
We are reading literature with
religious undertones in class
because they are important in
history and literature we read. WE
ARE READING THE STORIES
PURELY FOR THE LITERARY
VALUE.
• Who owns the land?
• What makes an explorer?
• Are people basically good?
• Who has the right to rule?
1. Historical Context
• A. early settlers found America so
different from what they were used
to that they wrote a lot about it.
• B. they used diaries, letters, and
reports home to record when the
world of Europeans first intersected
with that of Native Americans.
• C. millions of people lived in America
when Europeans arrived.
• William Wood: Native Americans
“took the first ship they saw for a
walking island, the mast to be a
tree, the sail white clouds.”
• William Bradford: “ A hideous and
desolate wilderness full of wild
beasts and wild men.”
• How do these quotes illustrate the
clash of cultures that occurred
when the two groups first met?
• D. first permanent colony was
established @ Jamestown in 1607.
– colonies became self-reliant
– Practiced local self-rule
• E. first colonists stayed loyal to
England by exporting and importing
goods. In turn, Britain protected its
territory.
– French and Indian War
• 1759-1763
• France allied with a number of Native
American groups to drive British from North
America.
• Great Britain won and claimed all of North
America, east of Mississippi River.
• F. Great Britain tried to tax the
colonists to make up for the money
that was put into the war.
• The colonists rebelled.
– 1776 – colonists declared themselves to
be “free and independent”
– Constitution was approved in 1788, and
America was born.
2. Cultural Influences
• A. Puritans were people who sought
to purify the church.
– Human struggle was seen as the sign of
mission.
– They valued hard work, thrift, and
responsibility.
– Were inflexible. (Salem Witch Trials)
3. Ideas of the Age
• A. The Enlightenment
– Burst of intellectual energy
– People began to question previously
accepted truths about who should hold
power in the government.
– Government by the people
– Enlightenment ideals prompted action
and gave colonists a philosophical
footing for their revolution
• B. The Great Awakening
– Many people feared Puritan beliefs were
being lost
– New wave of religious enthusiasm
began to rise
– People began to feel joined in the belief
that a higher power was helping them
– Enlightenment (reason) vs. Great
Awakening (emotionalism)
• Both questioned authority, leading colonists
to break from Britain’s control
4. Early American Literature
• A. Native Americans had no set
written language
• B. they told stories and passed them
through generations orally
• C. picture page 22
– Raven and the First Man
– Natural world plays a vital role in the
world of humans. People have a close,
respectful relationship with nature.
• D. creation stories are found in every
culture
• E. most stories did not survive as
Native Americans died.
• F. Early settlers
– Journals and letters; first hand accounts
– Writings helped English readers form a
clear picture of North America
– As colonies grew, writings shifted from
descriptions to accounts of growth
– These were used to attract settlers to
colonies
• G. Puritans
– Writing should be useful. It should be a
tool to help understand the Bible.
– Used plain, powerful language
– Poetry explored relationship with God
• H. Writers of the Revolution
– Pamphlets and propaganda (ideas,
opinions, or information used to further
a cause)
– Women writers