Beginnings:America until

1800Lit Book pg. 2

The Europeans Arrive• By the 1490s, the wave of European explorers began • The first detailed European accounts of life in the

Americas were written by explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries in French and Spanish

• Many explorers described their experiences with the Americas in letters, journals, and books

• The first (successful) English colony was established in 1607

The Puritans and American Literature• Puritan: Protestant groups who sought to

“purify” the Church of England. • The first and most famous group of

English Puritans landed in 1620 in Massachusetts

• Led by William Bradford, they fled religious persecution in England (where church and government were both ruled by the King)

• The Puritans practiced simpler forms of worship and church organization

• For the Puritans, Religion was a personal experience

• Puritan writing tends toward straightforward nonfiction narratives and is central to the development of American literature

Puritan Beliefs: Sinners All? • Puritans were certain that most of humanity

would be damned (due to Adam and Eve) and that only particular people would be saved by God

• These people were considered “elect” • A main question the Puritans asked was

“How did you know if you were saved or damned?”

• Puritans were always looking for signs of grace, and valued self-reliance, industriousness, temperance, and simplicity

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Puritan Politics: Government by Contract• Puritans believed a contract existed between God and humanity• Their Mayflower Compact prepared the ground for American democracy.• On the other hand, the Puritans believed the saintly “elect” should have

great influence on government and their views tended to be undemocratic

• The Salem Witch Trials resulted partly from the fear that the moral foundation of the community was in danger.

The Bible in America• Each Puritan saw life as a journey to salvation• The Puritans believed the Bible was the literal word of God. • Reading the Bible then was a necessity, so great emphasis was placed on

education. • Diaries and histories are an important part of Puritan literature because

they are recordings of the inner and outer events of their lives and God’s work

The Age of Reason • The Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment:

– Began in Europe around the end of the 17th century– Started with philosophers and scientists– Presented a challenge to the Puritans’ faith.

• Rationalism: the belief that humans can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than relying on past authority, faith, or intuition.

• The great English Rationalist Sir Isaac Newton compared God to a clockmaker.

• The rationalists believed that God’s gift to humanity was our ability to think in a ordered, logical manner. They believed everyone has the ability to regulate and improve his/her own life.

Science!!

The Rationalists and Deism • How the Rationalists were like the Puritans:

– They discovered God through the medium of the natural world• How the Rationalists were unlike the Puritans:

– They believed that God revealed himself to all people at all times if we used our power of reason to discover natural laws

– They believed the universe was orderly and good– They believed in humanity’s innate goodness

• Deists: – Sought principles that united all religions. – Believed in the perfectibility of every individual through use of

reason – Believed God’s objective was the happiness of his creatures.

• Deism elevated the desire to help improve people’s lives to one of the nation’s highest goals

• The Declaration of Independence bases its arguments on rationalist beliefs about relationships, God, and natural laws

Colonial Literature: Self-Made Americans • Much of the literature at this time was in

the form of pamphlets since it was often used to serve practical or political ends

• In his Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin took the Puritan impulse toward self-examination and molded it into a classic American rags to riches story.

American Beginnings Timeline• 1492: Columbus ushers

in the era of exploration• 1521: Aztecs conquered• 1607: Jamestown

established in Virginia• 1620: Puritans land at

Plymouth• 1692: Salem Witch Trials• 1765: Americans begin

to protest English laws

• 1775: American Revolution begins

• 1776: Declaration of Independence adopted

• 1781: Revolutionary War ends

• 1789: Constitution goes into effect, George Washington becomes first president