Encounters and Foundations to 1800

1. Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Literature from the Native American and European Arrival, Colonial Period & The Age of Reason

2. New Relationships • European arrival – began to establish colonies • Curiosity developed between English and American Indians • Europeans relied on Indians to teach them survival skills • Indians acquired firearms, textiles, and steel tools from the Europeans • At first, the Indians outnumbered the colonists. • 1600 – Indian pop. in New England = 70,000-100,000

3. Disease • Arrival of European settlers brought disease to New England. • Had a deadly impact on Indians • Indians had crossed the land bridge from Asia to N. America / compared to the diseases that had taken Europe over the centuries • Indians had no immunity • Smallpox – could kill off an entire village • Some Native Americans managed to survive epidemics. • However…they were forced to vacate their land eventually. (Europeans no longer needed them for survival).

4. Explorers’ Writings • First writings of European observations were recorded in Spanish and French by explorers of the 15th and 16th century. • Columbus, Coronado, etc. describe the Americas in letters, journals, and books. • In hopes of receiving funding for further expeditions, they emphasize the Americas’ abundant resources, peacefulness and hospitality of inhabitants, and promise of wealth.

5. Puritans • Puritan = broad term, referring to a number of Protestant groups that sought to “purify” the Church of England (beginning around 1560). • The Church of England had been inseparable from the country’s government since the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547). • Puritans wished to return to simpler forms of worship and church organization. • For them, religion was a personal, inner experience. • They did not believe the clergy/government should or could act as an intermediary between the individual and God. • Many suffered persecution in England. • Fled England for Holland, but a small group feared that they would lose their identity as English Protestants. • They set sail for the New World, hoping to build a new society patterned after God’s word.

6. Puritan Beliefs • An uneasy mixture of certainty and doubt • Certainty – Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience would cause most of humanity to be damned for all eternity • Certainty – God had sent his son, Jesus Christ, to earth to save particular people • Doubt – centered around whether a particular individual was one of the saved (“elect”) or one of the damned (“unregenerate”)

7. Saved or Damned??? • For a theology that was so clear-cut in its division of the world between saints and sinners, it was fuzzy when it came to determining which was which. 1.) You were saved by the grace of God (and you could feel this grace arriving in an intensely emotional fashion). 2.) The inner arrival of God’s grace was demonstrated by your outward behavior. *After receiving God’s grace, you were “reborn” as a member of the saints, and you behaved like a saint. People hoping to be among this group, examined their lives closely for signs of grace and tried to live “good” lives.

8. Puritan Government • In the Puritan view a covenant, or contract, existed between God and humanity. • Their covenant with God enjoined them to create a society governed by the Bible, in which everyone worked together for the common good. • Puritans believed that people should enter freely into agreements concerning their government. • However, because the Puritans believed the saintly elect should have a strong influence on government, their political views tended to be undemocratic. • Little room for compromise.

9. The Age of Reason • End of the 17th century – new ideas • AKA “The Enlightenment” • Philosophers / Scientists called themselves rationalists • Rationalism = belief that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or on intuition • Puritans vs. Rationalists • Puritans = saw God as actively and mysteriously involved in the workings of the universe • Rationalists = saw God differently - and believed that God’s special gift to humanity is reason (the ability to think in an ordered, logical manner). Use reason instead of faith.

10. Age of Reason Literature • Rooted in reality • Age of pamphlets (most literature was intended to serve a practical or political purpose) • Masterpiece of the Age of Reason • The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin • Used autobiographical narrative (Puritan form), but omitted its religious justification • Appears in The Great Gatsby

11. Overview: Contrasting Literary Periods • Puritans • Believed the world was fallen • People were sinners who could ONLY be redeemed through the grace of God. • Rationalists • Believed that the universe was basically good • Doing good for others was the best way to worship God

12. Assignment • Writing Assignment: Which statement best fits our current society? Explain and/or justify your answer fullyin one paragraph. Due tomorrow. • The world is going “down hill” (it has fallen), and people are basically untrustworthy. • The world is getting better. Social welfare programs (“doing good for others”) are keys to progress. • Reading Assignment: Read from A Narrative of the Captivity on pg. 37-42. Due tomorrow.