Encounters and Foundations to 1800

Forgiving a New Nation Encounters and Foundations to 1800

We will read… • The Autobiography: The Declaration of Independence • The Iroquois Constitution • Letter to John Adams • Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention • Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God • The Autobiography (Benjamin Franklin)

What do you think? “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a bywords through the world…” –John Winthrop, 1630

Timeline it! Put the events on the following slide in the order in which they occurred. The first event on the list should be the event that occurred earliest; the last event should be the most recent.

Timeline it! • Boston Tea Party occurs • Christopher Columbus lands in the Caribbean • French and Indian War ends • Slavery exists in all English colonies in North America • Washington D.C. is named the capital of the U.S. • 20 people are executed in witch trials in Salem, MA • Jamestown, Virginia is settled • Declaration of Independence is signed

Timeline it! Answers • Christopher Columbus lands in the Caribbean, 1492 • Jamestown, Virginia is settled, 1607 • Slavery exists in all English colonies in North America, 1690 • 20 people are executed in witch trials in Salem, MA, 1692 • French and Indian War ends, 1763 • Boston Tea Party occurs, 1773 • Declaration of Independence is signed, 1776 • Washington D.C. is named the capital of the U.S., 1800

“Columbus did not discover a new world, he established contact between two worlds, both already old.” –J.H. Parry

Forming New Relationships • The Europeans learned survival skills, how to make canoes and shelter, how to make clothing from buckskin, and how to plant crops • The American Indians gained European firearms, textiles, and steel tools • In 1600 the American Indian population in New England was between 70,000 and 100,000 people

Battling New Diseases • Europeans brought many diseases with them, the most common: small pox-Read description on page 8 • Small Pox was officially eradicated from the world in 1979 • Many communities were not created by European settlers, but were taken over by them; including: Jamestown, Plymouth, Salem, Boston, Providence, New Amsterdam, Philadelphia, and eventually Detroit and Chicago

Explorers’ Writings • Many early explorers wrote about the available resources, friendly and helpful neighbors, and wealth in order to gain funding for further trips • Read the sample on page 10-What did you learn about the author, Cabeza de Vaca?

The Salem Witchcraft Trials1691-1692 • How the trials got started: Sarah Good-condemned to death; Tituba confessed and claimed there was a coven and Devil’s book in Massachusetts • Over 150 people in the small community were accused • Between June and September 19 people were hanged and one man was crushed to death

The Puritan Legacy • “Puritan” refers to a group of people who sought to “purify” the Church of England – before it was closely connected with Church of England • Believed in a personal experience with God • In England, some had their noses slit and their ears chopped off

Puritan Beliefs: Sinners All? • How do you determine saved or damned? • It would show in behavior • Valued self-reliance, industriousness, temperance, simplicity.

Puritan Politics: Government by Contract • Believed people should enter freely into agreements with the government • On the other hand, they believed that the “saintly elect” should have strong control in the government • Salem Witch Trials

The Bible in America • Trained to see life as a journey to salvation • Education = ability to read the Bible • Harvard

The Age of Reason: Tinkerers and Experimenters • Rationalism: the belief that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than the pas, faith, or intuition • Rationalists, like Newton, believe God set up humans with reason and it was up to humans to use that skill

The Smallpox Plague • Brought to U.S. in 1721 on a ship from the West Indies. • Spreads rapidly, disfigured victims, often fatal

An Unlikely Cure • Inoculation-very controversial • Mather inoculated 300 people, only 6 of which died • Out of 6,000 people who contracted the disease, 850 died.

A Practical Approach to Change • Americans often lived contradictory lives • A practical approach to social change and scientific research was necessary

Deism: Are People Basically Good? • Deism: it is possible for all people at all times to discover natural laws through their God-given power of reason • Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington • All people are good, we need to help each other • Declaration of Independence is based on rational assumptions about people, God, and natural law

Self-made Americans • Was the age of pamphlets • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Encounters and Foundations to 1800