Early American Writers Introduction 1630-1776

1. Early American Writers Introduction 1630-1776 AP Language and Composition Unit 2

2. Who were the writers of Early America? Native American (oral stories/performances) Southern Planters (narratives, journals) Slaves (narratives) Puritans (poems, sermons, speeches)

3. Native Americans Oral story telling Performance based Difficult to translate into Western-style print Huge variety of languages, customs, political structures, sophistication among the native peoples We will read an Iroquois creation myth and a trickster tale by Mourning Dove, a woman who grew up on the Colville, WA Reservation

4. The Southern Planters(aka Cavaliers)Focus: William Byrd 1674-1744 Wealthy, worldly, educated, cultured Kept ties to England and Europe Profited from large Southern plantations, owned slaves, took advantage of warm weather and ease of growing crops Socialites Members of the Church of England Very different worldview than their New England counterparts

5. Early Slave NarrativesFocus: OlaudahEquiano 1745-1797 Equiano was originally from what is now Nigeria He was captured there by British traders, sold to a Virginian and then a Quaker in America He eventually bought his freedom and moved to London, earning money at odd jobs, educating himself and traveling His slave narrative is the first of many that would come in the mid-1800s; it had a profound effect on Americans who had never before thought much about the inhumanity of slavery

6. Puritans WritersThey will be our focus 1)We will study John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet, and Jonathan Edwards as well as The Crucible by Arthur Miller which is set in Salem Massachusetts during the Witch Trial era

7. Puritan History The term Puritan refers to a number of Protestant groups that sought to purity the Church of England They wanted to return to a simpler form of worship which was described in the New Testament They believed religion was a personal inner experience The clergy did not need to act as the middlemen between the individual and God

8. Puritan History Continued Many Puritans were persecuted in England and a small group left for America in 1620 hoping to build a new society where they could follow their form of Christianity Puritans believed a contract existed between people and God This tendency towards a contract spilled over into their social and political lives as well (Mayflower Compact), which set the ground for America’s Constitutional Democracy

9. Puritan Values 1)Puritans believed in predestination – the concept that God had predetermined whether a person would be going to heaven (the Elect) or hell (the Unregenerate) 2) How did you know which group you belonged to?

10. Puritan Values Continued There were two indications that you would be saved The first is that you could feel it when God’s grace arrived, and you showed this outwardly in an intensely emotional fashion The second is that you behaved like a saint – lived an exemplary life, were hard workers, exhibited self-reliance, were industrious, lived simply, did not overeat or drink, were financially fruitful As a bonus, these characteristics were also the ones that kept the Puritans alive during unforgiving New England winters

11. Even more about the Puritans Because everyone needed to read the Bible, education was very important to them; education was free They founded several colleges: Harvard(1636) was one They favored poems, diaries, histories as their writing mediums; novels and short stories were much too racy They favored a simple dwelling, black conservative clothing

12. And even more about the Puritans They frowned on frivolous entertainment – no dancing, no music (except church music), no reading except the Bible or other religious literature, not much outward emotion No working Sunday. Everyone was required to be at church. They were not tolerant about outsiders, or those whose lifestyles were not mainstream, didn’t follow strict theocratic code They were a close-knit group who helped each other survive and prosper in a dangerous new land