Date post: | 06-May-2015 |
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Beginnings
Prehistory to 1800s
The First Migration
• Ice Age Travelers– Bering land bridge (now submerged)
from Siberia– By 1490’s millions of Native Americans
lived here (Europeans were not the first)– Some still live here
The Europeans Arrive
• Explorers– Columbus– Coronado– “New World” – focus of dreams and
desires – idealized wealth and resources– Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca landed in
Florida (1528) and wandered to Texas – wrote narratives of his journey
Encomienda
• Columbus introduced the encomienda system:– Colonists could require Indians to mine
gold, grow food, build home for them without remuneration.
– Caused decades of suffering, malnutrition, death.
– Cabeza de Vaca – imprisoned (under false charges) for humane treatment of Indians
Puritan Legacy
• Central to development of literary tradition
• Shaped American character through moral, ethical, religious convictions
• 1620 – Initial landing• 1640 – 20,000 Puritans lived in New
England• Business venture & spiritual venture -
intertwined
Puritans celebrate Thanksgiving
http://pro.corbis.com
Puritanism
Who Were the Puritans?
• Protestant groups – wanted to “purify” Church of England
• Simpler forms of worship, church organization as in New Testament
• Religion – personal experience• No intermediary• 1620 – William Bradford led group
from Amsterdam to New World – new society patterned after Bible
So What?
• Connection to capitalism: Puritan work ethic, thriftiness, self-sufficiency contributed to the success of capitalism in the New World.
• America is a capitalistic nation (for the most part) today.
Puritan Beliefs
• Theology: mankind is damned because of Adam and Eve, but some are saved through Jesus.
• “Elect” – those chosen to be saved• “Unregenerate” – those who are
damned• Outward behavior – indication of
God’s grace & salvation
Puritan Beliefs, Cont.
• Led to self-reliance, industriousness, temperance, simplicity – Ideal for starting our in the New World
• Education: New England Primer – couplets to teach the alphabet used moral lessons:
Time cuts down allBoth great and small.
Puritan Politics
• Covenant (contract) btwn God & humanity
• People should enter freely into agreements re: government
• Mayflower Compact: how they would be governed upon arrival
So What?
• Mayflower Compact paved the way for the American constitutional democracy.
The Mayflower Compact
Puritan Government
• “Elect” should exert influence on government.
• Led to Salem Witch Trials
Bible in America
• Story of creation, fall, wanderings, recue of human race
• Life = pilgrimage, journey to salvation• Emphasized education -> to read the
Bible• Harvard College – founded 1636 to train
Puritan ministers• Diaries and histories – main form of
literature – record the work of God
Harvard Today
The Enlightenment
The Age of Reason
• The Enlightenment – Rationalists• Rationalism – the belief that humans
can arrive at truth by using reason, rather than rely on religion or a past authority or on intuition.
• Sir Isaac Newton – gravity & motion• God = clockmaker – God created the
earth then left it to run on its own
Rationalism Cont.
• God’s gift – ability to reason and think logically
• Ability to discover truth• Able to regulate and improve own life
STOP & Compare
Puritans Rationalists
STOP & Compare
PuritansHumanity is evil.Hard work, good life shows salvation.God is active in society.
RationalistsHumanity is basically good.
Use reason & logic to improve self.
Clockmaker God – made it & left.
Smallpox!!!
• Cotton Mather – Puritan Preacher– Sin is cause of sickness– Borrowed inoculation from Turkish
doctor– Inoculated hundreds and of those only 6
died.– Of others who contracted the disease ¼
had died– Inoculation
So What?
• Highlight 2 points:– Contradictions often existed side-by-side
(Mathew was strict Puritan but also a practical scientist)
–Mather’s experiment – Practical approach to social change and scientific research was necessary for America.
• American thought should lead to action & urge to improve public welfare no matter what authorities say
Diests
• Deism: universe is orderly and good. – Stressed humanity’s goodness– God wants people to be happy– Do good to others – make them happy– People can be perfected through reason
So What?
• Deisms made the impulse to do good for others one of the nation’s highest goals.
• Today social welfare is still a top priority. It’s also the topic of a lot of debate.
STOP & Compare!
Puritans Rationalists Deists
STOP & Compare!
Puritans Rationalists DeistsGod reveals self to select people
Human naturally evil
Must work to be good
God available through Bible
God makes it possible for all people at all times to discover natural laws thorough God-given reason
People are basically good
God created and then left us to do it on our own
universe is orderly and good.
Humanity’s goodness
God wants people to be happy – so do good and make others happy
God is available all the time
Inciting a Revolution!
• How did the rationalist idea that people are basically good help incite a revolution?– If the will of the people is basically
rational and good, then the gov’t should take its authority from them and not the will of a single monarch
– Implied that a government that failed to respect the popular will could be legitimately overthrown.
Self-Made American
• Literature rooted in reality• Pamphlets – literature should be
practical and political• After Revolutionary War – organizing
and governing is most important
Benjamin Franklin
• Autobiography– Used autobiographical form– Took out religious
justification– Clear, witty– Provided model for a story
to be told repeatedly by others (The Great Gatsby, Bill Gates’ The Road Ahead, etc.)
Think About It