Journal.

1

• Journal.
• 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 by-word through the world.
• _ John Winthrop,
• Gov. of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

2
The Story of the Times

• Beginnings-1750

3
American Literary Heritage

• Developed from the oral traditions of the Native
  American tribes of North America
• First written works of the colonists

4
Voices to Be Heard

• Native Americans
• Pilgrims and Puritans
• The Southern Planters
• African Slaves

5
Native Americans

• No accurate estimate of first American arrivals
• 12,000-70,000 years ago
• On the continent at least 30 times longer than
  Europeans
• No written history of Native Americans exists
• Folklorists have recorded a rich variety of
  songs, legends, and myths.
• Helped first European settlers

6
Pilgrims and Puritans

• Sailed from England on the Mayflower in 1620
  known as Puritans/Separatists/Pilgrims
• Religious reformers that withdrew from the Church
  of England in hopes of purification
• Settled a colony at Plymouth, Mass.
• Later engulfed by Mass. Bay Colony reformers
• Form of government was a theocracy, under the
  immediate guidance of God

7
Puritan Values

• Humans exist for the glory of God
• Bible is sole expression of Gods will
• Predestination
• Accomplish good through hard work and
  self-discipline

8
Decline of Puritans

• Puritanism declined throughout New England in
  1700s
• Enjoyed a brief renaissance, the Great Awakening,
  as a reaction to more liberal followers
• Beginnings of basic American ideals hard work,
  frugality, self-improvement, and self-reliance

9
The Southern Planters

• Large-scale agricultural enterprises in the South
• Plantation system and institution of slavery
  brought a much different culture than in New
  England
• First generation owners were ambitious,
  energetic, self-disciplined, and resourceful

10
Slaves

• First slaves brought to Virginia in 1619
• Slavery existed in every colony but more closely
  connected to plantation life

11
Literature of the Period

• Native Americans- oral traditions
• Puritans- sin and salvation
• Southern Planters- social life
• Slaves- sorrow and pain

12
Native American Traditions

• Viewed mainly as folklore
• Forms song lyrics, heroic tales, migration
  legends, creation stories
• No fixed versions exist
• Language is poetic and moving
• Oratory skills were prized
• Logan and Red Jacket

13
Puritan Writings

• Form theological studies, hymns, histories, and
  autobiographies
• Purpose was to provide spiritual insight and
  instruction
• Journals offered serious self-examination
• Produced no fiction/drama as these were sinful
• Wrote poetry as a vehicle of spiritual
  enlightenment
• Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Increase Mather,
  Cotton Mather
• Founded Harvard College, first printing press,
  free public schools, The New England Primer, Bay
  Psalm Book
• Style plain, clear statements the more
  information the better the style

14
Southern Planters Literature

• Writing was of a practical nature
• John Smith, The General History of Virginia
• Letters also provided insight into the period
• Did not oppose fiction or drama
• Opened first American theater in Williamsburg,
  VA, in 1716
• William Byrd- journal provided materials for The
  History of the Dividing Line- the finest writer
  in the pre-Revolutionary South

15
Early American Literature

• The writers of this unit are not the great names
  in American literature. They are the founders who
  laid the groundwork for the towering achievements
  that were to follow with repercussions that
  echoed down the years.