American Literature

1
American Literature

• Salem Witch Trials
• Through the
• Revolution

2
Puritanism

• The Salem Witch Trials reflect the degree to
  which Puritanism consumed its followers
• As life in the northern colonies in the 1700s
  became easier, Puritanism declined
• By the 1730s, Puritanism was riddled by
  hypocrisy
• Cotton Mather was symbolic of this hypocrisy

3
The Great Awakening

• In 1730, Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan minister,
  revived old fashioned Puritanism
• His powerful preaching style captivated people
• He lead a movement called THE GREAT AWAKENING
• This movement sought to re-capture the essence
  of Puritanism

4
The Great Awakening

• Edwards style of preaching was so powerful that
  it caused women to faint and children to cry
• By 1750, the movement had died out
• Life was too worldly in the colonies for
  Puritanism to succeed

5
The Southern Planter

• In the southern colonies, cotton and tobacco
  were gold
• Both crops depleted the soil, requiring
  land-owners to purchase vast tracks of land,
  called plantations
• More importantly, vast land and large crops
  required intensive labor

6
The Southern Planter

• Slavery, introduced by Europe to the colonies in
  1611, flourished in the South because it served a
  need
• A small and very wealthy upper class was formed
  through plantation owners
• William Byrd II was one such planter

7
The Southern Planter

• By necessity, slavery continued to increase in
  the South
• Slavery was outlawed in much of the world by the
  mid 1700s
• Eventually, the importation of slaves became
  illegal in the colonies
• Plantation owners found ways around these laws

8
The Southern Planter

• Slavery became the heart of the southern
  economic system

9
Colonial Unrest

• For a variety of reasons, in the mid 1700s,
  England began to reassert its control over the
  colonies
• The French and Indian War has shown colonists
  that they could defend themselves
• The colonists pioneer spirit had created
  individualists

10
Colonial Unrest

• As colonial resistance increased, English
  control increased
• Colonists began writing and speaking about
  independence
• Colonial writers, philosophers, propagandists,
  and politicians studied the French Revolution,
  and the writing of John Locke

11
Colonial Unrest

• Increased taxation brought the colonists to a
  boiling point
• Protests and skirmishes brought out into battle,
  then war

12
Colonial Victory

• English over-confidence
• Battles far removed from England
• French aid to the colonists
• Excellent colonial military leadership

13
Colonial Victory

• Excellent political foundations
• Outstanding orators
• Effective propagandists

14
The New Nation

• Individualism had been the driving force behind
  the new nation
• Ingenuity
• The self-made man
• The New American

15
The New Nation

• By the dawn of 1800, the United States had shown
  the world that it would survive
• It had only begun to explore its western
  frontier
• It faced serious military threat from the
  English, French, and Spanish
• Its new political system, democracy, was untested

16
The New Nation

• When Jefferson became president in 1801, he
  decided to greatly expand the nation
• He held off the Spanish and English through
  diplomacy
• He attempted to purchase the port of New Orleans
  to stop the French from cutting off the western
  frontier

17
The New Nation

• Initially, his offers were turned down by
  Napoleon
• Fate, weather, and battle led the French to
  reconsider the American offer
• They upped the ante by selling not only New
  Orleans, but also the entire Louisiana Territory

18
The New Nation

• The Louisiana Purchase and subsequent
  exploration by Lewis and Clark established the
  United States as a world power