1. Let’s talk…  I have relatives up to two generations ago (grandparents) who were born elsewhere.  We are mostly a county of individuals.  We are mostly a county of followers.  Our government is weak, stupid, overbearing, dishonest and inefficient.  Our government is the best.  The chief business of the American people is business ($).

2. Let’s talk…  We have common culture that everyone here should know (language, history, etc.).  We should hold onto the cultures that we bring with us from elsewhere.  Religious belief should be tied in with how our society operates.  Religion and government should be kept separate.  Our country has mostly gotten past racism.  Racism is a serious concern in America.

3. AMERICAN LITERATURE PERIODS Enlightenment - Age of Faith - The Great Awakening - Age of Reason

4. What is the period of Enlightenment? (1607-1800)  It is recognized as the critical period in the development of modern western philosophical thought.  Divided into two parts: The Age of Faith (Religious) The Age of Reason (Rational)  The Enlightenment was less a set of ideas than it was a set of values.  At its core was a critical questioning of traditional institutions, customs, and morals, and a strong belief in rationality and science.  This period started off very religious and became more concerned about rationality and science.

5. What is the period of Enlightenment? (1607-1800)  This period was at the very beginnings of America and it made way for the rest of the countries literature.  A group that dominated this era were the Puritans whose definition of good writing was writing that brought home a full awareness of the importance of worshipping God and of the spiritual dangers that the soul faced on Earth, and the literature that was produced by the Puritans reflected this.

6. What is the period of Enlightenment? (1607-1800)  In the first stages of America there were writers, such as Thomas Hariot, who wrote A Brief and True Report of the New-Found Land of Virginia in 1588; in which he described “The Americas” in words and picture.  It was a window for the Old World to see an embellished version of the New World.

7. What is the period of Enlightenment? (1607-1800)  The Age of Enlightenment also saw the questioning of realism or rationalism.  People started to question God and faith and looked to other things like rationalization and science.

8. First Half of Enlightenment: Age of Faith (1607-1750)  The Age of Faith centers around the Puritans and Pilgrims immigration to America.  The Pilgrims separated from the Anglican Church of England.  The Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England.  Regardless of their motives, religion dominated their lives and writings  Work ethic - belief in hard work and simple, no-frills living  The genre and style of writing during this time consisted of sermons, diaries, personal narratives, slave narrative.  The writing was instructive and plain in style

9. At The End of Age of Faith: The Great Awakening (1730-1750)  Although the idea of a "great awakening" is challenged, it is clear that the period was a time of increased religious activity, particularly in New England.  Second and third generation settlers had moved into the frontier, making it hard to stay committed to the church.  People would travel to towns to preach the words of God. This was to remind the people that they must follow the words of God…and not stray.  A famous literary example of the new style of preaching can be found in Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God".  Isaac Newton published Principia Mathematica: the assumption that human beings had the ability to discover the secrets of the universe and thereby exert some control over their own destiny.

10. Second Half of Enlightenment: Age of Reason (1750-1800)  The Age of Reason centers around:  American Revolution; growth of patriotism  Development of American character/democracy  The people of Europe tried to escape the mind control that their leaders from both church and state had over them.  Also during this period many reforms were either made or requested, for instance during this time the Declaration of Independence was written.  Use of reason as opposed to faith alone  This period was a time when authors were focused more on their own reasoning rather than simply taking what the church taught as fact. During this period there was also cultivation of patriotism.  The genre and style of writing during this time consisted of political pamphlets, essays, travel writing, speeches, documents.  The writing was instructive in values and had a highly ornate writing style