1. Beginnings to 1750: Native American and Puritan influence on America

2. The Native Americans ► No one really knows when or how they arrived here, and we aren’t sure what they were doing before we got here. ► Greeted European settlers as friends and helped instruct them in the ways of the land; however, friendly relationship declined near end of 17 th century.

3. Native American Literature ► No fixed versions of literary works because they were all oral. ► Nearly all works exhibit a deep respect for nature; celebrate wonders of natural world and its connection to spiritual world. ► Song lyrics, hero tales, migration legends, and accounts of the creation.

4. Important Dates slide 1 ► 1517: Protestant Reformation –  Monk Martin Luther is dissatisfied with the corruption in the Catholic Church  Nails his 95 theses (complaints) to the door of the Wittenberg Church  Schism ► 1529 – 1536: Church of England separates from the Catholic Church because they don’t want to be under the jurisdiction of the pope (remember Henry VIII)

5. Important Dates Slide 2 ► 1558: Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary)  Queen of England  Catholic – kills all the Protestants  Killed ► 1558: Queen Elizabeth I  Protestant ► 1608: Pilgrims (sect of Puritans) go to Amsterdam  Leave England because not wanted  Amsterdam haven for religious rejects

6. Important Dates Slide 3 ► 1617: Pilgrims go back to England  Kicked out of Amsterdam (even the Dutch didn’t want them) ► 1620: Pilgrims arrive in Americas  The Mayflower, Plymouth Rock  Pilgrims desire their own religious land – want to recreate God’s land on earth  Pilgrims want to separate from Church of England and form their own church

7. The Puritans ► Critical of the Church of England; wanted to reform church from within; purify the church (vs. Pilgrims who wanted to leave the church) ► Intended to create a model community guided in all aspects by the Bible ► Worked under a theocracy: a state under immediate guidance from God

8. Puritan beliefs ► Humans exist for the glory of God ► Bible is sole expression of God’s will ► Predestination – God has already determined who will achieve salvation and who will not ► “The Puritan Ethic” - Good is obtained only through hard work and self-discipline ► Also valued frugality, self-improvement, and self-reliance ► Began decline by 1750

9. Puritan Literature ► Dominated by religion: theological studies, hymns, histories, biographies, autobiographies ► Purpose was to provide spiritual insight and instruction ► Regarded fiction and drama as sinful ► Used poetry as a vehicle of spiritual enlightenment ► Believed in a plain style of writing that had a clear message ► Heavy hitters: Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Increase Mather, Cotton Mather Cotton Mather Anne Bradstreet

10. Puritan Plain Style ► Reflected style of their lives – spare, simple, straightforward ► Characterized by short words, direct statements, and references to ordinary, everyday objects ► Only expressed useful or religious ideas ► Did not appeal to senses or emotions

11. Other Early Literature ► Explorers’ Accounts: Narrative accounts of voyage and discovery ► Slave Narratives: Autobiographical accounts of slavery and the Middle Passage ► Southern: Unlike Puritans, did not oppose fiction or drama