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Beginning of American Literature

WRITE ONLY WHAT IS IN RED!!. Beginning of American Literature. Native American Period (pre-1620). Oral ( spoken) tradition of song and stories Original authors unknown Written accounts come after colonization Genres include creation stories, myths, legends, songs Focuses on

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Beginning of American Literature

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  1. WRITE ONLY WHAT IS IN RED!! Beginning of American Literature

  2. Native American Period(pre-1620) • Oral (spoken)tradition of song and stories • Original authors unknown • Written accounts come after colonization • Genres include creation stories, myths, legends, songs • Focuses on • the natural world as sacred • Importance of land and place • They had no written language.

  3. Native American Period(pre-1620) Several hundred years before the Revolution, Dekanawida and the Iroquois Confederation gave the Founding Fathers a model for our future government in The Iroquois Constitution.

  4. Puritans (1620-1750) • American Lit starts when the 1st people came to live in America. They landed at Plymouth Rock. (Pilgrims) Led by William Bradford. • American character has been shaped by the moral, ethical, and religious convictions of the Puritans.

  5. Puritans (1620-1750) • After about 20 years (1640) there were about 20,000 people in New England (English Puritans.) • The term “Puritan” refers to a number of Protestant groups that wanted to “purify” the Church of England. In England church and government were inseparable. • The Puritans wanted to separate the church from government.

  6. Puritan Period(1620-1750) • Newly arrived colonists create villages and towns and establish new governments while protesting the old ways in Europe • Did not consider themselves “Americans” until mid-18C • Enormous displacement of Native-American civilizations • French—St Lawrence River • Swedes—Delaware River • Dutch—Hudson River • German and Scots-Irish—New York and Pennsylvania • Spanish—Florida • Africans (mostly slaves) were throughout the colonies

  7. Puritan Beliefs • Common beliefs of the Puritans • 1) all humans were damned (everyone going to hell) • 2) Jesus Christ came to save a few chosen people • 3) the problem was that no one ever knew if they were saved or not. • Genres of Puritan lit • 1) diaries, journals (historical accounts) • 2) poems • 3) sermons • The lit of this time had many allusions to the Bible. They were trying to “find” God in their daily activities to be sure they were on the right path. • Used very plain style

  8. Puritan Beliefs Most of humanity “damned” by sin of Adam and Eve. Select few would be saved. Those people could be identified by their saintly behavior. When God bestowed his grace on them, they were “reborn”. Values: self-reliance, hard-working, moderation, and simple living

  9. Puritan writing was “plain style.” • Plain Style • Easy to understand • Straightforwardness • Simplicity • No figures of speech or “flowery” language

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