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Age of Enlightenment. Review of Puritans. What did the Puritans believe? Adam and Eve’s sin had damned most people for eternity Christ had been sent to save some people It was hard to know if you were saved so Puritans tried to be on their best behavior
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Review of Puritans • What did the Puritans believe? • Adam and Eve’s sin had damned most people for eternity • Christ had been sent to save some people • It was hard to know if you were saved so Puritans tried to be on their best behavior • Direct connections existed between Biblical events and their lives
Review of Puritans • How did the Puritan’s write? • They wrote to explore their inner and outer lives for signs of the workings of God • They favored plain style • They stressed clarity of expression and avoided complicated figures of speech
Age of Enlightenment: Beliefs • People used the human mind to comprehend the universe as never before • Human sympathy, rather than supernatural grace viewed as basis for the moral life • This reliance on human sympathy as a catalyst for moral choice encouraged the belief that each individual had the power to control his or her spiritual destiny
Enlightenment Ideals • Many put less stock in revealed religion • Often these new scientists and philosophers were called Deists • People were more interested in the progress of ordinary individuals and relating to their fellow beingsthrough emotions and experiences they shared as colonists
Deism • Thought that it was unlikely that God would reveal himself only at particular times to particular people • Thought that it was much more reasonable to believe that God had made it possible for all people at all times to discover natural laws through their God-given power of reason • Thought that every individual could be perfected through reason • Thought that the best form of worship was to do good for others
Rationalist Worldview • People arrive at truth by using reason rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religion, or on non-rational mental processes like intuition • God created the universe but does not interfere in its workings • The world operates according to God’s rule, and through the use of reason we can discover those rules
Rationalist Worldview • People are basically good and perfectible • Since God wants people to be happy they worship God best by helping other people. • Human history is marked by progress toward a more perfect existence
Historical: A War Brewing • 1765 Stamp Act is enacted by English Parliament and meets with colonial opposition. • 1770. 5 March. Boston Massacre. • 1773. December 16. Boston Tea Party.
Historical: A War Brewing • 1775 March 23. In a speech to the Virginia legislature, Patrick Henry encourages Virginians to arm themselves, saying "give me liberty or give me death." • April 18-19. Paul Revere's midnight ride. • 19 April: Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, first battles of the Revolutionary War.
Citation Station • “American Literature 1700-1820.”The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Nortion & Company, 2003. • “American Revolution ." Wikipedia. 2007. 13 Jan 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_revolution#Taxation_without_representation>. • Arpin, Gary Q. "Beginnings." Elements of Literature Fifth. Course. Robert Probst. Austin: Hold, Rinehert, and Winston, 1997. • Campbell, Donna. "1750-1799." Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events . 2007. 13 Jan 2008 <http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/1751.htm>. • "Stamp Act." Wikipedia. 2007. 13 Jan 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_act#1765_Stamp_Act>.
