JournalPlease always write the date and the title of

the journal entry. Write a paragraph response using complete sentences. You do not need to copy the prompt.

Title: “Expectations”Write about your expectations for the class.

What do you hope to get out of this class? What would you like to see us do or talk about over the course of the year? What have you enjoyed learning about in previous classes?

Early American Period: Guided NotesDuring this unit, we’re going to focus on:

Puritan Culture and BeliefsNative American CultureSettling in AmericaSlavery and Slave NarrativesThe Age of Reason and the American

Revolution

Writing Focus: Personal Piece

PuritanismPuritan: a term referring to a number of

Protestant groups that (beginning around 1560) sought to “purify” the Church of England (and separate it from the country’s government)

Basic Desires:Wanted simpler forms of worship and church

organizationReligion seen as a personal experienceDid not believe the clergy (religious officials)

or government should act as a mediator between a person and God

Basic Puritan Beliefs1. Total Depravity - through Adam's fall, every human

is born sinful - concept of Original Sin.2. Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he

wishes - only a few are selected for salvation - concept of predestination.

3. Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone.

4. Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God.

5. Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.

The Bible and EducationThe Bible was considered the literal word of

God.Reading the Bible was necessary for all

Puritans.Education: Because the Puritans wanted

everyone to be able to read the Bible and understand theological debates, education was very important.

Harvard College: Established in 1636, sixteen years after landing, Harvard was originally intended to train Puritan ministers.

Some Aspects of the Puritan Legacy Each aspect has positive and negative

implications.a. The need for moral justification for

private, public, and governmental acts.b. The Questing for Freedom - personal,

political, economic, and social.c. The Puritan work ethic.d. Elegiac verse - morbid fascination with

death.e. The city upon the hill - concept of

manifest destiny.

Native American PopulationNative Americans lived on the continent for

thousands of years prior to the first European arrival.

First interactions involved:Trading near harbors and rivers, lessons on how

to survive and make canoes and shelters, plant crops, and create clothing

Historians estimate that in 1600, the total American Indian population of New England alone was between 70,000 and 100,000 people

Native American RelocationThe new diseases that Europeans brought caused

horrible epidemics that killed many Native Americans. Small pox especially ravaged the Native American population.

As Europeans became more self-sufficient, they began to push the Native Americans away from their settlements.

Native Americans related to the land differently than Europeans; they did not think of land “ownership” in the legalistic way that Europeans did.

In his work The Invasion of America, Historian Francis Jennings comments,

“Europeans did not find a wilderness here; rather, however involuntarily, they made one. Jamestown, Plymouth, Salem, Boston, Providence, New New Amsterdam, Philadelphia—all grew upon sites previously occupied by Indian communities. So did Quebec and Montreal and Detroit and Chicago. The so-called settlement of America was a resettlement, a reoccupation of land made waste by the diseases and demoralization introduced by the newcomers.”

Settling in America First documented arrival of a European:

Christopher Columbus in 1492

Arrival of the Puritans: 1620

Problems: Introduction of new diseases (both as carriers and

as receivers)Lack of preparation for harsh wintersCultural differences and conflictsStrange and dangerous animalsDifferent climate, landscape, and food sources

The Age of Reason and the American RevolutionThe Age of Reason (the Enlightenment):

Began in Europe in the 17th centuryRationalism: the belief that human beings can

arrive at truth only by using reason (rather than authorities of the past, religious faith, or intuition)

View of God: more often seen as a clockmaker rather than a mysterious and active presence in daily life (as was viewed by the Puritans)

Writing: based on reality and focused on bringing about change Often created pamphlets to promote political or

practical ideas

ReferencesReuben, Paul P. "Chapter 1: Puritanism &

Colonial Period: to 1700." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/

chap1/chap1.html (July 6, 2009).Beers, Kylene, and Carol Jago, Deborah

Appleman, and Leila Christenbury, eds. “Encounters and Foundations to 1800.” Elements of Literature: Essential Elements of American Literature. NewYork: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2007. 1-19. Print.