Early American Studies: History, Literature, and Cultural Foundations
Native American Cultures and Languages
Creation Narratives
Which Native American creation narratives appear in our text?
- The Iroquois of the Northeast
- The Pimas of the Southwest
Native American Languages
What was the approximate number of Native American languages in existence at the time of the voyages to the New World?
- 1800
Religious Beliefs
What term describes the kind of religious belief held by most Native Americans?
Christopher Columbus: Voyages and Legacy
Naming the Islands
What name did Columbus give to the group of islands that form part of the region known as Hispaniola?
The West Indies
Return to Spain for Trial
What was the reason for Columbus being sent back to Spain for trial?
- His last voyage resulted in a long period of suffering in Panama and shipwreck in Jamaica.
- Columbus was losing his sanity.
Motivation for Voyages
What was the reason for Columbus undertaking his voyage?
Columbus wanted to recoup his tarnished name.
Transcriber of Columbus’s Diario
Who later transcribed and recorded Columbus’s Diario?
Bartolomé de las Casas
Country of Origin
What was Columbus’s country of origin?
Spain
Financiers of Voyages
Which Spanish monarchs financed Columbus’s voyages?
Ferdinand and Isabella
Early Colonies and Puritanism
John Smith and Jamestown
What colony was John Smith placed in charge of supplies?
Native American Rescuer
Which Native American did John Smith claim saved him from being executed?
Country Visited by Pocahontas
Which country was visited by the above person?
William Bradford’s Governorship
What plantation did William Bradford serve as governor over?
“Plantation Covenants”
What were “Plantation Covenants”?
Pilgrims’ First Landing Site
What was the site where the Pilgrims first landed in New England?
Massachusetts Colony Name
What was the name of the colony eventually founded in Massachusetts?
Puritans’ First Refuge
To which country had the first Puritans fled when they decided to leave England?
Thomas Morton and Mount Wollaston
Who was Thomas Morton? What name did he eventually give to the community known as Mount Wollaston?
Morton’s Punishment
What punishment, if any, did Morton receive?
Puritan Opposition to Maypoles
Why were the Puritans against the practice of putting up a Maypole?
Puritan View of the Wilderness
What was the view of the Puritans toward the wilderness which surrounded them?
Proper Name for “Quakers”
What is the proper name for the so-called “Quakers”?
William Bradford’s Ship
Which ship did William Bradford sail on to the New World?
Definition of a “Separatist”
What is a “Separatist”?
Puritan Persecution of Quakers
Why did the Puritans persecute the Quakers?
Early Linguistic Study of Native American Languages
Which writer made an early attempt at linguistic study of Native American languages?
Native American Group Studied
What group of Native Americans did he live among while trying to understand their language?
Colony and City Founded by Roger Williams
For what colony did the above writer seek a charter? What city did he found?
Church that Invited Roger Williams
What church had asked him to be its pastor when he first came to Massachusetts?
“Separation” Among Devout Puritans
What did the term “separation” convey among the devout Puritans?
Early American Literature and Thought
First Book Published in America
What was the first book published in America?
Anne Bradstreet’s First Book of Poems
What is the title of the book of poems by Anne Bradstreet published in England?
Anne Bradstreet’s Second Book of Poems
What is the title of the second book of poems by Anne Bradstreet published in America, the first book published in America by a woman?
Bradstreet’s Illness
What serious disease did Anne Bradstreet contract, which she says was sent by God to humble her?
Bradstreet’s Family
What was the name of Bradstreet’s husband? How many children were born to this union?
Bradstreet’s Spiritual Autobiography
What is the title of what is considered to be Bradstreet’s spiritual autobiography?
The Gentry in England
Who are the gentry in England? [Bradstreet’s father was a member of the gentry.]
Bradstreet’s Education and Husband’s Occupation
How was Bradstreet educated in England? What was the occupation of her husband?
Cotton Mather
Mather’s Age at Harvard
How old was Cotton Mather when he entered Harvard College?
Mather’s Stance on Witchcraft Trials
What was his position with regard to the Witchcraft Trials?
Mather’s Church in Boston
What Boston church did he serve as pastor?
“Conduct Books”
What are “conduct books”? See the last paragraph of the introduction to Cotton Mather on page 144.
American Literature: 1700 to 1820
Symbolic End of Puritanism
Whose death symbolically marks the passing of Puritanism?
Dates of the Great Awakening
What are the dates of the so-called “Great Awakening”? See timeline, pages 160-161.
Jonathan Edwards’ Grandfather
Who was the famous grandfather of Jonathan Edwards, sometimes referred to as the “Pope of the Connecticut Valley”?
Edwards’ Church
Which church did Jonathan Edwards serve until his dismissal?
Edwards’ Most Famous Sermon
What was Edwards’ most famous sermon?
Edwards’ Death
How did Edwards die?
Reason for Edwards’ Dismissal
Why was he eventually dismissed from his church?
“Sovereignty of God”
What did Edwards mean when he used the term the “Sovereignty of God”?
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin’s Apprenticeship
Into what trade was Benjamin Franklin apprenticed?
Franklin’s Self-Taught Languages
What languages did Franklin teach himself?
Franklin’s Diplomatic Service
In what cities did Franklin serve as a diplomat in his later years?
Franklin’s Continental Congress Role
To which Continental Congress was Franklin chosen as a representative?
Publication Date of Poor Richard’s Almanac
What was the publication date of Poor Richard’s Almanac?
Key Terms and Figures
Literary and Other Key Terms
- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Conflict
- Climax
- Resolution
- Pre-literate
- Resolution or Denouement
- Indenture/Indentured
- Indigenous Peoples
- Deus ex machina
- Theodicy
- Allegory/Allegorizing
- Allusion
- Reference
- Proverb
Key Historical and Literary Figures
Always have a memorized mini-biography of the writers studied so that you can discuss them if asked to do so. You should know their important works in addition to the assigned texts.
Christopher Columbus
- Born into a family of wool workers.
- Developed a plan to find a commercially viable Atlantic route to Asia.
- Won over Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella for his “Enterprise of the Indies.”
- Undertook four voyages between 1492 and 1504.
- In 1496, he was forced to return to Spain to clear his name of politically motivated charges made against him in the West Indies.
Bartolomé de las Casas
He is not an assigned author, but you need to know about him as he opposed Columbus and is the person who transcribed and published Columbus’s Diario.
John Smith
- Under the patent granted to Sir Walter Ralegh by Queen Elizabeth I in 1584, the English began their first serious effort at colonization in Virginia (which was a disaster).
Roger Williams
Anne Bradstreet
Mary Rowlandson
Complete title of her captivity narrative: The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682). [Original spelling]
Cotton Mather
You need to know about this important Puritan leader, but you are not responsible for reading his Wonders of the Invisible World.
Jonathan Edwards
Benjamin Franklin
Possible Discussion Questions
The Pilgrims (a term used by Bradford to describe that group of Puritans who landed on Plymouth Rock) saw themselves as being charged with the obligation to establish a “city set on a hill.” Discuss this belief, its relation to their faith, and how this cultural myth helped to develop and form the national character.
Define and describe Puritanism and its continuing influence on the American character and culture.
Discuss the major contribution of Roger Williams to American life and culture.
Discuss the work and importance of Anne Bradstreet or Mary Rowlandson.
Discuss the “Great Awakening.”
Discuss the importance of Jonathan Edwards.
Discuss the cultural significance of Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac.
Compare and contrast Bradstreet’s “spiritual autobiography” (“To My Dear Children”) with Edwards’ “Personal Narrative.”