Unit 1

KEY IDEA For thousands of years, Native Americans regarded themselves as caretakers, not owners, of the land. The Europeans who began arriving in North America, however, saw things differently. They laid claim to the land and aggressively defended it from Native Americans–and from one another. In the end, the British claim overpowered all others. Yet the question remains: What entitles people to claim land as their own?

Unit 1

Unit 1

KEY IDEA America’s early explorers traveled for many reasons: to gain glory for themselves or for their countries, to find gold or other riches, to discover new routes for travel and trade. Yet none of these motivators alone seems enough to make the uncertainties of exploration–unknown destinations, unknown rewards, unknown dangers–worth the risk. What is it that causes people to seek out the unknown?

Unit 1

Unit 1

KEY IDEA Puritan settlers believed that human beings were sinful creatures doomed to a fiery eternity unless saved by the grace of God. Yet others who came to North America celebrated the powers of reason and proclaimed the goodness and intrinsic worth of humans. Are people destined always to struggle against their basest instincts? Or are they fundamentally good–and capable of becoming even better?

Unit 1

Unit 1

KEY IDEA For centuries, European kings and queens had ruled because it was believed that they had a God-given right to do so. But in the Age of Enlightenment, people began to question basic assumptions about government. In America, a popular uprising put a new kind of government to the test: democracy. With this experiment, the young American nation was asking: Who really has the right to rule?

Unit 1

Early American Writing Early writers focused on describing and trying to

make sense out of their challenging and new environment

Millions of people lived in the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans

First relationships between Native Americans and Europeans was cooperative, until the Europeans began to force them off their land

From a colony to a country First colony –

Jamestown (1607) Loyal to England but

not represented Broke from England

and declared “free and independent” in 1776

Founding fathers, Franklin, Jefferson, Hancock, etc. wrote Declaration of Independence

Adopted in 1788 – United States was born

Cultural influences Puritan beliefs and

values directed people’s lives

Struggle with sin a daily mission

Felt humans were sinful; some “elect would be spared from hell

Ideas of the age Burst of intellectual

energy – Enlightenment Questioned who

should hold power “Give me liberty or

give me death!” Emphasized reason

The Great Awakening – fear that Puritan values were being lost Called for people to

rededicate themselves

Unified colonists and set new standards

Emphasized emotion

Early American Literature Native American

Experience 300 cultures, over

200 languages One common

activity – storytelling

Much oral tradition was lost to European diseases

Explorers and Early Settlers Journals, diaries,

letters and logs of first settlers (Christopher Columbus)

Settlers wrote home and described the landscape

The Puritan Tradition Believed writing was

a tool to help understand the Bible

Logic, clarity and order are emphasized in their style

Sermons warn the dangers of sinful ways

Puritan poets Anne Bradstreet Edward Taylor

Poetry is a means of exploring the relationship between the individual and God

Writers of the revolution Focused energies on

matters of government rather than religion

Publication of pamphlets – 1763-1783 Fueled the

revolution Reached thousands

quickly

Thomas Paine Wrote Common Sense Argued that American

had a special destiny to be a model to the rest of the world

Welcome people from around the world to its free society

Writing that launched a nation Declaration of

Independence Argued that natural

law would govern (people are born with rights and freedoms)

Government protects those freedoms

Other significant writers Phillis Wheatley – wrote poems and letters

about the rights of African-Americans

Abigail Adams – urged her husband, 2nd President, to include women’s rights in the founding documents