AMERICAN LITERATURE - CHAPTER 2.3

What was much of the work in the Early National Period influenced by?

The Age of Enlightenment

What was the Enlightenment?

A major movement in Western culture in which the power of reason and objective thought influenced political, religious and institutional beliefs.

What do deists believe?

God created the world but has since been detached from it, which has let humans create their own path in life.

Who was Cadwallader Colden? (1688–1776)

The lieutenant governor of the state of New York, and a physician and scientist.

Why was The History of the Five Indian Nations (1727) important?

It criticizes the English treatment off the Indians.

How was Benjamin Franklin influenced by the Enlightenment?

His perspective of the self in his memoirs is more worldly and non-deterministic.

In what years was Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography written?

1771, 1783, and 1788

What does the first part of Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography discuss?

His youth as a publisher in America and the “errors” of youth.

How did Benjamin Franklin strive for “moral perfection” in his autobiography?

By trying one virtue after another, like silence, frugality, chastity, humility and moderation.

What is The Way to Wealth? (1758)

Essay published in Poor Richard's Almanac that contains a collection of work over the course of many years.

Who was Elizabeth Ashbridge? (1713–1755)

An 18th-century Quaker minister, autobiographer, and colonial American schoolteacher.

Who was John Woolman? (1720–1772)

American Quaker preacher and early abolitionist known for writing The Journal of John Woolman. (1774)

When was Samson Occom’s “A Short Narrative of my Life” written, and when was it discovered?

It was written in 1768, but discovered in 1982.

What was “Letters From an American Farmer” (1782) by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur about?

The botany of America and the conditions in which the settlers lived.

Who was Thomas Paine? (1737–1809)

English-American political philosopher, revolutionary, and Founding Father of the United States.

What was the first work to directly ask for independence from Great Britain?

Common Sense (1776), by Thomas Paine.

Anne Bradstreet’s poetry is best known for combining Puritan beliefs with:

Personal domestic experiences

Which Enlightenment figure places the greatest emphasis on education and civic responsibility in his writing?

Benjamin Franklin

Which literary form was most common during the Colonial Period?

Sermon