1. Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Introduction to the Literary Period
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Fast Facts
Key Concept: Native Cultures Thrive in America
Key Concept: The Puritans Settle in New England
Key Concept: The Rise of Rationalism
Your Turn

2. Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Fast Facts
Historical Highlights
Dekanawida, a Mohawk visionary, unites American Indian peoples with the Iroquois Confederacy, c
Pilgrims land at Plymouth in 1620.
Colonists battle the British in the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783.

3. Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Fast Facts
Literary Highlights
Columbus’s journal, published in 1493, describes the North American continent and its people.
Anne Bradstreet publishes the Tenth Muse in 1650.
Benjamin Franklin publishes Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1732.
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4. Key Concept: Native Cultures Thrive in America
History of the Times
Before the first Europeans arrived, American Indians had lived here for thousands of years.
The first interactions between Europeans and American Indians involved trading.

5. Key Concept: Native Cultures Thrive in America
History of the Times
Mutual curiosity led to increasing interdependence between the cultures.
The Granger Collection, New York
Europeans relied on American Indians to teach them survival skills.
Indians were eager to acquire European firearms, textiles, and steel tools.
Settlers, however, exposed native populations to diseases.

6. Key Concept: Native Cultures Thrive in America
Literature of the Times
Native American literature is rooted in oral tradition.
Storytellers were highly valued by their communities.
Oral traditions captured myths of origin and histories of certain Native American groups.
Explorers wrote detailed accounts of the American Indians they encountered.
Cabeza de Vaca in the Desert by Frederic Remington.

7. Key Concept: Native Cultures Thrive in America
Comprehension Check
What interactions took place between European settlers and Native Americans?
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8. Key Concept: The Puritans Settle in New England
History of the Times
The Puritans’ moral, ethical, and religious convictions helped shape American character.
Puritans believed in thrift, hard work, and self-sufficiency.
They also believed that a spiritual contract existed between God and humanity.

9. Key Concept: The Puritans Settle in New England
History of the Times
In the Mayflower Compact, the Puritans set out a new form of government.
This contractual agreement became a model for American constitutional democracy.
Because political authority was based on religious tenets, the political views of Puritans were sometimes uncompromising and harsh.

10. Key Concept: The Puritans Settle in New England
The Salem Witchcraft Trials
In 1691, three women were accused of witchcraft.
Within ten months, about 150 people had been accused; many were put to death.
This mass hysteria may have resulted from a fear that extreme action was needed to save political unity.

11. Key Concept: The Puritans Settle in New England
Literature of the Times
The Bible provided a model for Puritan writing.
Each life was viewed as a journey to salvation, so Puritans connected Biblical events to events in their own lives.
Diaries and histories were the most common forms of literature; they reflected a sense of intense piety and strict self-discipline.

12. Key Concept: The Puritans Settle in New England
Comprehension Check
Explain three ways in which Puritan beliefs influenced the colonists’ lives.
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13. Key Concept: The Rise of Rationalism
History of the Times
European political and social turmoil led people to question the divine right of monarchs.
A new movement, the Enlightenment, began to spread, fostering a belief in rationalism.
Rationalists believe that reason and intellect, rather than revelation, lead to discoveries of scientific and spiritual truth.
Inspired by rationalism, the founders of the new country set forth ideals of religious tolerance and individual liberty.

14. Key Concept: The Rise of Rationalism
Tinkerers and Experimenters
Prominent American rationalists include: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Thomas Paine.
Their writings reflect a rationalist worldview.
The most prominent rationalist work was Franklin’s The Autobiography
Benjamin Franklin

15. Key Concept: The Rise of Rationalism
Forming a New Nation
Inspired by rationalist thought, the founders signed the Declaration of Independence from Britain in 1776.
Many of the arguments in the Declaration are based on rationalist beliefs.
George Washington, a rationalist, was elected the first president of United States.
George Washington
“The Star Spangled Banner”

16. Key Concept: The Rise of Rationalism
Literature of the Times
Most American writing was in response to unfolding political and social events: independence from Britain, the struggle of women to gain equality with men, or the struggle of enslaved African Americans to end slavery.
Pamphlets, letters, and poetry were popular forms of literature.
The most famous piece of literature of the time period was Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography.

17. Key Concept: The Rise of Rationalism
Comprehension Check
How did rationalism differ from Puritanism, and what effect did rationalism have on the new American political system?
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18. Encounters and Foundations to 1800 Introduction to the Literary Period
Your Turn
With a partner, summarize the main historical events and important pieces of literature that shaped this time period.
Try to use the following Academic Vocabulary words in your analysis.
aspect interpret
cite perspective
contemporary
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19. The End