1. Age of Enlightenment

2. Review of Puritans  What did the Puritans believe?  Adam and Eve’s sin had damned most people for eternity  Christ had been sent to save some people  It was hard to know if you were saved so Puritans tried to be on their best behavior  Direct connections existed between Biblical events and their lives

3. Review of Puritans  How did the Puritan’s write?  They wrote to explore their inner and outer lives for signs of the workings of God  They favored plain style  They stressed clarity of expression and avoided complicated figures of speech

4. Age of Enlightenment: Beliefs  People used the human mind to comprehend the universe as never before  Human sympathy, rather than supernatural grace viewed as basis for the moral life  This reliance on human sympathy as a catalyst for moral choice encouraged the belief that each individual had the power to control his or her spiritual destiny

5. Enlightenment Ideals  Many put less stock in revealed religion  Often these new scientists and philosophers were called Deists  People were more interested in the progress of ordinary individuals and relating to their fellow beings through emotions and experiences they shared as colonists

6. Deism  Thought that it was unlikely that God would reveal himself only at particular times to particular people  Thought that it was much more reasonable to believe that God had made it possible for all people at all times to discover natural laws through their God-given power of reason  Thought that every individual could be perfected through reason  Thought that the best form of worship was to do good for others

7. Rationalist Worldview  People arrive at truth by using reason rather than by relying on the authority of the past, on religion, or on non-rational mental processes like intuition  God created the universe but does not interfere in its workings  The world operates according to God’s rule, and through the use of reason we can discover those rules

8. Rationalist Worldview  People are basically good and perfectible  Since God wants people to be happy they worship God best by helping other people.  Human history is marked by progress toward a more perfect existence

9. Historical: A War Brewing  1765 Stamp Act is enacted by English Parliament and meets with colonial opposition.  1770. 5 March. Boston Massacre.  1773. December 16. Boston Tea Party.

10. Historical: A War Brewing  1775 March 23. In a speech to the Virginia legislature, Patrick Henry encourages Virginians to arm themselves, saying "give me liberty or give me death."  April 18-19. Paul Revere's midnight ride.  19 April: Battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, first battles of the Revolutionary War.

11. Citation Station  “ American Literature 1700-1820. ” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Nortion & Company, 2003.  “ American Revolution." Wikipedia. 2007. 13 Jan 2008.  Arpin, Gary Q. "Beginnings." Elements of Literature Fifth. Course. Robert Probst. Austin: Hold, Rinehert, and Winston, 1997.  Campbell, Donna. "1750-1799." Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events. 2007. 13 Jan 2008.  "Stamp Act." Wikipedia. 2007. 13 Jan 2008.