Collection 2 Literary Focus
American Narrative Tradition
American Narrative Tradition
A narrative is nothing more than a story—but
good stories are central to most enduring
literature.
When you read narratives, look for
• Who is telling the story
• What he or she wants you to
accept or believe
American Narrative Tradition
A Tradition Is Born
The American narrative tradition was born of
conflict.
True events—often violent and
controversial—were the basis of
many narrative accounts in the
nation’s early years.
1 Travel Narratives
2 Tales of Life in North America
American Narrative Tradition
1 Travel Narratives
During the sixteenth century, Spain sent several
expeditions to conquer and colonize North
America.
Few accounts of these grueling journeys survive.
American Narrative Tradition
One important surviving
account, first published
in 1542, was originally a
report to the Spanish
king.
In La Relación, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
provides an exciting, firsthand account of the
first European experiences in North America.
American Narrative Tradition
2 Tales of Life in North America
After 1500, European
settlers, longing for land and
religious freedom, began to
arrive.
Narratives by early settlers
• described vast opportunities in the “New World”
• roused Europeans’ imaginations and ambitions
• encouraged new settlers to realize their goals
American Narrative Tradition
William Bradford’s important narrative Of Plymouth
Plantation was almost lost to history.
In 1630, Bradford, leader
of the Pilgrims after they
landed at Plymouth, began
an annual account of life in
the settlement.
Lost during the Revolutionary War, the document
was later rediscovered and published in 1856.
American Narrative Tradition
The Bitter with the Sweet
Not all narratives were glowing advertisements.
Travel and settlement narratives also told of
struggle and misfortune.
But two other types of narratives
especially reveal the terrors and
horrors in the New World.
3 Captivity Stories
4 Slave Narratives
American Narrative Tradition
3 Captivity Stories
As more settlers came, interactions—
and friction—between the settlers
and Native Americans increased.
“Captivity stories”
detailed the
experiences of
settlers who had
been kidnapped by
Native Americans.
American Narrative Tradition
Mary Rowlandson’s story is probably
one of the most well-known.
A Narrative of the Captivity and
Restoration of Mrs. Mary
Rowlandson (1682) told of the
author’s kidnapping by the
Wampanoag.
Widely read for entertainment, such narratives also
contributed to the decline of relations between
settlers and American Indians.
American Narrative Tradition
4 Slave Narratives
Autobiographical accounts by slaves were one of
the most influential forms of early American
literature.
Many of the accounts tell of
the suffering that African
slaves endured and of their
intense desire for freedom.
American Narrative Tradition
Slave narratives supported the abolitionist cause
by revealing the horrors of slavery.
Such autobiographies as The
Interesting Narrative of the Life
of Olaudah Equiano (1789) were
widely distributed and read.
Equiano’s powerful story helped
influence the British government
to stop the slave trade in 1807.
American Narrative Tradition
Ask Yourself
1. Name four types of early American
narratives.
2. What are slave narratives, and how did they
serve the abolitionist cause?
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Collection 3 Literary Focus
Political Writing
Political Writing
The Power of Reason
The American Revolution was fueled by influential
political writings supporting independence.
The writers who
inspired the colonists’
revolt based their
arguments on the
ideals of rationalism.
Political Writing
Rationalist thinkers believe that humans
• can discover truth using reason
• can use reason to understand
natural laws and guide their lives
• need not rely only on religious
faith or intuition
The rationalist movement
marked the beginning of the
Age of Reason in Europe in
the seventeenth century.
Political Writing
The rationalists were not non-believers.
Like the Puritans…
rationalists believed that
God created the natural
world and its laws.
Unlike the Puritans…
rationalists thought the
universe operated without
divine intervention.
These beliefs—which were shared by many of
America’s Founders—are known as deism.
Political Writing
The rationalist idea that all people are free to use
reason to better their lives was part of the
justification for independence.
It’s also the foundation of the
most important political
documents in American history
and literature—
the Declaration of Independence
and the U.S. Constitution.
The Argument for Revolt
Early American leaders spread
their ideas by publishing their
words and distributing them to
the Colonists.
The Granger Collection, New York
Political Writing
Thomas Paine’s pamphlet
Common Sense, published in
1776, is considered by many to
be the most important written
work justifying independence.
Political Writing
Paine applied both rationalist
thought and deist principles
to his arguments in favor of
revolution.
Common Sense, only 47
pages long, sold 500,000
copies at a time when the
population of the Colonies
was a little over 2 million.
Political Writing
Founding a New Nation
Some early American
political writers—such as
Paine—aroused passion for
independence.
Other revolutionary leaders
used words—spoken and
written—to lay the foundation
for the new nation.
Political Writing
In 1775, as the Virginia
Convention was debating
compromise with Britain,
Patrick Henry delivered
his famous speech:
The Granger Collection, New York
“Give me liberty,
or give me death!”
Like Paine, Henry used rationalism to persuade
the delegates to arm the Colonists.
Henry’s speech was a key step on the road to
independence, and his words became a battle cry.
Political Writing
The next year, the Second Continental Congress
appointed a committee—including Thomas
Jefferson—to draft a declaration of independence.
As one of the main authors,
Jefferson infused the document
with rationalist ideals.
The authors took the ideas that
inspired their revolt and used
them as a basis for the new
government.
Independence Hall,
Philadelphia
Political Writing
The Declaration of Independence was the first
American document to describe an ideal relationship
between the people and their government.
Underlying this relationship,
which emphasized the rights of
individuals, was the rationalist
belief in humans’ capacity—
and freedom—to reason for
themselves.
Political Writing
Influences on Early American Political Writing
Early American political writing was influenced by
philosophy, beliefs, events, and even the spread
of technology:
• ideas and principles from Europe’s Age of
Reason, particularly the ideals of rationalism
• emergence of deism and its influence on
America’s leaders and writers
• conflict between British rule and American
colonists seeking independence
• spread of self-published political writing
Political Writing
Ask Yourself
1. In what ways did the philosophies of rationalism
and deism contribute to American independence?
2. What role did pamphlets and political speeches
play in the decision to declare independence
from Britain?
3. How did political writing allow individuals to
affect the development of an entire nation? How
does this power of the individual reflect the
principles upon which the United States was
founded?
[End of Section]
The End