Unit 1
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?
Early American Writing
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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
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First colony –
Jamestown (1607)
Loyal to England but
not represented
Broke from England
and declared “free
and independent” in
1776
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Founding fathers,
Franklin, Jefferson,
Hancock, etc. wrote
Declaration of
Independence
Adopted in 1788 –
United States was
born
Cultural influences
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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
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Questioned who
should hold power
“Give me liberty or
give me death!”
Emphasized reason

The Great Awakening
– fear that Puritan
values were being lost
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Called for people to
rededicate
themselves
Unified colonists
and set new
standards
Emphasized emotion
Early American Literature

Native American
Experience
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300 cultures, over
200 languages
One common
activity –
storytelling
Much oral tradition
was lost to European
diseases

Explorers and Early
Settlers
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Journals, diaries,
letters and logs of
first settlers
(Christopher
Columbus)
Settlers wrote home
and described the
landscape
The Puritan Tradition
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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
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Anne Bradstreet
Edward Taylor
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Poetry is a means of
exploring the
relationship between
the individual and
God
Writers of the revolution

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Focused energies on
matters of government
rather than religion
Publication of pamphlets
– 1763-1783
 Fueled the
revolution
 Reached thousands
quickly

Thomas Paine
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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

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Argued that natural
law would govern
(people are born
with rights and
freedoms)
Government protects
those freedoms
Other significant writers
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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