American literary
movements
“Colonial Period”
Pre-1600 through 1775
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Colonial Period
For many, this era begins with the first settlement at Jamestown to the
outbreak of the American Revolution. We will also include the “presettlement” period which covers Native American tradition. Writings from
this era were – for the most part – religious, practical, or historical. Some
of the more significant writers of the time include William Bradford,
theologian Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, Anne Bradsheet, and Phillis
Wheatly.
Sub Periods include:
-Pre-settlement period
-Puritanism
Pre-settlement
<1620
Historical Events (America)
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1492: Native American groups first encounter European
explorers.
1515: Juan Ponce de Leon lands on the Florida Peninsula.
1565: St. Augustine, FL, first permanent settlement in US
founded by Pedro Menendez.
1586: English colony at Roanoke Island disappears.
1590: Iroquois Confederacy established to stop warfare among
the five nations.
1607: First permanent English settlement at Jamestown, VA.
1608: Captain John smith writes “A True Relation...of Virginia.”
1619: House of Burgesses established in Virginia; first
legislature in the Western Hemisphere.
1620: Pilgrims land at Plymouth Massachusetts.
Characteristics
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Oral literature relying on performance
Most stories collected and written down in the
end of 19th and beginning of 20th century
Distinguishable by form, content, and style - thus
correspond to the most fundamental features of
literature
Types of oral narratives:
 Origin
and Emergence Stories,
 Historical Narratives,
 Culture Hero Stories,
 Trickster Tales
Puritanism
1620-1755
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Historical Events (America)
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1620: Mayflower, Puritans found Plymouth Plantation
Massachusetts Bay Colony founded
1636: Harvard University founded near Boston
1640: First printing press in English-speaking North American arrives in
Massachusetts
1647: Massachusetts establishes free public schools.
1675: New England frontier towns begin to be raided.
1676: Nat Bacon’s ill-fated rebellion launched against VA’s governor Berkeley.
1710: Smallpox epidemic breaks out in Boston; Cotton Mather argues for
inoculation (vaccines).
1735: John Peter Zenger acquitted of libel, furthering freedom of the press.
1741: Great Awakening, a series of religious revivals, begins to sweep the
colonies.
1741: Jonathan Edwards first delivers his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God.
1752: Benjamin Franklin conducts kite and key experiment.
1754: French and Indian War begins.
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Characteristics
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Forms of writing:
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Histories
Diaries
Chronicles (describe the earthly in terms of the eternal)
Poetry
Sermons:
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a. explanation of biblical quotation
b. interpretation
c. application to the life of the colony
Characteristics Cont.
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Role of sermons:
new argument in the ongoing theological debates
a part of the political process (“Election Days.”)
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--on an election day, a sermon would be given by
those wishing to be elected to religious office. These
sermons would generally consist of an account of that
person’s experience of grace.
scaring the congregation back into religious life
(“jeremiads”)
 Jeremiads
are literary works or speeches that express a
bitter lament or righteous prophecy of doom.
Characteristics Cont.
 Literal
truth substituted with potential symbolic lesson
 No novels – they divert people’s attention from work
 Writing should have a practical purpose
 Belief in America being the “promised land” and
Americans being the “chosen people”
 Frequent religious references
 Often plain style so that common people can
understand
Revolutionary Age
165-1790
Revolutionary Age
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Era most often begins with the Stamp Act
of 1765. Writings focused on the concepts
of freedom, change, and self-government.
Historical Events (America)
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1765- Stamp Act
1773 - Boston Tea Party
1775-83 – American Revolution
1776, 4 July – Declaration of Independence
1783 - Treaty of Paris
1787-88 - Federalist Papers: Alex. Hamilton,
John Jay, and James Madison
1789 - American Constitution
1789-1799 - French Revolution
Characteristics
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Rational approach to the world, belief in progress
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Pragmatism –Truth measured by practical
experiences; law of nature
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Deism –God created the world but has no influence
on human lives.
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Idealism – Conviction of the universal sense of right
and wrong; belief in the goodness of man.
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Interest in human nature
Writers
Political Pamphlets
 Philosophical / Religious Tracts:
 Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790)
 Thomas Paine (1737 – 1809)
 Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
 Alexander Hamilton (1757 – 1804)
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