ENG 251 - Unit 2 Study Guide
Deisim is reflected in Thomas Paine's ______ and Thomas Jefferson's
"The Age of Reason and Jefferson Bible
How does Thomas Jefferson compare to Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine?
(They all subscribed to Enlightenment era thinking and held in common their stance on the American Revolution.)
What was the Great Awakening? What role did Edwards play in this movement?
A period of religious revivalism that transformed complacent believers all along the eastern seaboard, beginning in 1734. Until the mid-1740s, Edwards' relations with the town were harmonious. This period included the early years of the Great Awakening
Describe Edwards "politician-like" rise and fall. How is this akin to modern-day "cancel culture"?
In his attempt to restore the church to the position of authority it held in the years of his grandfather's ministry, Edwards went too far: - Berated people for becoming too secularized - Named backsliders from his pulpit, including members of the best families in town - Tried to return to the old order of communion, permitting the sacrament to be taken only by those who had publicly declared themselves to be saved. On June 22, 1750, by a vote of two hundred to twenty, Edwards was dismissed from his church.
How does this speak to gender roles in Early America?
In regard to Byrd's relationships, he married twice - first to Lucy Parke, with whom he had a passionate but somewhat tumultuous relationship. She was an intellectual herself and desired more control over their affairs. She died of smallpox, and eight years later, Byrd remarried to Maria Taylor, who was the "English lady" that he had desired. However, he did not have the passionate relationship with her that he had had with Lucy Parke.
When do you think a conscious South began - before or after the Civil War?
In regard to Byrd's relationships, he married twice - first to Lucy Parke, with whom he had a passionate but somewhat tumultuous relationship. She was an intellectual herself and desired more control over their affairs. She died of smallpox, and eight years later, Byrd remarried to Maria Taylor, who was the "English lady" that he had desired. However, he did not have the passionate relationship with her that he had had with Lucy Parke.
How does Jefferson compare to William Byrd? (As landowners, slave owners - like Byrd, Jefferson is markedly Southern partially due to the drive for land ownership and production, providing evidence that "the South" existed prior to the Civil War.)
Jefferson compares to William Byrd as both a landowner and slave owner. Like Byrd, Jefferson is markedly Southern partially due to the drive for land ownership and production, providing evidence that "the South" existed prior to the Civil War.
Was Jefferson a hypocrite? (Although he wanted to include an anti-slavery clause in the Declaration of Independence [which was rejected by Congress], he owned slaves himself.)
Jefferson's complex stance on slavery is related to his roots in the Virginia planter society that had developed over the 18th century. He was born at the Shadwell plantation, in what is now Albemarle County, Virginia. When Thomas was fourteen, his father died, and he inherited twenty-seven hundred acres of land and slaves to work it. Over the years, he added to this expanse of property, which reached a peak of almost ten thousand acres. Of course, his plantation was named Monticello.
Which leaders of the American Revolution were influenced by Enlightenment thought?
Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, and Paine
East Windsor, Connecticut - Where he was born Solomon Stoddard - Name of his grandfather - most influential figures in the religious life of New England Northampton, Massachusetts - where the church was Yale College - admitted at age 13 1729 - Grandfather died, Edwards succeeded the pulpit Great Awakening - Religious revivalism (started in 1734) June 22, 1750 - Dismissed from his church (vote of 200 to 20) Stockbridge, Massachusetts - served as a missionary to Housatonic Indians for the next 7 years College of New Jersey - Became president (later known as Princeton) Smallpox - Died 3 months after arrival (result of his inoculation to prevent infection
KEY FACT : Edwards was interested in the emotional aspect of religion rather than the theoretical. It is not enough to "be religious" - one must have a personal relationship with God.
List four defining political features of The Enlightenment
Liberty, democracy, republicanism, and religious tolerance
Does Occom's narrative change your opinion on my "who were the victims in King Philip's War" question?
Many students focus on the fact that Rowlandson and her child (and the other captured settlers) were starved. How does this compare to Wheelock's treatment of Occom's family (and of Occom)?
How did Eleazar Wheelock betray Occom?
Textual Evidence: "In 1765, Occom went to England along with the Reverend Nathaniel Whitaker to raise funds for his former mentor's Indian Charity-School. He delivered some three hundred sermons and collected nearly twelve thousand pounds. Wheelock had promised to care for Occom's family while he was away, but when Occom returned, he found his family sickly and in extreme poverty. Then he learned that Wheelock intended to use the money he had raised to move the Indian School to Hanover, New Hampshire (where it would later become Dartmouth College). Occom angrily predicted to Wheelock that his 'College has too much worked by Grandeur for the Poor Indians, they'll never have much benefit of it.' He was right. Dartmouth soon ceased to
What did this betrayal lead Occom to do?
Textual Evidence: "In dire financial straits, alienated from Wheelock, and feeling the vulnerability of his position as an 'Indian preacher' in the church, Occum wrote a 10 page autobiography by way of self-justification."
What unique strategy did Occom develop to help his students who were "Some what Dull" learn to read?
Textual Evidence: "[T]he way I took to cure them was by making an Alphabet on Small bits of paper, and glued them on Small Chips of Cedar after this manner A B & C. I put these on Letters in order on a Bench then point to one Letter and bid a Child to fetch me the Letter from the Bench if he Brings the Letter, it is well, if not he must go again and again till he brings ye right Letter."
Why do you think I asked you to read Occom rather than some of the other Native American selections included in your anthology?
Because we know he wrote it (it is neither a fabrication nor a bi-cultural composite)
Why do you think Occom was so focused on reading (both on his own learning to read and teaching his students to read)?
Being able to read offers power, respect, upward mobility. At a time when Native Americans were being treated as "savages," being able to read (English) offered more control over one's life and proved that one could part of "civilized" society. (This is very comparable to Frederick Douglass's evaluation of what learning to read did for him - see Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Written by Himself.)
How would being an Indian preacher and teacher have differed from being a European preacher and teacher?
Being an Indian preacher/teacher meant that you did not receive that same level of respect as your European counterparts.
Benjamin Franklin was a ______ by trade. However, he was known for ___________ and _______.
Benjamin Franklin was a self-made man who was a printer by trade; however, he is also known for his involvement in public affairs and his passion for the natural sciences.
Franklin addresses his autobiography to his son, William. How many reasons does Franklin list for writing his autobiography?
Five Reasons 1. since he has always enjoyed anecdotes about his ancestors, he hopes his own life story will interest his son. 2. since he was a poor boy who found fame and fortune, he hopes his story will provide others with a good model to imitate. 3. since he can't relive his life as he would like to do, he will relive it through memories, and by recording the memories, make his life durable. Durable is an interesting word choice on the part of Franklin, but what he means is that he wants his life to be remembered. (Think of Columbus and John Smith who desired fame; compare to Hamlet's desire for Horatio to live on to tell his story.) 4. his writing will allow him to reminisce without boring any listeners. 5. His account will gratify his vanity.
What pattern characterized the relationship between Native Americans and Europeans from earliest settlement (Jamestown) until almost the turn of the 20th century?
Friendly contact followed by bloody conflict (ex. from our readings - Jamestown + King Philip's War)
Jonathan Edwards was part of a religious dynasty. Was does this mean? Review Edwards' biographical information to answer this question.
Grandson of the Reverend Soloman Stoddard of Northampton, Massachusetts, one of the most influential figures in the religious life of New England. In 1729, Solomon Stoddard died, and Edwards succeeded him in the Northampton pulpit
How was Equiano an Enlightenment thinker?
He demonstrates Enlightenment Era thinking and the language of the American Revolution: "I used plainly to tell him (the captain) my mind, and that I would die before I would be imposed upon as other Negroes were, and that to my life had lost its relish when liberty was gone." (Think, "Give me liberty or give me death! Patrick Henry, 1775) Incorporating the vocabulary and ideals of the Enlightenment - particularly the belief that sentiment linked all human beings and thus provided a basis for universal claims to human rights - Equiano made a powerful case for the countless disenfranchised and exploited workers whose labor fueled the new mercantilism.
We often think of kidnapping and human trafficking as modern problems. How does Equiano's narrative speak to this? What do you make of the fact that Equiano was taken as a slave in Africa?
He describes his abduction at age 11.
What does Equiano say about the importance of education and in particular, literacy?
He discusses the importance of being able to read and write yet again: "I thought of nothing but being freed, and working for myself, and thereby getting money to enable me to get a good education; for I always had a great desire to be able at least to read and write; and while I was on ship-board, I had endeavored to improve myself in both." He discusses how when he read the Bible he was able to see "the laws and rules of [his] own country written almost exactly." Equiano demonstrates an aptitude for language/linguistic talent: "I could now speak English tolerably well, and I perfectly understood every thing that was said." He stresses the importance of education and in particular, literacy: "I had long wished to be able to read and write; and for this purpose I took every opportunity to gain instruction." (This echoes Occom and is also important in Frederick Douglass' narrative.) Education: "Shortly after my arrival, he sent me to wait upon the Miss Guerins, who had treated me with much kindness when I was there before; and they sent me to school."
What does Franklin mean when he says that he wants to make his life more durable?
He means he wants his life to be remembered.
What do you make of the fact that although Equiano claims to have been born in Africa, he may have been born in the Carolinas?
Witness Narrative; - Equiano may have decided to assume an African heritage for his life story in order to provide the testimony of someone from a marginalized group who speaks in the first person for the entire group's history. In other words, he may have wanted to give a voice to the many voiceless Africans who endured the horrors of the middle passage. Identity; - Alternately, we may understand Equiano's narrative as reflective of the culture with which he identified. It is possible that he wanted to embrace an African heritage because he felt more connected to African culture and the African experience rather than life as a colonial slave. - Speaking to this is a line in Chapter II of Equiano's narrative: "for, whether the love of one's country be real or imaginary, or a lesson of reason, or an instinct to nature, I still look back with pleasure on the first scenes of my life."
What, specifically, were Edwards religious beliefs? How are his beliefs reflected in his "Personal Narrative"?
- Edwards was a Congregationalist Protestant theologian of Puritan heritage. - He was more interested in the emotional aspect of religion than the theoretical. Edwards believed that it was not enough to "be religious" - one must have a personal relationship with God. - In other words, he believed that one's greatness is not measured by the number of one's books or the originality of one's ideas. For Edwards, true greatness was measured by the degree of appreciation for the greatness of God. - Edwards placed an emphasis on personal Christianity, preaching the necessity of personal conversion and the possibility of knowing that one's sins were forgiven by God. - He wanted to transform his congregation from mere believers who understood the logic of Christian doctrine to converted Christians who were genuinely moved by the principles of their belief. - He believed that people must do more than comprehend religious ideas and instead be moved by them and come to know them experientially; his own "Personal Narrative" is intended to reflect a genuine Christian religious experience (a cycle of coming to and falling away from God that ultimately led to real Christian commitment).
Friendship Errata
- Letting John Collins take advantage of Vernon's money - Letting James Ralph take advantage of him financially - Making advances to Ralph's mistress - Friendship with Hugh Meredith As an overall review of Franklin's friendships discussed in The Autobiography [Part I], you might consider the similarities and differences between Franklin's relationships with Collins, Ralph, and Meredith.
Love Errata
- Making advances to Ralph's mistress - Ignoring Miss Read while in London
What does this say about the South and the education level of Southerners? Was Byrd a typical or atypical Southerner?
- Related to his father's reason for settlement, Byrd himself would have provided evidence that "a south" existed very early on. - Byrd exemplifies the idea that the drive for land ownership and production was the earliest identifying mark of the South. - Byrd had a passion for land, and before he died he parlayed the 26,000 acres left to him by his father into a vast holding of 179,000 acres. - The cities of Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, were created from Byrd's landholdings.
Career/Business/Financial Errata
- Taking advantage of his private indentures to his brother - Breaking into Vernon's money - Trusting Sir William Keith - Attacking Wollaston's Religion of Nature - Telling Samuel Keimer's worker that he is planning to start a paper - Partnering with the Merediths
Review Edwards' 10 Considerations. Do you understand what they mean?
1.) There is no lack of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any given moment. 2.) The Wicked deserve to be cast into hell. Divine justice does not prevent God from destroying the Wicked at any moment. 3.) The Wicked are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. 4.) The Wicked, on earth - at this very moment - suffer the torments of hell. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God that is expressed in the torments of hell. 5.) At any moment God shall permit him, Satan stands ready to fall upon the Wicked and seize them as his own. 6.) In the souls of wicked men there are hellish principles reigning that would kindle and flame out into hell fire, if it were not for God's restraints. 7.) It is no security to wicked men for one moment that there are no visible means of death at hand. 8.) Simply because it is natural to care for oneself or to think that others may care for them, men should not think themselves safe from God's wrath. 9.) All that wicked men may do to save themselves from Hell's pains shall afford them nothing if they continue to reject Christ. 10.) God has never promised to save us from Hell, except for those contained in Christ through the covenant of Grace.
How does this compare this to John Smith? How does Byrd's audience impact his writing?
Byrd was asked to accept a number of public commissions. In 1728 he accepted a commission to survey the much-disputed boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. The diary that he kept on his trip served as the sourcebook for his History of the Dividing Line. Although not published until 1841, Byrd's manuscript was circulated among his London friends and in its wealth of natural detail and Indian lore, it helped to satisfy London's curiosity for all things American.
Continuing our settlers for economic wealth/settlers for ideological purposes dichotomy, which category would Byrd's father have fallen in?
Byrd's father obviously would have fallen on the economic wealth side of this dichotomy (as has already been established is characteristic of Southern settlement).
What are the characteristics of the slave narrative? What other genres/works is Equiano's narrative connected to?
Characteristic: Any account of the life, or a major portion of the life, of a fugitive or former slave, either written or orally related by the slave himself or herself. Connections Captivity Literature - The Indian captivity narrative and the slave narrative both arose out of the violent facts of life in colonial and antebellum North America. - Captivity Narrative (Mary Rowlandson) - Additional Slave Narratives (Frederick Douglass; Harriet Jacobs) Native American Autobiographical Narratives (Samson Occom; William Apess) Conversion Narratives (Jonathan Edwards Personal Narrative (Concentrating on the spiritual conversion account in Chapter X of Equiano's work; this occurs after his emancipation)) Ben Franklin's Autobiography: Shares parallels with Equiano's narrative. Equiano, like Franklin, is an enterprising young man rising up in life and playing numerous roles that help to develop his character.
In what two ways did European settlers attempt to dominate Native Americans? What is ironic about one of these two strategies?
Territorial and religious (the second is ironic based on the fact that many English settlers came for religious freedom)
How does Edwards use Deuteronomy 32.35 "Their foot shall slide in due time" in his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"?
Edwards states that the scripture implies the following things as it relates to the punishment and destruction to which the Israelites were exposed: 1.) "They were always exposed to destruction." 2.) "They were always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction." 3.) "They are liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another." 4.) "That the reason why they are not fallen already, and do not fall now, is only that God's appointed time is not come." He then offers an overarching observation: "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God."
Provide examples of Edwards' use of imagery, figurative language, and archetypes.
Edwards uses imagery to paint a horrifying picture of eternal damnation for unsaved souls. His use of graphic words describing the horrors and torment awaiting sinners has a remarkable effect on his audience. Elsewhere, he uses imagery to give his congregation a mental picture of God holding sinners above the fiery pits of hell. Examples: "There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, not any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air" (p. 395). "[A]ll your righteousness, would have not more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a fallen rock" (p. 394). "There are black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads" (p. 396). "[T]he floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that holds the waters back" (p. 396). "If God should only withdraw His hand from the floodgate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury" (p. 396). Edwards uses figures of speech to compare abstract concepts of God's wrath and the sinner's evil to common experiences. Examples: Simile: "Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead" (p. 395). Simile: "Your destruction would come like a whirlwind" (p. 396). Simile: "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like fire" (p. 397). Metaphor: "Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God." Edwards also draws from archetypes (patterns, images, and character types that are common in stories and cultures around the world): The Archetypal Flood: "The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and might is its course when once it is let loose" (p. 396). The Archetypal Bow: "The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready of the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood" (p. 396). Consider Apollo and Artemis, Elisha and Joash.
What does Equiano have to say about language?
Equiano comments on language more than once in the narrative. In Ch. II, he notes that his first master and family speak the same language as him, although they are "a great many days' journey" from his father's house. He further comments on language in Chapter II when he states, "From the time I left my own nation, I always found somebody that understood me till I came to the sea coast. The languages of different nations did not totally differ, nor were they so copious as those of the Europeans, particularly the English. They were therefore, easily learned; and, while I was journeying thus through Africa, I acquired two or three different tongues."
How does Equiano describe the Middle Passage?
Equiano details the horrors of the Middle Passage: - Loathsome smells - Sickness and death - He explains that he is lucky to be so young because he is not chained, but he still begins to think that death would be preferable. - He describes the cruelty of tossing fish back into the sea: "One day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they had killed and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought fit, to our astonishment who were on deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat, as we expected, they tossed the remaining fish into the sea again, although we begged and prayed for some as well as we could, but in vain." - He explains that some slaves commit suicide, and some are flogged for "attempting to prefer death to slavery." - Ultimately, he is taken to the island of Barbadoes, and he describes being sold there. Upon arrival, he meets people of his country, and again, he comments on language: "And sure enough, soon after we were landed, there came to us Africans of all languages."
Note that Equiano's narrative states that it was "Written by Himself." Which other authors does this echo?
Equiano opens similarly to Ben Franklin, by stating his reasons for writing/expectations for the impact of his narrative.
Equiano's name is changed several times. What does this say about the way he is viewed by whites?
Pascal names him Gustavus Vassa -- he was called Michael on the voyage from Africa and Jacob on the Virginia plantation. He does not want to be called this but submits when he is cuffed.
What does the term "errata" mean? How does Franklin use the term in The Autobiography?
Printing errors. Talks about the mistakes he made
Which scripture does Edwards reference at the end of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"? How is it relevant to the sermon?
Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19) "[L]et everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation: Let everyone fly out of Sodom: 'Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed'" (p. 402). This is relevant because it encapsulates his urgency for his congregation to turn to God, repent, and never look back, lest they be lost to sin forever.
What was the Enlightenment? More specifically, what was the American Enlightenment?
The Enlightenment: An 18th century philosophical movement stressing the importance of reason and the critical reappraisal of existing ideas and social institutions. The movement advocated the use of reason and individualism instead of tradition and established doctrine and brought about many humanitarian reforms. The American Enlightenment: A term sometimes employed to describe the intellectual culture of the British North American colonies and the early United States (as they became known following the American Revolution). It was a part of a larger intellectual movement known as the Age of Enlightenment. - Influenced by the scientific revolution of the 17th century, the Enlightenment took scientific reasoning and applied it to human nature, society, and religion. Politically, the age is distinguished by an emphasis upon liberty, democracy, republicanism and religious tolerance - culminating in the drafting of the United States Declaration of Independence. - Attempts to reconcile science and religion resulted in a widespread rejection of prophecy, miracle, and revealed religion in preference for Deism - especially by Thomas Paine in "The Age of Reason" and by Thomas Jefferson in his short Jefferson Bible - from which all supernatural aspects were removed.
How did John Smith and William Byrd's portrayals of the South compare?
The South is portrayed as a great place where people don't have to work much. John Smith wants to make the new world seem really good: - Promotion - Wonderful/Delightful place - Come over and get rich - Not be restricted by class or monarchs - Materialistic gain - Not too hard to make money without effort William Byrd also gives a positive impression: - Wonderful Place - Lazy/Slothful People - Don't have to work hard - Make whiskey out of corn
Which of Franklin's reasons for writing The Autobiography relates specifically to the archetype of the self-made man? Why is this archetype important in American culture?
The concept of the self-made man is deeply rooted in the American Dream. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, is sometimes said to have created the concept of the self-made man. In his Autobiography, he describes his way from a poor, unknown son of a candle-maker to a very successful business man and highly acknowledged member of the American society. Franklin creates the archetype of someone coming from low origins, who, against all odds, breaks out of his inherited social position, climbs up the social ladder and creates a new identity for himself. Key factors in this rise from rags to riches are hard work and a solid moral foundation. Franklin also stresses the significance of education for self-improvement.
