American history exam
Student details
Puritanism era
This was an era which was characterized by the many England colonists coming to the new world which was the current united states of America. According to William Bradford they came in peace and all their wish was to clear the England church of the catholic doctrines, rituals and practices. The major issue with the church of England as viewed by most of the puritans was the issue of not being fully away from the catholic church (Bradford, 12). William Bradford states that in the new world the colonists hoped that they will be able to fully separate themselves from the catholic church and be a free church of God based on the way of life of Christ and the bible. The puritans majorly followed the teachings of carl Luther who was a Swiss reformist. William wrote a manuscript and he is considered one of the great authors of the puritan period. His manuscript was named “of the Plymouth”. Most people knew the book as The History of Plymouth Plantation. It was an account of the happenings of the mayflower and the journey from England, Netherlands and even to the new world (Bradford, 11). It is a detailed book and it is one of the first books of history in America. William writes that the reason he wrote the book was so that the future generations of the pilgrims might appreciate the efforts and the sacrifices made by their forefathers and live to follow them (Bradford, 13). The book was written between 1630 and 1651 and it is a 270 pages book.
The other author who was of importance when it came to the life of the puritans was Edward Taylor. He produced different writings but he mas majorly a poet. The poetry of this period reflected the major ways of life the people them used to live (Stanford 139). There were three main principles when it came to puritanism and these were simple life, humbleness, and faith in God. These reflected the exact virtues taught in the bible and in the following of the examples of Jesus whom they were following. Some of his poems included Our Insufficiency to Praise G-d Suitably for His Mercy, housewife, upon a spider catching a fly among others (Stanford 137). For example, in his housewife, he writes a poem through which he tells God that he wants to be a better person pleasing to him and the only way for that to be possible was by making sure that he lived a simple life. He tells God that he should take away from him all material possessions and clothe him in his glory thus through this he could live a simple life pleasing to God. The other poems also express important issues and majorly the values of this time period and the society at that particular time.
The Great Awakening Era
Benjamin franklin was one of the major authors during the American enlightenment. The American enlightenment came after the major enlightenment which happened in the Europe. Franklin was an important American inventor, scientist and printer. He owned a printing site and he printed different newspapers and other reading materials which he set in 1728. He wrote the book named Poor Richard and it was one of the most influential books and items towards the American revolution or age of reason (Beeman, 146). This is because it encouraged the colonists and basically every person who was an American to do their best and work hard for the success of America and the making of America great. This book was loved by so many people that the average sales were ten thousand copies annually. Noy only was this book important, what was more important was the influence his printing had on the American revolution (Beeman, 149). He believed that access to information was a very powerful tool towards making a people better and therefore his writing and his printing contributed to the American revolution in a great way.
Jonathan Edwards was another important person and author during the period of the great awakening in the United States. He was a minister of the church in Northampton and due to the scientific way of living a lot of people had forgotten how they were supposed to work around their lives with God (Jenson). Most of the people were relying on science and they had become weak when it came to issues of the church. Jonathan revived the spirit of the people through his preaching and writings of books like the sinners in the hands of the angry god whereby he states that people were sinning and God was angry and therefore they needed to get back to their old way of life.
Romanticism
Ralph Emerson was born in Boston and he was a great influence during the period of American romanticism and specifically during the period of American transcendentalism. He was a lecturer, poet and essayist and he led the American transcendentalism (Emerson). He gave lectures and he published them in form of essays. He later got to tell the American writers that they should follow their own style and they should not just follow whatever that was being done by the other people in the other parts of the world (Emerson). Therefore, he encourages a lot of writers and indeed they stopped following what was being done by other writes or the writing styles of the other writers but began their won style of writing as Americans. Transcendentalists believed that God was known and that human beings could be more than just body but they could be better people and good people.
Hawthorne is another example of romanticism era writers and he writes in such a way that the romanticism era is well presented. In his writing my kinsman we can clearly see that this era consists of expression of emotions in the clearest way possible and that people are allowed to express what they feel not based on how society expects them but rather how they feel they should be like. Robin is the main character of the story and this evolves around making sure that the major issues which he faces are expressed and not hidden as it had been the norm with most people.
Abolitionism
Fredrick Douglass was one of the most influential people when it came to the issue of slavery. He was a black man who managed to escape slavery and for this to happen it was not easy. After he escaped slavery he later wrote about his experiences as a slave and this serves as one of the most important tools to people understanding slavery and thus very important. Therefore, his biography is an important information about the issue of slavery and how it was back then.
Peninnah Wheatley was a poet and she writes about slavery. Her book Poems on Various Subjects is important information and tool towards understanding poetry as she was an African who was sold to slavery and she experienced it in real life this means that she can understand what it was and through her poems, she expresses what her life was about and what she felt and what was done to them (Landry 120). Her writings are an important part of understanding this period and the whole issue of poetry.
Works cited
Bradford, W.. Of Plymouth plantation. American Literature Survey/W. Bradford//Ed. by Milton R. Stern, (1962): 11-33.
Stanford, Donald E. “The Earliest Poems of Edward Taylor.” American Literature 32.2 (1960): 136-151.
Beeman, Richard R. “Benjamin Franklin and the American Enlightenment.” The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. 145-149.
Jenson, Robert W. America’s Theologian: A Recommendation of Jonathan Edwards. Oxford University Press on Demand, 1988.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The transcendentalist. Alex Catalogue, 2000.
Landry, Donna. The Muses of Resistance: Laboring-Class Women’s Poetry in Britain, 1739-1796. Cambridge University Press, 1990.
