American Narrative Tradition

Collection 2 Literary Focus

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

Tales of Life in North America

Travel Narratives

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.

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American Narrative Tradition

Travel Narratives1

Few accounts of these grueling journeys survive.

During the sixteenth century, Spain sent several expeditions to conquer and colonize North America.

American Narrative Tradition

In La Relación, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca provides an exciting, firsthand account of the first European experiences in North America.

One important surviving account, first published in 1542, was originally a report to the Spanish king.

American Narrative Tradition

Tales of Life in North America2

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

Captivity Stories3

Slave Narratives4

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.

American Narrative Tradition

Captivity Stories3

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

Slave Narratives4

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.

Ask Yourself

1. Name four types of early American narratives.

2. What are slave narratives, and how did they serve the abolitionist cause?

American Narrative Tradition

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Political Writing

Collection 3 Literary Focus

The Power of Reason

Political Writing

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

The rationalist movement marked the beginning of the Age of Reason in Europe in the seventeenth century.

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

Political Writing

The rationalists were not non-believers.

rationalists believed that God created the natural world and its laws.

rationalists thought the universe operated without divine intervention.

Like the Puritans…

Unlike the Puritans…

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

Political Writing

Early American leaders spread their ideas by publishing their words and distributing them to the Colonists.

Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense, published in 1776, is considered by many to be the most important written work justifying independence.

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Political Writing

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.

Paine applied both rationalist thought and deist principles to his arguments in favor of revolution.

Founding a New Nation

Political Writing

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:

“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.

The Granger Collection, New York

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

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?

Political Writing

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