The American Indians and Their The American Indians and Their European CounterpartsEuropean Counterparts

•In the early 1800’s European settlers and American Indians began trading among themselves on the various harbors and rivers of North America.

•In earlier years American Indian out numbered the Europeans by 70,000 to 100,000, which is more than Europe’s population within the next two centuries

InterdependenceInterdependence

The American Indians taught the Europeans:The American Indians taught the Europeans: -Make canoes -Make canoes -Build shelters-Build shelters -Make buckskin clothes-Make buckskin clothes -Plant new cropsiI -Plant new cropsiI

In return, the Europeans gave the American Indians:In return, the Europeans gave the American Indians: -firearms -firearms

-textiles-textiles -steel tools-steel tools

Immunity becomes a struggleImmunity becomes a struggle The Europeans also brought The Europeans also brought

along with them diseases that along with them diseases that the American Indians had no the American Indians had no knowledge of.knowledge of.

This also meant that the This also meant that the American Indians were not American Indians were not immune to the diseases.immune to the diseases.

Smallpox was one of the major Smallpox was one of the major epidemics the Europeans epidemics the Europeans exposed to them.exposed to them.

Smallpox alone would at times Smallpox alone would at times kill off entire village kill off entire village populations.populations.

Victory and lossVictory and loss

Few American Indians survived Few American Indians survived the horrors of smallpox. That was the horrors of smallpox. That was their victory.their victory.

Their European counter parts Their European counter parts survived because they were survived because they were immune.immune.

The American Indians then The American Indians then suffered loss by being forced to suffered loss by being forced to leave settlements.leave settlements.

Explorers’ Writings

The first detailed European observation of life on this vast continent were recorded in Spanish and French by explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Christopher Columbus, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, were the famous explorers of the “New World”.

Cabeza de Vaca’s Expedition

Was the second explorer after Christopher Columbus.

Searched for 8 years to find other Europeans to help them get home.

Provides first accounts of new animals and plants.

The Salem Witchcraft Trials

During the cold winter of 1691-1692 the daughter of the minister in Salem began to dabble in magic.In the next ten months about 150 people were accused of witchcraft.Between June and September 19 people were hanged, and one man, Giles Corey, who had refused to plead either innocent or guilty, was crushed to death under a pile of stones.

Puritan Legacy

Puritan is a broad term, referring to a number of Protestant groups that, beginning about 1560s, sought to “purify” the Church of England, which since the time of Henry VIII.Many Puritans suffered persecution in England.English Protestants, set sail in 1620 and hoped to build a new society patterned after God’s word.

Encounters and Foundations to 1800

Explorers’ Writings

Cabeza de Vaca’s Expedition

The Salem Witchcraft Trials

The Puritan Legacy

Puritan BeliefsPuritan Beliefs

♦♦The certainty was that because of Adam and The certainty was that because of Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience, most of humanity would be Eve’s sin of disobedience, most of humanity would be damned for all eternity. However, the Puritans were also damned for all eternity. However, the Puritans were also certain that God in his mercy had sent his son Jesus Christ certain that God in his mercy had sent his son Jesus Christ to earth to save particular people.to earth to save particular people.

♦♦The doubt centered on whether a particular The doubt centered on whether a particular individual was one of the saved or one of the damned.individual was one of the saved or one of the damned.

♥♥The Puritans had to grapple with The Puritans had to grapple with complex uncertainties. At the center of complex uncertainties. At the center of Puritan theology was an uneasy mixture of Puritan theology was an uneasy mixture of certainty and doubt.certainty and doubt.

Puritan Beliefs: ContinuedPuritan Beliefs: Continued

• How did you know if you were saved or damned? As it turns out you did not know.

• A theology that was so clear-uncut in its division of termining which were which.

• There were two principal indications were saved by the grace of God, and you could feel this grace arriving in an intensely emotional fashion.

• After receiving grace, you were “reborn” as a member of the community of saints, and you behaved like a saint.

• This was coincidentally, the ideal qualities needed to carve out a new society in a strange land.

Puritan Politics: Government by Puritan Politics: Government by ContractContract

Puritan view a covenant, or contract, or contract, existed between God and humanity. This spiritual covenant was a useful model for worldly social organization as well: Puritans believed that people should enter freely into agreements concerning their government.

On the other hand, because the Puritans believed the saintly elect should exert great influence on government, their political views tended to be undemocratic. There was little room for compromise.

The Bible in AmericaThe Bible in America

• The Puritans read the Bible as the story of the creation, fall, wanderings, and rescue of the human race. Within this long and complex narrative, each Puritan could see connections to events in his or her own life or to events in the life as a pilgrimage, or journey, to salvation.

• The Puritans believed that the Bible was the literal word of God. Reading the Bible was a necessity for all Puritans, as was the ability to understand theological debates.

• Their beliefs required to Puritans to keep a close watch on both their spiritual and their public lives. This focus of the Puritan mind greatly affected their writings.

The Age of Reason: Tinkerers and The Age of Reason: Tinkerers and ExperimentersExperimenters

The Age of reason began in Europe with the philosophers and scientist of the 17th and 18th centuries who called themselves rationalists.

Rationalism- is the belief that human beings can arrive at truth by using reason , rather than by relying on the authority of the past , on religious faith, or on intuition.

Sir Isaac Newton formulated the laws of gravity and motion, compared god to a clockmaker.

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.htmlwww.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html

The Age of Reason: Tinkerers The Age of Reason: Tinkerers and Experimenters (cont.)and Experimenters (cont.)

According to the According to the rationalists, then, rationalists, then, everyone has the capacity everyone has the capacity to regulate and improve to regulate and improve his or her own life.his or her own life.

From the earliest colonial From the earliest colonial days Americans had to be days Americans had to be generalists and generalists and tinkerers ; they had to tinkerers ; they had to make do with what was make do with what was on hand , and they had to on hand , and they had to achieve results.achieve results.

The Smallpox PlagueThe Smallpox Plague

The unlikely hero of The unlikely hero of the Americas first the Americas first foray into scientific foray into scientific exploration was the exploration was the strict Puritan strict Puritan minister Cotton minister Cotton Mather.Mather.

An unlikely cure And a practical An unlikely cure And a practical approach to change.approach to change.

Smallpox was Smallpox was cured by a Turkish cured by a Turkish physician the physician the

Method was called Method was called inoculation.inoculation.

Mather succeeded in Mather succeeded in inoculating 300 inoculating 300 people.people.

An unlikely cure And a practical An unlikely cure And a practical approach to change cont.approach to change cont.

The smallpox controversy illustrates The smallpox controversy illustrates two interesting points about two interesting points about

American life.American life. First it shows that contradictory First it shows that contradictory

qualities of the American character qualities of the American character existed side by side. Mather’s existed side by side. Mather’s experiment also reveals that a experiment also reveals that a practical approach to social change practical approach to social change and scientific research was necessary and scientific research was necessary in america.in america.

Deism: Are people basically Deism: Are people basically good?good?

Like the Puritans the rationalist discovered God through the medium of the natural world, but in a different way.

It seemed much more reasonable to believe that God had made it possible for all people at all times to discover the natural laws through their God-given power of reason.

This outlook was called deism, it was shared by many eighteenth-century thinkers, including many founders of the American nation.

Since they all came from different religious backgrounds they wouldn’t support specific religious groups. Instead they sought the principles of united groups.

Deist believed that the universe was orderly and good. In contrast to the Puritans they stressed humanity’s goodness.

Therefore to them the best form of worship was to do good for others. There already existed in America an impulse to improve people’s lives such as Cotton Mather’s struggle to save Boston from smallpox illustrates. Deism elevated this impulse to one of the nation’s highest goals.

The arguments presented in the Declaration of Independence are based on rationalist assumptions about the relations between people, God, and natural law.

Most of the literature written Most of the literature written in the American Colonies in the American Colonies during the Age of Reason during the Age of Reason was, understandably was, understandably rooted in reality. rooted in reality.

Following the Revolutionary Following the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the War (1775-1783), the problems of organizing problems of organizing and governing the new and governing the new nation were of the highest nation were of the highest importance.importance.

The unquestioned masterpiece of the American Age of Reason is the Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin used the autobiography narrative, a form common in Puritan writing and omitted its religious justification.

It is still found in the countless biographies and autobiographies of self-made men and women that appear on the best sellers lists today.