the revolutionary period 1750 - 1800
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The Revolutionary Period 1750 - 1800. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Yesterday, the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America; and a greater perhaps
never was, nor will be, decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting
colony, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free, and independent states.
John Adams
The Revolutionary Period 1750-1800
More than a decade of struggle to establish the new nation followed. During those years – indeed, during the entire second half of the eighteenth century - American literature was largely political.So dominant was the question of our relationship to England, and so talented and literate were the statesmen of the emerging nation, that some of the most notable writers of the period were the founders of the republic.
John Adams became the second President of the United States. The previous quote was written by him in a letter to his wife on the eve of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The signing of the Declaration on July 4, 1776, capped more than a decade of controversy between England and the American colonies.
It is easy to forget how long the 13 original states had been colonies.
By 1750 there were fourth and fifth generation Americans of European descent living in Virginia and New England.
THE HISTORICAL SETTING
Year by year, decade by decade, Americans acquired experience in the art of self-government.
As late as the early 1760’s, however, few Americans had given much thought to the prospect of independence
THE HISTORICAL SETTING
Between 1765 and 1775, the attitudes of the colonists changed dramatically…
King George III and parliament imposed a number of unwise regulations the threatened the liberties of the colonists.
With each succeeding measure, the outrage in America grew, finally erupting in war.
THE HISTORICAL SETTING
The 18th century is often characterized as the Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment.
This movement was spurred on by the work of 17th century scientists such as Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton
These writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment valued reason over faith
Unlike the Puritans, they had little interest in the hereafter, believing instead in the power of reason and science to further human progress.
The Age of Reason
They spoke of a social contract that forms the basis of democratic government…
Above all, they believed that people are by nature good, not evil. Among the most influential figures of the Enlightenment were
the French writer, Voltaire; the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau; the English political historian John Locke, and the Scottish historian David Hume
Educated readers in the American colonies were familiar with the writings of these men….
The Age of Reason
The American Revolution was preceded by the French and Indian War (a struggle between England and France over control of North America
When the French and Indian War officially ended in 1763, France gave up its claims to North American territory
Toward a Clash of Arms
The British government, wanting to raise revenue in the colonies to pay their war debt, make a series of unfortunate decisions which sets the stage for war….
Toward a Clash of Arms
The Stamp Act of 1765Required buying and
affixing stamps on 54 kinds of items:NewspapersPlaying cardsLegal documentsAlmanacs
Colonists responded by:Burning stampsBeating stamp
distributorsDestroying shops
No deaths > Act was repealed within 6 months
Toward a Clash of Arms
Townshend Acts 1767Taxed:
PaperPaintGlassLeadTea
Colonists boycotted British sent troops to
Boston “Boston Massacre”
“Redcoats” fired on a taunting mob, killing five people
Toward a Clash of Arms
Repealed all Townshend taxes except for teaTea Act (1773)
Gave a monopoly of the American tea trade to an English company
Bostonians (dressed as Mohawks) dumped a tea shipment into the Boston harbor – “The Boston Tea Party”
As punishment the Coercive Acts were imposed
Toward a Clash of Arms
Coercive Acts (1773-74)AKA: Intolerable ActsClosed port of Boston until the East India Tea Co. was
reimbursed for their shipment“Royal” governor took control of MA
Sheriffs and juries became “Royal” employeesBritish imposed the right to quarter (house) soldiers
anywhere This united the Colonists against the British
Colonial leaders met in Philadelphia for the first Continental Congress.
Toward a Clash of Arms
April 18, 1775Shots were fired in Lexington, Mass.
Eight Americans killedRedcoats continued to Concord, Mass.
Two Americans were killed Three Redcoats killed
“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”
The Revolutionary War 1775-1781
Key BattlesBattle of Bunker Hill –
killed or wounded 1,000+ British soldiers; the Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia and appoints the first official Commander in Chief of the American Army; this, of course, is George Washington
Battle of Saratoga – after this victory, France began to commit troops to the aid of the American cause…
The Revolutionary War 1775-1781
The war finally comes to an end at Yorktown, Virginia, on October 19, 1781General Cornwallis surrenders seeing that
escape is impossible
The Revolutionary War 1775-1781
Unlike the Puritans, writing during the Revolutionary period or “Age of Reason” was not focused on private soul- searching. Rather, it was public writing
The mind of the nation was on politics and so was the writing/rhetoric
The writing of permanent importance from the Revolutionary era is mostly political writing.
LITERATURE IN A TIME OF CRISIS
Patrick HenrySpeech against the Stamp
ActSpeech at the Virginia
ConventionExpressed ideas of
independence from BritainThomas Paine
Most influential“Common Sense” pamphlet
Jan. 1776Sold 100,000 copies in
three months
Politics as Literature
Thomas JeffersonDeclaration of
IndependenceThe Constitution
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John JayThe Federalist Letters to NY
newspapersLater published as
a collection of essays
Politics as Literature
America was beginning to separate itself culturally from England; however, there were still no notable American novels or plays
The modern short story still had not been invented
Sound, clear arguments in support of causes were considered the great literary works of the day
Most writing written work was in the form of:
PamphletsPolitical documentsSpeeches
Politics as Literature
During this period, America began to establish a cultural identity of its own…
Theaters were built from New York to Charleston…
A number of new colleges were established after the war…
The Cultural Scene
By the early 1800s… America could boast a small body of national literature
Native Americans had contributed haunting poetry and legends through their oral traditions
American Literature at Daybreak
The Puritans had written a number of powerful, inward-looking works…
The statesmen of the Revolutionary period produced political documents for the ages
American Literature at Daybreak
The raw materials for a great national literature were at hand, waiting to be used.
The nation stood on the threshold of a territorial and population explosion unique in the history of the world.
American Literature at Daybreak