American Literature with Mr.

Brennan: Unit 2

UNIT 2:
American Enlightenment and Rationalism: 1750 to 1800
U N I T O V E R V I E W


Primary Assessment: In a minimum of 750 words, analyze and evaluate the virtues and values that emerged during the American
Revolution as foundational to American identity.


Essential Questions for Class Discussion:

How are competing values (i.e., freedom/authority, spiritual/material, individual/community) reflected in colonial literature?

How did rationalist thought influence the early American experience? What did rationalists consider good for the community? What
are implications for individuals? What forces undermine rationalism? Is disobedience to authority just? If so, under what
circumstances? What forces are required to hold a nation or people together? What is required in becoming an ideal nation?

What was the significance of having a peoples believing that one can arrive at truth by using reason rather than relying on the
authority of the past, on religion, or on intuition have on American society?

How does the American Enlightenment mark a radical shift from the Puritan perception that man was irrational and basically corrupt,
to one in which man is rational and fundamentally good?

How do the writers of the American Enlightenment reflect the literary form and function of rationalism? How did rationalist thought
influence the early American experience?

How does the Deist concept of God contrast with the traditional Puritan view, and how did it influence American culture?

How does the "auto-American-biography" enable writers to construct themselves as ideal American citizens?

How does the works of Benjamin Franklin reflect the emergence of a new type of American hero?

What is an American? How did writers challenge and expand the definition of who should be considered an American?

What makes a good argument? How can the application of various rhetorical devices enhance a messages effectiveness?


Unit Literature
Year Author Text Genre Pages
2005 anonymous A Nation is Born Non-Fiction 3
1791 Benjamin Franklin The Autobiography Autobiography 5
1733-1758 Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack Almanac 1
1758 Benjamin Franklin The Way to Wealth Self-Improvement 2.5
1733 Benjamin Franklin On Literary Style Literary Criticism 1.5
1776 Thomas Jefferson The Declaration of Independence Non-Fiction 1.5
1769 Thomas Jefferson Fugitive Slave Advertisement Advertisement 0.5
1776 Thomas Paine The Crisis, Number I Non-Fiction 1.5
1775 Patrick Henry Speech in the Virginia Convention Speech 1.5
1787 Benjamin Franklin Speech in the Convention Speech 1
1773 Phillis Wheatley Poems on Various Subjects Poetry 2
1800 Abigail Adams Letter to Her Daughter Letter 1
1782 Michel G. J. de Crvecoeur Letters from an American Farmer Non-Fiction 1.5
1782 Benjamin Franklin To Those Who Would Remove to America Non-Fiction 1
1784 Benjamin Franklin Remarks Concerning the Savages of N. America Non-Fiction 1.5
1789 Olaudah Equiano The Interesting Narrative . . . Slave Narrative 2


American Literature with Mr. Brennan: Unit 2
RATIONALISTIC BELIEFS

Natural Goodness: a human is born without taint or sin; the
concept of tabula rasa or blank slate.

Universal Benevolence: the attitude of kindness towards everyone.

Perfectibility: it is possible to improve ones situations of birth,
economy, society, and religion.

Utopianism: aiming for a state in which everything is perfect,
especially in laws, government, and social conditions

Rationalism: believing opinions and actions should be based on
reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or
emotional response; also that reason rather than experience
is the foundation of certainty in knowledge

Flaws of Outdated Social Institutions: religious, social,
economic, and political institutions, which have not
modernized, force individuals into unacceptable behavior.

Deism: belief that God as an absentee landlord or a blind
watchmaker who created the universe, "wound it up" and
then disassociated himself from his creation. Most believe:
* God does not intervene in human affairs.
* one cannot access God through any organized religion.
* God has not selected a chosen people.
* the world operates by natural and self-sustaining laws.
* practical morality can be derived from reason without the
need to appeal to religious revelation and church dogma.


HISTORICAL CHARACTERISTICS, and
the Forces Undermining Puritanism

* ones natural desire to do good (works against predestination)
* dislike of a "closed" life
* presence of the leaders of dissent (A. Hutchinson, R. Williams)
* theocracy suffered from a lack of flexibility
* dev. of rational religion (use mind over Bible to know God)
* change in political conditions (Mass. became a Crown colony)
* dawn of liberalism: freedom from restraint
* resentment of the power of the few over many
* age of revolutions in America and in France (1789)
* scientific curiosity and experimentation
* change in economic conditions (growth of fishery, farms, etc.)
* economic concept of laissez-faire
* presence of the frontier (self-reliance, individualism, optimism)
* growth in nationalism
* growth in materialism
* age of the gifted amateur, and rise of the self-made man
* belief in progressivism
* cosmopolitanism of the new immigrants


LITERARY FORM and FUNCTION

During the Age of Reason, logic and discipline prevailed in the
writing of the time. Because attention of the nation was focused
on the events surrounding the Revolution, the literature was
mostly political. There was some personal writing such as poetry
and letters, but mostly writing was publicpamphlets, speeches,
and other documentsadvocating and supporting a break with
England. Public writers offered sound, clear arguments in
support of the causes. Personal writings, too, showed the
reasoning process.
KEY TERMS

Aphorism: a brief saying embodying a general truth

Lai s s e z- Fai re : French, meaning let [them] do, referring to an
economic environment free of governmental involvement

Logic: a way of thinking that is based on valid reasoning
(i.e., inductive, abductive, and deductive)

Materialism: a tendency to consider material possessions and
physical comfort as more important than spiritual values

Nationalism: an ideology that involves an individual identifying
with, or becoming attached to, one's nation; national pride

Progressivism: a broad political philosophy based on the idea
of progress, which asserts that advances in science,
technology, economic development, and social organization
can improve the human condition.

Tabul a Ras a: Latin, meaning blank slate, referring to the
human mind, esp. at birth, viewed as having no innate ideas


LITERARY TERMS

Allusion: a reference designed to call something to mind without
mentioning it explicitly

Connotation: an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to
its literal or primary meaning

Denotation: the literal or primary meaning of a word (i.e. definition)

Personification: attributing human qualities to something nonhuman

Objective: judgment not influenced by personal feelings or opinions

Rhetoric: language designed to have a persuasive effect

* Logos: rhetorical device, appealing to logic or reasoning

* Pathos: rhetorical device, appealing to passion or emotion

* Ethos: rhetorical device, reference speakers ethics or character

Rhetorical Device: technique designed to have a persuasive effect

* Concession: acknowledgement of opposing arguments

* Restatement: repeating an idea in a variety of ways

* Repetition: restating an idea using the same words

* Parallelism: repeating grammatical structure

* Rhetorical Question: questions with self-evident answers

Style: the ways that the author describes events, objects, and ideas
(e.g. use of word choice, sentence structure, figurative language,
sentence arrangement to establish mood, images, and meaning)

Subjective: judgment influenced by personal feelings or opinions

Tone: the general attitude of a piece of writing (e.g. sarcastic, hopeful)