•    Idea of the Romantic movement, idea of the identity of America
•    Started after the Revolutionary War, a new country
•    Introduced by WRB Lewis
•    America is Eden before the downfall. America is innocent with no history like that of Europe.
•    Everything begins with Adam, he is new and uncorrupted by Western civilization.
•    Typology: stories in the bible will actually occur in real life, a Puritan train of thought
•    An example of Cultural entrepreneurship
•    Sig. at that time: separates us from England
•    Sig. now: because we still feel that we are new and unique

•    Nightmare: those who had to suffer for those who achieved the American dream, slaves and natives
•    One’s prosperity depends upon one’s abilitly and hard work, not on a rigid class structure
•    For some it is the opportunity to achieve more prosperity in their home countries
•    Sig. then: you could come from another country and possibly make it big
•    Sig. now: the idea still exists and a lot of people still try to achieve it.

•    America is an exceptional society… civilization has led up to the point of the creation of America.
•    City on the Hill… America is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy… mentioned in Mark. Stories read in the Bible can be seen in real life in America. TYPOLOGY
•    Typology: Exodus… Moses leads people to the chosen land. People were led to America… chosen land… God loves America.
•    Greeks, Romans lived to create America.
•    Ideology: the story we like to tell ourselves about ourselves.
•    Sig. then: People thought we were an exceptional country… different from any other country that exists
•    Sig. now: Same reasons… we still think we are separate from the other countries of the world.

•    Jeffersonian (Republic) Agrarianism
•    Supported by Jefferson and Lee

• Confederation of states, weak central gov't

•    Vision of majority of people being farmers.
•    Wanted a Weak central gov’t; the government cannot be trusted
•    Took the Medieval view on the nature of man—man is bad! Selfish, greedy, cannot make sound decisions
•    Wanted a Bill of Rights written into the Constitution (gives gov’t less power)
•    Believe that the government abuses power.
•    Humans are driven by emotions… thus we must write our rights down.
•    Thought that a strong central gov’t would eventually turn into a monarchy
•    Sig. then: wanted a bill of rights (which now exists), wanted to make America an agrarian society as a whole… influenced thoughts in writing documents
•    Sig. Now: we still have the bill of rights… and that affects a lot of big decisions

•    First 10 amendments to the Constitution, gov’t cannot violate these things
•    Something that the Anti-federalists wanted
•    Exists to protect individual rights, limits the federal gov’t
•    Drafted by James Madison
•    Jefferson saw it as a way of protecting the press, freedom of religion, protection from the army. Ensured trial by jury of peers.
•    There are a lot of problems. It is very unclear although the writers meant it to be clear and decisive.
•    Sig. then: A strong point fought over between two political parties, divided America.
•    Sig. now:  we still use it to make many important court decisions. Many Americans define their freedom through the Bill of Rights

•    A type of narrative unique to America… civilization encounters savagery, a dramatization of the interaction between civilization and savagery… happens because people travel west
•    Follows patterns!
o        Separation, initiation, return
o        Good civ. Shattered by evil wilderness
o        Flight and suffering, redemptive return
•    Justifies the extermination of natives. (whites are good, Natives/nature = bad )
•    Mary Rowlandson: Puritan, saw her kidnapping as a test of her faith.  God will save her ass.
•    Typology: Quotes Genesis: When she left she wanted to look back like Lot’s wife
•    Second most popular book in colonial America after the Bible
•    Metacomet’s story…
•    Sig. then: Allows people to have a reason to dislike the Natives, strengthens faith in God, entertainment
•    Sig. Now: Shows how Puritans thought, gives us a glimpse at that time in hsitory

•    The supreme law of the land. Provides the framework for the organization of the US gov’t
•    Outlines the three main branches of the gov’t
•    Has been amended 27 times
o    Contains the Bill of Rights

•    Created in Carson City 1864
•    The only way Nevada could establish statehood was by banning slavery
•    Known as the Miss. of the west,  very racist

•    People who tried to determine what kind of country America was
•    Crevecouer: America is an Agrarian nation, melting pot
•    Webster: America is a commercial country
•    WRB Lewis: American Adam, clean slate
•    American Adam
•    Benjamin Franklin: ideal American
•    Sig. then: Shows diversity of the new country, trying to establish a national identity
•    Sig. now: We have come to realize that America is very diverse. It is okay to different. Everyone still has their own definition of self.

•    Known as the most powerful African voice… ANGRY, FIERCE
•    Orator and author, very good at these two things
•    Wrote “A Fugitive Slave Narrative”
•    He was AWESOME at writing this kind of narrative because he was self-educated.
o    He could really write and all sorts of people could appreciate his writing. ( nearly 6000 people wrote stories )
•    Rags to riches to story
•    Didactic literature: not only to teach a moral lesson but to appeal to the emotion to establish a moral sympathy which will lead to a politica/social change
•    Abolitionists used slave narrative to help convince people to stop drinking
•    Sig then: encouraged abolitionist views, proponent to ending slavery, a lot of people read about the horrors of slavery.
•    Sig. now: Shows that slavery is still negative. Reminds how bad the life of a slave truly is (westernization).

•    The idea of the Enlightement was to make peoples’ lives better
•    Originated in Europe—came to America as an experiement
•    A lot of doctrines written were influenced by the ideas
o    Jefferson— while writing the constitution was influenced by Locke
o    Benjamin Franklin—Known as the American philosophe… identity of what an American is
•    Order, harmony, balance—
•    Deism/clockmaker
•    Progress, decency of man, democratic politics, optimism, hope
•    Ideology…
•    Humanistic morality, personal life
•    Science will make us happy
•    Sig. then: The enlightenment completely changed the world, made people think differently. Ideas of Englightenment were what forced America to get going. Nothing to stop the experiment
•    Sig. now: we value technology and innovations still, basis of our country. We still believe in all these ideas. We are still part of the great experiment.

•    Washington, Adams, Madison
•    Opposed the Anti-federalist
•    Did not want the Constitution, individual rights have nothing to do with the Constitution. Constitution was its own bill of rights
•    Supported a strong central gov’t…
•    Have faith in humanity—Enlightenment idea
•    Sig. then: shows division between Americans upon ideas
•    Sig. now: there are still multiple groups, challenge eachother… shows a pattern in history where different ideas or groups are shown to have more power.  

•    Considered by many to be the first true American… He did many things for this country… establishing a university, signed and contributed to all basic revolutionary events/documents
•    Author of his own autobiography and the Poor Richard’s Almanac—selling himself to America (cultural entrepreneurship)
•    Criticized for being a hypocrite ( has a lot of sex, but says that sex should only be done purposefully )
o    Demonstrated that he got pleasure out of materialistic things.
•    Rags to riches story, self made man.  Rich and famous through a lot of hard work.
•    Money is the only way to demonstrate success
•    Englightened man—used science and reason. Tech= happiness
•    Fame in science
•    Sig. then: Defined what an American is, set an impossible for example

•    Different from any other genre
•    Fugitive 18th century stories started in Africa, 19th century started in America—Makes people wonder where they came from. We have a white last name. Confusion over identity
•    Didactic literature: not only to teach a moral lesson but to appeal to the emotion to establish a moral sympathy which will lead to a politica/social change
•    Frederick Douglass
•    Unique to American literature
•    Sig then: demonstrate horrors in dehumanization, show that it is possible to overcome our circumstances with violence
•    Sig. now: We still understand that slavery is bad (Westernization), not to revert to a way of life where people are horrible to each other.

•    Jefferson had a dream to make America an agrarian society, different from the oceanic tradition
•    Farmers are the real people of America, no coorilation with this to reality
•    Agriculture should be backbone of our country’s anatomy
•    Agriculture leads to self dependence.
•    Believed that farmers could till their own land and depend on themselves
•    Relates to Locke’s idea of property—that working one’s own land leads to self dependence which leads to liberty
•    Sig then: part of the idea of manifest destiny, reaffirms some ideas of enlighentment PROGRESSION
•    Sig now: Why we have expanded to the FRONTIER(land)

•    English philosopher, Enlightenment thinker.
•    Said to express basic American ideas
•    Men are naturally free, equal, independent
•    Men’s labor transforms land into property, liberty gained by sustaining oneself.
•    Anti-taxes… taxes can exist if the gov’t represents correctly.
•    Power comes from those that are governed… have the right to change an unjust gov’t.
•    The government exists to protect property.
•    Significance to American, then and now:  Contributed to much of the political though of a young America. One of his ideas, life, liberty, property, is used in the Declaration of Independence, but slightly changed… also idea that all men are created equal.
•    Sig now: Many people believe we are still the city on the hill

•    A native of London that wrote the pamphlet Common Sense

•    Arguments included:
o    Reconciliation is impossible because of Britain’s abuse
o    England fought for its own benefit
o    Island v. continent argument was very persuasive (we are a lot bigger than them!)
•    Context to America: Common sense was one of the main reasons we went to war… it convinced many people that war was necessary. Basically told people we wanted to be an independent country

•    A group led by John Winthrop
•    Dissenting Protestants wanted to purify the Church of England
•    Against sex that was not involved in marriage
•    Group came to America believing that God had wanted them to create a model American community
•    The city on the hill, book of Matthew
•    Thought the world was gonna end soon, Wars with natives were part of an apocalyptic war
•    Believed that their time in America was a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. TYPOLOGY
•    Application: a lot of people still think that this country is special, that we are a model country, that other people want to be like us!
•    Mary Rowlandson, captivity tales’
•    Roman Catholicism was bad and pope was the antichrist
•    Piety and industry: hand in hand

•    Part of the idea that mothers serve as a teachers of their sons… sons who eventually become leaders of the Republic
o    Teach morals and civic virtue
•    Women are natural teachers and moralists
o    Different from previous theory on women…. Women used to be sexual, scandalous creatures.
•    Broad relevance: the role of women is changing. Women are taking more active role in their households.
•    Significance then: women were increasingly more influential in their homes and within the community. They played a big part in abolitionism.
o    Started temperance movement
o    Reformed religion
o    Stopped mail on Sundays
o    Established reform in America… led to Progressive movement.
•    Significance now: Women are nearly equal with men… we are allowed to vote and we get similar salaries. Women are allowed to go out into the community.

•    A set of ideas that originated in England that are applied in many American ideas and documents
•    Ideas for the Constitution come from English documents like the Magna Carta and the Toleration Act
•    Also limited monarchy by Parliament and natural rights
•    Protection from the gov’t… Reason why the
•    Shows that American ideas were not that original… a lot of ideas were developed from England. We borrowed a lot of ideas from other groups.

•    The role of women is ever changing in America.
•    Women were once symbolized as a sex symbol, exist to distract men… Pocahontas
•    Women of the middle class began to change roles…
o    Started out as producer, made things in the home ( the domestic factory)… woman was a junior partner in that business
o    While men were fighting the Revolutionary War, women given new responsibilities… take care of the bizz… and they were able to… developed new expectations
o    Women eventually considered to be the teacher within the home. Mothers of the MALE leaders of the Republic. Responsible for teaching morality.
o    Women then seen as a consumer, spend money or the home. (Home no longer has an economic function).
•    Women expected to bring cheer and comfort to the household
•    Make men be good
•    Women as religious figures, alliances with priests
o    Eventually, women bring about social reform especially in the abolitionist movement.
•    Significance now: Women are nearly equal with men… we are allowed to vote and we get similar salaries. Women are allowed to go out into the community.

•    The 3 A’s explain what really happened to the woman named called Pocahontas. There are many stories written by different men that describe what happened to Pocahontas.
o    John Davis
o    John Smith
•    Acculturation, assimilation, assassination
o    Serve as a blue print for assimilation for all native Americans. Many people believed this was the right thing to do.
•    Acculturation: P’s real name was Matoaka, after being married to John Rolfe, her name is changed to Rebecca Rolfe.
•    Assimilation: She moves to England with John Rolfe, and she is famous there. She assumes the western lifestyle.
•    Assassination: She dies—randomly from a fever.
o    Applies to the story of Pocahontas
•    Significance now: a lot of people don’t know the true story of Pocahontas because it has been misconstrued by many authors. Also Disney, has contributed their own way of telling the story.
•    Significance then: Pocahontas was a celebrity… There were many stories about her that went around. Her story was archetype that came out of America.
•    Her submission shows that nature can be conquered.