Clash of Cultures
- 1490 American Indians lived all over North America
- Aztec empire was largest in 15th century
- Most North American groups had thousands of people
- Descendants of Native Americans are still here
Puritan Dominance
- Moral, ethical, religion impacted American culture
- Puritans arrive in 1620 at Cape Cod
- 1640 20,000 English Puritans were in the New America
- Puritan religion and commerce were intertwined
Rise of Rationalism and Independence
- Rationalism resulted in the Declaration of Independence
- A group of philosophers and scientists called themselves American Rationalists
- Rationalists believed in discovering the truth by relying on their own reasoning
- Their idea inspired 18th Century American life
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- United States is a land of immigrants
- Europeans were not the first explorers
- Columbus did not discover a New World; he made contact between two worlds
Forming New Relationships
- Europeans and American Indians traded with one another
- American Indians taught Europeans how to survive in a new land
- American Indians wanted guns, textiles, and steel tools
Battling New Diseases
- American Indians had not been exposed to disease such as smallpox
- They had no immunity to European diseases; entire villages died
- American Indians that survived were forced from their land
Explorers’ Writing
- French and Spanish explorers wrote details about North America
- They wrote letters, books, and journal about the New World
- Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish explorer, went exploring, got lost. Wandered and explored in what is now Florida for 8 years taking notes on the new land
- He and his shipmates were captive and other times they were companions to Native Americans
Salem Witch Trials
- A woman began dabbling in magic. Some girls were diagnosed as victims of malicious witchcraft
- Ministers believed New England was a holy place since the devil was interested in it
- 150 people were accused of witchcraft. 19 were hung.
- One was crushed with a pile of stones
- The Salem Witch Trials were the subject of a play “The Crucible”
The Puritan Legacy
- Puritans began in England
- Original Puritans were Protestants who wanted to purify the Church of England
- They wanted a simple religious experience; they did not believe that clergy or government should dictate how individuals related to God
Puritan Beliefs: Sinners All?
- They believed Adam and Eve’s disobedience had doomed most people to hell
- God sent Jesus to save some people from this fate
- They spent much time examining their lives for signs of saving grace.
- They practiced discipline and hard work-the qualities needed for building a society
Puritan Politics: Government by Contract
- They believed God and mankind were bound by a covenant or contract
- They believed that people should make similar agreements among themselves
- The compact made on the Mayflower worked much like the American Constitution someday would
- They believed that people who were saved should govern and protect the community from evil. It led to the Salem Witch Trials.
The Bible in America
- The Bible was the literal word of God
- They valued education. Harvard College was founded as a school for ministers
- Puritans’ beliefs required them to keep a close watch on their spirtual lives
The Age of Reason: Thinkers and Experimenters
- Certain thinks known as rationalists believed humans could use reason to find truth
- Puritans saw God as active in human affairs
- Rationalists saw God as creating the universe, then left it to run on its own
- Americans had to be experimenters; they had to make do with what they had.
The Smallpox Plague
- April 1721, a ship from the West Indies docked in Boston carrying smallpox. It spread rapidly and killed its victims
- C otton Mathers, a scientist, knew of a way to deal with smallpox. Inoculation had been developed in Turkey
- Doctors opposed inoculation because it was developed by a Muslim
- Mathers inoculated 300 people, only 6 died. Inoculation worked.
Deism: Are People Basically Good?
- Rationalists believed that all people could discover God’s natural laws
- Deists believed people as basically good
- They believed people could use reason to perfect themselves and society
- Deism made concern for the common good one of the nation’s highest goals
Self-Made Americans
- Benjamin Franklin’s, The Autobiography, was a masterpiece of the American Age of Reason.
- Franklin’s work was not religious
- It told the story of a self-made American. It became the model for classic American literature
