The year 1620 marked the beginning of a new nation. Regardless of where they lived, the early colonists seemed to have one thing in common a tough, rugged individualism characterized by an independent nature and a desire for self-government Emigrants from England set forth across the Atlantic Ocean, on the Mayflower, embarked on their quest for better life. The Pilgrims founded the Plymouth colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts in December of that year. Fear and danger masked their hopes and dreams while conquering obstacles such as starvation, disease, and harsh winters. Despite the fatalities at sea, the unexpected dangers of the new land killed nearly half of the original crew.
However, she did not forget where she came from or those less fortunate than herself. Wheatley used the education she was afforded and her new-found spirituality to fight against slavery through the use of words (751). One of the greatest examples of this is her poem “To the University of Cambridge, in New England” addressed to perhaps the well-educated group of individuals in early America. Wheatley purposely does so to convey her assertion; regardless of your education or status, even the most educated in America, must view the teachings of the Bible in the highest respect. Though Wheatley’s education was far beneath the Harvard University students, she feels compelled to teach them about the importance of the Bible and living a life free from sin; the act of slavery in particular.
This was one of the initial steps of courage Truth portrayed in her courageous journey to assert her basic human rights. From this point on Truth was never afraid to challenge established power. In 1843, Truth began her long career as an activist and a traveling preacher speaking the truth about religion. In her speeches and sermons she fought for abolition of slavery and women's rights. After the Civil War she even tried to persuade the government to repay former enslaved Africans with free land.
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation.
These must be taken into consideration when assessing Walker’s success in delivering her theological message to her readers. Religion is an extremely broad term, in the context of ‘The Colour Purple, Walker’s idea of religion is church based Christianity in which God is presented through the bible as a white man. Although the church is placed in a black community, the teachings of the church are derived from the teachings of white people. Celie discovers throughout the novel that she, like Shug, can not find God in this kind of church that is based on patriarchal religion but searches for him elsewhere. Walker’s personal concept of spirituality is pantheism, the idea that God is in all living things within nature including people.
On March 31, 1776 Abigail wrote: " I long to hear that you have declared an independency- and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I would desire you would Remember the La... ... middle of paper ... ...ited First Parish Church. Abigail Adams left behind a legacy of strong federalist and strong feminist views. She used her position in life to try to better the lives of women everywhere. Mrs. Adams was one of the earliest feminists and will always influence every generation of American women. Bibliography: Bibliography Abigail Smith Adams.
Whitman was living during a time when it was possible to watch the growth and expansion of the American language, and to see the increasing distance between it and its British source (Allen 53). Whitman was most familiar with the 1847 edition of Webster’s Dictionary. He depended on this one as he developed his notions of language and as he wrote the first poems of Leaves of Grass. It is in this version of the dictionary that we most clearly find the definitions of words that would become keys for Whitman’s poetic projects (Folsom 14). For Whitman, in certain ways, American culture became a language experiment.
However, the role of Colonialism in the expansion of English is immensely noteworthy. In fact, writers like Gauri Viswanathan, Ania Loomba and others are of the opinion that the discipline of English literary studies was an invention of Colonial India. Viswanathan states that “English literature appeared as a subject in the curriculum of the colonies long before it was institutionalized in the home country” (Masks 3). She further points out that while England was still reigned by the study of classical literature, English “as the study of culture and not simply the study of language” (3) has already made its entry into British Indian curriculum. English was primarily introduced in the colony to serve the needs of the British administration; to educate a class of Indians who could function as “interpreters between the British administrators and the millions of Indians they governed”.
With the continuous evolvement of the English language, literary movements played a key role in the development of modern day literature. During the early 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a successful essayist and poet, founded one of these in movements known as Transcendentalism. With the creation of one of the most influential progression of literature in American history, Emerson, and fellow Transcendentalists helped develop American tenets. One of the most prominent concepts was the Oversoul. The Oversoul, an encompassing spirit that collected all the souls of the living and dead, allowed Transcendentalists to explain everyone’s ability to acquire greatness and to comprehend their teachings.
American Literature During the Colonial Period During the colonization of America, especially after the start of the Enlightenment movement in the late seventeenth century, science and religion were at a crossroads. On the scientific and rationalist side of the coin, you had philosophers and scientists such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet, Common Sense, was what inspired many in the colonies to push for revolution. You also have others like Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton. John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. All of these men, in a way, contributed to the political atmosphere and the way of thought at that time, and many still do today (Isaac Newton being the best example of that).