Quarter 1 Final Flashcards
List 5 Ben Franklin Aphorisms
- There is no gains without pains.
- God gives all things to industry.
- Meanness is the parent to insolence.
- He that lives upon hope will die fasting.
- Hunger never saw bad bread.
Deism
- Valued progress
- America is advancing from barbarism to civilization
- Did not rely on the Bible for their assumption that there was a God, just by looking at creation
- Humans are inherently good (no original sin)
- God as a clock maker; everything can be explained through reason
- Tabula rasa (blank slate), man is born with a empty mind upon which life is inscribed
- Famous deists: Alexander Pope, Ben Franklin, George Washington, James Madison, John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Voltaire, etc.
“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,/The proper study of mankind is man.”
Alexander Pope
Ben Franklin
- Perfect example of a man of the Enlightenment, self-educated, public-spirited, speculative of the world, and optimistic about religion.
- a secularized puritan who asked questions involving ethics, self-discipline, and public service.
- Major work: Poor Richard’s Almanac
William Bradford
- an original Dutch Pilgrim
- wrote in “plaine” to tell the “simple truth,” this was an account of the actions of “the new Israelites”
- writes what is known as a “Jeremiad”–a puritan writing based on the bible’s prophetic books where they call for a return to earlier–more holy–times.
John Winthrop
- Puritan
- Governor of the Mass. Bay Colony
- Wrote “A Model of Christian Charity”
- This work served as a manifesto for the Puritan people covering politics, economics, and religion. It also contained a warning and spoke of the covenant they had entered with God.
- “A city upon a hill,” refers to the Israelites in Exodus, Winthrop says that if they fail they may die and would have shamed God.
Henry VIII
- denounced Catholicism
- made the church of England to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon (children included Bloody Mary who returned England to Catholicism and Henry who died)
- second wife, Anne Boleyn (children included Elizabeth, future queen of England, protestant; and Edward who died)
“What is an American”
Hector St John de Crevecoeur:
- Highly nationalistic praise of America post revolution
- speaks of america as a melting pot
- industrious people
“A model of christian charity”
John Winthrop:
- describes how to be a good christian
- explains the necessity of a rich and poor population, rich must be generous to the poor
- excessive wealth = bad
- serves as a warning to puritans to maintain a good society and be a city upon a hill
- the joys and comforts of predestination
“Of Plymouth Plantation”
William Bradford:
- describes life in Plymouth
- relationship with natives, natives = beasts, puritans = heroes protected by Gods will
- divine providence
- writes in plaine style
- called for a return to the earlier more pure times
“Poor Richard’s Almanac, Autobiography Pt. 2, and the Way to Wealth”
Ben Franklin:
- stole wise sayings about everyday life and the importance of not staying idle and being industrious
- describes his life and his goal to better himself by listing 13 important virtues and working on one a day
- describes the way to wealth as being industrious, hardworking, not sloth, and rising early and waking early
- frugality
- self-discipline
- independence
- the importance of religion for shaping society
- indsutry
“Empire of Liberty”
Gordon Wood (Famous historian):
- Describes the desire by Enlightenment thinkers of revolution era America for a unique cultural development within the country that would surpass Europe’s
- This never really happened but it showed the extreme nationalism of the era centered around the liberties awarded to the people and the enlightenment ideals that surrounded the new republic
- Federalism goes against Enlightenment
- Describes the negative effects of Paine’s attacks on Christianity (no support for French Rev., Enlightenment, and Republican ideals in general).
“On the Religion of Nature”
Freneau:
- Religion should be discovered through nature
- Anti-puritan views, nature is good; nurture is bad–no original sin
“Age of Reason”
Thomas Paine:
- A critical review of Scripture
- Compares christian stories to Greek and Roman mythology
- he attacked the church (catholic) for being corrupt
- said that “special revelations” were false
- supported his deist beliefs
- and explained the importance of reason
- pro-french (really all countries or peoples that advocated for revolution from a tyrannical government/monarchy)
- one of the foremost republican thinkers of the time
- supported neoclassicism, public virtue, a balanced government, and virtuous citizenship.
“A General History of Virginia”
John Smith:
- Smith’s experience with native Americans
- describes them as welcoming despite being treated badly by the Europeans
- captured by natives but was released because he explained how the earth works (cultivation?)
- initiated into tribe and saved by Pocohantus
- had to acquire 2 guns to be accepted as Powhatan’s son
- more divine providence/active hand of God crap
“The Faiths of the Founding Fathers”
David Holmes:
- describes the religious culture of the Enlightenment era in America
- describes well known orthodox Christians such as Sam Adams
- also talks about Deists such as Ben Franklin
“Religion and my views on it”
Thomas Jefferson:
- Deist
- “Question religion”
Puritan theology
covenant: puritans thought they had a covenant with God and that they were the “new IsraeliteS,” they also believed in American Exceptional-ism
- the elect had good grace with God, destined to go to heaven
- predestination, a central ideal of Calvinism, states that your destiny is predetermined by God
The Scarlet Letter
Major Characters:
-Hester, the “heroine,” has a child with rev. dimmesdale and wears the letter A on her chest as a reminder and burden of her adultery
-Rev. Dimmesdale: Young, attractive reverend that is very popular (a rock star in the puritan society), has a child with Hester but never confesses. He lashes, starves, and exhausts himself as self-punishment, grows very sickly, dies after giving a speech to the people and confessing his sin
-Chillingworth: the mysterious elderly husband of Hester, arrives in Boston finding out that Hester has a child with another man then takes it upon himself to get close to Dimmesdale and further is torment as his private physician. Succumbs to his own jealousy and hatred and end lives a sad life passing away just a year after Dimmesdale
Pearl: Daughter of Dimmesdale and Hester, serves as a physical embodiment of the scarlet letter, a constant reminder of Hester’s sin, ends up living a good life with an unknown man
Governor Bellingham: wealthy Englishmen that takes to Dimmesdale
Mistress Hibbins: sister of Bellingham and the town witch, believed to have involvement with the “black man” or the devil
Rev Wilson: elderly father in Boston, has different teachings than Dimmesdale (hell fire and harsh punishment), classic embodiment of a puritan
“The Wordy Shipmates”
Sarah Vowell:
- A detailed examination of John Winthrop and the puritan society
- describes puritan beliefs and divine providence
