Colonial Period Characteristics (1607—1765)

  1. The Puritans (North)
  2. Were English Protestants who struggled for years to make “the churches of God revert to their ancient purity and recover their primitive order, liberty and beauty” (William Bradford).
  3. Separatists wanted to break from the Church of England and were called Pilgrims.

Puritanism: Sin and Guilt 101

  1. Influences on Puritans and Pilgrims:
  2. Martin Luther—believed that men are essential wicked and God is all powerful.
  3. John Calvin—believed in predestination. Seeming conflicts of Calvinsim a.) believed in stability and order, yet b.) established the colonies as an act of dissent (able to do this because they believed man’s final responsibility was to God, not earthly authority). This is the origin of today’s dilemma: private conscience vs. laws.
  4. Total depravity: Through Adam’s fall, every human is born sinful. Original Sinand the consequent sinfulness of all mankind provides the stringent Puritan law.
  5. The doctrine of election: God would freely choose those He would save those He would damn eternally. No one knows if they are damned or saved. Puritans believed in the awesome power of God in whose hands rested everyone’s fate, both in life and eternity.
  6. Predestination: Only a few are selected for salvation.
  7. Limited atonement: Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone
  8. Irresistible Grace: God’s grace is freely given. It can not be earned or denied.
  9. Perseverance of the “Saints”: Those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God. This meant they freely told others how to live their lives.
  10. The Puritans believed in the heavenly virtue of hard, productive labor.
  1. The Planters (South)
  2. Had a concern for nature. Their climate differed from the North’s and affected the development of the South differently, including the type of settlements: plantations
  3. Had a concern for society. They were well-versed in the classics and in literature, which led them to be involved in early government and politics.
  4. Did not settle for religious reasons—brought over with them the Church of England (the Anglican Church).
  5. Did concern themselves, though, with formal codes of behavior—“Southern Gentlemen”/chivalry
  6. Interested in distraction and entertainment
  7. Differing Literatures
  8. Puritan literature has its emphasis on purification, plainness, and on their Divine Mission.
  9. Southern literature has its emphasis on nature, society and entertainment (first theatre was in Virginia.
  10. Reason the English settled permanently in America
  11. Tobacco crop in Virginia (South)
  12. America was an asylum—convicted criminals signed on with shipping companies to avoid hanging (South)
  13. Religious motives (North); wanted to plant a model of community of faithful in the new hemisphere.
  14. Americanisms—gold (business) god (religion) glory (individualism)

Roles of Writers

  1. Poet
  2. Oral poetry—Native Americans passed down stories and history orally
  3. Devotional poetry—written by colonists for worship
  4. Historians
  5. Journals tell us about life in young America
  6. Preacher
  7. Hymns and songs of praise
  8. Sermons—speech given for didactic purposes (instructional)
  9. Lawmaker
  10. Speeches helped shape American ideals and government (theocracy)
  11. Tracts—pamphlets; argumentative about a religious or political topic
  12. Autobiography
  13. Diaries and journals