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Native Americans 2200 B.C.-Tower of Babel, 2200 B.C. to 1600 A.D, 1670--Early settlement Jamestown

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Native Americans 2200 B.C.-Tower of Babel, 2200 B.C. to 1600 A.D, 1670--Early settlement Jamestown

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Characterristics:

1. Oral literature: epic narratives, creation myths, stories, poems, songs.

2. Use stories to teach moral lessons and convey practical information about the natural world.

3. Deep respect for nature and animals.

4. Cyclical worldview.

5. Figurative language/parallelism.

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Work was just handed down orally.

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Native American spoke more than 300 languages.

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Native Americans made many of the worlds most important crops.

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Puritanism and Early Settlement of First "American" colonies 1600-1800. Period Dates:

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Puritanism and Early Settlement of First "American" colonies 1600-1800. Period Dates:

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1507: Early Settlement of the first American colonies - Jamestown

1692: Salem Witch Trials

1741: Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

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Puritanism and Early Settlement  of First "American" colonies 

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Puritanism and Early Settlement  of First "American" colonies 

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Period Characteristics:

1. Wrote mostly diaries and histories, which expressed the connections between God and their everyday lives.
2. South to "purify" the Church of England by reforming to the simpler forms of worship and church organization described in the New Testament.
3. Saw religion as a personal, inner experience.
4. Believed in original sin and "elect" who would be saved.
5. Used a plain style of writing.

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Puritanism and Early Settlement  of First "American" colonies: Famous Authors and Works

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Puritanism and Early Settlement  of First "American" colonies: Famous Authors and Works

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William Bradford
-"Of Plymouth Plantation"

Anne Bradstreet (poetry)

John Edwards
-"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

Edward Taylor
-"Huswifery

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Puritans were English Protestants who searched to update the Church of England.

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They were the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Special Dates:

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Special Dates:

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1607 Early Settlement—Jamestown

1775-1783 Revolutionary War

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" 

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" 

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Period Characteristics:

1. Mostly comprised of philosophers, scientists, writing speeches and pamphlets

2. Human beings can arrive at truth (God's rules) by using deductive reasoning, rather than relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or intuition

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Famous Authors and Works: 

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Famous Authors and Works: 

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Benjamin Franklin
—Autobiography

Patrick Henry
—"Speech to the Virginia Convention"

Thomas Paine
—"The Crisis"

Phyllis Wheatley
—poetry

The Constitution

The Bill of Rights

The Declaration of Independence

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The Enlightenment drived independence movements in the America and inspired the French Revolution

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The movement fostered secularism and separation in the church and state, leading to a greater religious tolerance.

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment"

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment"

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Period Characteristics:

1. Mostly comprised of philosophers, scientists, writing speeches and pamphlets

2. Human beings can arrive at truth (God's rules) by using deductive reasoning, rather than relying on the authority of the past, on religious faith, or intuition

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Period Special Dates

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Period Special Dates

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1775-1783 Revolutionary War

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Famous Authors and Works:

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Rationalism "The Age of Reason" "The Enlightenment" Famous Authors and Works:

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Benjamin Franklin
—Autobiography

Patrick Henry
—"Speech to the Virginia Convention"

Thomas Paine
—"The Crisis"

Phyllis Wheatley
—poetry

The Constitution

The Bill of Rights

The Declaration of Independence

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The Enlightenment was not restricted to France.

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The Enlightenment gave us modern science.

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Period Special Dates

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Period Special Dates

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1840-1860
Transcendentalism

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1. Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul.

2. People can use their intuition to behold God's spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls.

3. Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and link conformity to tradition.

4. Important social and political movements include the Abolitionist, Utopian, and Women's Suffrage Movements

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Famous Authors and Works

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Famous Authors and Works

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Ralph Waldo Emerson
—Nature
—"Self-Reliance"

Henry David Thoreau
—Walden
—Life in the Woods

Louisa May Alcott
—Little Women

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Fun Fact #1

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Fun Fact #1

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This is also when women were protesting for more rights and equal rights as men.

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Fun Fact #2

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Transcendentalism "The American Renaissance" Fun Fact #2

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Emerson and Fuller worked together on the Dial, a magazine

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In 2020 a protest was going on called "Black Lives Matter."

Fun Fact: Half of adults in the US say that they support the BLM movement.

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In 2025, 12 states have banned abortion. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

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1800-1860
The War of 1812
1812-1815
California Gold Rush
1848-1855

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1. Valued feeling, intuition, idealism, and inductive reasoning.

2. Placed faith in inner experience and the power of the imagination.

3. Shunned the artificiality of civilization and sought unspoiled nature as a path to spirituality.

4. Championed individual freedom and the worth of the individual

5. Saw poetry as the highest expression of the imagination

6. Dark Romantics: used dark and supernatural themes/settings (Gothic style)

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Romanticism: Industrialization Famous Authors and Works

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Romanticism: Industrialization Famous Authors and Works

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Washington Irving
—"Rip van Winkle"

Emily Dickinson
—poetry

Walt Whitman
—Leaves of Grass

Edgar Allan Poe
—"The Raven"

Nathaniel Hawthorne
—The Scarlet Letter

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William Blake and Wordsworth make child labor and also the working classes do terrible things.

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Romanticism: Industrialization Fun Fact #2

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Romanticism: Industrialization Fun Fact #2

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The factories were changing and developing.

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He went to Dowdoin College with his classmates that were Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce.

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He added a 'w' to his last name to distance himself from his difficult family legacy.

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During this time many celebrities were banned from working due to ruining careers.

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McCarthy claimed he had a list of of 205 communist in the State Department.

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1. Robert Frost was a farmer in New Hampshire.

2. The State of Vermont named a mountain after him.

3. He suffered from depression like his mother and his father was an alcoholic.

Source:

https://www.historyhit.com/culture/facts-about-american-poet-robert-frost/

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3 Interesting Facts about Ralph Waldo Emerson

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3 Interesting Facts about Ralph Waldo Emerson

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1. Emerson lost his father at age 7

2. Emerson ran a school for girls

3. He named his daughter after his first wife

Source:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/literature/authors/facts-about-ralph-waldo-emerson

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Born in Boston in 1803, Ralph Waldo Emerson was a writer, lecturer, poet, and Transcendentalist thinker. Dubbed the "Sage of Concord," Emerson discussed his views on individualism and the divine in essays such as "Self-Reliance" and "Nature," and he emerged as one of the preeminent voices of his generation, both in his lifetime and in the annals of history.

1. HE LOST HIS FATHER AT AN EARLY AGE.

Emerson's father, Reverend William Emerson, was a prominent Boston resident who worked as a Unitarian minister. But he didn't focus solely on matters of God and religion. William Emerson also organized meetings of intellectuals, bringing together open-minded people from a variety of backgrounds to discuss philosophy, science, and books. Unfortunately, Emerson's father died of either stomach cancer or tuberculosis in 1811, when Emerson was just 7 years old. Emerson's mother, Ruth, and his aunts raised him and his five remaining siblings (a brother and sister had previously died young).

2. HE WAS HARVARD'S CLASS POET.

After studying at the Boston Latin School (which is now the oldest school in the U.S.), Emerson began college at 14, a common occurrence at the time. At Harvard College, he learned Latin, Greek, geometry, physics, history, and philosophy. In 1821, after four years of studying there, Emerson agreed to write and deliver a poem for Harvard's Class Day (then called Valedictorian Day), a pre-graduation event. Was he the best poet in the class? Not exactly. The faculty asked a few other students to be Class Poet, but they turned down the post, so Emerson got the gig.

3. HE RAN A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS.

After graduating from Harvard, Emerson went home to teach young women. His older brother, William, ran a school for girls in their mother's Boston home, and Emerson helped him teach students. Later, when William left to study in Germany, Emerson ran the school himself. He reportedly disliked teaching, though, so he moved on to plan B: grad school.

4. THEN HE SWITCHED GEARS AND BECAME A MINISTER.

In 1825, Emerson enrolled at Harvard Divinity School. He decided to become a minister, following in his father's (and grandfather's) footsteps. Despite struggling with vision problems and failing to graduate from his program, Emerson became licensed to preach in 1826. He then worked at a Unitarian church in Boston.

5. HE WAS FRIENDS WITH NAPOLEON BONAPARTE'S NEPHEW.

In late 1826, Emerson wasn't feeling well. He suffered from tuberculosis, joint pain, and vision problems, so he followed medical advice and went south for a warmer climate near the ocean. After spending time in Charleston, South Carolina, Emerson headed to St. Augustine, Florida, where he preached and wrote poetry. He also met and befriended Prince Achille Murat, the nephew of the former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, who had renounced his European titles (though his father had already been overthrown) and immigrated to the United States. Murat was also a writer, and the two young men reportedly discussed religion, politics, and philosophy.

6. HIS YOUNG WIFE DIED OF TUBERCULOSIS.

When Emerson was 26, he married 18-year-old Ellen Louisa Tucker. The newlyweds lived happily in Boston, but Tucker was suffering from tuberculosis. Emerson's mother helped take care of her son's ailing wife, but in 1831, less than two years after getting married, Ellen passed away. Emerson dealt with his grief by writing in his journals ("Will the eye that was closed on Tuesday ever beam again in the fullness of love on me? Shall I ever be able to connect the face of outward nature, the mists of the morn, the star of eve, the flowers and all poetry with the heart and life of an enchanting friend? No. There is one birth and baptism and one first love and the affections cannot keep their youth any more than men."), traveling, and visiting her grave. The next year, after an extended period of soul-searching, he decided to leave the ministry to become a secular thinker.

7. HE GAVE MORE THAN 1500 LECTURES, WHICH MADE HIM RICH.

A 1846 portrait of Emerson, from friend Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's personal collection. | midnightdreary, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

In 1833, Emerson turned his love of writing into a career as a frequent lecturer. He traveled around New England reading his essays and speaking to audiences about his views on nature, the role of religion, and his travels. In 1838, Emerson gave one of his most famous talks, a commencement speech to graduating students of the Harvard Divinity School. His " Divinity School Address" was radical and controversial at the time, since he expressed his Transcendentalist views of individual power over religious doctrine. He also argued that Jesus Christ was not God, a heretical idea at the time. In cities such as Boston, he paid his own money to rent a hall and advertise his speaking event. Emerson packaged some of his lectures into a series, speaking on a certain theme for several events. Ticket sales were high, and the "Sage of Concord" was able to support his family and buy land thanks to his lectures.

8. HE CRITICIZED JANE AUSTEN'S WRITING.

Although many readers love Jane Austen's novels, Emerson was not a fan. In his notebooks (published posthumously), he criticized her characters' single-minded focus on marriage in Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. He also called Austen's writing vulgar in tone and sterile in creativity. "I am at a loss to understand why people hold Miss Austen's novels at so high a rate," he wrote. "Never was life so pinched and so narrow ... Suicide is more respectable."

9. HE NAMED HIS DAUGHTER AFTER HIS FIRST WIFE.

In 1835, Emerson married Lydia Jackson (nickname: Lidian), an abolitionist and animal rights activist. The couple had four children-Waldo, Ellen, Edith, and Edward-and they named their first daughter Ellen Tucker to honor Emerson's first wife. Besides naming his daughter after her, Emerson also kept his first wife's rocking chair to remind himself of his love for her.

10. HE GREATLY INFLUENCED HENRY DAVID THOREAU.

No biography of writer and thinker Henry David Thoreau would be complete without mentioning Emerson's impact on the "Civil Disobedience" essayist. Emerson gave Thoreau housing and money, encouraged him to keep a journal, and let him have land to build a cabin on Walden Pond. The two friends often discussed Transcendentalism, and Thoreau thought of Emerson's wife Lidian as a sister. Although they had some intellectual disagreements, Emerson gave the eulogy at Thoreau's 1862 funeral.

11. LOUISA MAY ALCOTT HAD A CRUSH ON HIM.

Emerson was friends and neighbors with Amos Bronson Alcott, the father of the Little Women author. Louisa May Alcott grew up surrounded by Emerson, Thoreau, and other Transcendentalist thinkers, and their works greatly influenced her. Emerson lent her books from his library and taught her about the joys of nature. She apparently wrote about her crushes on the much-older Emerson and Thoreau in one of her earliest works, a novel called Moods, and she was known to leave wildflowers near the front door of Emerson's house.

12. MEETING ABRAHAM LINCOLN CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT THE PRESIDENT.

Emerson wrote and lectured about the evils of slavery, and he frequently criticized President Lincoln for not doing enough to end it. In 1862, Emerson gave an anti-slavery lecture in Washington, D.C., and was invited to the White House to meet Lincoln. After the meeting, Emerson praised Lincoln's charisma and storytelling ability ("When he has made his remark, he looks up at you with a great satisfaction, and shows all his white teeth, and laughs"), saying that the president "impressed me more favorably than I had hoped." Emerson also called Lincoln a sincere, well-meaning man with a boyish cheerfulness and clarity in speech.

13. HE PRAISED WALT WHITMAN WHEN FEW OTHERS WOULD, BUT FELT BURNED WHEN WHITMAN PUBLISHED HIS PRIVATE LETTERS.

Emerson's letter to Walt Whitman, dated 21 July, 1855: "I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of 'Leaves of Grass.' I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." | U.S. Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

After reading one of Emerson's poems, Walt Whitman felt inspired. In 1855, he self-published Leaves of Grass and sent a copy to Emerson. The controversial collection of poems by the unknown poet got horrible reviews-it was routinely called obscene and profane, and one critic called it "a mass of stupid filth." Sales were dismal. But Emerson read the book and wrote a laudatory letter to Whitman, calling the work a "wonderful gift" and "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."

Thanks to Emerson's encouragement, Whitman published a second edition of Leaves of Grass. However, Whitman printed Emerson's words on the book's spine and in a newspaper article. Emerson was reportedly surprised and annoyed that his private letter was made public without his permission, and he remained silent on his thoughts regarding Whitman from then on.

14. HE SUFFERED FROM MEMORY PROBLEMS LATE IN LIFE.

In the early 1870s, Emerson began forgetting things. Given his symptoms, most historians think Emerson suffered from Alzheimer's, aphasia, or dementia. Although he had difficulty recalling certain words, he continued to lecture until a few years before his death. Despite forgetting his own name and the names of his friends, Emerson reportedly kept a positive attitude towards his declining mental faculties (much as his first wife did while she was dying of tuberculosis).

15. HE HELPED DESIGN THE CEMETERY HE'S BURIED IN.

When Emerson died of pneumonia in 1882, he was buried on "Author's Ridge" in Concord's Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (not the same Sleepy Hollow as in the famed Washington Irving story)-a cemetery that was designed with Emerson's Transcendentalist, nature-loving aesthetics in mind. In 1855, as a member of the Concord Cemetery Committee, Emerson gave the dedication at the opening of the cemetery, calling it a "garden of the living" that would be a peaceful place for both visitors and permanent residents. " Author's Ridge" became a burial ground for many of the most famous American authors who called Concord home-Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and, of course, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

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Emerson emerged as one of the preeminent voices of his generation, both in his lifetime and in the annals of history.

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3 Interesting Facts about Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

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3 Interesting Facts about Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

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1. He never had any biological children

2. Dr. Seuss worked in advertising before becoming a children's author

3. He wrote "Green Eggs and Ham" on a bet

Source: https://www.smallstridespreschool.com/new-blog/8-fun-facts-about-dr-seuss-for-national-reading-month