Major Historical Events: Christopher Columbus genocides (1492), Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Len lands on the coast of Florida (1513), Congress Breaking Treaty with Native Americans (1871)

Major Authors / Works: ​​Tribes of Native Americans: Sioux & Arapaho
Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Dates: published in 1607 & set in 1607

Point of View: first Person

Themes:  oppression (political), white expansion, nature, didactic, animals, and (some may argue) race.

Connection: 
The Ghost Dance was a spiritual practice that was claimed to aid in the resurrection of the dead and to ensure that the Indians would live eternally singing,“You shall live” (Sioux 6). They wished for the white people who invaded them to leave them be. The song gave them hope. They were compelled to abandon their homes and move to a place unkown. The Native Americans sing, "a nation is coming, a nation is coming" (19), expressed in the songs are fear of white expansion and colonizers.

Major Historical Events:
The starving time (1610), Headright system (1618) Virginia became the first British colony (1607), The Great Awakaning (1730)

Major Authors / Works: Anne Bradstreet, Jonathan Edwards, John Winthrop

Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Dates: published in 1741 & set in 1730-1755

Point of View: second person

Themes: Puritanism, slaves, religion, sin, change

Connection: 
Only sinners will go to hell, according to the puritans, while those who went to church and obeyed God may go to heaven. In his sermon, Jonathan Edwards states, “Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment” (Edwards 2).The concept of the Great Awakening is closely connected because it believes people must have a deep connection with God to escape from Hell. Jonathan Edwards preached, “there is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God” (2), utilizing people's fear, illustrating that sinners would be forever burned.   

Major Authors / Works: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, and Benjamin Franklin. 

Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Point of View: third person

Themes: women's rights, equality, competition, natural rights, independence, religion

Connection: 

Women felt marginalized by society, had few rights, and had little influence on their life. The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton recognized and aspired for equality stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal” (Stanton 7), she emphasizes that both men and women are bestowed with rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness she declares, “He has made her, if married, civilly dead” (Stanton 8). A married woman loses her rights and the purpose of life is taken away from her, rendering her civilly dead.

Major Historical Events: 
Industrial revolution (1820), Frederick Douglas published his autobiography (1845), Congress declares war on Mexico (1846)

Major Authors / Works: John Greenleaf Whittier, Edgar Allen Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019. 

Dates: published in 1843 & set in 1830 

Point of View: first

Themes: horror, murder, sanity, anger, guilt, time, individualism

Connection:
Anger, according to Poe's story, can lead to disastrous decisions. Because the young man was enraged by the elderly man's eye, he killed him. He states,"But, the beating grew louder and louder..." (Poe 14). This demonstrates that the young man feels enraged and guilty over the death of the old man, but due to his rage toward the old man, he made the error of killing him, for which he is now responsible. He even says, "I loved the old man," (12). He had no grudge against the old man, which clearly illustrates that anger can make us crazy.

Major Historical Events: Philosophy of nature, Belief in a higher reality than achieved, Ralph Waldo Emerson publishes "Nature" (1836).

Major Authors / Works:  Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau

Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Dates: published in 1890 & setting in 1863

Point of View: first

Themes: wonders of nature, humanity, tranquility, mortality, the identity of the self

Connection:
"Because I couldn't stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson tells us of the journey towards death. The quote, “Because l couldn't stop for Death" (Dickinson line 1), explains the nonexistent fear of death since it was merely a part of nature. Death is depicted as a relaxing journey with a friendly visitor. It illustrates Immortality, rather than the human terror or religious reverence normally connected with death, stating, "We slowly drove-He knew no haste." This shows a level of comfort, or even the very acceptance, of death, and how all it is just part of nature and the cycle of life.

Major Historical Events with years:
Religious movements (1830), Abolition of Slavery (1845), Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass published (1845)

Major Authors / Works: Frederick Douglass, Henry Louis Gates, James Olney

Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Dates: published in 1845 & set in 1818-1845

Point of View: first person

Themes: loss of innocence, truth, justice, violence, unspeakable, slave life/familyhood

Connection:
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is based on the notion that disclosing the truth will lead to justice as Douglass states, “This is the penalty of telling the truth..” (Douglass 16). One of the main injustices of slavery was the consequences of and inability to communicate truthfully. He states, “I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.” (27) He would much rather be genuine to himself than abandon himself and his principles to conform to society’s expectations.

Major Historical Events: World War I (1914-1918), The Great Depression (1929-1939), World War II (1939-1945, America entered 1941), the Holocaust (1941-1945), Harlem Renaissance (1918-1937), airplanes (1903)

Major Authors / Works:  F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, Gertrude Stein
Citation: Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. 6th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.

Dates: published in 1925 & set in 1922

Point of View: first person

Themes: American dream, wealth, gossip, ignorance, immoral society 

Connection:
The Great Gatsby connects with the Great Depression by commenting on a wealth gap and foreshadowing the decline of society. Nick stated, “Americans…….have always been obstinate about being peasantry” (Fitzgerald 86). People are willing to do anything to uphold the power of wealth and the ability for upward mobility to not seem poor. Likewise, Gatsby is no different from those who helped fuel the Great Depression for he puts his wealth into parties all to attract Daisy. Gatsby states, “‘Her voice is full of money" (7). Gatsby himself uses his wealth all for the desire to obtain Daisy’s love.