REVOLUTIONARY WAR LITERATURE UNIT PHILOSOPHY OF REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD

REVOLUTIONARY WAR LITERATURE UNIT

PHILOSOPHY OF REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD • RATIONALISM AND DEISM – AGE OF REASON: (ENLIGHTENMENT) BEGAN IN EUROPE IN 1600 S • RATIONALISM: BELIEF THAT HUMAN BEINGS CAN ARRIVE AT TRUTH (SPIRITUAL AND SCIENTIFIC) THROUGH REASON AND LOGIC, NOT FAITH – BELIEFS WERE OPPOSED TO THOSE OF PURITANS

PHILOSOPHY OF REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD • DEISM: A religious perspective that believed God would reveal himself to humanity through human use of reason and logic. Believers came from all types of religious affiliations – Deists believe that the Creator (God) exists, but once the universe was set in motion, God retreats and lets the laws of Nature take their course. – Deists do NOT believe that God revealed himself through religious texts like the Bible, Torah, or Qur’an—while they respect these books, they do NOT believe they are the word of GOD, just perspectives of other flawed men. • GENERALLY SPEAKING, THEY WERE FORWARD THINKERS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

PHILOSOPHY OF REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD • MAJOR BELIEFS OF RATIONALISTS AND DEISTS – UNIVERSE IS ORDERLY AND GOOD – HUMANITY IS INHERENTLY GOOD – PERFECTABILITY OF HUMANS is possible THROUGH the use of REASON and logic • BEST FORM OF WORSHIP: DO GOOD FOR OTHERS— ROOTS OF SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEM • HUMAN HISTORY IS MARKED BY PROGRESS TOWARD A MORE PERFECT EXISTENCE – GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE, BUT HE DOESN’T CONTROL YOUR DESTINY

MAJOR INFLUENCES ON AMERICAN RATIONALISTS AND DEISTS • SIR ISAAC NEWTON: BRITISH RATIONALIST AND SCIENTIST • JOHN LOCKE: BRITISH PHILOSOPHER—FIRST TO CLAIM THAT ALL MEN HAD “INALIENABLE RIGHTS – HEAVILY INFLUENCED JEFFERSON

Famous American Deists • Presidents – – George Washington James Madison John Quincy Adams Thomas Jefferson • Statesmen and Revolutionaries – – Benjamin Franklin Ethan Allen Thomas Paine Patrick Henry

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 1706 -1790 • ONE OF 17 CHILDREN— WHOA! • BY AGE 24—OWNED HIS OWN PRINT SHOP AND NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED THE ACADEMY OF PENNSYLVANIA (UPENN) • FOUNDED THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY • FOUNDED THE FIRST PUBLIC LIBRARY

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN • SCIENTIST AND INVENTOR – RESEARCH INTO ELECTRICITY – OPEN HEATING STOVE – BIFOCAL GLASSES – HARMONICA – ROCKING CHAIR THAT SWATTED FLIES

BEN FRANKLIN • POLITICIAN AND STATESMAN – REPRESENTATIVE TO ENGLAND FOR PA ASSEMBLY IN 1750 S AND 1760 S – REPRESENTATIVE TO FRANCE FOR AMERICA DURING REVOLUTIONARY WAR – MEMBER OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION – FIRST US POSTMASTER – FIRST SECRETARY OF STATE

Literary Focus • Autobiography – Offers insights into Franklin’s life as a “self made man” • Become archetype for American belief in re-inventing oneself. • TABLE WORK – After sharing your responses to the excerpt, “On Moral Perfection”, discuss the 13 virtues Franklin chose to master on his quest for moral perfection… • Which ones seem unnecessary to your group? Why? • Now look at #10 from the homework—you chose 10 virtues to master, but that still seems like a lot. Narrow the list down to 7 and compare with your group. • If your group were attempting moral perfection, what 7 virtues from Franklin’s list would you choose? Why? • Order your group’s 7 virtues like Franklin did—mastery of the first virtue makes it easier to master the next, and so on…explain your reasoning • TURN IN YOUR GROUP’S LIST OF VIRTUES AND EXPLANATIONS BY THE END OF THE MOD.

BEN FRANKLIN • Poor Richard’s Almanac – Yearly publication for 25 years – Calculated tides, moon phases, weather forecasts, crop guidelines • Also offered recipes, jokes, astrology, and “bits of wisdom” – Aphorism: a short, witty statement that reveals a truth about human nature; has both literal meaning and metaphorical meaning – Introduced two ARCHETYPICAL characters to readers • ARCHETYPE: an original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are just copies • “Poor” Richard Saunders—henpecked husband archetype • Bridget Saunders—the nagging wife; the shrew – Modern husband/wife characters who fit this description? • Everybody Loves Raymond Roseanne • Friends (M&C) Malcolm in the Middle Big Bang Theory – Became first situational comedy • BF is the father of the American Sitcom!

Patrick Henry • Recognized as most persuasive orator of the Rev. War Period – Effective persuasion appeals to both reason/logic and emotion • Reason/logic (Logos) – Uses facts, statistics, and examples • Emotion (Pathos) – Uses words, images and anecdotes to arouse the reader/listener’s feelings, hopes and beliefs • Ethics (Ethos) – Uses the speaker/writer’s personal credibility as an expert to influence the audience

Patrick Henry • Influenced by the oratory style of Puritan preachers of the Great Awakening • Chosen as a representative to the House of Burgess (VA) at 29 – Stamp Act Speech 1765 – “Give Me Liberty…” Speech to VA Convention 1775 • Speech was impromptu after several speeches urged the people to compromise • Outcome: persuaded delegates to arm the militias

Patrick Henry’s Speech the Va. Convention • Literary Analysis – Rhetorical questions: questions that are asked that are not meant to be answered because the answer should be obvious • Used to emphasize a point or create emotional effect – Allusion: a reference to something that is widely known or understood in history, literature, the Bible, mythology, etc.

Thomas Jefferson • Renaissance Man (a man with talents in many areas) – – – Lawmaker: 3 rd POTUS, Writer: author of Virginia’s laws on religious freedom and the Dec. of Ind. Scientist and Farmer: accomplishments in botany and agriculture Architect: designed and built Monticello and UVA Inventor: plow, early copy machine, dumbwaiter • Contradictory Nature – Was a radical revolutionary and wrote Dec. of Ind. but did not fight in the War. – Spoke out frequently against slavery, but owned slaves all his life (freed upon his death) and fathered many children with one of his slaves after his wife’s death. – Very wealthy Southern landowner, but forgot to pay debts and championed the rights of small farmers and average citizen

Thomas Jefferson and The Declaration of Independence • Four parts to the Dec. of Ind. – Preamble (foreword) • Announces the reason for the document – A declaration of the people’s natural rights and relationship to the gov’t – A long list of complaints against the King of England (Geo. III) – A conclusion that formally states America’s independence

Thomas Jefferson and The Declaration of Independence • Literary Devices – Parallelism or Parallel structure • When a writer or speaker uses similar grammatical forms or sentence patterns to express ideas of equal importance – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” » Liberty and death are of equal importance based on how the sentence is structured.

Thomas Paine • Most persuasive WRITER of the Rev. War Period – Wrote “Common Sense” pamphlet • 47 page document published in January of 1776 – Denounced King George and supported American Independence • Returned to Europe after Rev. War—continued involvement in radical politics – Wrote The Rights of Man—called for British overthrow of royalty – Final work, The Age of Reason, laid out the principles of Deism

Thomas Paine • Style: the distinctive way a writer uses language – Determined by sentence structure, diction, figurative language, and imagery • Paine mixes direct, common speech with expressions that are sharpened by dramatic rhetorical and literary techniques – Lit. techniques used by Paine » Analogy: a comparison between two things to show they are alike » Anecdote: a brief story, used to illustrate a point or to serve as an example