REVOLUTIONARY WAR LITERATURE UNIT PHILOSOPHY OF REVOLUTIONARY

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 – You. Tube: What is Deism?

PHILOSOPHY OF REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD • DEISM: A philosophical perspective that believed God created and set the universe in motion, but is largely absent from our day to day lives. – 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 – 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

BEN FRANKLIN • Autobiography – Offers insights into Franklin’s life as a “self made man” • Became archetype for American belief in re-inventing oneself • 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 – Became first situational comedy Big Bang Theory

Literary Focus • TABLE WORK – Discuss and analyze the 13 virtues Franklin chose to master on his quest for moral perfection… • Answer Literary Analysis Questions on Tablework Assessment • Create your own list of virtues to master for moral perfection • Explain the rationale for the order and the mastery of each of your virtues • TURN IN YOUR GROUP’S LIST OF VIRTUES AND EXPLANATIONS BY THE END OF THE MOD.

Persuasive Rhetoric • 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 • Repetition: restating an idea using the same word • Parallelism/Parallel Structure: repeating grammatical structure • Antithesis: juxtaposition of strongly contrasting words, images, ideas • Exclamation: an emotional statement, often uses an exclamation!

Patrick Henry • Considered the most persuasive orator of the period • Influenced by the oratory style of Puritan preachers of the Great Awakening (Think: Rev. Parris’ “hellfire and damnation”) • Chosen as a representative to the House of Burgess (VA) at 29 – Stamp Act Speech 1765 – “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Speech to VA Convention 1775

Patrick Henry’s Speech the Va. Convention Speech was impromptu after several speeches urged the people to compromise – Outcome: persuaded delegates to arm the militias • Why? Why was this speech so effective?

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 – “…we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. ” » Life, wealth, and honor are all of equal importance » These men are equally willing to die, to spend all their money, and to sacrifice their reputations for the cause of independence.

Thomas Paine • Most persuasive WRITER of the Rev. War Period – Wrote “Common Sense” pamphlet • Published in 1775; helped to inspire the Declaration of Independence • Denounced King George and supported American Independence – Wrote “The American Crisis” • 16 pamphlets in total published from 1776 -1783 • 47 page document published in Dec. 1776 – Rallied colonists’ support of the war effort during difficult winter months • 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

Benjamin Franklin—Speech in the Convention • Background – After persuading France to support the US in the Revolutionary War, Franklin signs peace treaty with England in 1783. – Delegate to the Constitutional Convention from PA, helped to write the constitution and establish our democracy • After the war, each state had it’s own constitution, but the federal gov’t had no power to tax or regulate trade • After many disagreements regarding the language of the constitution, Franklin’s speech urged his colleagues to accept the constitution. • Franklin played a decisive role in creating a Congress composed of House of Representatives and Senate.