Characteristics of Colonial American LiteratureVanessa Knight Updated July 20, 2017

Colonial American literature emerged from the original U.S. colonies during the period from 1607 to the late 1700s and was largely influenced by British writers. Many of the characteristics of colonial American literature can be found in the poems, journals, letters, narratives, histories and teaching materials written by settlers and religious and historic figures of the period. Colonial American literature includes the writings of Mary Rowlandson, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet and John Winthrop.

Narrative FocusColonial American literature is characterized by the narrative, which was used

extensively during this period. Most of the literary works of this genre are composed of letters, journals, biographies and memoirs. An example is Mary Rowlandson’s narrative account “The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson." This narrative gives an insider’s story of a colonist being captured by Native Americans and describes the heavy hostility between the Native Americans and colonists. Rowland’s story is categorized as an autobiography and captivity narrative.

Religion and PoetryReligion is prominent in colonial American literature and can be found mostly in

Puritan writings. The Puritans wrote about the religious foundations of many of their settlements, especially the exodus from Britain, and employed the constant theme that God should be worshiped. They also used texts that prepared them for worship. This literature helped spread the message of God, suggesting that “life was a test” and the soul would face damnation if that test was failed. Ambition and hard work were continuously stressed. Many of the Puritan works were written in poetry form. Anne Bradstreet’s poetry, the “Bay Psalm Book,” and Pastor Edward Taylor’s “Preparatory Mediations” are good examples of religious texts of the era. It was this type of writing that led to the Puritanism and Great Awakening movements. Non-Puritan writers also used religion to show the religious tension between the colonial settlers and Native Americans.

The EnlightenmentIn the 18th century, the Enlightenment showed a great shift in colonial American

literature from a religious foundation to scientific reasoning applied to human nature, society, culture and political awareness. Many texts were written in pamphlet or narrative form and challenged the role of God and religious life, seeking to replace them with reason. Rational thought and science were the new themes. “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” and the pamphlet “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine explored many of these new ideas. Similar texts also led the way to more awareness of social, economic and scientific issues. The American Revolution played a large part in this shifting of ideas.

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The Colonial period in New England

It is likely that no other colonists in the history of the world were as intellectual as the Puritans. Between 1630 and 1690, there were as many university graduates in the northeastern section of the United States, known as New England, as in the mother country -- an astounding fact when one considers that most educated people of the time were aristocrats who were unwilling to risk their lives in wilderness conditions. The self-made and often self-educated Puritans were notable exceptions. They wanted education to understand and execute God's will as they established their colonies throughout New England.

The Puritan definition of good writing was that which brought home a full awareness of the importance of worshipping God and of the spiritual dangers that the soul faced on Earth. Puritan style varied enormously -- from complex metaphysical poetry to homely journals and crushingly pedantic religious history. Whatever the style or genre, certain themes remained constant. Life was seen as a test; failure led to eternal damnation and hellfire, and success to heavenly bliss. This world was an arena of constant battle between the forces of God and the forces of Satan, a formidable enemy with many disguises. Many Puritans excitedly awaited the "millennium," when Jesus would return to Earth, end human misery, and inaugurate 1,000 years of peace and prosperity.

Scholars have long pointed out the link between Puritanism and capitalism: Both rest on ambition, hard work, and an intense striving for success. Although individual Puritans could not know, in strict theological terms, whether they were "saved" and among the elect who would go to heaven, Puritans tended to feel that earthly success was a sign of election. Wealth and status were sought not only for themselves, but as welcome reassurances of spiritual health and promises of eternal life.

Moreover, the concept of stewardship encouraged success. The Puritans interpreted all things and events as symbols with deeper spiritual meanings, and felt that in advancing their own profit and their community's well-being, they were also furthering God's plans. They did not draw lines of distinction between the secular and religious spheres: All of life was an expression of the divine will -- a belief that later resurfaces in Transcendentalism.

In recording ordinary events to reveal their spiritual meaning, Puritan authors commonly cited the Bible, chapter and verse. History was a symbolic religious panorama leading to the Puritan triumph over the New World and to God's kingdom on Earth.

The first Puritan colonists who settled New England exemplified the seriousness of Reformation Christianity. Known as the "Pilgrims," they were a small group of believers who had migrated from England to Holland -- even then known for its religious tolerance -- in 1608, during a time of persecutions.

Like most Puritans, they interpreted the Bible literally. They read and acted on the text of the Second Book of Corinthians -- "Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord." Despairing of purifying the Church of England from within, "Separatists" formed underground "covenanted" churches that swore loyalty to the group instead of the king. Seen as traitors to the king as well as heretics damned to hell, they were often persecuted. Their separation took them ultimately to the New World.

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“Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc.” Benjamin Franklin 1751

TABLES of the proportion of Marriages to Births, of Deaths to Births, of Marriages to the numbers of inhabitants, &c. form d on observations made upon the Bills of Mortality, Christenings, &c. of populous cities, will not suit countries; nor will tables form d on observations made on full settled old countries as Europe, suit new countries, as America.

2. For people increase in proportion to the number of marriages, and that is greater in proportion to the ease and convenience of supporting a family. When families can be easily supported, more persons marry, and earlier in life.

3. In cities, where all trades, occupations and offices are full, many delay marrying, till they can see how to bear the charges of a family; which charges are greater in cities, as Luxury is more common : many live single during life, and continue servants to families, journeymen to Trades, &c. hence cities do not by natural generation supply themselves with inhabitants; the deaths are more than the births.

4. In countries full settled, the case must be nearly the same; all Lands being occupied and improved to the heigh th ; those who cannot get land must labour for others that have it; when labourers are plenty their wages will be low; by low wages a family is supported with difficulty; this difficulty deters many from marriage, who therefore long continue servants and single. Only as the Cities take supplies of people from the country, and thereby make a little more room in the country, Marriage is a little more incourag d there, and the births exceed the deaths.

5. Europe is generally full settled with husbandmen, manufacturers, &c. and therefore cannot now much increase in People: America is chiefly occupied by Indians, who subsist mostly by hunting. But as the hunter, of all men, requires the greatest quantity of land from whence to draw his subsistence, (the husbandman subsisting on much less, the gardener on still less, and the manufacturer requiring least of all), the Europeans found America as fully settled as it well could be by hunters; yet these having large Tracts, were easily prevailed on to part with portions of territory to the new comers, who did not much interfere with the natives in hunting, and furnish d them with many things they wanted.

6. Land being thus plenty in America, and so cheap as that a labouring man that understands Husbandry, can in a short time save money enough to purchase a piece of new Land sufficient for a plantation, whereon he may subsist a family; such are not afraid to marry ; for if they even look far enough forward to consider how their children when grown up are to be provided for, they see that more Land is to be had at rates equally easy, all circumstances considered.

7. Hence Marriages in America are more general, and more generally early, than in Europe. And if it is reckoned there, that there is but one marriage per annum among one hundred persons, perhaps we may here reckon two; and if in Europe they have but four Births to a marriage(many of their marriages being late) we may here reckon eight, of

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which if one half grow up, and our marriages are made, reckoning one with another at twenty years of age our people must at least be doubled every twenty years.

8. But not withstanding this increase, so vast is the Territory of North America, that it will require many ages to settle it fully; and till it is fully settled, labour will never be cheap here, where no man continues long a labourer for others, but gets a Plantation of his own, no man continues long a journeyman to a trade, but goes among those new settlers and sets up for himself, &c. Hence labour is no cheaper now in Pennsylvania, than it was thirty years ago, tho so many thousand labouring people have been imported.

9. The danger therefore of these Colonies interfering with their Mother Country in trades that depend on labour, Manufactures, &c. is too remote to require the attention of Great Britain.

10 But in proportion to the increase of the Colonies a vast demand is growing for British Manufactures, a glorious market wholly in the power of Britain, in which foreigners cannot interfere, which will increase in a short time even beyond her power of supplying, tho her whole trade should be to her Colonies: Therefore Britain should not too much restrain Manufactures in her Colonies. A wise and good mother will not do it. To distress is to weaken, and weakening the children weakens the whole family.

11. Besides if the manufactures of Britain (by reason of the American Demands) should rise too high in price, foreigners who can sell cheaper will drive her merchants out of foreign markets; foreign manufactures will thereby be encouraged and increased, and consequently foreign nations, perhaps her rivals in power, grow more populous and more powerful; while her own Colonies, kept too low, are unable to assist her or add to her strength.

12. Tis an ill-grounded opinion that by the labour of slaves, America may possibly vie in cheapness of manufactures with Britain. The labour of slaves can never be so cheap here as the labour of working men is in Britain. Any one may compute it. Interest of money is in the Colonies from six to ten per Cent. Slaves one with another cost thirty . Sterling per head. Reckon then the interest of the first purchase of a slave, the Insurance or risque on his life, his cloathing and diet, expenses in his sickness and loss of time, loss by his neglect of business. (Neglect is natural to the man who is not to be benefited by his own care or diligence), Expence of a Driver to keep him at work, and his pilfering from time to time, almost every slave being by Nature a thief, and compare the whole amount with the wages of a manufacturer of iron or wool in England, you will see that labour is much cheaper there than it ever can be by negroes here. Why then will Americans purchase slaves? Because slaves may be kept as long as a man pleases, or has occasion for their labour; while hired men are continually leaving their master (often in the midst of his business,) and setting up for themselves. . .

13. As the increase of people depends on the encouragement of marriages, the following things must diminish a Nation, viz. 1. The being conquered; for the conquerors will engross as many offices, and exact as much tribute or profit on the labour of the

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conquered, as will maintain them in their new establishment, and this diminishing the subsistence of the natives discourages their marriages, and so gradually diminishes them, while the foreigners increase. 2. Loss of Territory. Thus the Britons being driven into Wales, and crowded together in a barren country insufficient to support such great numbers, diminished till the people bore a proportion to the produce, while the Saxons increased on their abandoned lands; till the Island became full of English. And were the English now driven into Wales by some foreign nation, there would in a few years be no more Englishmen in Britain than there are now people in Wales. 3. Loss of Trade. Manufactures exported draw subsistence from foreign countries for numbers, who are thereby enabled to marry and raise families. If the nation be deprived of any branch of trade, and no new employment is found for the people occupy d in that branch, it will also be soon deprived of so many People. 4. Loss of Food. Suppose a nation has a Fishery, which not only employs great numbers, but makes the food and subsistence of the people cheaper. If another nation be comes Master of the Seas, and prevents the Fishery, the people will diminish in proportion as the loss of employ, and dearness of provision makes it more difficult to subsist a family. 5. Bad Government and insecure property. People not only leave such a country, and settling abroad incorporate with other nations, lose their native Languages, and become foreigners; but the industry of those that remain being discourag d, the quantity of subsistence in the country is lessen d, and the support of a family becomes more difficult. So heavy taxes tend to diminish a People. 6. The Introduction of slaves. The negroes brought into the English Sugar Islands have greatly diminished the whites there; the poor are by this means depriv d of employment, while a few families acquire vast Estates, which they spend on foreign luxuries, and educating their children in the habit of those luxuries, the same Income is needed for the support of one that might have maintain d one hundred. The Whites who have slaves, not labouring, are enfeebled, and therefore not so generally prolific; the slaves being work d too hard, and ill fed, their constitutions are broken, and the deaths among them are more than the births; so that a continual supply is needed from Africa. The Northern Colonies having few slaves increase in Whites. Slaves also pejorate* (*Depreciate, or degrade) the Families that use them; the white children become proud, disgusted with labour, and being educated in idleness, are rendered unfit to get a Living by industry.

14. Hence the Prince that acquires new territory, if he finds it vacant, or removes the natives to give his own people room; the Legislator that makes effectual laws for promoting of trade, in creasing Employment, improving land by more or better Tillage; providing more food by Fisheries; securing property, &c. and the man that invents new trades, arts or manufactures, or new improvments in husbandry, may be properly called Fathers of their Nation, as they are the cause of the generation of multitudes, by the encouragement they afford to marriage.

15. As to Privileges granted to the married, (such as the Justrium Liberorum among the Romans), they may hasten the filling of a country that has been thinned by war or pestilence, or that has otherwise vacant territory; but cannot increase a people beyond the means provided for their subsistence.

16. Foreign luxuries and needless manufactures imported and used in a nation, do, by the

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same reasoning, increase the people of the nation that furnishes them, and diminish the people of the nation that uses them. Laws therefore that prevent such importations, and on the contrary promote the exportation of manufactures to be consumed in foreign countries, may be called (with respect to the people that make them) generative laws, as by increasing subsistence they encourage marriage. Such laws likewise strengthen a Country doubly, by increasing its own people and diminishing its neighbours.

17. Some European Nations prudently refuse to consume the manufactures of East India. They should likewise forbid them to their colonies; for the gain to the merchant is not to be compar d with the loss by this means of people to the Nation.

18. Home Luxury in the great, increases the nation s manufacturers employ d by it, who are many, and only tends to diminish the Families that indulge in it, who are few. The greater the common fashionable expence of any rank of people, the more cautious they are of marriage. Therefore luxury should never be suffer d to become common.

19. The great increase of Offspring in particular families is not always owing to greater fecundity of Nature, but sometimes to examples of industry in the Heads, and industrious education; by which the children are enabled to provide better for themselves, and their marrying early is encouraged from the prospect of good subsistence.

20. If there be a sect therefore, in our nation, that regard Frugality and Industry as religious duties, and educate their children therein, more than others commonly do, such sect must consequently increase more by natural generation, than any other sect in Britain.

21. The importation of foreigners into a country that has as many inhabitants as the present employments and provisions for subsistence will bear, will be in the end no increase of people; unless the new comers have more industry and frugality than the natives, and then they will provide more Subsistence, and increase in the country; but they will gradually eat the natives out. Nor is it necessary to bring in foreigners to fill up any occasional vacancy in a country; for such vacancy (if the Laws are good, 14, 16) will soon be filled by natural generation. Who can now find the vacancy made in Sweden, France or other warlike nations, by the Plague of heroism forty Years ago; in France by the expulsion of the Protestants; in England by the settlement of her Colonies; or in Guinea, by one hundred years exportation of slaves, that has blacken d half America? The thinness of inhabitants in Spain is owing to national pride and idleness, and other causes, rather than to the expulsion of the Moors, or to the making of new settlements.

22. There is in short, no bound to the prolific nature of plants or animals, but what is made by their crowding and interfering with each others means of subsistence. Was the face of the earth vacant of other plants, it might be gradually sowed and overspread with one kind only; as, for instance, with Fennel; and were it empty of other inhabitants, it might in a few Ages be replenish d from one nation only; as for Instance, with Englishmen. Thus there are suppos d to be now upwards of One Million English Souls in North America, (tho tis thought scarce 80,000 have been brought over sea) and yet

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perhaps there is not one the fewer in Britain, but rather many more, on Account of the employment the Colonies afford to manufacturers at home. This million doubling, suppose but once in twenty-five years, will in another century be more than the people of England, and the greatest Number of Englishmen will be on this side the water. What an accession of Power to the British empire by the Sea as well as Land! What increase of trade and navigation! What numbers of ships and seamen! We have been here but little more than one hundred years, and yet the force of our Privateers in the late war, united, was greater, both in men and guns, than that of the whole British Navy in Queen Elizabeth s time. How important an affair then to Britain, is the present treaty for settling the bounds between her Colonies and the French, and how careful should she be to secure room enough, since on the room depends so much the increase of her people?

23. In fine, A nation well regulated is like a Polypus; take away a limb, its place is soon supply d; cut it in two, and each deficient part shall speedily grow out of the part remaining. Thus if you have room and subsistence enough, as you may by dividing make ten Polypes out of one, you may of one make ten nations, equally populous and powerful; or rather, increase a nation ten fold in numbers and strength.

And since detachments of English horn Britain sent to America, will have their places at home so soon supply d and increase so largely here; why should the Palatine Boors be suffered to swarm into our settlements, and by herding together establish their languages and manners to the exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our language or customs, any more than they can acquire our complexion?

24. Which leads me to add one remark: That the number of purely white people in the world is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes are generally of what we call a swarthy complexion ; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English make the principal body of white people on the face of the earth. I could wish their numbers were increased. And while we are, as I may call it, scouring our planet, by clearing America of woods, and so making this side of our globe reflect a brighter light to the eyes of inhabitants in Mars or Venus, why should we in the sight of superior beings, darken its people? why increase the sons of Africa, by planting them in America, where we have so fair an opportunity, by excluding all blacks and tawneys, of increasing the lovely white and red? But perhaps I am partial to the complexion of my Country, for such kind of partiality is natural to Mankind.

THE END

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“Verses upon the Burning of our House” Anne Bradstreet 1666

In silent night when rest I took,For sorrow near I did not look,I waken’d was with thund’ring noiseAnd piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.That fearful sound of “fire” and “fire,"Let no man know is my Desire.I starting up, the light did spy,And to my God my heart did cryTo straighten me in my DistressAnd not to leave me succourless.Then coming out, behold a spaceThe flame consume my dwelling place.And when I could no longer look,I blest his grace that gave and took,That laid my goods now in the dust.Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.It was his own; it was not mine.Far be it that I should repine,He might of all justly bereftBut yet sufficient for us left.When by the Ruins oft I pastMy sorrowing eyes aside did castAnd here and there the places spyWhere oft I sate and long did lie.Here stood that Trunk, and there that chest,There lay that store I counted best,My pleasant things in ashes lieAnd them behold no more shall I.Under the roof no guest shall sit,Nor at thy Table eat a bit.No pleasant talk shall ‘ere be toldNor things recounted done of old.No Candle ‘ere shall shine in Thee,Nor bridegroom’s voice ere heard shall bee.In silence ever shalt thou lie.Adieu, Adieu, All’s Vanity.Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide:And did thy wealth on earth abide,Didst fix thy hope on mouldring dust,The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?Raise up thy thoughts above the skyThat dunghill mists away may fly.Thou hast a house on high erect

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Fram’d by that mighty Architect,With glory richly furnishedStands permanent, though this be fled.It’s purchased and paid for tooBy him who hath enough to do.A price so vast as is unknown,Yet by his gift is made thine own.There’s wealth enough; I need no more.Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store.The world no longer let me love;My hope and Treasure lies above.

“To My Dear and Loving Husband” Anne Bradstreet 1678

If ever two were one, then surely we.If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;If ever wife was happy in a man,Compare with me ye women if you can.I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold,Or all the riches that the East doth hold.My love is such that rivers cannot quench,Nor ought but love from thee give recompense.Thy love is such I can no way repay;The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.Then while we live, in love let’s so persever,That when we live no more we may live ever.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Jonathan Edwards 1741

Their foot shall slide in due time. Deuteronomy 32:35.

In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, that were God's visible people, and lived under means of grace; and that, notwithstanding all God's wonderful works that he had wrought towards that people, yet remained, as is expressed, v. Deuteronomy 32:28, "void of counsel," having no understanding in them; and that, under all the cultivations of heaven, brought forth bitter and poisonous fruit; as in the two verses next preceding the text.

The expression that I have chosen for my text, "Their foot shall slide in due time," seems to imply the following things, relating to the punishment and destruction that these wicked Israelites were exposed to.

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1. That they were always exposed to destruction, as one that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall. This is implied in the manner of their destruction's coming upon them, being represented by their foot's sliding. The same is expressed, Psalms 73:18, "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction."

2. It implies that they were always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction. As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall; he can't foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once, without warning. Which is also expressed in that, Psalms 73:18-19, "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation as in a moment!"

3. Another thing implied is that they are liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another. As he that stands or walks on slippery ground, needs nothing but his own weight to throw him down.

4. That the reason why they are not fallen already, and don't fall now, is only that God's appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, "their foot shall slide." Then they shall be left to fall as they are inclined by their own weight. God won't hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands in such slippery declining ground on the edge of a pit that he can't stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.

The observation from the words that I would now insist upon is this:

[Doctrine.]There is nothing that keeps wicked men, at any one moment, out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.

By "the mere pleasure of God," I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment.

The truth of this observation may appear by the following considerations.

I. There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Men's hands can't be strong when God rises up: the strongest have no power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his hands.

He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly prince meets with a great deal of difficulty to subdue a rebel, that has found means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the numbers of his followers. But it is not so with God. There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God. Though hand join in hand, and vast multitudes of God's enemies combine and associate

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themselves, they are easily broken in pieces: they are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so 'tis easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that anything hangs by; thus easy is it for God when he pleases to cast his enemies down to hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?

II. They deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy them. Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins. Divine justice says of the tree that brings forth such grapes of Sodom, "Cut it down; why cumbreth it the ground" (Luke 13:7). The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and 'tis nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God's mere will, that holds it back.

III. They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They don't only justly deserve to be cast down thither; but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell. John 3:18, "He that believeth not is condemned already." So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place; from thence he is. John 8:23, "Ye are from beneath." And thither he is bound; 'tis the place that justice, and God's Word, and the sentence of his unchangeable law assigns to him.

IV. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God that is expressed in the torments of hell: and the reason why they don't go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as angry as he is with many of those miserable creatures that he is now tormenting in hell, and do there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth, yea, doubtless with many that are now in this congregation, that it may be are at ease and quiet, than he is with many of those that are now in the flames of hell.

So that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and don't resent it, that he don't let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such an one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation don't slumber, the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them, the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened her mouth under them.

V. The devil stands ready to fall upon them and seize them as his own, at what moment God shall permit him. They belong to him; he has their souls in his possession, and under his dominion. The Scripture represents them as his "goods" (Luke 11:21). The devils watch them; they are ever by them, at their right hand; they stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey, and expect to have it, but are for the present kept back; if God should withdraw his hand, by which they are restrained, they would in one

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moment fly upon their poor souls. The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.

VI. There are in the souls of wicked men those hellish principles reigning, that would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire, if it were not for God's restraints. There is laid in the very nature of carnal men a foundation for the torments of hell: there are those corrupt principles, in reigning power in them, and in full possession of them, that are seeds of hell fire. These principles are active and powerful, and exceeding violent in their nature, and if it were not for the restraining hand of God upon them, they would soon break out, they would flame out after the same manner as the same corruptions, the same enmity does in the hearts of damned souls, and would beget the same torments in 'em as they do in them. The souls of the wicked are in Scripture compared to the troubled sea (Isaiah 57:20). For the present God restrains their wickedness by his mighty power, as he does the raging waves of the troubled sea, saying, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further" [Job 38:11]; but if God should withdraw that restraining power, it would soon carry all afore it. Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable. The corruption of the heart of man is a thing that is immoderate and boundless in its fury; and while wicked men live here, it is like fire pent up by God's restraints, whenas if it were let loose it would set on fire the course of nature; and as the heart is now a sink of sin, so, if sin was not restrained, it would immediately turn the soul into a fiery oven, or a furnace of fire and brimstone.

VII. It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. 'Tis no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he don't see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows that this is no evidence that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step won't be into another world. The unseen, unthought of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they won't bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noonday; the sharpest sight can't discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending 'em to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment. All the means that there are of sinners going out of the world, are so in God's hands, and so universally absolutely subject to his power and determination, that it don't depend at all less on the mere will of God, whether sinners shall at any moment go to hell, than if means were never made use of, or at all concerned in the case.

VIII. Natural men's prudence and care to preserve their own lives, or the care of others to preserve them, don't secure 'em a moment. This divine providence and universal experience does also bear testimony to. There is this clear evidence that men's own

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wisdom is no security to them from death: that if it were otherwise we should see some difference between the wise and politic men of the world, and others, with regard to their liableness to early and unexpected death; but how is it in fact? Ecclesiastes 2:16, "How dieth the wise man? as the fool."

IX. All wicked men's pains and contrivance they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, don't secure 'em from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do; everyone lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes won't fail. They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the bigger part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done: he don't intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take care that shall be effectual, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail.

But the foolish children of men do miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in their confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The bigger part of those that heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell: and it was not because they were not as wise as those that are now alive; it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape. If it were so, that we could come to speak with them, and could inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected when alive, and when they used to hear about hell, ever to be the subjects of that misery, we doubtless should hear one and another reply, "No, I never intended to come here; I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself; I thought my scheme good; I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief; death outwitted me; God's wrath was too quick for me; O my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter, and when I was saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction came upon me" [1 Thessalonians 5:3].

X. God has laid himself under no obligation by any promise to keep any natural man out of hell one moment. God certainly has made no promises either of eternal life, or of any deliverance or preservation from eternal death, but what are contained in the covenant of grace, the promises that are given in Christ, in whom all the promises are yea and amen. But surely they have no interest in the promises of the covenant of grace that are not the children of the covenant, and that don't believe in any of the promises of the covenant, and have no interest in the Mediator of the covenant.

So that whatever some have imagined and pretended about promises made to natural men's earnest seeking and knocking, 'tis plain and manifest that whatever pains a natural man takes in religion, whatever prayers he makes, till he believes in Christ, God is under no manner of obligation to keep him a moment from eternal destruction.

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So that thus it is, that natural men are held in the hand of God over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold 'em up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out; and they have no interest in any mediator, there are no means within reach that can be any security to them. In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of, all that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted unobliged forbearance of an incensed God.

Application.

The Use may be of Awakening to unconverted persons in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of everyone of you that are out of Christ. That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor anything to take hold of: there is nothing between you and hell but the air; 'tis only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.

You probably are not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of hell, but don't see the hand of God in it, but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling, than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.

Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would have to stop a falling rock. Were it not that so is the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not bear you one moment; for you are a burden to it; the creation groans with you; the creature is made subject to the bondage of your corruption, not willingly; the sun don't willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan; the earth don't willingly yield her increase to satisfy your lusts; nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon; the air don't willingly serve you for breath to maintain the flame of life in your vitals, while you spend your life in the service of God's enemies. God's creatures are good, and were made for men to serve God with, and don't willingly subserve to any other purpose, and groan when they are abused to purposes so directly contrary to their nature and end. And the world would spew you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of him who hath subjected it in hope. There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God for the present stays his rough wind;

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otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff of the summer threshing floor.

The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given, and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. 'Tis true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are continually rising and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that holds the waters back that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward; if God should only withdraw his hand from the floodgate, it would immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power; and if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is, yea, ten thousand times greater than the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it.

The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and Justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.

Thus are all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life (however you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, and may be strict in it), you are thus in the hands of an angry God; 'tis nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction.

However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you hear, by and by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for destruction came suddenly upon most of them, when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, "Peace and safety": now they see, that those things that they depended on for peace and safety, were nothing but thin air and empty shadows.

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times so abominable in his eyes as the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince: and yet 'tis nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment; 'tis to be

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ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep: and there is no other reason to be given why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up; there is no other reason to be given why you han't gone to hell since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship: yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you don't this very moment drop down into hell.

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: 'tis a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you as against many of the damned in hell; you hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment.

And consider here more particularly several things concerning that wrath that you are in such danger of.

First. Whose wrath it is: it is the wrath of the infinite God. If it were only the wrath of man, though it were of the most potent prince, it would be comparatively little to be regarded. The wrath of kings is very much dreaded, especially of absolute monarchs, that have the possessions and lives of their subjects wholly in their power, to be disposed of at their mere will. Proverbs 20:2, "The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul." The subject that very much enrages an arbitrary prince, is liable to suffer the most extreme torments, that human art can invent or human power can inflict. But the greatest earthly potentates, in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty Creator and King of heaven and earth: it is but little that they can do, when most enraged, and when they have exerted the utmost of their fury. All the kings of the earth before God are as grasshoppers, they are nothing and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of kings is as much more terrible than their's, as his majesty is greater. Luke 12:4-05, "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him."

Second. 'Tis the fierceness of his wrath that you are exposed to. We often read of the fury of God; as in Isaiah 59:18, "According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries." So Isaiah 66:15, "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebukes with flames of fire." And so in many other places. So we read of God's fierceness. Revelation 19:15, there we read of "the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God." The words are exceeding terrible: if it had only been said, "the wrath of God," the words would have

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implied that which is infinitely dreadful; but 'tis not only said so, but "the fierceness and wrath of God": the fury of God! the fierceness of Jehovah! Oh how dreadful must that be! Who can utter or conceive what such expressions carry in them! But it is not only said so, but "the fierceness and wrath of almighty God." As though there would be a very great manifestation of his almighty power, in what the fierceness of his wrath should inflict, as though omnipotence should be as it were enraged, and exerted, as men are wont to exert their strength in the fierceness of their wrath. Oh! then what will be consequence! What will become of the poor worm that shall suffer it! Whose hands can be strong? and whose heart endure? To what a dreadful, inexpressible, inconceivable depth of misery must the poor creature be sunk, who shall be the subject of this!

Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies that he will inflict wrath without any pity: when God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed and sinks down, as it were into an infinite gloom, he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much, in any other sense than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires: nothing shall be withheld, because it's so hard for you to bear. Ezekiel 8:18, "Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them." Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy: but when once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God as to any regard to your welfare; God will have no other use to put you to but only to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel but only to be filled full of wrath: God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that 'tis said he will only laugh and mock (Proverbs 1:25-32).

How awful are those words, Isaiah 63:3, which are the words of the great God, "I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." 'Tis perhaps impossible to conceive of words that carry in them greater manifestations of these three things, viz. contempt, and hatred, and fierceness of indignation. If you cry to God to pity you, he will be so far from pitying you in your doleful case, or showing you the least regard or favor, that instead of that he'll only tread you under foot: and though he will know that you can't bear the weight of omnipotence treading upon you, yet he won't regard that, but he will crush you under his feet without mercy; he'll crush out your blood, and make it fly, and it shall be sprinkled on his garments, so as to stain all his raiment. He will not only hate you, but he will have you in the utmost contempt; no place shall be thought fit for you, but under his feet, to be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

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Third. The misery you are exposed to is that which God will inflict to that end, that he might show what that wrath of Jehovah is. God hath had it on his heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent his love is, and also how terrible his wrath is. Sometimes earthly kings have a mind to show how terrible theirwrath is, by the extreme punishments they would execute on those that provoke 'em. Nebuchadnezzar, that mighty and haughty monarch of the Chaldean empire, was willing to show his wrath, when enraged with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and accordingly gave order that the burning fiery furnace should be het seven times hotter than it was before; doubtless it was raised to the utmost degree of fierceness that human art could raise it: but the great God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme sufferings of his enemies. Romans 9:22, "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?" And seeing this is his design, and what he has determined, to show how terrible the unmixed, unrestrained wrath, the fury and fierceness of Jehovah is, he will do it to effect. There will be something accomplished and brought to pass, that will be dreadful with a witness. When the great and angry God hath risen up and executed his awful vengeance on the poor sinner; and the wretch is actually suffering the infinite weight and power of his indignation, then will God call upon the whole universe to behold that awful majesty, and mighty power that is to be seen in it. Isaiah 33:12-14, "And the people shall be as the burning of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire. Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"

Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments: you shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and when you shall be in this state of suffering, the glorious inhabitants of heaven shall go forth and look on the awful spectacle, that they may see what the wrath and fierceness of the Almighty is, and when they have seen it, they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. Isaiah 66:23-24, "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

Fourth. 'Tis everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity: there will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all; you will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been

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spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble faint representation of it; 'tis inexpressible and inconceivable: for "who knows the power of God's anger?" [Psalms 90:11].

How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in danger of this great wrath, and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation, that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old. There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have: it may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell? And it would be a wonder if some that are now present, should not be in hell in a very short time, before this year is out. And it would be no wonder if some person that now sits here in some seat of this meeting house in health, and quiet and secure, should be there before tomorrow morning. Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition, that shall keep out of hell longest, will be there in a little time! your damnation don't slumber; it will come swiftly, and in all probability very suddenly upon many of you. You have reason to wonder, that you are not already in hell. 'Tis doubtless the case of some that heretofore you have seen and known, that never deserved hell more than you, and that heretofore appeared as likely to have been now alive as you: their case is past all hope; they are crying in extreme misery and perfect despair; but here you are in the land of the living, and in the house of God, and have an opportunity to obtain salvation. What would not those poor damned, hopeless souls give for one day's such opportunity as you now enjoy!

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has flung the door of mercy wide open, and stands in the door calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God; many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are in now an happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him that has loved them and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? Are not your souls as precious as the souls of the people at Suffield,7 where they are flocking from day to day to Christ?

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Are there not many here that have lived long in the world, that are not to this day born again, and so are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and have done nothing ever since they have lived, but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath? Oh sirs, your case in an especial manner is extremely dangerous; your guilt and hardness of heart is extremely great. Don't you see how generally persons of your years are passed over and left, in the present remarkable and wonderful dispensation of God's mercy? You had need to consider yourselves, and wake thoroughly out of sleep; you cannot bear the fierceness and wrath of the infinite God.

And you that are young men, and young women, will you neglect this precious season that you now enjoy, when so many others of your age are renouncing all youthful vanities, and flocking to Christ? You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity; but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as it is with those persons that spent away all the precious days of youth in sin, and are now come to such a dreadful pass in blindness and hardness.

And you children that are unconverted, don't you know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of that God that is now angry with you every day, and every night? Will you be content to be the children of the devil, when so many other children in the land are converted, and are become the holy and happy children of the King of kings?

And let everyone that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now hearken to the loud calls of God's Word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, that is a day of such great favor to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls: and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart, and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the bigger part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on that great outpouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles' days, the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you was born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's Spirit; and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the ax is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree that brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over great part of this congregation: let everyone fly out of Sodom. Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed [Genesis 19:17].

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Literature and the Arts in the Revolutionary EraAmerican Revolution Reference Library 

By the time of the American Revolution (1775–83), American writers had ventured beyond the Puritan literary style and its religious themes and had developed styles of writing that grew from distinctly American experiences. (The Puritans were a group of Protestants who broke with the Church of England; they believed that church rituals should be simplified and that people should follow strict religious discipline.) The colonial fascination with science, nature, freedom, and innovation came through in the writings of the Revolutionary period. The colonists developed their own way of speaking as well, no longer copying the more formal style of British writers. (Noah Webster's Blue-Backed Speller, published in 1783, helped to standardize the new American version of English.)

Author David Hawke offered an example of the American literary style in The Colonial Experience. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), he noted, "took the seventeenth-century saying 'Three may keep counsel, if two be away' and converted it into 'Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.'"

Some of the best literature of the colonial era described everyday life in New England and, in the process, depicted aspects of the fledgling American character. The colonists who would form a new nation were firm believers in the power of reason; they were ambitious, inquisitive, optimistic, practical, politically astute, and self-reliant.

What colonial children readUp until about twenty-five years before the Revolutionary War began, the reading

material for American children was restricted basically to the Bible and other religious works. Gradually, additional books were published and read more widely. Rivaling the Bible in popularity were almanacs. Children loved to read them for the stories, weather forecasts, poetry, news events, advice, and other assorted and useful information they contained. The most famous of these was Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack, first published in 1732. Franklin (see box titled "The Many Sides of Benjamin Franklin") claimed to have written Poor Richard because his wife could not bear to see him "do nothing but gaze at the Stars; and has threatened more than once to burn all my Books… if I do not make some profitable Use of them for the good of my Family." We have Poor Richard to thank for such lasting sayings as: "Eat to live, and not live to eat"; "He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas"; "Little strokes fell big oaks"; and "Early to bed and early to rise/Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

All the American colonies had printing presses by 1760, but Americans and their children continued to rely on England as the source for most of their books. A London publisher by the name of John Newberry (1713–1767) is said to have had the greatest influence on children's literature in pre-Revolutionary America. He began publishing children's books in the 1740s. Most of them were educational, with titles such as A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies or A private tutor for little Masters and Misses (1750; a how-to book on proper behavior) and The Pretty Book for Children (1750; a guide to the English language).

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Books were quite expensive in the 1700s, though, so children usually advanced from the Bible and religious verses straight to adult-type literature. Especially popular in that category were storybooks such as Robinson Crusoe and Arabian Nights.

Prior to the Revolution, schoolbooks were imported from England and were available only to the wealthy. These books stressed self-improvement through hard work and careful spending. Such qualities, it was believed, could lead to wealth, which was the lesson learned in the popular storybook Goody Two-Shoes: The Means by which she acquired her Learning and Wisdom, and in consequence thereof her Estate [everything she owned](1765). Goody Two-Shoes was a girl named Margery Meanwell, an orphan who was thrilled to receive two shoes to replace her one. She rose from humble beginnings, learning to read and later becoming a teacher; she went on to marry a wealthy man and matured into a "Lady" and a generous person.

The role of satire in the Revolutionary eraUp until the Revolutionary era, the Puritans who had settled New England had a

profound influence on what was printed in the colonies: nearly all publications centered on a religious topic of some sort. The Puritans frowned on dramatic performances, as well. But by the mid-1700s, the Puritan influence was fading. In 1749 the first American acting troupe was established in Philadelphia. Seventeen years later, America's first permanent playhouse was built in the same city; in 1767 the Southwark Theatre staged the first play written by a native-born American, Thomas Godfrey's (1736–1763) Prince of Parthia.

By the mid-1760s, political writings by colonists were increasingly common and more and more forceful in nature. James Otis (1725–1783), a lawyer from Boston, published The Rights of British Colonists Asserted and Proved in 1764. And the hated Stamp Act, a tax law passed by the British in 1765 (see Chapter 4: The Roots of Rebellion [1763–1769]), prompted an even greater outpouring of writing of a political nature. (Parliament, England's lawmaking body, passed the Stamp Act to raise money from the colonies without receiving the consent of the colonial assemblies, or representatives.)

One of the most popular forms of political writing was satire, especially plays, essays, and poems. Satire pokes fun at human vices and foolishness. While most satiric works were written by men, some of the best-known plays of the day were written by a woman named Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814).

Warren was the sister and wife of two patriots (James Otis and James Warren, respectively) and an eager participant in the political meetings held so often at her home. She was strategically placed in Boston to follow the events leading up to the American Revolution. Her first political drama, The Adulateur, was published anonymously (without her name) in Boston in 1773, soon after the shocking publication of Governor Thomas Hutchinson's (1711–1780) letters revealing his anti-patriot views (see Chapter 4: The Roots of Rebellion [1763–1769]). Not surprisingly, Warren's gift for satire was directed at pro-British leaders. The play's last words are spoken by a character based on Warren's brother, James Otis. Although he foresees war, he also predicts fame, victory, and eternal prosperity for the party of liberty.

During the war, Warren wrote several other dramatic satires that actively promoted the revolutionary cause, but her plays were never performed on stage. They

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were read by many people, though, and were performed privately for Warren's family and friends, including prominent Revolutionary figures such as Samuel, John, and Abigail Adams (see Chapter 4: The Roots of Rebellion [1763–1769].)

Other notable satirists put the war on stage. John Leacock's play The Fall of British Tyranny, which was performed in 1776, portrayed the notorious Battle of Bunker Hill (see Chapter 6: Lexington, Concord, and the Organization of Colonial Resistance) and the military discussions of American war leader George Washington. In plays by Warren and Leacock, Americans appeared as mythical or real figures from Greek and Roman days. In Warren's Adulateur, for example, the characters inspired by James Otis and his friend Samuel Adams are renamed Brutus and Cassius (early Roman political leaders). Audiences enjoyed the game of identifying the dramatists' thinly disguised portraits of public figures.

Benjamin Franklin, who seemed to be able to do anything, produced a long stream of political satires making fun of British policies. In his 1773 Edict by the King of Prussia, for example, he drew parallels between the settlement of England in the fifth century by Germans (then called Prussians) and the settlement of America. His intention was to show how ridiculous it was for Great Britain to think that just because she had settled America, she had the right to lay heavy taxes on her subjects. (The British held just the opposite view.) In the Edict, the King of Prussia makes the same trade and tax demands on the former German colonists in England that England was making on the American colonies in the 1760s and 1770s.

American lawyer and poet John Trumbull's (1750–1831) epic poem "M'Fingal," first published in 1776, became the most popular satirical poem of the American Revolution. The silly hero, M'Fingal, is a clownish Loyalist who argues at a town meeting that tyranny (unjust, severe, and often cruel rule) is justice. He is bested in this battle of words by the patriot Honorius, a character apparently based on American statesman (and, later, U.S. president) John Adams.

Poetry and popular songs of the Revolutionary eraAs was true of most American arts before the Revolution, the Puritan influence on

music was strong. The first songbook published in the colonies was the 1640 edition of the Bay Psalm Book. (Psalms [pronounced SOMS] are religious songs.) Another popular type of American music was the tavern song. Both psalms and tavern songs were forms of "community singing."

By the time of the Revolution, music in the colonies had not changed very much. Bostonian William Billings (1746–1800), who was the first important American composer, published six books of music, much of it original, including instructions on styles of singing to make it more lively. Billings mixed the serious with the humorous. His religious song "Chester" was so popular that he rewrote the words during the Revolution, transforming it into a warlike version called "Let Tyrants Shake."

Revolutionary-era songwriters wrote to inspire their listeners. Songs about the events of the day were especially popular because everyone—even those who could not read or write— could join in. American poet and wit Joel Barlow (1754–1812) wrote: "One good song is worth a dozen addresses or proclamations." Some patriotic songs were written by established writers of serious works. For example, John Dickinson (1732–1808), author of Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to Inhabitants of the British

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Colonies, also wrote the popular "Liberty Song." But most songs seemed to come out of nowhere as anonymous or cooperative productions, evolving as people added to and altered the verses. Some of these songs have survived to the present-day, among them the ever-popular "Yankee Doodle." Originally a derogatory (DUR-oga-tore-ee; negative and belittling) ditty sung by the British (it depicted New Englanders as fools), this folk song later became the battle cry of the colonial forces.

Poetic expressions of patriotism were popular as well. Philip Freneau (1752–1832) produced so many well-written and stirring patriotic poems that he became known as the Poet of the American Revolution. Freneau became the new country's first lyric poet; that is, he wrote in a new, more personal, and more emotional style than had ever been known before.

One of the best-known Revolutionary-era poets was Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), an African American slave from Boston. Her poems, which were even more successful in England than in the colonies, ranged from those on Christian topics, to translations of the Latin poet Ovid, to patriotic odes (poems designed for singing). She was so popular that one of her patriotic verses added to the vocabulary of the Revolution: in her 1775 poem to General Washington, she coined the usage of "Columbia" to refer to the new United States.

The role of wartime literatureWords may have been just as important as weapons in the Revolutionary cause.

Patriotic writings came in many varieties. Some were crude efforts designed to sway public opinion to a cause, others were well-reasoned political arguments, and some were collections of inspirational verse.

In 1776 English-born political writer Thomas Paine (1737–1809) published a pamphlet titled Common Sense. This immensely popular work called for equality, freedom, and complete separation from Britain. According to Paine, the move toward independence was pure "common sense." Albert Marrin commented in The War for Independence: The Story of the American Revolution, "Tom Paine did more than anyone to change American minds in favor of independence…. Common Sense had the right ideas at the right time and became the first American bestseller…. Paine lit a fire that leaped across America."

Well before the release of Paine's Common Sense, other writers put forward arguments that paved the way toward independence. John Dickinson (1732–1808), author of the

"Olive Branch Petition," did not ask for independence from England as much as for legal justice for Americans in matters of taxation and representation. The character he portrayed—the gentleman farmer—was convincing because it represented many American ideals: industry (hard work), honesty, frugality (conserving; not being wasteful), education, and common sense.

As the war progressed, firsthand accounts of the fighting seized people's attention and kept them firm in their goal of defeating the British. Revolutionary soldier Ethan Allen (1738-1789) of Vermont wrote about his experiences as a prisoner of war. His wartime book, A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity (1779), praised the courage of his Green Mountain Boys (an irregular army unit) and condemned the British. General Washington believed the book helped keep the Revolutionary cause alive during a

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particularly critical period in the war. Allen was famous before he wrote his book, but many ordinary people—women as well as men—also wrote about their Revolutionary War experiences.

By the end of the war, American writers were firmly established as important contributors to a uniquely American national identity—an identity separate from the colonists' European roots. Many of the writers who rose to prominence during the Revolution became even more famous after it was over. Mercy Otis Warren wrote a three-volume History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution (1805), which appeared under her own name—a remarkable accomplishment in an era dominated by male writers.

The role of the press in colonial AmericaThe earliest American newspaper on record was published in the South in 1638.

By the time of the American Revolution, there were forty–two newspapers being printed in the colonies, with the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies represented evenly. About a third of the newspapers were Loyalist in tone (they favored the preservation of colonial ties to Britain). The majority of the colonial newspapers were issued weekly and were purchased by subscription by several hundred people. But many more colonists actually heardthe news, which was read aloud in taverns.

Sharing the news by reading it aloud in public places served two purposes: 1) it made the news available to those unable to pay for a paper, and 2) it informed people of current events even if they were unable to read. (At the time of the American Revolution, almost half the male population was illiterate.)

Colonial newspapers provided different information than modern papers do. A typical colonial paper, sometimes called a broadsheet or broadside, was four pages long (a large sheet folded in half and printed as four pages). The front page was filled with advertisements. The other pages carried reprints of news stories from other papers and the text of speeches and sermons. The papers also offered poetry, letters, essays, and editorials (statements of opinions). Many editorials were unsigned so that the authorities could not find and punish the colonial authors who urged the colonists to rebel against English rule.

In colonial America prior to 1775, information was shared by people traveling by horseback, on foot, or by ship. News arrived slowly and was eagerly awaited. The newspapers were one way for patriots to share their messages of the benefits of declaring the American colonies' independence from England. At this point in time, each colony considered itself a separate entity. By showing the colonists that they had something in common (their grievances against England), the

Newspapers helped forge a sense of community among the colonies. This feeling of unity—of being one nation—was vital to the colonies' success in gaining their freedom from England.

Arts of the Revolutionary eraBefore about 1750, wealthy Americans imported most of their artworks and home

furnishings from England. As more and more artisans (crafters) arrived in the New World, they began to produce goods that rivaled the best England could turn out. Other American artists admired the sophisticated styles of Europe, but they were comfortable

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with a range of tastes and styles. Boston patriot Paul Revere (1735–1818), for example, made everything from fine silver and pewter bowls to a set of false teeth for General Washington.

The early eighteenth century brought European painters to the colonies. They pleased their wealthy customers by imitating successful European styles, often producing portraits of rich colonials posed as they might have been in an English portrait. A rich man who had earned his money in trade, for instance, might be depicted standing at a window gazing out at a ship.

As the century progressed, young American artists began to paint in a new way. Artists like Benjamin West (1738–1820), Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828), Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), and John Singleton Copley (1738–1815) represented the finest in American artistic achievement. Their subjects were portrayed in the act of pursuing everyday endeavors. Copley depicted patriot John Adams standing with a document in one hand and pointing at another on his desk, apparently in the middle of writing a speech. Likewise, he portrayed

Paul Revere in his work clothes, sitting at his work table near a teapot he had made.

The arts developed slowly in the New World. John Adams believed that this was the way it should be, because there was more important and practical work to be done first. In John Adams: A Biography in His Own Words, Adams declared: "I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, and naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain."

“The Female Patriots, Address’d to the Daughters of Liberty in America” Milcah Martha Moore* 1768*Many historians now believe this poem was actually written by Hannah Griffitts.

Since the Men from a Party, on fear of a frown,Are kept by a Sugar-Plumb, quietly down,Supinely asleep, and depriv’d of their SightAre strip’d of their Freedom, and rob’d of their Right.If the Sons (so degenerate) the Blessing despise,Let the Daughters of Liberty, nobly arise,And tho’ we’ve no Voice, but a negative here,The use of the Taxables, let us forbear,(Then Merchants import till yr. Stores are all fullMay the Buyers be few and yr. Traffick be dull.)Stand firmly resolved and bid Grenville to seeThat rather than Freedom we’ll part with our TeaAnd well as we love the dear Draught when adry,As American Patriots,-- our Taste we deny,Sylvania’s gay Meadows, can richly afford

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To pamper our Fancy, or furnish our Board,And Paper sufficient (at home) still we have,To assure the Wise-acre, we will not sign Slave.When this Homespun shall fail, to remonstrate our GriefWe can speak with the Tongue or scratch on a Leaf.Refuse all their Colours, the richest of Dye,The juice of a Berry- our Paint can supply,To humour our Fancy—and as for our Houses,They’ll do without painting, as well as our Spouses,While to keep out the Cold of a keen winter Morn,We can screen the Northwest, with a well polish’d Horn.And trust Me a Woman by honest Invention,Might give this State Doctor a Dose of Prevention.Join mutual in this, and but small as it seemsWe may jostle a Grenville and puzzle his SchemesBut a motive more worthy our patriot Pen,Thus acting—we point out their Duty to Men,And should the bound Pensioners, tell us to hushWe can throw back the Satire by biding them blush.

“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Patrick Henry 1775

MR. PRESIDENT: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely, and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of

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experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves, and the House? Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled, that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask, gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free² if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending²if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir,

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we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable²and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace²but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

“Written in the Retreat From Burgoyne” Ann Eliza Bleecker 1777

Was it for this, with thee a pleasing load,I sadly wander'd thro' the hostile wood;When I thought fortune's spite could do no more,To see thee perish on a foreign shore?

Oh my lov'd babe! my treasure's left behind,Ne'er sunk a cloud of grief upon my mind;Rich in my children---on my arms I boreMy living treasures from the scalper's pow'r:When I sat down to rest beneath some shade,On the soft grass how innocent she play'd,While her sweet sister, from the fragrant wild,Collects the flow'rs to please my precious child;Unconscious of her danger, laughing roves,Nor dreads the painted savage in the groves.

Soon as the spires of Albany appear'd,With fallacies my rising grief I cheer'd;'Resign'd I bear,' said I, 'heaven's just reproof,'Content to dwell beneath a stranger's roof;'Content my babes should eat dependent bread,'Or by the labour of my hands be fed:'What tho' my houses, lands, and goods are gone,'My babes remain---these I can call my own.'But soon my lov'd Abella hung her head,From her soft cheek the bright carnation fled;Her smooth transparent skin too plainly shew'dHow fierce thro' every vein the fever glow'd.---In bitter anguish o'er her limbs I hung,I wept and sigh'd, but sorrow chain'd my tongue;

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At length her languid eyes clos'd from the day,The idol of my soul was torn away;Her spirit fled and left me ghastly clay!

Then---then my soul rejected all relief,Comfort I wish'd not for, I lov'd my grief:'Hear, my Abella!' cried I, 'hear me mourn,'For one short moment, oh! my child return;'Let my complaint detain thee from the skies,'Though troops of angels urge thee on to rise.

All night I mourn'd---and when the rising dayGilt her sad chest with his benignest ray,My friends press round me with officious care,Bid me suppress my sighs, nor drop a tear;Of resignation talk'd---passions subdu'd,Of souls serene and christian fortitude;Bade me be calm, nor murmur at my loss,But unrepining bear each heavy cross.

'Go!' cried I raging, 'stoick bosoms go!'Whose hearts vibrate not to the sound of woe;'Go from the sweet society of men,'Seek some unfeeling tyger's savage den,'There calm---alone---of resignation preach,'My Christ's examples better precepts teach.'Where the cold limbs of gentle Laz'rus layI find him weeping o'er the humid clay;His spirit groan'd, while the beholders said(With gushing eyes) 'see how he lov'd the dead!'And when his thoughts on great Jerus'lem turn'd,Oh! how pathetic o'er her fall he mourn'd!And sad Gethsemene's nocturnal shadeThe anguish of my weeping Lord survey'd:Yes, 'tis my boast to harbour in my breastThe sensibilities by God exprest;Nor shall the mollifying hand of time,Which wipes off common sorrows, cancel mine.

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Overview of the Early National Period Digital History ID 2911

The United States was the first modern nation to win independence through a successful revolution against colonial rule. It set a precedent that was followed in the 19th century by nations across Latin America and in the 20th century by nations in Asia and Africa. Like those other countries, the United States faced severe political, economic, and foreign policy problems after achieving independence. 

In this section you will learn about how the United States addressed those problems and established a stable political and economic system. You will learn about the creation of new state governments and a new federal government based on the principles of popular sovereignty, rule of law, and legislation by elected representatives. You will also learn about the internal difficulties besetting the new republic, such as financing the war, the threat of a military coup, a hard-hitting economic depression, and popular demands for tax relief. In addition, you will read about efforts to expand freedom of religion, to increase women's educational opportunities, and to address the problem of slavery. 

Other important topics include the drafting and ratification of the Constitution; the adoption of a bill of rights protecting the rights of the individual against the power of the central government; the enactment of a financial program that secured the government's credit and stimulated the economy; and the creation of the first political parties to involve the voting population in national politics. 

In addition, you will learn about the purchase of Louisiana Territory from France; British and French interference with American shipping; the causes, fighting, and consequences of the War of 1812. Summary: 

The United States faced severe economic and foreign policy problems. A huge debt remained from the Revolution; paper money issued during and after the war was worthless; and Britain and Spain occupied territory claimed by the United States. 

The new nation lacked the machinery of government. It consisted of nothing more than 75 post offices, a large debt, a small number of unpaid clerks, and an army consisting of just 672 soldiers. There was no federal court system, no navy, and no system for collecting taxes. Congress enacted a tariff to raise revenue; created departments of state, treasury and war; and organized a federal judicial system. 

To strengthen popular support for the new government, Congress approved a Bill of Rights in the form of ten amendments to the Constitution protecting the rights of the individual against the power of the central government. 

The Constitution provided only a broad outline of the office and powers of the president, and it was up to the first president, George Washington, to establish many precedents. He modeled the executive branch along the lines of a general's staff. He asserted the power to dismiss presidential appointees without the Senate's permission. He negotiated treaties and then sent them to the Senate for ratification. 

To secure the nation's credit, the first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, had the federal government assume the entire indebtedness of the federal government and the states. To issue currency, collect taxes, hold government funds, regulate private banks, and make loans, he recommended that the federal government establish a Bank of

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the United States. His other proposals to stimulate manufacturing through high tariffs, bounties, encouragement of immigration, and federal aid for roads were defeated. 

By 1796, the United States had produced the world's first modern political parties. Opposition to Hamilton’s plans intensified during the closing years of Washington’s first term. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison feared that Hamilton wanted to model American society along the lines of monarchical England. Partisan divisions deepened in response to the French Revolution and the wars between France and Britain. The Jeffersonians supported the French; the Hamiltonians, the British. President Washington supported a policy of neutrality. 

During 1793 and 1794, Washington’s administration confronted a French effort to entangle America in its war with England (the Genet Affair), armed rebellion in western Pennsylvania (the Whiskey Rebellion), conflicts with Indians, and the threat of war with Britain. In 1796, Washington was able to retire gracefully. He had suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion, defeated an Indian confederacy in the Ohio country, and negotiated Britain out of its western forts. In a Farewell Address, he called on Americans to avoid political partisanship and entangling alliances with foreign nations. 

Deteriorating relations with France during the presidency of John Adams resulted in an undeclared naval war and prompted Federalists in Congress to enact the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. These acts were designed to silence dissent and weaken support for the Jeffersonian Republicans, prompting Jefferson and Madison to draft the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions that advanced the idea that states had the power to declare acts of Congress null and void. 

Thomas Jefferson was convinced that the Federalists had threatened republican government by levying oppressive taxes, stretching the provisions of the Constitution, and subverting civil liberties. As president, he slashed army and navy expenditures and eliminated most federal taxes. To encourage land ownership, he persuaded Congress to cut the price of public lands. He also moved Congress to reduce the residence requirement for citizenship, and freed all people imprisoned under the Sedition Act and refunded their fines. 

It was during Jefferson’s presidency that the Supreme Court asserted the power of judicial supremacy and judicial review and became a vigorous and equal third branch of government. The acquisition of Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 doubled the country's size. 

During Jefferson's second term the United States became embroiled in the Napoleonic wars, as Britain and France interfered with American shipping. To assert America’s neutral rights, Congress adopted an embargo prohibiting American trade with foreign countries. An unpopular and costly failure, the embargo provoked widespread smuggling. 

By 1812, many Americans believed that only war with Britain could preserve Americans neutral rights and national honor. American grievances included interference with American trade, impressment of thousands of American sailors, and incitement of Indian attacks. 

The War of 1812 was crucial to the future of the United States. It effectively destroyed Indians' ability to resist American expansion. It allowed the United States to solidify its control over the lower Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. It encouraged New England merchants to invest in textile factories. It also ended America’s

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brief experiment with a two party political system, as the Federalists were branded as traitors for failing to support the war. 

Following the War of 1812, a spirit of nationalism pervaded the nation, evident in the creation of a second Bank of the United States; enactment of a tariff to protect industry, and a series of Supreme Court decisions strengthening the power of the central government. The United States acquired Florida from Spain, convinced Russia and Spain to relinquish their claims to the Oregon country, and delivered a strong warning, in the Monroe Doctrine, that European powers were not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere. 

A severe economic depression, the Panic of 1819, and a bitter controversy over slavery in Missouri in 1819 and 1820, provoked growing political divisions and a deepening sectional split between North and South.

“The Star Spangled Banner”Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early lightWhat so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly sworeThat the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,A home and a country should leave us no more!Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.No refuge could save the hireling and slaveFrom the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

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Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall standBetween their loved home and the war’s desolation!Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued landPraise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

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