Week One: Revolutionary Authors Before the American Revolution
When the first settlers came to America, they set about the task of clearing the lands and laying the foundation for a new nation. The settlers that arrived were from different backgrounds and became inhabitants of the Americas for different reasons. The Puritans like Anne Bradstreeet and Mary Rowlandson braved the journey and wilderness to find freedom and opportunity. For the slaves, sold or kidnapped in Africa and forced to endure the Middle Passage, American was just the opposite. In America, they were not free and had only as much opportunity as their white owners were willing to afford them. Yet while confined by society, the authors we study this week looked beyond obstacles and began a rich literary history. Lucy Terry and Phillis Wheatley were both born in Africa, forced to come to America, and for a time lived as slaves. In America, both ladies received not only their freedom from slavery but also accepted Christ's salvation and freedom from their sins. Jupiter Hammon was born in America and remained a slave until he died. Nevertheless, he placed obedience to God above his disappointment that the founding fathers had not emancipated the slaves. Each of our three authors this week, as revolutionary authors who endured hardship yet chose to rise above their circumstances, helped lay the foundation of American literature.