This quarter in IGE 121- Rationalism, Revelation, and Enlightenment: The Ancient World there has been a lot of material covering death, suffering, fate, destiny, and good and evil. Three out of the many readings that cover death and suffering would be “Book of Matthew” and “Antigone” and “Book of Job”. A reading of this quarter that reveals suffering would be “Prometheus Bound” and “Book of Matthew”. An additional text that disclose one of themes is the Mayan book “Popol Vuh”. People often ask what the reasons are on why good people have to suffer.
When The Second Continental Congress approved of the Declaration of Independence, it purposefully avoided the complicated situation that was slavery. African Americans, both freed and enslaved, were outraged. How could the Founding Fathers write such a riveting and long document for themselves, while completely ignoring the African American struggle for freedom on the basis of skin tone? The hypocrisy was too much for Benjamin Banneker, who took it upon himself to write a letter to Thomas Jefferson about the atrocities of slavery, and persuade him to abolish the practice. In it, Banneker used allusions, a melancholy diction, and deductive reasoning to state his argument against the enslavement of his color.
After the War of 1812 up to and past the death of Zachary Taylor in 1850, the United States was undergoing a period of cultural, governmental and social reform in which citizens were pushing for more democracy, freedoms, and rights for various groups of people. This time was called The Second Great Awakening that changed citizens’ views on religion, morals, rights and even life values, all of which were main drives for reform in areas such as women’s rights and voting, the issue of slavery, and government facilities such as
The Market Revolution and the Second Great Awakening both dramatically shaped the individual stories of Elijah Pierson and Robert Matthews. When the Market Revolution brought Elijah from New Jersey to New York, his life was a lot different than what he was used to. Elijah had come from a town where everyone attended church and where social hierarchy was unproblematic. At a young age he learned that “God had placed men and women into families and social ranks, then governed their destinies according to his inscrutable Providence” (15). However, when he moved to New York, few people attended church and homelessness was seen all over the streets.
Besides English settlers there were numerous other representatives of the European countries settling in the new land. And as the Puritans came to practice their own believes so did other nationalities, as explained in the study material. In my own interpretation America represents change and the believe system as well as the way religion was previously practiced was now changing. This change was greatly influenced by the intellectual movement called Enlightenment, which started in Europe and this influence had bearing on the Great Awakening. Besides Puritans now there were Catholics in Maryland, Quakers in Pennsylvania and the Episcopal Church in the southern states.
Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening are novels that represent the traps that society has set forth for them. In both novels, suicide is seen as the only way to escape from their constricted circumstances in which these people are expected to live in. The Frome’s and The Pontellier’s have very similar circumstances, such as blaming each other for their problems, and having marriage’s which they are not happy in. “Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate.”
Gary Nash, the author of the book, The Forgotten Experience, talks about the arbitrary lifestyle Native Americans and African American faced during the American Revolution, which occurred on April 19, 1775. Many Native American tribes in the east of the Mississippi joined the colonist to fight the war at the “home front” against the British. However, some of the Native Americans took advantage and fought against the colonists by themselves. On the other hand, African American fought the Revolution for freedom. They wanted to escape from being slaves and have equal rights as whites.
In the early 19th century, the overall atmosphere of the nation was charged with overwhelming positivity. The end of the War of 1812 left American feeling as if they won. It filled the citizens with a sense of optimism and inspiring nationalism. The market revolution, which lasted from around the time of the War til the 1860s, brought about many changes. It brought about changes in American business interaction, social changes like establishment of the cult of domesticity, and westward expansion of territory.
Second Great Awakening: The Second Great Awakening was an Evangelical Protestant revivals that swept over America in the early 19th century. The movement began around 1790 and gained momentum by 1800 and after 1820 membership rose rapidly among the Baptist and Methodist congregation whose preacher led the movement Fugitive Slave Law 1850: The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850. this federal law made it easier for slave owners to recapture runaway slaves; it also made it easier for kidnapper to take free blacks.
The Second Great Awakening was extremely influential in shifting the minds towards reform in people across America. The mentality of the people at this time was closed minded and had acceoted their way of living. Among other factors, Charles Finney played and important role in the success of the Second Great Awakening. “Much of the impulse towards reform was rooted in the revivals of the broad religious movement that swept the Untied States after 1790.” Revivals during the Second Great Awakening awakened the faith of people during the 1790s with emotional preaching and strategic actions from Charles Finney and many other influential preachers, which later helped influence the reforms of the mid-1800s throughout America.
The Second Great Awakening, beginning in about 1790, influenced a reform movement that encouraged mandatory, free, public education. In 1805, the New York Public School Society was created by wealthy businessmen and was intended to provide education for poor children. In 1817, a town meeting in Boston, Massachusetts called for establishment of free public primary schools. Many wage earners opposed this proposal. Josiah Quincy, mayor of Boston, supported the idea that education should be a priority by saying, “(By) 1820, an English classical school is established, having for its object to enable the mercantile and mechanical classes to obtain an education adapted for those children whom their parents wished to qualify for active life, and thus
“Independence, free will, and personal effort are considered primary virtues that contribute not only to personal achievement but also to the success and well-being of the nation.” This quote, stated by Charles Finney, means that people must be able to choose for themselves and make their own decisions in order for the country to become better than it is. The Second Great Awakening began for several different reasons, consisted of many different church revivals and leaders, and ultimately had a lasting impact for several more years after the end of the Second Great Awakening. There were several different factors that led up to the Second Great Awakening. Some such factors are listed by Richard Kaplan in his article titled, The Second Great
The first event that occurred was the Enlightenment. It occurred through the years of around 1650 to about 1700. The enlightenment opened up the eyes and the minds of the people living in the British colonies in America. The enlightenment changed the way people were thinking and gave them a sense of freedom and individualism, in this case, individualizing them selves from their British rulers. There was not much revolutionary action but the impact that John Locke’s enlightenment ideas had on people started unraveling events, one after the other to eventually lead to the revolution.
Title: The Awakening Author: Kate Chopin Setting: Grand Isle and New Orleans in the early 19th century Genre: Tragedy Historical context: The Awakening takes place when women were seen as a man’s possession. Mr. Pontellier looks at Edna as a possession. Women were expected to stay devoted to their husband and children and remain a stereotypical housewife whose main job is to clean, cook and care for the children. (Adele) Edna rivals against these standards as she challenges society 's expectations of women during the early 19th century.
In Kate Chopin 's novel The Awakening and the short story “The Story of An Hour” feminist beliefs overshadow the value in moral and societal expectations during the turn of the century. Due to Louise Mallard and Edna Pontellier Victorian life style they both see separating from their husband as the beginning of their freedom. Being free from that culture allows them to invest in their personal interest instead of being limited to what 's expected of them. Chopin 's sacrifices her own dignity for the ideal of society’s expectations. Chopin 's sad, mysterious tone seems to support how in their era, there was a significant lack of women 's rights and freedom of expression.
