What Is The Meaning Of Freedom In American Literature

The Puritans arrived in the New World in the hopes of “purifying” the Church of England. They practiced certain principles that they believed in and that centered around the idea of God. The main purpose of their journey to New England was to set an example to others how the Church should be, and so their motive for settlement was solely related to religion. The Puritans positively influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s because they were a “city upon a hill” that served as an example to other parts of the world as a result of their strong belief in God.

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

With American Literature, the authors expressed these freedoms through their works, but there was a point in time (1820-1865) where freedoms of thought and expression were the primary ideas for most of the texts. During this period, the authors openly voiced their discontent with institutions and systems, such as slavery, criticizing them for how they restrict people from thinking for themselves. They also demonstrated their freedom of expression through the text itself, not just the content of the text. In other words, the act of writing and publishing their work was an act of rebellion against the customs they disliked, because they have the freedom to do so. They not only have the right to have ideas that are different from those of the majority, but also the right to share those ideas with everyone, even if people don’t want to hear them.

“The Age of Enlightenment” was a period during the 18th Century that was committed to the rise of human intellect and rationality in evaluating society (Waters and Crook, 1993). Enlightenment emerged out of the scientific revolution, it challenged traditions, more specifically Christianity and started building a new framework that separated religion from politics.

America is the universal symbol of freedom. But is it really free? Does the history of the United States stay true to the ideas of our forefathers? Or has the definition been altered to fit American policies? Has freedom defined America? Or has America defined freedom? I believe America was at first defined by freedom, then after time, America defined freedom, altering the definition to fit the niche it fits in, but still keeping key components so it still seems to be staying true to the ideas of America’s founding fathers.

The Enlightenment period in the eighteenth century is a significant time in history as it became the standard structure for democratic society. However, Enlightenment did not address slavery yet enlightened government rule leading to the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution. Both milestones in history are significant game changers in history.

A division of English protestants, called the Puritans, wanted to purify the Church of England’s unbiblical ways. When their efforts only led to persecution, their desire to worship God biblically compelled them to leave England. They had to to brave the fierce Atlantic ocean so they could reach the New World, where they could worship freely. Once there, they founded New England. The Puritans shaped the New England colonies through their democratic assemblies, hard work ethic, and God-fearing communities.

Many ideas are important within the American culture, but to the American sense of patriotism, freedom is most fundamental. The idea of freedom is central to the American politics – which is at times referred to as liberty. Since the birth of the nation, freedom has been the vocabulary of the American language and its importance cannot be underestimated. The Declaration of Independence, for instance, ranks liberty as an inalienable right. On the other hand, the Constitution reckons that it purposes to protect civilians’ liberty. The importance of freedom has even stretched further than the political arena and has prompted the birth of civil rights movements and other activist protests. The Cold War and the Civil War were all for the cause of freedom. The importance that Americans attach to freedom can also be demonstrated from the erection of statues, banishment of slavery, use of liberty poles and a right to vote for adults. For many years, women and the African Americans have for a long time fought against denial and infringement of their freedom . However, given the importance that Americans affiliate to freedom in the conceptualization of their country, it has been the subject of modifications over the course of years especially before the Revolutionary War.

A religious group wanted to break away from England to practice and relish in their religion their own way. They were call the puritans and set sailed out to America for their religious reasons. With what little they had they believed strongly in God that he will help them out through everything they need. Religion being taken seriously as if it was a law was noticeable in two texts, William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, where religion over the years help the colonists and so forth help shape America’s identity.

The Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason, influenced the rest of the world during the late eighteenth century. There were several revolutions taking place at this time, but the American Revolution was at the forefront of them all. The

Puritanism forbade tyranny and oppression primarily because the Puritans had been oppressed throughout Europe, especially in England. Even though they frequently pushed their religion and beliefs onto others, as traditional Christianity of the 1600s was forced upon them, Puritans still preached the principle of freedom. America?s founders declared war with England particularly to establish freedom and independence. Throughout the years, as the United States gained strength, it also promoted freedom and democracy in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and most recently the Middle East. The majority of Americans believe in freedom from oppression and tyranny, and the entire origin of the country is a result of this conviction.

The enlightenment was also called the Age of Reason. It spanned from 1660-1770. The central idea behind the enlightenment was using reason to understand nature and guide the human existence. Some of the popular writers from that time period were Voltaire

The Enlightenment is intriguing period lasted from 1600 to1800.French historians traditionally place the period between 1715, the year that Louis XIV died, and 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution. The Enlightenment is known in French as the ‘’Siècle des Lumières’’ (Century of Enlightenment) was a philosophical and architectural movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe in the18th century.

The American Ideological Consensus is that “…the American people have shared much of the same ideals, the same basic principles, and the same patterns of belief” (McClenaghan 104). When America filled itself with ideologically homogenous people, their beliefs started to define our nation and became American identities. If asked what they think of America, peoples of other nations would say that the roads are made of glass, opportunity is in the air, and civil rights are plentiful. These accounts maybe accentuated; however, the underlying message is that the American people have more freedoms then the peoples of other nations do. The most widely known American identity is freedom, and even though that American identity has been tried and

The Enlightenment era also known as the age of reason, this era has changed the society in different aspect, in political movement, social, cultural, philosophical and literature. This era was the main spark for the democracy and science today. This era has started in England but the real development happened in France. The concept