Did you know Nathaniel Hawthorne?

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804 in Salem Massachusetts. His last name was originally Hathorne but he added a “w” to distinguish himself from a judge with the same name that had been a prominent figure in the Salem witch trials. Hawthorne struggled with Puritanism ideals which can be seen through some of his works including The Scarlet Letter. His father died while he was very young which added to his tendency to be a recluse. Hawthorne was good friends with other authors such as Oliver Wendell Homes Sr and Herman Melville and was considered a transcendentalist. He died traveling with President Pierce in 1864.

Did You Know: Edgar Allan Poe

You might hear the name Edgar Allan Poe and think of his most popular horror tales such as “The Tell Tale Heart” or “The Raven” but he was so much more than just a science fiction or horror story writer.  The menacing vision of Poe is mostly fiction.  Both of his parents died when he was only three years old.  Did you know that when he was thirteen he had enough poems to compile them into a book, but his headmaster at the time told him not to? At the University of Virginia he became so poor he had to burn his furniture to keep warm! His happiest marriage was to fourteen year old Virginia, who unfortunately contracted turbuculosis, which had claimed his other family. Poe’s death is also a mystery, no one knew exactly how he died.

Source: www.poemuseum.org

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on May 25th, 1803. This comes with biased thinking, but the most interesting thing I learned about him is that he went to my high school—Boston Latin School, which is the first and oldest public high school in America. After he graduated from BLS, he went on to Harvard like many of his classmates, as Boston Latin was a preparatory school for Harvard. Emerson was the youngest of his class at Harvard—he entered at the age of fourteen. He also was appointed as the “President’s Freshman”, which gave him a room free of charge.

He graduated from the Harvard School of Divinity and was ordained to the Second Church of Boston (also known as The Old North Church). This church is a well-known landmark in Boston and I live only five minutes away from it. Later on, he left the church because of indifferences he found which were introduced to him by philosophy.

Emerson’s family moved around Boston quite a bit. They lived in Beacon Hill, arguably the most expensive place to live in Boston today. They also lived in Roxbury, which was once a desirable location because it was four miles from the state house but still had the feel of living in the country. In Roxbury, there is a park, Franklin Park, where Emerson wrote his poem “Good-by, proud world; I’m going home” and that is also the same park where I practiced softball and soccer in high school.

Emerson’s colleagues and friends nicknamed him the “Sage of Concord” because of his knowledge and intellect. He was also socially ahead of his time—he advocated for women’s rights and the liberation of slaves. Emerson suffered from memory loss just like his brother, Emerson and passed away in 1882.

 

Information from:

http://emersoncentral.com/others/life_of_ralph_waldo_emerson.htm

Reflections on “Living an Apple Pie Life”

If you could make a list of themes that portray our generation as well as the generations around us, what would you come up with? Certainly one of the things on that list would have something to do with working all the time, or very hard atleast, to achieve one’s dreams. That is however, the “American Dream,” what this country was initially founded off of.The popular television series, “Supernatural” conveys this quite nicely through two brothers who seem obligated to work constantly for the majority of their time in hopes that they will find peace and revelation soon. Unfortunately, these guys never really get a break from hunting demons and such; in fact, the story pretty much implies that the two brothers, Sam and Dean, will end up fighting vicious creatures for the rest of their lives. In grade school we are brought up believing that we can be anything we want to be, achieve anything we want to achieve. Though this notion can and has happened for people, everybody knows that there are many who struggle with finding a job once they graduate college, or who never really end up doing what they want to do because it just doesn’t pay enough. Life provides a lot of conflicts that sometimes get in the way of our dreams, but it is still important to be optimistic. The two protagonists in the show “Supernatural” are a great example of how to keep on living even when times get really, freakishly rough. Life’s not going away so might as well make the best of it.

Did You Know: Thomas Jefferson

So, we are all pretty familiar with Thomas Jefferson (or you should be). He was one of the founding fathers of our country, the primary author of our Declaration of Independence, and the third president of our country. He publicly opposed slavery and, despite being religious, advocated for separation of church and state. He was well education, which he used to write many essays and father the University of Virginia. While Thomas Jefferson seems like the typical founding father that we learn about in school, it turns out that there’s a lot fun facts we don’t hear about!

To begin, did you know that Thomas Jefferson was the only president to serve two terms and never veto bill? I found this to be interesting considering that he was so active in the formation of the United States. He’s one of the only presidents to not acknowledge his presidency on his tombstone. I also pictured Thomas Jefferson as an intellectual snob. Jefferson was not only an avid writer, he was very pro-education and formed the basis for the American education system. However, it turns out that Thomas Jefferson was actually really casual and spent his free time playing with his children, rather than reading. (He also fathered quite a bit of children and they didn’t necessarily come from the same mother, so we know what the means…)

Also, did you know that Thomas Jefferson loved vanilla ice cream? He tasted it in France and brought back a recipe for it, which is now displayed in the Library of Congress. He also was a wine connoisseur and during his eight years as president, he racked up a wine bill of $10,835.90, which today would total $146,524.90.

Did You Know: Benjamin Franklin

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Known as a man of many hats, Benjamin Franklin was a statesman, inventor, author, publisher, and scientist. Franklin, one of ten children, was born January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. Franklin was born to a modest family that could not afford a formal education. At the age of 12, he became an apprentice in his brother’s printing shop, a trade that would become a life-long passion of Franklin’s.

In his later life, Franklin became increasingly interested in public affairs. Through his advocacy, he created a fire station, printed anti-counterfeiting currency, established multiple schools, colleges, and hospitals, and founded the American Philosophical Society. In 1751, he was elected to the Pennsylvania assembly, which began his political career, for which he is most revered. Franklin alone is the only man that signed the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance, Amity, and Commerce with France, the Treaty of Peace between England, France, and the United States, and the Constitution.

An Enlightened thinker, Benjamin Franklin often professed his belief in God and the role of men and women to live moral, good lives. Benjamin Franklin died April 17, 1790 at the age of 84 in Philadelphia. It is of no shock that over 20,000 people attended his funeral to pay respect to perhaps the most influential man in the creation of the Nation.

 

Did You Know: Edward Taylor

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Edward Taylor’s (c. 1642-1729) early life in England leaves much up to the imagination due to the lack of documentation. Three facts are known which allow us to vaguely draw an outline of his early life in England: Taylor went to university, Taylor taught school, and Taylor left England because he would not devote himself to the Church of England. Edward’s first splash onto the scene in America sprouted from his application to Harvard College and later his acceptance. While at Harvard his area of study ranged from medicine to the ministry.  It is said that he compiled a 500 page description of medicinal herbs and also studied the technology of metals in extreme depth. Taylor’s passion for science appears frequently within his poetry thus giving it an “intellectual flare” unlike any others in his time. After receiving his degree in three and a half years from Harvard he took a job in Westfield Massachusetts as a minister. However, poetry was his forte.

What shocks me most about the life of Edward Taylor is the discovery of his poetry. Taylor’s poetry was not discovered until the 1930’s. Norton’s description of the discovery can not be said much better: “it was one of the major literary discoveries of the twentieth century and revealed a body of work by a Puritan divine that was remarkable both in its quantity and quality” (144). Further research shows that the works were deposited into the Yale Library by Ezra Stiles, former Yale president and Taylor’s grandson. Stile’s was appointed president of Yale in 1778 and died in 1795. So Edward Taylor’s work was sitting in a library from c. 1785 to 1930 or 145 years before anyone found it. The amount of time this literary gem sat untouched from academia is absolutely stunning to me.

Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 1: Edward Taylor.” PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Refrence Guide.

 

 

Did You Know: Anne Bradstreet

Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612 in Northampton, England. In 1630, she emigrated with her family to America aboard the Arabella, which was one of the first ships to bring Puritans to New England. The journey took three months, and many died along the way. In memoirs, Bradstreet homesickness upon reaching New England is clear. She writes, “I found a new world and new manners at which my heart rose [up in protest].”  Knowing her place as a Puritan woman, Anne was hesitant to publish her works. In fact, The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung up in America was the only collection of her poetry to be published during her lifetime. This collection was taken to England by Bradstreet’s brother (possibly without her knowledge or permission) and appeared in 1650. With this, Bradstreet became one of the first female writers and published poets to write English verse in the American colonies.

Bradstreet was plagued by common Puritan beliefs about God. In “To My Dear Children,” she questions whether or not the Puritan views on God are correct. “But how should I know that he is such a God as I worship in Trinity,” she asks. “Why may not the Popish religion be the right? They have the same God, the same Christ, the same word. They only interpret it one way, we another.” Although in the end she remains faithful, Bradstreet even goes so far as to question God’s existence.  Not only did Bradstreet struggle with the Puritan spiritual beliefs, she was also bothered by the criticisms she received as a female writer. The belief during her time was that women we’re intellectually inferior to men. Women were expected to complete only domestic activities and even to base their beliefs of God on that of the men in their life. “Prologue” is a piece by Bradstreet that reflects these views.

anne b 1 anne b 2 anne b 3

Did you know: William Bradford

William Bradford was born in Yorkshire, England in 1590 into a wealthy yeoman household, (farm owners/noblemen). Orphaned by the age of seven, Bradford was often shuttled around a pool of relatives, never staying long anywhere. His constant traveling eventually led to health problems, however, in his bedridden state Bradford preoccupied himself by reading, thus familiarizing himself with the Bible. During the time, England fell under the rule of the Anglican Church. Bradford’s readings left him questioning the righteousness of the Anglican religion, prompting him to join the local separatist church at the age of seventeen. In order to avoid persecution the congregation immigrated to the Netherlands. There they practiced freely until their fears of assimilation into Dutch culture compelled them to board The Mayflower in 1620. Sadly, aboard the ship Bradford’s wife Dorothy May disappeared, rumored to have been swept overboard or to have jumped to her death, leaving him to raise their son John alone.

Several months later the ship arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Upon disembarkment Bradford co-wrote and signed The Mayflower Compact, which instated that the settlers would ensure a fair government ruled by the majority. Bradford later remarried to widow Alice Carpenter and had three more children. As one of the Plymouth founders and separatist leaders, Bradford was elected governor five times and served a total of thirty-one years. Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation is categorized as colonial literature as it covers the Puritan movement from 1620 to 1647. It addresses the struggles the Puritans faced in coming to the New World such as religious oppression and disease while also intending to educate and inspire younger generations to create what he believed could be a morally upstanding nation. Bradford died on May 9, 1657 and is often regarded for his wisdom and fairness to all. Although it wasn’t until 1856 that his journal was published, it is still considered one of the most important early chronicles of the New England settlement.

Staloff, Darren Marcus. “William Bradford.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 11 January 2014.
<http://www.history.com/topics/william-bradford>

Kelso, Dorothy Honiss. “Pilgrim Hall Museum – Beyond the Pilgrim Story – William  Bradford.” Pilgrim Hall Museum –
Beyond the Pilgrim Story – William Bradford. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 January 2014.
                <http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/william_bradford.htm>

“PAL:William Bradford (1590-1657).” Perspectives in American Literature:William Bradford (1590-1657). N.p., n.d. Web.
11 January 2014. <http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/bradford.html>

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know: John Winthrop

John winthrop

A member of the gentry, John Winthrop was born on January 22, 1588. At the age of 17 he married his first of four wives, and the first of his 16 children was born the following year. At Cambridge University he was first exposed to the reformist ideas of Puritanism and seriously considered becoming a clergyman; however, choosing to study law instead, Winthrop served as an attorney on the Court of Wards and Liveries from 1627-1629.

Winthrop believed God had elected him to ‘sainthood,’ salvation, and like many Puritans he was socially active in his quest to purge the Church of England of any resemblance to Catholicism. The rise of King Charles I, a Roman Catholic Church sympathizer, to the throne and England’s economic crisis made seeking permission to emigrate the only course of action for Winthrop that would allow him to practice his beliefs and maintain his social position. A group of merchants, all Puritans, gained a charter in March 1629 for land in the colonies. The Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England elected Winthrop as their governor. On April 8, 1630, 700 emigrates set  sail for the New World. On Arbella, Winthrop delivered his sermon A Model of Christian Charity. Respected and beloved by his fellow Puritans, Winthrop believed his community and way of life were favored above all others by God and was suspicious of all new ideas. Winthrop was elected several times as governor, and after winning the election in 1637, he called for the excommunication of Anne Hutchinson, who supported a form of Christianity Winthrop found blasphemous. Defeated after a six week battle with a fever, Winthrop died at the age of 61 in the spring of  1649. The journal he maintained through out his time in the colonies has been a primary sourse of the history of early Massachusetts.

Information from:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/645737/John-Winthrop

“John Winthrop.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. 6th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. 90-91.