Last lecture on Albion's Seed

1/22/09 1:35 PM Regional Cultures Persist Explains the nature of a voluntary society Early families in Puritan Massachuseets, mavericsk from the beginning, the Balch and Conant and the Mavaericks (West: cattle without a brand) Opening up for other ?mavericks? like Sara Palin or John McCain, or Barack Obama. Four Great Migrations 1629-1629: Exodus of English Puritans..principles of ordered liberty, town meetings, communal settlements Not idividualists, early communists, but deply puritanical with a soaring spiritual ambition. 1650?s: Virginians, a culture of scattered settlements, hierachies of rank, and an idea of hegemonic liberty. Not the characters in Gone with the Wind, but Roaylaist aristocrats, dep sense of honor, Anglican- with a majority population that were poor whites. 1675-1715: Quakers, Christian idea of spiritual equality, a worldly ascetic ethos, pluralistic system of reciprocal liberty. Distorted as utopian cranks, manipulative materialists, secular pluralists, we forget William Penn?s holy experiment 1717-1775: Border culture types, Scotch Irish, material culture, extreme inequalities, ideal of natural liberty. Not ancient celts, Scotch-Irish savages, innocent children of nature, culture with its own set of values. Religious Factors in British Origins Most Dominant Factore Deeply divided on the question of the Reformation: Right wing of Biritsh Reformation Anglican Episcopacy. Inclusive national church Worship and liturgy forged by Book of Common Prayer Arminian in Theology: General Atonement Hierarchy of priests. Incredibly strong in Virginia for at least a century Presbyterians Broad national Church Ruled by synods/ministers vs. bishops and priests Calvinist: Worship, preaching for conversion. Used evangelical field meetings, strong American backcountry. Congregationalists Middle way: independent churches and weeks synods. Mix between Arminian (rationalists and free will) and Antinomian (dominated by Spirit) Synod of Dort (1618): Five points of Calvinism Total depravity; limited atonement; unconditional election; irresistible grace; irresistible grace; perseverance of saints Free will is more of a modern idea, that 20th century theologins thought that we were chosen by God. (Change now ordain gay pastors) Separatists Autonomy of each congregation. Separate from unreformed national church Broadly Calvinists Denomination founded the Mayflower pilgrims at Plymouth Colony. Anabaptists: Deeply divided on the question of the Reformation Calvinists, but..added a 6th point. Baptism should be restricted to regenerate Christians, had to be old enough and make your own choice about how old you were going to be. Working of Holy Spirit over against divine law. Baptists, who believed in the separation of Church and State to preserve the church from spiritual pollution. Founded colony of Rhode Island. Quakers Jesus for everyone Holy Spirit is the inner light dwelling within all people. Rejected legitimacy of established churches, ordined clergy. Pre-Columbian Cultures End of the last ice age, 13,00 or so years ago, humans cross the ice bridge Siberia to Alaska Move, following the herds, to S. America, in 2,000 or so years, averaging 7 miles ago. Multiple languages North of Mexico, 200 mutrually exclusive languages Mesoamerica: 35 languages. 75 percent lived in Mexifo and Andean regions, somewhere between 60-70 million N. of Mexico, 10 million years. Before the Europeans, Amerindians domesticated no animals larger that the dog; no whelled vehicle plows or iron insturments. With exception of Mesoamerican tribes, no written languages. Hunter-gatherers, a few were agriculturalists. ?Guns, Germs, and Steal? believe ancient peoples were smarter, as the dumb ones just died. Some tiribes had matrilineal knship forms (taking rights from the mother), and matrlocal (living in ther mother?s houshold following marriage), others pere patrilineal (taking rights from the father) and patrilocal (going to live in the father?s household, following marriage). Indian values did not sanction acquiring wealth at the expense of one?s fellows. The attitudes toward group identity was one of the major differences with Europeans. Five or six language groups of the Aleuts of Alaska region (see slides) Pre-Columbian Cultures Southwest culture: Hohokam and Mogollon cultures During the later epoch AD 700-2200, the Hohokam developed a fairly advanced culture, based in part on their influences, or the colonization of tribes from mexico. Development of ball courts, mosaic plaques, clay effigy vessels, loom weaving of cultivate cotton, copper bells, and shell ornaments. They cremated their dead and buried htem in urns. One of the ew tribes that cremated their dead and buried them with their ancestors The Hopewell builders thrived in the woodlands of the Ohio valley from 300 BC They built large mounds, complex ceremonial grounds, the biggest one covers 4 square miles, skilled at building a complex series of mounds, used for ceremonies for the dead. Trading systems were far flung from rare items and exotic material from the Rocky Mountians, Lake Superior and the Gulf of Mexico. Used obsidian from Whyoming from knives. Vestiges of these culture may have been the beginnings of the Mississippian civilization, emerging between AD 700 and 900, spreading from Illonois to the Mississippi. One of their largest towns was near present day St. Louis, called Cahokia. Religion of Amerindians. No name for religion. Fusion of ordinary and extraordinary religion Notion that Indians generally delft that everyday life was closely linked to spirituality; the world, in short was a huge extended family network. No tendency to separate the spiritual from the material. Special care for creation, because the mother earth, and the brothers an sisters animal were what made life possible, and so to take care of them was only natural. Indian lore is filled with shapshifters. People becoming animals and moving back and forth so that the distinictions between the two worlds are hardly noticeable at times. Power was found in harmonizing oneself to the world of nature, and various sacred objects and forces that manifested themselves in ritual- In swat lodge, in a sun dance or in a sacred game of ball. French Missions to the Amerindians Jesus, Society of, religious order of the Roman Catholic Church founded (1534-39) by St. Ignatius of Loyola Members called Jesuits, have a highly displined structure, devoted to the pope. They were a major force in the Counter Reformation French exploration of Saint Lawrence Valley gegan in 1534. Thinks got rolling in the early 17th century 1625, Society of Jesus came to what was called New France. Jean de Brebeuf. In three years, learned Huron language, baptized only one dying child. The contact caused immense problems for the natives. 1640, almost half of the population was swept away. Hurons numbered less than the 12,000. Hurons viewed the Jesuits as powerful Shamans. Wondered if black robe responsible for all human suffering. Jesuits only tolerated because of the need o maintain trade with Montreal and Quebec. Hurons were polytheists-believed in the power of dreams, Hurons thought of monogamous marriage as illogiacal and lacking common sense. Questioned the bloof sacrifice of Jesus- wrong doing was compensated for by giving possessions, even in the case of murder. Jesuits did adapt; Brebeuf, knowing that red was important then began to paint all crosses in red. Jesuits developed lay Indian sspokespersons, dogiques, even using femals to speak to their peers about faith. Numbers: 1,700 converts by 1648. 1648-9?Iroquis sensing the weakness of the Hurons, began attacking and working to annihilate the tribe, village by village They then brutally murdered Brebeuf. Franciscans?Brothers of St. Francis Francis, Sait or Sait Francis of Assissi 1182-a date Believed in absolute poverty Early Spanish missionaries named the Southwestern Indians, puebles Early contact with the Natives. Spanish attempeted to create villages based on class structure, with hierarchy, concentrated on wealth Most Pueblos of the Southwestern tribes, matriolcal, matrilineal, one?s moter determines one?s clan membership. Among the Pueblos, the individual was completely subordinate to the group. Individuals who thirsted for fame, status, received nothing but censure. Christian concerts were nonconformists. Priests in Pueblo societies perormed ritual tass that confirmed the cohesion of the group Belief the kachinas. Thies dietied emerges from underground kivas Kachinas had given order and purpose to all things From the beginning it was understood that people would return to the shipapu when they died. One of the most important kachinas was the Iatiku, or grandmother figure, sometimes depicted as a spider, most important symbol was corn. In 1671, great pestilence struck the Southwest, killing many natives as well as Spanish The Christians diety appeared to be no better at preventing death than kachinas. Created rebellion against the repressive tactics of the Spanish. 1680, a united Pueblos force struck and several Spaniards were killed. A wave of violent repression by the Spanish followed and by 1700 less then half Pueblo population wasn?t there anymore Puritans first contact with Wapanoags tribes, Algonkian-speaking peoples. Early tribes are friendly, help the English to survive in the erly 17th century. But soon are surprised that the English do not share food, or land, demand private property, demand that Indians change their lifestyle and their beliefs. Little or no toleration of Indian beleifs. Massachusetts, Wampanoafans nearly half die 1600-20 Semi-nomadic tribes; hunter-gatherers, hunting or men, farming for women. Dwelt in lodges, circular wigwams. Emphasize community as well as personal initiative. Whites saw men as lazy, worked when they wanted to, volunteers in war, hunting, all things. Religion shamans or diviners, that is interpreted the people?s dreams, attempted to propesy weather, bless crops, war and farming. No special class. Divine-human interactions could take many forms, no one god, but many spirits, some would be one?s personal guiding spirit. John Eliot-1631. Learned Algonkian language, translated a New Testament into their language, converted some. Was able to convince natives to join towns. Goal was assimilationNative lose mobile lifestule become tenant farmers in towns, vut hair, speak English, wear English clothes?became like Englishmen 1674, missions high point, 1,100 natives lived in Eliot?s 14 towns 500 converts, the rest were hanger?s on. King Philip?s War breaks out in 1675, a Wampanoag chieg, was able to band together a fighting forced that killed 6 percent of the English population. Destroyed the Indian towns, and put a wedge between Indians and whites. 1887-Congress establish the General Allotment Act President is able to carve up the Indian reservation and land is distributed to 160 acres per family It promises citizenship to all Indians who accept allotment and promise to live always from other tribesmen. Many Indians rebel, but more quietly Post-Four Folkways of Albion Seed 1/22/09 1:35 PM 1/22/09 1:35 PM