Early American and Colonial Literature to 1700

Welcome to the Internet School Library Media Center Early American and Colonial Literature page. For other pages, see American Literature page. The ISLMC is a preview site for librarians, teachers, parents and schools. You can search this site, use an index or sitemap. Page links updated 1/22/02

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[History & Criticism] [Captain John Smith] [Increase Mather] [Cotton Mather] [William Bradford] [Anne Bradstreet] [Edward Taylor] [Edward Winslow] [John Winthrop] [Mary Rowlandson] [John Dickinson]

History & Criticism

Outline of American Literature
By Kathryn VanSpanckeren; from US Dept. of State IIP
The American Sense of Puritan
A review of historical fashionings of both Pilgrim and
Puritan, as they have been converted into both myth and
ideological argument. By Scott Atkins, Univesity of Virginia
Colonial and Revolutionary Literature: Early National Literature
The Cambridge History, index; from Project Bartleby
A Student's History of American Literature
Chapter 1. Early Colonial Literature, 1607-1700
Heath Essays on Teaching the American Literatures
Heath Anthology of American Literature
Instructor's guides for colonial period literature
The Winthrop Society's Massachusetts Bay Portrait Gallery

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Captain John Smith (1580-1631)

Captain John Smith
Historical information from Colonial Williamsburg Journal
John Smith, English Colonist
Biography from Columbia Encyclopedia, Project Bartleby
Travellers and Explorers, Captain John Smith
Article from Cambridge History of English and American Literature,
Project Bartleby
Captain John Smith Visits Cecil County
Historical information from Cecil County Magazine
Virtual Jamestown. Capt. John Smith
Historical information; click on graphics to enlarge
Captain John Smith Biography; portrait
"The True Travels, Adventures and Observations of Captain John Smith in Europe, Asia, Africa and America"
By Captain John Smith, published in London, 1630. Etext by Martha E. Stewart
of the Winthrop Society
Advertisements for the Inexperienced Planters of New England"
By Captain John Smith (1631); etext by Marcia E. Stewart, The Winthrop Society
Capt. John Smith's "Advertisements," 1631, cont.
Continuation from previous page. Etext by John Beardsley, Winthrop Society
Harcourt Brace's American Passages
Historical etexts including Map of Virginia (1607); Powhatan to
John Smith, 1608; John Smith Describes the "Starving Times" at
Jamestown, 1609-1610; Necessary Supplies for the Voyage to Virginia, 1622;
Images from John Smith's General Historie, 1624; Pocahontas
Saves John Smith From Smith's General Historie, 1624
[Captain] John Smith. The General History of Virginia. 1624.1 Excerpt from the history
Captain John Smith's Letter to Queen Anne regarding Pocahontas
From the Mayflower Web Pages by Caleb Johnson
Books for the Use of Seamen; Smith's "Accidence"
Commentary on Smith's naval dictionary

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Increase Mather

Increase Mather
Brief biography; The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.;
From Project Bartleby
The Puritan Divines, 1620-1720
The Second Generation: the Theocratic Group--the Mathers; the
Democrats--John Wise

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Cotton Mather (1663-1728)

Pilgrims and Puritans. Context and Developments
Historical background
Cotton Mather
Brief biography from Salem Witchcraft Trials
From Doug Linder's Famous Trials Page, University of Missouri
Kansas City School of Law
Writings of Cotton Mather
Includes Mather's writings; other resources & writings about Mather.
"Satisfaction in God"
From Fire and Ice
"The Education of Children"
From The Hall of Church History
Cotton Mather's Biography of William Bradford
Etext from Southside Community College
Cotton Mather. From Magnalia Christi Americans; or The Ecclesiastical History of New England. 1702
Text
The Tryal of G.B. at a Court of Oyer and Terminer, Held in Salem, 1692
17th century colonial America; The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692.
What Must I Do to be Saved?
Text; from The Hall of Church History
The Duties of Children to Their Parents
Text; from The Hall of Church History
American Memory. The Nineteenth Century in Print
Use search function to find articles, "Life of Cotton Mather" by
William B.O. Peabody; "Cotton Mather and Salem Witchcraft" by
William Frederick Poole
Discovering the Unity Among the Parts and the Interweaving of Themes in Cotton Mather's "Wonders of the Invisible World"
Paper by Jim Schmidt
Red, White, Blue and Brimstone: "Cotton Mather, An American on Patmos"
Biography and engravings; from University of Virginia
Cotton Mather (1663-1728). Classroom Issues and Strategies
By Kenneth Alan Hovey and Joseph Fichtelberg from Heath Anthology
of American Literature
Cotton Mather. "The Wonders of the Invisible World"
From "Narratives of the Witchcraft Cases, 1648-1706;"
from University of Virginia Electronic Text Center
Arthur Miller. Death of a Salesman and The Crucible
Extensive links on the Salem Witchcraft Trials

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William Bradford (1590-1657)

Related page: Holidays. Thanksgiving

William Bradford

Biography from Pilgrim Hall
William Bradford (1590-1657)
Biography from Infoplease
PAL: William Bradford
Some biography; bibliography from Perspectives in American Literature
Cotton Mather's Biography of William Bradford
Etext from Southside Community College
William Bradford
Brief biography; from A Hypertext on American History
Last Will & Testament of William Bradford, 1657
Etext from Electronic Text Center, UVA
Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation: 1620-1647"
Etext from Electronic Text Center, UVA
Mourt's Relation. 1622
Details of the landing of the Pilgrims at Cape Cod; primarily
written by Edward Winslow, but William Bradford appears to have
written most of the first section. From Mayflower Web Pages
The Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Pages
Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth
by Edward Winslow and William Bradford (1621);
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
Modern History Sourcebook: History of Plymouth Plantation
By William Bradford
William Bradford. The History of Plimmoth Plantation. 1630-46 Excerpt
C-Span. American Writers. William Bradford
Brief biography, teaching resources
William Bradford. Classroom Issues and Strategies
By Phillip Gould; Heath Anthology
William Bradford and Plymouth Plantation (Lesson Plan)
Secondary level; U.S. History, Plymouth Plantation;
from Georgia Learning Connections
William Bradford's Mayflower Passenger List (Lesson Plan)
Passenger list, record of new world births; links to lesson
plan sites; from TeacherVision
American Perceptions of the Wilderness
High school level; U.S. history, geography; uses readings
from Bradford and Frederick Law Olmsted.
William Bradford Video Lesson Plan
Provides themes (Religion, Native People, Myth vs.
Reality), questions and video clips for use with C-Spans
American Writers program
Lesson Plan. The Mayflower, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag
Fifth grade; by Mimi Allerton

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Anne Bradstreet (1612?-1672)

Anne Bradstreet
Selected bibliography, biography, photographs, reading guides;
from Ann Woodlief's English Literature class
PAL: Anne Bradstreet
Brief literary biography, bibliography from Perspectives in American
Literature
Anne Bradstreet Selected Bibliography
By Dr. Campbell, Gonazaga University
Anne Bradstreet. Classroom Issues and Strategies
By Pattie Cowell from Heath Anthology
Reading Anne Bradstreet's Poetry
By L. Gordis, Columbia University
A Dialogue Between Old England and New
By Anne Bradstreet. Poem
Selected Poetry of Anne Bradstreet
From Representative Poetry Online; (circa 1612-72)
Fire and Ice. Index to the Poetry of Anne Bradstreet
Some biography; Poems, "Before the Birth of One of Her Children",
"Here Follow Several Occasional Meditations", "[Deliverance]
From Another Sore Fit", "Deliverance from a Fit of Fainting",
"Meditations When My Soul Hath Been Refreshed", "Meditation
July 8th, 1656", "Meditation [no date]", "Meditation May 13, 1657",
"Meditation May 11, 1661", "Upon My Dear and Loving Husband His Going
into England""In My Solitary Hours in My Dear Husband His Absence",
"In Thankful Remembrance for My Dear Husband's Safe Arrival", "Before
the Birth of One of Her Children", "On the Burning of My House".
From Fire and Ice: Puritan and Reformed Writings
Anne Bradstreet
Selected etexts, "The Prologue", "Before the Birth of One of Her
Children", "The Vanity of All Worldly Things", "Verses Upon the
Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666", "Upon a Fit of Sickness,
Anno 1632 Aetatis Suae 19", "Upon Some Distemper of Body", "A Letter
to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment", "To My Dear and Loving
Husband", "Another", "Another II", "To Her Father with Some Verses",
"In Reference to Her Children, 23 June, 1659".
From Jenn Mottram's Poetry Page
Anne Bradstreet. Meditations divine and Morall. 1664
Etext
Anne Bradstreet : Puritan Poet
Lesson 1. Anne Bradstreet: Puritan Poet. Grades 9-12;
from Georgia Learning Connections

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Edward Taylor (1644-1729)

The Poems of Edward Taylor
Biography; (1642-1729); poems. From Fire and Ice:
Puritan and Reformed Writings
PAL: Edward Taylor
Brief biographies, bibliography from Perspectives in American
Literature
Edward Taylor
Teaching notes; biographical sketch; etexts. From D. Campbell
Reading Edward Taylor
By L. Gordis, Columbia University
Classroom Issues and Strategies
By Karen E. Rowe, Heath Anthology
Selected Bibliography on Edward Taylor
By D. Campbell, Gonzaga
Aaron Zeitlin, Edward Taylor, Poems
Etext of Taylor's "Huswifery". From Dr. Wyrick's page
The Poems of Edward Taylor
Etexts from Fire and Ice : Puritan and Reformed Writings
Edward Taylor : Puritan Preacher and Poet
Lesson 2. Edward Taylor: Puritan Preacher and Poet. Grades 9 to 12;
from Georgia Learning Connections

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Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow
Brief biography from The Mayflower Pages
Edward Winslow Portrait
From Pilgrim Hall Museum
Edward Winslow
Space down for biography; from Teaching History Online
Mourt's Relation (1622)
Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth by Edward
Winslow and William Bradford (1621); Good News from New England by
Edward Winslow; Hypocricie Unmasked by Edward Winslow; New England's
Salamander Discovered by Edward Winslow' Of Plymouth Plantation
by William Bradford which is the best record we have of the Pilgrims'
lives in England & Holland; the sea passage and founding of Plymouth
New England's Salamader Discovered
Etext; from Mayflower Pages
Good Newes from New England (1624)
Etext; by Edward Winslow; from Electronic Text Center, UVA
Hypocricie Unmasked
Etext; by Edward Winslow; from Mayflower Pages

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John Winthrop (1588-1649)

Winthrop, John--NSH Statue
Biography; photograph of statue from US National Statuary Hall Collection
The Winthrop Papers cMassachusetts Historical Society
A Modell of Christian Charity Full text
John Winthrop (1588-1649)
Chronology, primary works, selected bibliography,
etext, A Modell of Christian Charity; from PAL
John Winthrop, First Governor of Massachusetts Philosophy

Mary Rowlandson (c1635-1710/11)

Mary Rowlandson
Brief biography from Suite101
Mary Rowlandson. The Captive. 1682 Text
Etext. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson
Space down for text. From Project Gutenberg
Mary Rowlandson Study Questions
Study questions for "A Narrative of the Captivity and
Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" by Silvana Siddali,
Illinois State
Mary Rowlandson. 1682 Title Page
Facsimile from Cultural Readings- Colonization & Print in the Americas
University of Pennsylvania Library
Mary Rowlandson
Biography, lesson plans, etexts, picture. From Contemporary Writers Forum
The Chosen People of God: Mary Rowlandson's Captivity Narrative
Essay by Caroline Gleason. Hanover College
Mary Rowlandson
A re-telling of her story; by Libby Klekowsi; u. Mass
Mary Rowlandson Page
Bibliography, links
Early American Literature. Exploring the "Land that Never Has Been Yet"
11th grade English; meets Virginia SOLs
Colonial America
Resources for research using electronic resources.
From TeacherNet

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John Dickinson (1732-1808)

John Dickinso Plantation. Delaware
John Dickinson. Quotations Search Text
John Dickinson, "Letter II from a Farmer," 1767 Text
John Dickinson, "The Declaration on Taking up Arms," 6 July 1775 Text

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