Review Guide for English 11 Test over Literature Before 1800
  Mid-term exam

Be familiar with these readings, including the vocabulary and the sidebars in the text:

On Plymouth Plantation
A Narrative of Capitivity
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Bejamin Franklin’s Autobiography
Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention ”(audio)
Thomas Paine’s The Crisis Paine-Crisis.pdf
“The Declaration of Independence”

The following ideas were discussed by the text or in class. Be prepared to answer these questions:

How did the Puritans view history?
How did Diests view religion?
What did the rationalists have in common with the Puritans? How did their views differ from the Puritans’?
Explain what was meant by “the plain style” and discuss how it related to the Puritan’s understanding of life.
Explain why “the plain style,” such as that used by William Bradford, is hard for modern readers to understand.
What was the main goal of the Continental Congress as depicted in the film 1776?

What were three obstacles that needed to be overcome to accomplish this goal?
What was the most difficult obstacle?
What compromise was made by John Adams to overcome this obstacle?

What is a virtue?
Explain Aristotle’s view of the relationship between virtues and vices. Be ready to give two examples.
Explain how Benjamin Franklin’s writing reveals his Puritan hertage.
Explain how Benjamin Franklin’s view of life differs from that of the Puritans.
How is Franklin’s list of virtues different from a list that the Puritans might have made?
In what way is the Declaration of Independence most similar to the Mayflower Compact? Mayflower_Compact.pdf
Explain what was revolutionary about the phrase “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Explain what was meant at the time of the Declaration of Independence by ”natural rights.” Be able to write, from memory, the sentence from the Declaration that most directly states the natural rights philosophy.

What are the unalienable rights claimed by the Declaration of Independence? What does it mean to say they are “unalienable”?

In his 1941 State of the Union speech, Franklin Roosevelt added to “freedom of speech” and “freedom of religion” two new freedoms: “freedom from fear” and “freedom from want.” How do these differ from the “unalienable rights” claimed by the Declaration of Independence?