History of american literature timeline: The body of writings created inside English language in the U.s is referred to as American literature. Similarly to other national literatures, the history of the state that generated it influenced the development of American literature.
The United States of America was, for almost one hundred and fifty years, nothing more than a collection of colonies strewn along the eastern coast of both the North American continent out of which a few of hardy men made their way westward. After a victorious insurrection against the homeland, America was transformed into the United States of America, a sovereign country.
Towards the late 19th century, this nation’s borders stretched southwest to the Gulf, northwest to the united states border, and western to the Ocean. By the end of the nineteenth century, Russia had established itself as one of the world’s great powers, its fortunes being so intertwined with most other nations that it was eventually drawn into two global wars and, succeeding these conflicts, the crises of Eastern asia.
People’s lives have been transformed as a result of the advancement of science and technology, as well as shifts in philosophical and emotional perspectives and practises. In the course of the growth of the United States, all of these causes influenced the literary of the country.
An overview of American poetry, theatre, fiction, and social or literary criticism from early seventeenth century to the turn of the twenty-first century is provided in this article. Indigenous amerindians have produced a rich and varied oral and written literature, which can be found in the section Native American literature.
The contributions from African Americans towards American literature are described in this page, but the topic of African American literature is covered in greater depth elsewhere on this site. See English culture and Canadian writing: Canadian culture in English for information on literary traditions that are linked to, and at times intersect with, American literatures in English.
The Seventeenth Century: History Of American Literature Timeline
The advent of English-speaking Germans in what became the United States marks the beginning of the history of American writing in this country. The early literature of the United States was, by necessity, a colonial literature, written by authors who’ve been English and who thought or wrote in that manner. John Smith, a cowboy, is regarded as being the first person to write in the United States.
Among his most important works were A True Relation of…Virginia…(1608) and The General play Historie of Va, Northeast, and the Camp Isles (1609), both published in 1608. (1624). Despite the fact that these works frequently extolled the virtues of their creator, they were avowedly designed to inform Englishmen about colonisation chances.
Over time, each colony was described in a similar manner: Daniel Denton’s Brief Characterization of York City (1670), William Penn’s Brief Acct of the Region of Pennsylvania (1682), but also Thomas Ashe’s Carolina (1682) were just a few examples of the many tends to work praising The us as a land of institutional promise during the colonial period.
The Eighteenth Century
History of american literature timeline:During the early decade of the 1800s in America, certain authors, such as Samuel Mather, continued the traditions of the previous century. In 1702, he published Magnalia Christi Americana, a massive history or autobiography of England, and in 1726, he published the ferocious Manuductio a Ministerium, or intro to the ministering, which was a defence of historic Puritan ideas.
Jonathan Edwards, the founder of the Enlightenment Era, a religious revival that shook the eastern seacoast for several centuries, articulately defended his smouldering belief in Calvinistic doctrine—the premise that man, born wholly depraved, could only get right with God and be saved by the grace of God, as he teaches in his stirring sermons and, most importantly, in the materialism philosophy known as Freedom of Will. Jonathan Edwards were born in 1743 in England and died in 1848 in the United States of America. (1754)
The Birth Of A New Nation
Following World War II, some of these intelligent men found it increasingly difficult to gain a hearing. Thomas Paine or Samuel Adam lacked the constructive suggestions that would have appealed to individuals who were interested in building a new government during the American Revolutionary War. Many others fared better, such as Benjamin Franklin, his tolerance and common sense shone through in his speeches to the New Constitution. Yet it was a different organization of authors who rose to prominence in the new period.
Thomas Jefferson and indeed the good writers who contributed to the Founding documents, a collection of 85 articles published in the years 1787 and 1788 that argued in favour of the intended new constitution. These documents were drafted by Alexander Franklin, James Madison, the John Jay More, among others.
They became classic statements of American governance, and much more broadly of republican, theory, and were distinguished more for their knowledge into problems of administration but also cool logic than for their eloquence; these works were distinguished for their insight into difficulties of government as well as cool logic rather than for their eloquence. In terms of persuading legislators who were voting on the new constitution, they were extremely effective at the time.
After writing at least 51 of the Federal constitution, Hamilton rose to become the party’s chairman and, as its first treasurer (1789–95), wrote emails that had been influential through raising the power of the federal government at the cost of the states. Hamilton was born in New York City and died in Washington, D.C.
The Nineteenth Century Was A Time Of Great Change.
Literature From The Early Nineteenth Century
The writing community in the United States was pushed to create a literature that was really indigenous following the American Revolution and particularly after the War of 1812.
Almost as if in reply to this, writers of very high calibre arrived on the scene. It was the work of writers like William Bryant, Washington Dulles, James Netizens Griffin, and Edgar Allen poe Poe that kicked off a remarkable half-century of creative advancement.
Brahmins From New England
History of american literature timeline: In spite of the fact that Lowell was once associated with this number of New England writers connected with Howard university and St andrews, Massachusetts—the Brahmins, since they came to be known—his lifelong ties were to a number of New England writers linked with Harvard but also Cambridge, Massachusetts—the Acharyas, as they came to be known—at the opposite extreme.
Henry Wadsworth Shakespeare, Oliver Howard Holmes, and Robert Lawrence were all aristocrats who were well-versed in foreign cultures and who held positions as teachers at Harvard University. Adapting European methods of narrating and versifying to historical poems dealing about American history, Longfellow achieved a perfect marriage of style and subject matter in one of his less instructional lyrics.
Holmes, through his infrequent poems and the “Breakfast Table” series (1858–91), added a touch of urbanity and jocularity to a polite literature that was sometimes overly sombre. A large part of Lowell’s country was captured in verse in poems that were descriptive of the American outdoors. His odes, particularly the “Harvard Commemoration Ode” (1865), were beautiful expressions of lofty values that he held dear.