-
Period: 1500 to
American Literature
Span of Literature from the arrival of the first settlers to modern times. -
Period: 1500 to
Native Americans
When the Europeans first arrived to the new world there were almost 300 different Native American cultures with almost 200 different spoken languages among them. Compared to other cultures across the world The Native American communities of that time did not have a written language and instead had spoken literature where they would memorize a story and pass down to the next generation with oral tradition. -
Jun 13, 1500
Native American Literature
When the first Europeans arrived to the American continent, Native Americans were at their peak, there were almost 300 different Native American cultures with almost 200 different spoken languages among them. But, Native Americans did not have a written language and instead passed down stories through oral tradition, the stories that were told ranged anywhere from legends of great heroes in battle with beasts, to creation stories explaining how the universe and the beings in it were created. -
Period: to
Early American Literature
Writers during this time wrote and recorded the experiences they had on their long journeys prior to landing in the Americas and their lives living on the continent. -
The Sky Tree
"The Sky Tree" is a creation myth of the Hurons that depicts the journey of a woman who tried to heal her husband but instead sent the tree that is the food source of the people who live in the land she originates from to the earth. When she decided to follow the tree the animals brought up soil from the bottom of the ocean and placed on the turtles back to make the earth we all walk on today. -
Puritans arrive in North America
When the Puritans arrived to the American continent they had done so to escape persecution back in England. The Puritans brought along many of their values and traditions to the new world and believed that they were chosen by God to create a new order in America, they believed that humans were sinful in nature and that only through the bible could they rid themselves of that sin. Puritan literature also reflected this and was very religious in order to help make God's words more understandable. -
Period: to
Puritanism
The Puritans when they first arrived wished to spread their religion to others and share the word of God with others. And although they contributed to the positive traits of hard work and responsibility to all, they had a deep intolerance for any religion other their own and this hatred led to events such as the Salem witchcraft trials where almost 20 innocent people died from public execution. Their attachment to religion also reflected their literature where they adopted a simple word style. -
Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House, July 10, 1666.
This poem written by Anne Bradstreet expresses the feelings she had when her house burned down. Instead of being scared in that moment, she prays to God on the first sight of the flames and she believes that to miss all her possessions is foolish and that it never belonged to her anyway, "It was His own, it was not mine." (17) She also never is angry at God and says that whatever has happened has happened for good and that God has prepared something better for her in heaven, her true home. -
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
Born in New York city in 1915, Arthur Miller was a talented man of literature who wrote many award winning plays, one of his most notable was the 1955 play "The Crucible." Set In 1692, his plays talks about the witch hunt that accused almost 200 people of witchcraft and executed almost 20 people who were innocent and thought to have been associated with the devil and joined hands with him. Accused by a group of girls who did this for sport and leisure, many victims paid the ultimate price. -
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Rev. Jonathan Edwards
Rev. Jonathan Edwards delivered this to a congregation in Enfield, Connecticut. In this Sermon he compares the relationship of humans to God as holding an insect over a fire, implying that we could be dropped into the fire anytime in our lives but the only reason we are alive is for God's enjoyment and pleasure. As a matter of fact God actually hates and "abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked:"(126) Also he points out that to avoid this fate of no security you must be "born again" spiritually. -
Period: to
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was one of the biggest historical events that occurred during the Romanticism era and was one of the big factors that helped contribute to the spread and rise of Romanticism. The Industrial Revolution started in England and slowly spread across the globe and reached America. During this time big cities were littered with factories and due to the pollution many writers wrote opposingly to this and asked people to stay with nature and wrote about how beautiful it was. -
Period: to
American Romanticism
American Romanticism was a literary movement which focused on the importance of emotions, nature, beauty, and the imagination of the mind, people during this period also rejected industrialization and factory settings, they told people if you want to find yourself you must look to nature. But as well as these romanticist writers were the Dark romantics who used Gothic elements in their writings which gave their literary pieces a dark twist and really showed the human capacity for evil. -
The Louisiana Purchase
In 1803 America doubled the size of its borders when it bought 828,000 sq mi of land from France for fifteen million dollars. This was a big change for America not just politically but also socially, this allowed people to move out west and obtain huge amounts of land and property. This also roused a lot of attention from writers during the romanticism movement in America, many writers described the purchase as opening the gates to a new untamed frontier of beauty and opportunity for all. -
"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
"The Devil and Tom Walker" is a story written by Washington Irving about a man named Tom Walker who met a strange individual who told Tom of great sums of treasures and planted a seed of greed in Tom's heart that would consume him and finally contribute greatly to his downfall. This story is filled with a great deal of supernatural aspects and is tied with nature from the beginning to the end, But as well as this the story holds a great moral relating to greed and selfishness and what it can do. -
Period: to
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of the spiritual over the material when it comes to leading a fulfilling life. Transcendentalists stressed American ideas of optimism, freedom, and self-reliance, also they emphasized to people to have a simple life and celebrated the aspects of nature, personal emotion, and imagination. -
“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Self-Reliance” is a literary piece written by Transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, in this piece of literature Emerson explains that society has a great effect on people and that instead of listening to external authority you should listen to your own voice. He also says that you should "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string." (6) -
"Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman
"Leaves of Grass" written by Walt Whitman is a collection of poems that praise America and its great aspects for he believed that America is a young and robust nation which is a poem by itself and put it upon himself to catch it on paper. Written in free verse the poem went against traditional poetic forms and rules, due to this the poem received great criticism and was rejected by many writers of the time. But nonetheless the poem was a great piece of literature that has been looked up on. -
Period: to
Romanticism to Realism
Due to the Civil War many of the principles of the Romantic era could no longer fit in America's frame and to fit writers transitioned to Realism which portrayed a different view of life which on most occasions was the ugly reality of life back then, because the Civil War was a war not just between two opposing countries but two opposing ideas. This transition although was short and drastic would affect the writings of many authors in the time to come and formed the basis for literature today. -
"The Emancipation Proclamation"
When the Civil War reached its 3rd year Abraham Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation, this document set all the slaves in the southern states free and made it against the law to question any slaves freedom. Although the confederate states opposed this document, it inspired thousands of slaves to join the Union. He stated this when he wrote "all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state,....shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;" -
"The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln
"The Gettysburg Address" was delivered to the American people after the Union won The Battle of Gettysburg at a ceremony marking the field a national cemetery. The speech was written not just to preserve the union but the country as a whole on an issue that separated the country in two. He wrote that "...our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." to show that everyone is equal and level. -
completion of the transcontinental railroad.
The transcontinental railroad was a single rail line that stretched from the eastern coast of the United States to the western. After almost 6 years of construction and man power the railroad was finally complete and connected the industrialized world to the rural landscape of the west. Construction on this mega project started from two ends and met at a joining point in the center, to commemorate the achievement a golden spike was hammered into the rail line as the last spike. -
Period: to
Modernism
Starting after WW1 Modernism arose in opposition to the ideas and forces of society that came to wake at the turn of the century. Modernist writers believed that standardization of culture and society is wrong and stood against it, they urged people to stand out and be unique, as writer Ezra Pound said "Make it new." this new theme caused many of the modernist works to be based of the ideas of loneliness and isolation. This movement during the 1900's laid the foundation for modern literature. -
Period: to
WWI
Believed to be the most influential force on American writers of the early 20th century, WW1 was a war unlike anybody had ever seen. Lasting for 4 years it involved 32 countries and killed 20 million people due to the modern weapons in use. This caused the rise of a new type of literature in forms of letters and postcards sent to family members fighting in the war or back home. Letters were the best form of first-person communication back then and are still used today to talk to people anywhere. -
Period: to
The Harlem Renaissance
Due to the Great Migration, millions of the black farmers living in the south and towards the west moved up to the urban north in search of work and opportunity, many of these migrating African Americans settled in the town of Harlem, New York City. Soon after this town became the center of The Harlem Renaissance where a surge of African American culture, literature, and arts were released to the people in which many artists celebrated the great history that black people contributed to America. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
On October 29th when the stock market crashed no one could ever imagine the events to follow. The Great Depression was the worst economic period in the history of the modern world and was even worse out west due to the dust bowl which caused by a long period of drought and wind erosion made farming near impossible. But the strive to survive caused many farmers to stop production of crops, sell their land and become migrant farmers who worked in farms still producing crops to harvest and grow. -
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck, it was published in 1937 and is about two workers during the Great Depression in California looking for work. The theme of this story is how dreams are meant to be dreamt and not done and how many people during this time faced troubles to fulfill the American Dream that they had, this book is touching because it teaches a raw lesson about the nature of human life by showing the challenges that the main characters face to meet their dream.
