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Early American Literature
Early Puritan literature valued simplicity. Many of the works, such as poems and sermons, emphasized the author's relationship with God or daily tasks such as chores.
Native American literature was lively and colorful. As they did not have a literary tradition, stories were passed down orally. When told, these tales went far beyond a simple retelling, as their narrators would “often added gestures and songs and occasionally adapted a particular tale to suit a certain culture.”(Gunther) -
Jamestown is founded
The settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, is the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Pilgrims arrive in North America
The pilgrims were among the first groups of puritans to arrive in the new world, establishing their settlement in Plymouth. -
Bay Psalm Book is published
This was the first book published in the North American colonies. It consisted of Bible Psalms converted into Puritan hymns. -
The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America is published
Written by Anne Bradstreet, this collection of poems reflected the simplicity of Puritan literature. "Most of the poems... were quite conventional in style and form, and dealt with history and politics."(Lewis) This book was the first work published by a woman in North America. -
The Salem Witch Trials start
The Salem With Trials were "a series of investigations and persecutions that caused 19 convicted “witches” to be hanged and many other suspects to be imprisoned in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony"(Wallenfeldt) -
The Crucible takes Place
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. It depicted the events surrounding the trials -
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is published
Written by Jonathan Edwards, this work included heavy imagery of good and evil typical of a Puritan sermon. -
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American Romanticism
Romantic works emphasized "emphasized emotion, a love of nature, and imagination"("American Romanticism Introduction") though it shared traits with its European counterpart, American works were distinct in the way they focused on values such as democracy and freedom and the American landscape.
Transcendentalism was a movement based in the belief of leading a simple life and finding truth in nature and personal experience, even if it strays from the societal norm. -
The Lousiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana territory from France for 15 million dollars. The US acquired a total of 828,000 square miles from the purchase. -
The War of 1812
The war of 1812 was a primarily naval conflict between Britain and the newly formed United States over trade and territory. It was celebrated as a second war for independence and "[Began] an era of partisan agreement and national pride."("War of 1812") -
Thanatopsis is published
Written by William Cullen Bryant, "Thanatopsis" was a work which put American Romanticism on the map of literature. Meaning "View of Death" in Greek, this poem "brought Bryant early fame and established him as a major nature poet."("Thanatopsis") -
Self-Reliance is published
This essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson perfectly reflects the nature of the transcendentalist movement. Focusing on the experience and spirit of the individual, "Self-Reliance" is a compilation of Emerson's thoughts and lectures over many years. -
Song of Hiawatha is published
One of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's best known romantic poems, "Song of Hiawatha" told the tragic love story of a fictional native American hero. -
Leaves of Grass is published
Written by Walt Whitman, this collection of poems, along with the works of Emily Dickinson, revolutionized the poetry scene in the United States. Choosing to write in free verse. Whitman was "A poet who “abandoned the regular meter and rhyme patterns” of his contemporaries"("Walt Whitman") -
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Romanticism to Realism
After the horror of the Civil War, the imaginative and liberating themes of romanticism no longer appealed to Americans. From the ashes of romanticism rose a grim, honest, and unsentimental style of literature. As a reaction to romanticism, realism "rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of outward appearances."("Realism") -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
In this landmark case, former slave Dred Scott filed for his freedom under the pretext that he was living in a liberated state. The U.S. supreme court ultimately ruled that "a negro... could not be an American citizen and therefore did not have standing to sue in federal court."("Dred Scott v. Sandford") -
Emily Dickinson begins to write
In this short period, Dickinson was "composing, revising, and saving hundreds of poems."("1855-1865: The Writing Years") Dickinson was known as one of the Mavericks of realism, with her style stiff and unemotional, as characterized by realism. Her poems were short, but packed to the brim with imagery and original thought. -
American Civil War
After president Abraham Lincoln was elected into office, the American South seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. This event led to a brutal civil war between the North and South, and the bloodiest conflict in American history. -
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Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance
Modernism was a direct response by artists to the loss of ideals during the First World War and the overwhelming mass media culture. Modern artists worked with more experimental topics such as death and sexuality. Artists embraced imagism, the idea that poetry renders real life objects. -
World War I Starts
Angered by the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria declares war on Serbia and its allies. The network of allies on each side of the war drags many more countries into the conflict. -
The Great Migration Begins
The Great migration was " the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West."("The Great Migration") Starting in 1916, Black Americans began to escape the South and go to the North in search of more opportunities and less oppression. -
The Negro Speaks of Rivers is published
This poem was African American poet Langston Hughes' first critically acclaimed poem, published in the June edition of the Crisis magazine in 1921. -
A Rose for Emily is published
A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, is a short story that tackled taboo topics such as death head on.