Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers
Literature of the Time
1776-1820
Only a few exceptional political works; not much else
written during or soon after the Revolution is of note.
Identity Crisis
American books were reviewed harshly in England.
Americans were too dependent on English literary models,
and they knew it.
First great American writers did not appear until after 50
years of accumulated American history.
America’s literary independence was slowed by a lingering
identification with England, excessive imitation and
difficult economic and political conditions that hampered
publishing.
Reasons not to write:
Writing did not pay.
There were no modern publishers, no audience and no
adequate legal protection.
Until 1825, most American writers paid to have their
work published, except for certain authors with
money, or Benjamin Franklin, who was a printer by
trade and published his own work.
What about that lack of legal
protection?
There were no adequate copyright laws.
American printers freely pirated English best-sellers, and
were therefore unwilling to pay an American author for
unknown material.
When American authors’ works were pirated, they failed to
receive any adequate payment, whereas foreign authors
had already been paid by their original publishers.
The first Copyright Act of 1790 still allowed piracy of
English works, which ironically continued to stagnate the
growth of American authors.
The American Enlightenment
Movement marked by an emphasis on:
Rationality rather than tradition.
Scientific inquiry instead of unquestioning religious
belief.
Representative government in place of monarchy.
Enlightenment Thinkers and
Writers
Devoted to the ideals of justice, liberty, and equality as
the natural rights of man.
The Political Pamphlet &
Newspapers
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Political writings had to be very clear in order to
appeal to the voters.
More newspapers were read in America during the
Revolution than anywhere else in the world.
“Literary” Writing
The epic poem was popular among American authors,
but not successfully.
Satirical poetry was also popular, and fared much
better than epic poetry.
The First Important American
Fiction Writers…
Washington Irving
James Fenimore Cooper
Charles Brockden Brown
They wrote in many genres, initiated new forms, and
found new ways to make a living through literature.
Female Authors
Phyllis Wheatley: the first African-American author of
importance in the United States. She was a slave
woman educated by her owners.
Abigail Adams wrote extensive letters to her husband,
John Adams.
Credits:
Information for this power point was taken from
“Outline of American Literature”.