History of America
Colonization of America
Columbus discovered America in the year 1492. He called the inhabitants of those lands
Indians because he first thought that he had reached India. Those were the native Americans who
had their own culture. Europeans of all nationalities began to establish colonies on those lands, but
with the end of the 16th century, England became the most supreme power that controlled the sea
and lands and established the largest number of colonies. The first settlers in America came to be
known as the forefathers of the American people. They included adventurous people, fortune
hunters and persecuted people who left England willingly or were banished. King Charles I
persecuted the Puritans who were famous for their strict religious sense and their radical views. This
forced them to escape to the new colonies away from this corrupt king. The Puritans followed
God’s orders strictly and they could never forgive anyone accused of breaking any of the rules of
religion. They would severely punish those who may sin against God. The control of the Church
and the men of religion was too strong to be opposed or objected to.
Declaration of Independence
The American War of Independence was the result of the fact that the English demanded that
the American colonists contribute to the cost of their own protection. Therefore, a series of Acts of
Parliament imposed a variety of taxes on the colonists during the 1760s and early 1770s. For many
colonists, the ties that had linked them to Britain for almost 150 years became the chains of
servitude, foreign domination, and injustice. The War of Independence ended in the expulsion of
the occupying British forces and the United States of America became an independent country.
Some of the principles of the Declaration of Independence included:

The colonies, states, are united.

These united states have the right to be free and independent.

All political connections between these states and Great Britain are ended and destroyed.
The Transformation of a Nation/The Civil war
The United States moved from being a rural and agrarian country to an industrialized one,
which had a great effect on the whole nation. Many technologies appeared and helped to transform
the huge natural resources of the country into industrial products for the benefit of the increasing
population and the foreign markets. The Civil War (1861-1865) between the Northern States and
the Southern ones was the main event of that century since it led to the change of the society from
an agricultural to an industrial one. Slavery was the reason for the Civil War since the South was
still agrarian and greatly needed the work of those slaves. Yet, the industrial North wanted to
abolish slavery and to emancipate those slaves, which took place in 1863 at the hands of President
Abraham Lincoln.
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American Renaissance
The political and social atmosphere of that period affected the literary scene and led to the
appearance of a new type of literature depending on a sense of nature with new ideas, new themes,
new forms, and new authors. It also led to the development of a national literature of great variety.
American literature witnessed its renaissance in the 19th century with the New England
Renaissance, which took place when young men began to visit Europe and bring back new ideas
and books. They brought with them the seeds of Romanticism to this area that was already known
for its traditional Puritan respect for intellectual life. Early American writers thus came to be
influenced by European models. For more than half a century, New England came to be the most
important cultural center in the United States. The New England writers of that period were divided
into two groups: the radicals who aimed to break completely with the past and thus were seen as
revolutionaries; and the conservatives who were closer to the old traditions.
Romanticism and Transcendentalism in America
Romanticism in America stressed the emotions and trusted feelings more than the intellect.
This helped to liberate literature and make it more imaginative. The Romantics thought that they
can achieve happiness by living close to nature; so, they saw any form of civilization as corrupt. In
New England, such Romantics were called Transcendentalists. Transcendentalism was an
intellectual movement developed by a number of young men in the Boston area in the 1830s. The
pioneers of that movement included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and others. The
word “transcendentalism” was taken from the German Romantic philosophy of Kant, Hegel and
others and meant that man could reach the truth about himself and his universe through direct
spiritual experience. This means that intuition can know truths that “transcend” the sphere of
understanding. Transcendentalism stated that if every man could understand the truth by way of
direct intuition, then there was no need for any other authority whether political or religious.
Regionalism
Post-Civil War America was large and diverse enough to feel its own local differences. With
increasing urbanization and more accessible transportation, small and rural communities became a
subject of literary interest. As early as 1820 America had developed a taste for fiction with specific,
localized settings and topics. By mid-century, regional voices had appeared from newly settled
territories in the South. In many of these works, local dialects, sayings, and spellings were used for
humorous effect. Tales of the West also became a popular form of regional writing and created
frontier outlaws and heroes such as Billy the Kid. Mark Twain is considered as one of the best
regionalists for his lively portrayals of Southern character and dialect.
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Modernism: The 1900s
The 20th century saw the emergence of modernism. Modernism was caused by, and
contributed to, social changes, and developments in philosophy, psychology, anthropology
and science. Since the term "modernism" was first used earlier in the 20th century, its
meaning has developed. It is now agreed to mean the influential international movement in
literature, drama, art, music and architecture which began by the end of the 19th century and
flourished until at least the 1920s. Modernism was felt to be a reaction to realism and
naturalism. In fiction, the stream of consciousness novel was a main example of modernism.
In critical terms, modernist writing contributed to the development of new approaches to
literature and reading. Literary modernism in England started during the first decade of the
century, but World War I played a major part in its development.
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