American Literary Timeline
Native American Literature (1500-1600)
 Major authors
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Major works
o “The Iroquois Creation Story”
o “The Crow and the Stars”
Important historical events
o Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida (1507)
o Elizabeth I becomes queen of England (1558)
o Roanoke Colony established in North Carolina (1585)
Features
o Communicated orally
o Often myths and legends
o Stories told using nature
o Stories about creation
Puritan/Colonial Literature (1650-1750)
 Major authors
o Anne Bradstreet
o Mary Rowlandson
o Jonathan Edwards
o Benjamin Franklin
 Major Works
o “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet
o “The Narrative of Captivity” by Mary Rowlandson
o “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards
o Poor Richard’s Almanac by Benjamin Franklin
 Important Historical Events
o Bacon’s Rebellion (1676)
o First colonial newspaper (1704)
o Great Awakening (1739-1744)
 Characteristics
o Puritans and pilgrims
o Sermons, diaries, personal/slave narratives
o Instructive, plain style
American Revolution Literature (1750-1800)
 Major Authors
o Thomas Paine
o Thomas Jefferson
o Phillis Wheatley
 Major Works
o Common Sense by Thomas Paine
o Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson
o “A Farewell to America” by Phillis Wheatley
 Important Historical Events
o French and Indian War (1754-1763)
o Boston Tea Party (1773)
o American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
 Characteristics
o Use of reason opposed to faith alone
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Political pamphlets
Essays
travel writing
speeches
documents
American Romanticism Literature (1800-1855)
 Major Authors
o James Fenimore Cooper
o Nathaniel Hawthorne
o Herman Melville
 Major Works
o The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
o The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
o Moby Dick by Herman Melville
 Important Historical Events
o Thomas Jefferson elected president (1800)
o Mexico becomes a republic (1824)
o Texas declares independence from Mexico (1835)
 Characteristics
o Expansion of book publishing, magazines, and newspapers.
o Industrial Revolution
o Abolitionist movement
o Short stories, novels, poetry
o Focused on imagination over reason and intuition over fact
o Interpreted in surface and in depth
American Gothic Literature (1840-1860)
 Major Authors
o Edgar Allan Poe
o Washington Irving
o Nathaniel Hawthorne
 Major Works
o “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
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o “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving
o “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Important Historical Events
o Manifest Destiny (1840)
o Gold discovered in California (1849)
o Abraham Lincoln elected president (1860)
Characteristics
o used supernatural
o Both evil and good
o Dark and depressed characters
Transcendentalism Literature (1840-1860)
 Major Authors
o Henry David Thoreau
o Ralph Waldo Emerson
o Walt Whitman
 Major Works
o Walden by Henry David Thoreau
o “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
o "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman
 Important Historical Events
o Samuel Morse sends first telegraph message (1844)
o Karl Marx publishes Communist Manifesto (1848)
o John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry Virginia (1859)
 Characteristics
o Transcendentalists focused on individualism
 Intuition
 Nature
 and Self reliance
American Realism Literature (1850-1900)
 Major Authors
o Ambrose Bierce
o Stephen Crane
o Kate Chopin
 Major Works
o "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
o The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
o “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin
 Important Historical Events
o American Civil War (1861-1865)
o Abraham Lincoln assassinated (1865)
o Railroad companies divide nation into four time zones (1883)
 Characteristics
o Against Romanticism; "told it how it was."
o Ordinary people; avoided heroes and adventures
o Rejected materialism.
o Saw nature as "force beyond man's control."
American Naturalism and Regionalism Literature (1860-1900)
 Major Authors
o Mark Twain
o Edith Wharton
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o Harriet Beecher Stowe
Major Works
o The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
o The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
o Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Important Historical Events
o Emancipation Proclamation issued (1862)
o Spanish-American War (1898)
o Hawaii annexed into United States (1898)
Characteristics
o Similar to realism, but darker.
o Fate is determined by chance.
o Free will is an illusion.
o Universe if unpredictable.
o Novels, short stories.
o Dominant themes: fate, survival, violence, nature.
American Modernism Literature (1900-1945)
 Major Authors
o F. Scott Fitzgerald
o Ernest Hemingway
o William Faulkner
 Major Works
o “The Old Man at the Bridge” by Ernest Hemingway
o The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
o As I Lay Dying by Willa Cather
 Important Historical Events
o World War I (1914-1918)
o World War II (1939-1945)
o US Stock Market crash (1929)
 Characteristics
o 1st person
o stream of consciousness writing
o questioned the future of humanity
o Irony, satire, and comparisons used to point out society's ills
Harlem Renaissance Literature (1920-1929)
 Major Authors
o Wallace Thurman
o Langston Hughes
 Major Works
o "I, too, am America" by Langston Hughes
o A Novel of Negro Life by Wallace Thurman
 Important Historical Events
o Nineteenth Amendment gives women the right to vote (1920)
o First radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh (1920)
o Charles Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic (1927)
 Characteristics
o desire for social and political equality
o poetry, essays, songs
o improve and uplift African Americans
o Musical themes
American Contemporary Literature (1945-present)
 Major Authors
o Flannery O’Connor
o Toni Morrison
o Arthur Miller
 Major Works
o “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor
o Beloved by Toni Morrison
o Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
 Important Historical Events
o John F. Kennedy assassinated (1963)
o Berlin Wall falls (1989)
o George W. Bush elected president (2000)
 Characteristics
o Personal experience
o Societal issues/problems
o Realistic (mostly)
o Postmodern – disconnected, combines genres/time periods
o Thoughtful – not always a happy ending