Amercan Literature Before the Civil War

American Literature before the Civil War

Development of American literature traces back to the oral traditions of indigenous tribes that inhabited the country before the arrival of Europeans. Because of lack of a specific written language until later on, American written literature began with European settlers and explorers. Most of these early works by the Europeans were narratives capturing the experiences and adventures of the settlers. With time, as colonies were establishing themselves, works that are more creative came up.

Some Americans got concerned about the growth of America as a new nation and started writing literature urging fellow Americans to live justly and wisely (Mason, 2003). This changed the phase of American literature until the revolutionary war. Most of the literature work printed within this period involved the relationship between the colonies and the British colonialists. In the midst of the great debate and concerns over American acquiring their freedom from the rule of British, literature relating to anti-slavery began to make initial appearances. After the revolutionary war, the American literature remained to be mostly autobiographical in quality, with many of the writers involved in literature publishing stories about their life and expertise.

In the 1880’s, the American literature began to really come into its own. Some writers began to write a trifle on American matters (Lawson, 2003). Literature involved stories such as the changes the country was experiencing in the transition from a group of European colonies to a unified nation. As the writers were devising an identity for literature in America, distinguishable from, but related to works of the Europeans, the country was working up to a civil war. The slavery question got attention of many successful writers of that period with some inspiring the pro-slavery Americans to write in response. A lot of creative progress took place as the nation divided and polarized over the...