William Bradford
First governor of Plymouth Colony. Wrote the Mayflower Compact which was the governing document of the colony and established the protection of individual rights against governmental tyranny. Wrote "Of Plymouth Plantation," which he never intended for pub
Of Plymouth Plantation
An autobiography by William Bradford. One of the most authoritative accounts of the pilgrims initial experience.
Washington Irving
Was the first American international literary superstar.Author of: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", "Rip Van Winkle", "The Devil and Tom Walker," and A History of New York. His most famous work, he Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon was written during a 17 year
Ralph Waldo Emerson
He was originally a pastor at New England Unitarian church. He refused to administer communion, questioned the divinity of Christ, and was very skeptical of religious dogma.Helped to initiate transcendentalism. His first work was the short essay, "Nature,
Henry David Thoreau
Was a Naturalist/ transcendentalist. His first work was "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers." He is best known for Walden: a guide book for life. Thoreau decided to live in the woods (on property owned by Emerson) and begin writing a book and cent
Walt Whitman
Called "The Father of Free Verse." Known for creating new and quite unique poetic forms. He used long lines to capture nature speech, mainly wrote free verse. Criticized for his stark descriptions of the body and sexuality. Best known for "I hear America
Booker T. Washington
Grew up a slave in Virginia. He worked to improve education equality among African Americans. His autobiography is "Up From Slavery." His "Atlanta Exposition Address" outlined his attempts to integrate recently freed black Americans into the mainstream so
W.E.B Dubois
Founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and former colleague of Booker T. Washington. Wrote a landmark book that contained 14 essays: The Souls of Black Folks. His magnum opus was Black Reconstruction in America.
Edith Wharton
Keeping up with the Joneses." Her first book was The Decoration of Houses; an interior design book. She published a short story collection, The Greater Inclination. Wrote The House of Mirth which described the rich and their materialism. Most of her writ
Ethan Frome
The novel focuses on Ethan Frome, Zeena Frome, and Zeena's cousin Mattie Silver. Ethan begins to feel a connection to Mattie and when his wife leaves to try and treat her mental illness Ethan is excited for a night alone with Mattie. Zeena comes back and
The Age of Innocence
The tale of Newland Archer, May Welland, and Countess Ellen Olenska by Edith Wharton. Newland is engaged to May, but then begins to fall for Ellen, becoming disillusioned with May. They have an affair that carries on for some time (May and Newland get mar
William Faulkner
The most innovative writer of his time. His first book was a collection of poems The Marble Farm. His masterpiece is The Sound and the Fury. After his book Sanctuary gained popularity, he wrote a screenplay for a film adaption of The Big Sleep. He won all
Yoknapatawpha County
A fictional county based on William Faulkner's hometown. The combination of two Native American words and means "Splitland." Prominent families in Yoknapatawpha County include: Compson, Sutpen, Snopes, McCaslin, and Grenier.
The Sound and the Fury
A tale about the three Compson brothers and how their lives revolve around their sister, Caddy. A very hard read, requires intense concentration. It consists of four different chapters with four separate voices. The narrators are:Benjy, Quentin, Jason, an
Stephen Crane
Wrote Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, The Red Badge of Courage, and several poems, short stories, and other novels. He was a professed Naturalist and was against patriotism, individualism, and organized religion. His first collection of poetry was The Blac
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca
A spanish explorer, de Vaca wrote The Relation of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca about an expedition that occurred involving Hispaniola, Cuba and, eventually Florida. (Many men were lost in exploration) De Vaca continued his explorations and eventually landed
Bartolome de las Casas
One of the first European settlers in America, de las Casas was openly opposed to the mistreatment and enslavement of the Native Americans. He proposed, rather, that Africans be used as slaves. (But later in life he retracted those views, and saw all slav
John Smith
Captured and imprisoned by the Turks, John Smith escaped in 1605 after murdering his master and returning to England. He later joined the Virginia Company, and was the eventual president of the new colony at Jamestown. He was stubborn, high-tempered, arro
John Winthrop
Leader of the Great Migration to New England in 1630. Was a puritan. (Puritans did not intend to split with the Church of England, but rather viewed their migration as a biblical calling in the same way as the Hebrews.) He is famous for his sermon, "A Mod
Anne Bradstreet
She was a puritan who came over on the Arbella to New England. Her life was a harsh one, full of sickness, disease, and death. She never intended her poems for publication. The Tenth Muse was her first and only published volume of poems. It is considered
Mary Rowlandson
She was captured by Wampanoag Indians during King Philip's War. Prior to her 11 week captivity, she was a ministers wife. She is only known for her captivity narrative The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Dis
Edward Taylor
The quaint minister did not publish any poetry in his lifetime. He poems were found nearly 200 years after his death and published in 1939. He wrote in traditional English form, focusing on lyrics, elegies, and long narratives. He is best known for his Pr
Cotton Mather
Most noted for two reasons: the publication of his voluminous history of Christianity in New England titled Magnalia Christi Americana (a history of the wonderful works of Christ in America), and also for his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials. Magnali
Jonathan Edwards
Inextricably tied to the Great Awakening, he was the most widely anthologized preacher of colonial America. He is best known for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." He published a collection of sermons in A Faithful Narrative of the Surpris
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Preached by Jonathan Edwards and published in 1741. Edwards delivered this sermon using an even temperament and soft tone, which contrasted with the cries and audible moans of his congregation. His sermon was filled with extended metaphors or conceits, th
Benjamin Franklin
His autobiography was one of the most popular autobiographies of all time and constituted a personal and literary undertaking completely different from any memoirs of the past. He was a brilliant inventor and author. He ran his own printing shop and was a
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Composed of 4 parts, Franklin began writing his life's story in 1771, but it was not published until 1793. Franklin wrote the first part of the Autobiography addressing it to his older son, William. It is composed of a narrative of his life, the Franklin
Thomas Paine
Best known for his pamphlets Common Sense and Crisis. He published Rights of Man in 1791 and wrote The Age of Reason 1794, a treatise for deism that challenged organized Christianity, the inerrancy of the Bible, and the political alignment of the church i
The Federalist Papers
Written from 1787 to 1788 in New York newspapers. Composed of 85 essays all signed by "Publius." Actual writers were: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Voted in favor of the new Constitution, strong central government, and the freedom of in
Thomas Jefferson
The original author of the Declaration of Independence. Not only did Jefferson found the University of Virginia, have a library that laid the foundations for the Library of Congress, and serve as Vice President to John Adams; he also was the first preside
Philip Freneau
Called the "Poet of the American Revolution. Known for his poetic and rhetorical skills, he was a journalist, satirist, and translator. His published several volumes of poetry, his most notable being The American Village and Poems. Well known poems are:
Samson Occom
Wrote A Short Narrative of My Life which was not found/ published until 1982. He was a Mohegan Indian and a Christian convert who is known for his work as a minister and teacher and the early Dartmouth College.
John Woolman
A Quaker, Woolman's autobiography The Journal of John Woolman can be viewed as more of a spiritual autobiography than that of a diary. Was concerned with the treatment of African American slaves and gave up sugar as a result.
J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur
A highly successful author in England and France, his Letters from an American Farmer was published and revised several times in the late eighteenth century. The most highly anthologized section of his autobiography is the question "What is an American?
Olaudah Equiano
Best known for his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. He was raised to be a chief leader of his people, but slave traders captured him and his sister when they were young and brought th
Phillis Wheatley
She was under the age of twenty when her first book of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published. After defending that she actually wrote the book, it was officially the first book published by a black woman. Most scholars agree
Rip Van Winkle
A story found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker.;) Rip lives in the Catskill Mountains in southeastern New York. He is a simple good natured fellow. He is a bit lazy with his own farming, but is willing to help others. He goes to the mou
James Fenimore Cooper
One of the most popular authors of the early nineteenth century who is seldom read today. He is best known for his Leatherstocking series: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The Prarie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer. He was called the "Father of
The Fireside Poets
John Greenleaf Whittier
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
James Ruessell Lowell
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant
He was a member of the Fireside or Schoolroom Poets. His literary career, and popularity, began with the publication of his volume of poetry titled Poems. The poems were lyrical intimation on the natural world and the cycle of life. He was an accomplished
Margaret Fuller
Associated with Emerson because of her tireless work on the Dial and her membership in the Transcendental Club. However, her most lasting contribution to American letters revolves around women's rights and coverage of the Italian Revolution. Her first boo
Nathaniel Hawthorne
He was quite skeptical of transcendentalism, especially after living on Brook Farm. He is a romance novel writer, best known for his use of allegory and symbol. He was very close with other authors including: Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, Melville, Holmes, Lo
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Can be considered a rock-star poet of his generation. A Fireside Poet, he was the most popular poet of his generation. He was the first American poet to be enshrined in the poet's corner of England's Westminster Abbey. He was a classmate of Nathaniel Hawt
The Song of Hiawatha
An epic poem by Longfellow, this tells the tale of two Ojibway Indians who are in love: Hiawatha and Minnehaha.
John Greenleaf Whittier
A Fireside poet, he can be known as "The Quaker Poet." His first poem was published in William Lloyd Garrison's Newburyport Free Press. They had a fiery and complex friendship. His first antislavery poem was "To William Lloyd Garrison." Collections of abo
Edgar Allen Poe
Lived a very troubled life. He created the modern short story and the detective story. He is best known for his gothic tales such as "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Tell-Tale Heart," but he also wrote many poems and articles on literary criticism, and
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The little woman who wrote the book that started the great war." She wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin: the first American novel to sell a million copies and the single most important text published in the nineteenth century. In 1853 she published A Key to Uncle T
Harriet Jacobs
Wrote the first slave narrative by an African American woman: "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." She used the pseudonym 'Linda Brent.' The primary conflict of the novel depicts Linda fighting off sexual advances from her master, Dr. Flint. She later
Frederick Douglass
The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself is one of the most important slave narratives. He spent much of his life editing, revising, and expanding his life's story. He published My Bondage and My Freedom; The Heroic
Francis Ellen Watkins Harper
She is primarily known for two key literary works: Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects and the novel Iola Leroy; or, Shadows Uplifted. Many of her poems use characters and themes from uncle Tom's Cabin as their titles. Notable poems include: "Eliza Harris,"
Walden
Written by Henry David Thoreau. It is not fiction, it is not a spiritual autobiography, or even an extended essay arguing a particular point. It is merely the record of life in the woods over a period of time. It has concurrent themes and motifs: simplici
Herman Melville
His writings lean closer to the darker side of romanticism that the works of Whitman, Thoreau, and Emerson. His books such as Moby-Dick, Pierre, Benito Cereno, and The Confidence-Man explore the struggles each individual faces with himself, God, the natur
Moby-Dick
Call me Ishmael." Ishmael, the narrator, tells his story of sailing on a wailing ship called the Pequod in search of a white sperm wahle Captain Ahab refers to as Moby-Dick. Ahab is searching after Moby-Dick in revenge for him causing the loss of his leg
Emily Dickinson
An agoraphobia, Dickinson dressed in only white and never left her house. She is now regarded as one of America's greatest poets, although her poems were hardly read in her lifetime. It is widely believed that she was bisexual. She wrote a total of 1,789
Mark Twain or Samuel Clemens
Considered the greatest humorist of 19th-century American Literature. He wrote many articles and short tales for magazines and newspapers before he published Innocence Abroad and Roughing It, both of which explore his love for traveling and writing satire
Henry James
Many who read his work assume him to be British because of his writing style and story content. His brother, William, was one of America's most celebrated psychologists and philosophers. He best known works are: Daisy Miller: A Study; The Portrait of a La
Kate Chopin
She was not considered a major writer until after her death in 1904. Her Bayou Folk was a collection of regional tales of the Louisiana Cajuns and Creoles. The collection includes: "At the 'Cadian Ball," and "The Storm," among others. She is best known fo
Theodore Dreiser
Many of his novels are set in Chicago, even though he as raised in Indiana. One of his sisters ran away with a married man; providing inspiration for one of his best known novels: Sister Carrie. He is also very well known for: An American Tragedy; The Fin
An American Tragedy
A fictional account of a young upwardly mobile New York boy, Clyde Griffiths, who murders his pregnant girlfriend in order to chase his dreams of financial and social solidarity. Unfortunately, Clyde must pay for his crime.
Sister Carrie
This novel follows Carrie Meeber who moves to Chicago to break away from a small town. She meets a salesman named Charles Drouet and his social acquaintance George Hurstwood. She eventually marries Hurstwood, he falls into financial ruin, and commits suic
Willa Cather
She did for Nebraska what Dreiser did for Chicago, Jack London did for Alaska, Twain did for Missouri, and Wharton did for New Orleans. Best known for: O Pioneers; The Song of the Lark; My Antonia; and A Lost Lady.
Rebecca Harding Davis
She is really only known for her novella, Life in the Iron-Mills, that was published in the Atlantic Monthly. It is a realistic fiction, with an active narrator whose gender is unknown. It is about Hugh Wolfe who spends his free time at his iron mill scul
William Dean Howells
He is known more for his social, literary, and political connections than for his own writing. He was a magazine edito and a friend to many authors including: Longfellow, Lowell, Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. Lincoln appointed him as the Ameri
Ambrose Bierce
A journalist and newspaper editor, Bierce was a part of the San Francisco Circle along with Mark Twain and Bret Harte. he was often called "Bitter Bierce" for his biting satire and criticism. Stories inspired by his time in the war were collected in Tales
Sarah Orne Jewett
Can be looked at as a one hit wonder. She was most likely a lesbian. Her short story "A White Heron," is a perfect example of local color/regional writing. She is also known for The Country of Pointed Firs.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Most of her work was nonfiction on a variety of topics. She is best known for her tale "The Yellow Wallpaper." She tried to live a very independent life. She suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her first child, which inspired her short
Edwin Arlington Robinson
His poetry was surprisingly modern for its time, so he was not celebrated until after his death. His poetry uses traditional forms, irony, nostalgia, and lyrics. Notable poems include: Richard Cory; Miniver Cheevy; The Mill; Mr. Flood's Party; and Luke Ha
Jack London
He was the highest paid writer of his day. He travelled to the Klondike for the gold rush, and wrote the collection of stories, The Son of the Wolf, based on his time there. He is most famous for: The Call of the Wild; White Fang; The Sea Wolf; and "To Bu
Charles W. Chesnutt
Son of interracial parents. His fiction explores problems black's had in America during the 20th century. His short story collections are The Conjure Woman and The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line. His best known novels are The House
Paul Laurence Dunbar
He is noted for his ability to use elevated poetic language in one poem and effective African-American dialect in the next. He was born to former slaves. His first major publication was Lyrics of Lowly Life. Popular poems include: "When Malindy Sings"; "S
Robert Frost
He is one of Americas best known and best loved poets. He won 4 Pulitzer Prizes and was America's most famous poet. He used traditional/conventional verse forms, and plain speech of rural New Englanders. So in a way he was the antithesis of literary moder
Chicago School of Poetry
Carl Sandburg
Vachel Lindsay
Edgar Lee Masters
Carl Sandburg
He is very well known for his biographies of Abraham Lincoln; he was a political idol of Sandburg's. His Complete Poems won a Pulitzer Prize. He is best known for his Chicago Poems, and is often called the Chicago poet. His famous poem is "Chicago." Also
Wallace Stevens
He went to law school and had a job as a legal advisor for a New York City insurance firm. His first collected work was Harmonium, and many claimed that that work was the essential modernist collection of the day. He pays attention to color, lively imager
William Carlos Williams
No ideas, but in things." He studied medicine and practiced in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. He is known as the "Doctor-Poet." One of his most famous poems, "The Red Wheelbarrow," is a great example of his use of imagism. Williams later rejected
Ezra Pound
He was a friend, mentor, and inspiration to many modern writers. He met and was engaged to H.D. and was good friends with William Carlos Williams. He was an imagist. He started the Imagist group that was composed of himself, H.D., Richard Aldington, Maria
H.D.
She was Ezra Pounds fiance. She wrote many novels and poem collections. She studied under Sigmund Freud for almost two years and he influenced her writing. She is well known for her feminist retelling of the Trojan War, Helen in Egypt. She is also known f
Marianne Moore
She was friends with H.D., Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams. She drew most of her imagery from the natural world and used long, bumbling lines. She used some traditional forms, not abandoning them like other modernists. Her most famous poem is
T.S. Eliot
Even though he got his British citizenship before he was forty, he is still looked at as an American poet. He is best known for his "The Love Son of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "The Waste Land." He founded the literary journal Criterion. His essay "Tradition
Edna St. Vincent Millay
She used more traditional forms similar to Marianne Moore. her favorite was the sonnet. Many call her poetry cynical, comical, and satirical. She poked fun at love and life. She won a pulitzer prize with her The Harp-Weaver and Other poems. Well known poe
ee cummings
Has perhaps the most distinct style of poetry. He is known for his experimentation with capitalization and punctuation. he tried to make his poems as visual as possible. His best known collection is Tulips and Chimney's. His well known poetry: "in Just-,
Hart Crane
He tragically committed suicide a few months before his 33rd birthday. His father invented the life saver candy. His poetry can be classified as traditional. He was the associate editor of the Dial in 1918. Some famous poems: "To Brooklyn Bridge," "The Br
Gertrude Stein
Influenced by painting, and Pablo Picasso. She experimented with the sketch, which is a more focused and narrow short story. She was an expatriate and friends with Hemingway and Fitzgerald. She is well known for Ida, a Novel which is a feminist novel.
Sherwood Anderson
Wines burg, Ohio is considered the most influential collection of short stories in American 20th century. He is also known for Tender Buttons. known for his characters or grotesques.
Susan Glaspell
She is best known for founding the Provincetown Players which included herself, Eugene O'Neill, and eventually Edna St. Vincent Millay. Most of her/their work was socially conscious, feminist, and satirical. She is well known for her play Trifles.
Eugene O'Neill
He is often referred to as the Father of modern American drama. His best known plays are Beyond the Horizon and his semi-autobiographical play Long Day's Journey into Night. It was not featured until after his death, at his request, because of the content
Flannery O'Connor
She died of lupus at the age of 39. She is best known as a grotesque, not at all subtle, writer. Think "Good County People" prosthetic leg scene. She lived an isolated and confined life. She was a devout christian, and many of her characters are allegoric