The early national period

1775-1828

When the United States declared independence in 1776, a new era began for american literature
because many new writings addressed America's future. Most American poetry and novels were
modeled after what was published abroad in England, and much of what American readers
consumed was originated in England. The Federalist Papers (1787–1788) by Alexander Hamilton,
James, and John Jay shaped America's political direction.

Written in the 1770s and 1780s, Benjamin Franklin's autobiography tells the story of an
essentially American life.

Then, Phillis Wheatley, an African woman enslaved in Boston, wrote the first African-American
book of poetry (1773) on a wide variety of subjects, religions, and morals. Philip Freno was
another notable poet of his time.

Williuam Hill Brown wrote and published the first American novel called “The Power of Empathy”
that was published in 1789.

Olaudah Equiano’s autobiography “The Interesting Narrative” written in 1789 was one of the
earliest slave stories and made a strong case for abolition.

We have to consider that Authentic American literature began to develop in the early nineteenth
century. Although still drawn from the British literary tradition, the short stories and novels
published from the 1800s through the 1820s portrayed American society and began to explore the
American landscape in exceptional ways.

Another American Literature figure was Washington Irving who is recognized for having published
“The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon”, “Ghent”, a collection of short stories and essays which
were published in 1819 and 1820. These included two early American short stories, The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle.

Finally, James Fenimore Cooper, another figure of this period, has written an adventure novel
about pioneer Natty Bumppo. The name of the book is “Leatherstocking Tales”, published in 1824,
which narrates experiences in the American wilderness in a realistic and highly romantic way.