University 8 May 1945 Guelma Year 2020/2021

Department of English Second Year, groups 4/5/6

Literature Mrs. Boursace Houda

The Revolutionary Period of American Literature

(1775 – 1790)

Historical Context

This period begins with the passing of the Stamp Act in England in 1775 (it ignited the first serious opposition
to English rule in the American colonies) and ends in 1790 after the implementation of the United States
Constitution.

The American Revolution was a war fought between England and its American Colonies for the independence
of the colonies.

-Ultimately the Colonies defeated England and won their independence.

-The war caused a change in culture and thus a change in the literature of the time.

Characteristics of the Revolutionary Literature:

-As dissatisfaction with the colonial system and the relations with Britain grew, the literature gradually changed
its shape. The writers became more politically, anti-British and revolutionary oriented.

-Many of the writings of the time are written from the battlefront or from a perspective of the revolutionary.
They were very public.

-They feature a strong sense of patriotism.

-During this time, many of the writings especially at the beginning of the revolution are call-to-arms writings.

-The revolutionary Literature celebrated the virtues of hard working colonists.

- The Puritans’ religious poetry fell out of favour as man was not considered naturally sinful any longer.

-The colonists developed their own way of writing as well, no longer copying the more formal style of
British writers. They were ambitious, optimistic, practical, politically astute, and self-reliant.

-The American statesmen of the Revolutionary period were figures of the Enlightenment.

The Age of Enlightenment (the age of reason):

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•It is a movement that was marked by an emphasis on rationality rather than tradition, scientific inquiry
instead of unquestioning religious dogma, and representative government in place of monarchy. It was also
known as the Age of Reason because there was a focus on logic and reason.

• It was a period of great scientific, cultural, and philosophical advances.

•A very little interest in the hereafter. By nature, people were good – not evil.

Types of Literature in the Revolutionary Period

Types of writings during this period are: newspapers, magazines, essays, orations, historical and political
documents, autobiographies, biographies, and little poetry. There are no novels or plays of literary significance
written in the Revolutionary Period. The short story as genre had yet to be invented.

Representative Writers :

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) is one of the most important figures of the period. He can be described as
what we call a “renaissance man” – a person of many skills. He was a politician, scientist, philosopher,
publisher, humorist, inventor and writer. He was the first great self-made man in America. The Way to Wealth
gives the reader advice how to become successful and hard worker.

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) was an English-born essayist and pamphleteer. His pamphlet Common Sense is a
sharp critique of the colonial system and explains why the Americans should rise against the English.

John Hector St. John (1735–1813) was one of the fathers of the American novel. His epistolary novel Letters
from an American Farmer deals with the differences between life in Europe and in America.

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was an essayist, lawyer, politician, and later became the 3rd President of the
United States of America. His greatest contribution to the history of America is that he is the main author of the
Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by the Continental Congress on the 4 th July 1776 during the
War of Independence.