American Literature in Context to 1865

American Literature in Context to 1865 discusses the issues and events that engaged American writers of the period, providing original and useful readings of important literary works that demonstrate how context contributes to meaning Covers a range of genres including the myths, chants and songs of indigenous cultures, sermons, slave narratives, essays and the novels and poetry to 1865 Designed to be used alongside the major anthologies of literature from the period Equips students with the necessary historical context needed to understand the writings from this period Pedagogical features include a detailed bibliography, and a transatlantic timeline, with literary works, and historical events

Preface viii Acknowledgments ix Timeline of Texts and Historical Events x The Arrival of the Europeans 1 European Exploration and Settlement: The Anvil and the Golden Fleece 17 The City on a Hill: Alternative Visions 32 From Colonies to Nation 61 The Struggle for Identity in Post-Revolutionary America 80 American Expansion and the Transcendentalists 98 The Originals: Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman 124 A House Divided: Abolitionism, the Women’s Movement, and the Civil War 146 Bibliography 171 Index 180