ANNOTATED TIMELINE OF AMERICAN LITERATURE

Miss Gruver

Native American Experience

Timeline- 1200 BC- 1600 Tribes

Sioux Okanogan Iroquois Kiowa

Events 1200 BC- 1600Native American culture

flourishes 1492Christopher Columbus lands in the

Bahamas

Native American Experience

Historical and Cultural Context Our American identity as we know it is a

product of our past. Our class will focus on literature which reveals how we arrived at our society and culture today.

We study Native American literature out of a respect for the indigenous cultures who were here before the European explorers as well as a respect for their cultural and literary influence throughout the years.

Native American Experience

Storytelling & Oral Tradition Long before European explorers came to

North America, Native Americans had a rich literary tradition of their own. Their stories, histories, and legends were shared and preserved through oral tradition. The storyteller is one whose spirit is indispensable to the people.

Puritan Age/Colonial Period

Timeline- 1600-1750 Authors

William Bradford Anne Bradstreet Edward Taylor

Events 1607British settlers establish colony in

Jamestown, Virginia 1692Witch trials take place in Salem,

Massachussetts

Puritan Age Colonial

Genre/Style Sermons, religious tracts, diaries, personal narratives,

religious poems. It was written in plain style.

Effect/Aspects Instructive, reinforces authority of the Bible and the

church. Very little imaginative literature was produced.

Historical Context Puritan settlers fled England where they were being

persecuted for their religious beliefs, and came to New England to have religious freedom.

Revolutionary Period/Age of Reason

Timeline- 1750-1800 Authors

Ben Franklin Thomas Jefferson Patrick Henry

Events 1776American colonies declare

independence 1788U.S. Constitution is ratified

Revolutionary Period/Age of Reason

Genre/Style Political Pamphlets, Travel Writing, and

highly ornate persuasive writing. Effect/Aspects

Patriotism and pride grows, creates unity about issues, and creates American character.

Historical Context Encouraged Revolutionary War support.

Romanticism/American Gothic

Timeline- 1800-1855 Authors

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Edgar Allen Poe

Events 1803LA purchase doubles the countries size 1808United States bans slave trade 1812War of 1812 spurs on the Industrial

Revolution

Romanticism/American Gothic

Genre/Style Character Sketches, Slave Narratives,

Poetry, and short stories. Effect/Aspects

Integrity of nature and freedom of imagination.

Historical Context Publishing expands and industrial

revolution brings new ideas.

Transcendentalism

Timeline- 1840-1860 Authors

Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Margaret Fuller

Events 1846Mexican American War begins. 1848Gold discoveries lead to the first gold rush. 1857Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision

denies slaves basic rights.

Transcendentalism

Genre/Style Poetry, Short Stories, and Novels.

Effect/Aspects Idealists, individualism, and symbolism.

Historical Context Economic downturns .During this time of

instability, transcendentalism appealed to audiences

A belief in a higher reality than that achieved by human reasoning. Suggests that every individual is capable of discovering this higher truth through intuition

Realism

Timeline- 1855-1900 Authors

Stephen Crane Ambrose Bierce

Events 1861-1865 North and South fight in Civil

War. 1865 13th Amendment abolishes slavery. 1879Thomas Edison invents the light bulb.

Realism

Genre/Style Novels, Short Stories, Objective Narrator,

and does not tell reader how to interpret the story.

Effect/Aspects Social and Aesthetic realism.

Historical Context Civil War brought demand for a more true

type of literature.

Regionalism/Naturalism

Timeline- 1870-1910 Authors

Mark Twain Willa Cather Jack London

Events 1889 Oklahoma is opened foe settlement,

triggering a land rush. 1903 Wright brothers achieve the first

airplane flight.

Regionalism/Naturalism

Genre/Style Poetry, Short Stories, and Novels.

Effect/Aspects Emphasis on development of believable

characters. Written in natural vernacular, or dialect

Historical Context: The urbanization and industrialization of America;

Increasing rates of democracy and literacy; The emerging middle class; Upheaval and social change in the latter half of the 19th century

Modernism

Timeline- 1910-1945 Authors

T.S. Elliot Ernest Hemingway Ezra Pound

Events 1917 United States enters World War I 1920 19th Amendment is passed, giving

the women the right to vote.

Modernism

Genre/Style Novels, Plays, Poetry, experiments in

writing styles, interior monologue, and stream of consciousness.

Effect/Aspects Pursuit of American Dream, Admiration for

America, Optimism, and Individual Importance.

Historical Context Writers reflected the ideas of Darwin and

Karl Marx, during WWI and WWII.

Harlem Renaissance

Timeline- 1920-1930 Authors

Langston Hughes Zora Neale Hurston Countee Cullen

Events 1919 Race riots erupt in 25 American cities 1929 The Wall Street stock market crashes

and the Great Depression begins.

Harlem Renaissance

Genre/Style Blues Song in Poetry and African American

Spirituals. Effect/Aspects

Brought about Gospel Music. Historical Context

Mass African American Migration to Northern Urban Centers. African Americans are given more access to media and publishing.

Contemporary Literature

Timeline- 1940- Present Authors

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. John Steinbeck Amy Tan

Events 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor brings the U.S. into

World War II 1965 U.S. enters Vietnam War. 2001 Terrorists attack U.S. cities. 2009 Barack Obama becomes the first African

American U.S. president

Contemporary Literature

Genre/Style Narrative, fiction, nonfiction, anti heroes,

emotional, irony, storytelling, autobiographical, and essays.

Effect/Aspects Shift in emphasis from homogeneity to

celebrating diversity. Historical Context

New century, new millennium.