Foundations of American Literature

The forces that have given direction and strength to the main currents of mainstream American literature are sought to be profiled in the present compilation. The basic characteristics of this literature, it will become evident in the course of the studies, were defined from the very beginning in the turmoil, struggle and achievement of the early settlers, the decades preceding and the aftermath of the civil war, and the matter of fact preoccupation with the stupendous task of building a new republic into an economic and political superpower. The rolling wagons of the settlers were replaced by the rolling stock of the great American railroad as the country opened up in more ways than the merely geographical. The student of literature will find in the following pages a valuable insight into the sensibilities that have shaped American literature.