The purpose of this book is to provide, in compact and simplified form, essential historical and intellectual materials for understanding major American authors.

In recent years, educators have recognized that studying literature goes beyond analyzing plot, character, style, imagery, and metrics.

This traditional belletristic approach is especially limiting in American literature. Unlike Europe, America’s rapidly evolving identity has delayed the formation of a stable literary tradition.

A glance at any major American literature anthology shows selections shaped by history, politics, theology, and society.

Few countries—Russia being one possible exception—have seen their writers so influenced by contemporary life and thought.

European critics, grounded in centuries of literary heritage, often lament the lack of pure belles lettres in American writing.

But in a young, fast-changing nation, writers were more compelled by the reality around them than by aesthetic ideals.

Participating in the shaping of a new democracy was more urgent than traditional literary pursuits.

The authors of this book believe that existing literary histories and anthologies, due to space constraints, don’t sufficiently explore the deeper social and intellectual context of American writing.

This book aims to supplement those texts in college-level American literary history courses.

It is not a complete historical survey, but a focused overview of the key ideas and movements behind different literary periods.

We intentionally omit basic literary history, trusting that anthologies and lectures will provide those facts.

We also avoid interpreting individual authors—leaving that to instructors and other dedicated analyses.

Instead, this book offers a foundational look at the intellectual forces shaping American thought and literature.

Chapters are mostly arranged chronologically until 1865.

However, for themes like Pragmatism, Marxism, Naturalism, and Imperialism, we trace each movement from its origin to modern times.

Placing the chapter on the South posed a challenge, as it spans 300 years of history.

We chose to include it after the section on the 1920s, when Southern issues began to strongly appear in American literary works.