Colonial America
(1620-1776)
Famous Authors & their Works
William Bradford
Born: March 19, 1590
Birthplace: Austerfield, Yorkshire, England
Died: May 9, 1657, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony
Best known as: Governor of Plymouth Colony
William Bradford was an English Separatist leader of settlers at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He served as governor for over 30 years after the previous governor, John Carver, died. His journal (1620–1647) was published as Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford is credited as the first civil authority to designate what popular American culture now views as Thanksgiving in the United States.
Birthplace: Austerfield, Yorkshire, England
Died: May 9, 1657, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony
Best known as: Governor of Plymouth Colony
William Bradford was an English Separatist leader of settlers at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. He served as governor for over 30 years after the previous governor, John Carver, died. His journal (1620–1647) was published as Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford is credited as the first civil authority to designate what popular American culture now views as Thanksgiving in the United States.
Anne Bradstreet
Born: 1612
Died: 16 September 1672
Birthplace: Northamptonshire, England
Best known as: America's first poet
Name at birth: Anne Dudley
Anne Bradstreet emigrated to Massachusetts with her father and her husband in 1630. Her husband later became a governor of the colony, while Anne wrote poetry and raised their eight children. She is considered the first significant poet of Puritan-era America. Bradstreet's volumes include The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America and Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning.
Died: 16 September 1672
Birthplace: Northamptonshire, England
Best known as: America's first poet
Name at birth: Anne Dudley
Anne Bradstreet emigrated to Massachusetts with her father and her husband in 1630. Her husband later became a governor of the colony, while Anne wrote poetry and raised their eight children. She is considered the first significant poet of Puritan-era America. Bradstreet's volumes include The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America and Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning.
Edward Taylor
Edward Taylor (1642 – June 29, 1729) was a colonial American poet, pastor and physician. The son of a non-Conformist yeoman farmer, he was born in Leicestershire, England in 1642. He originally worked as a school teacher, but later left England for the United States. He studied divinity at Harvard and then became a minister in Massachusetts.
His works:
- Happy As The Day Is Long
- The Lost Pilot (for his father, 1922-1944)
- Never Again The Same
- Shut Up And Eat Your Toad
- The List of Famous Hats
- Days of Pie and Coffee
- Goodtime Jesus
- Loyalty
- My Felisberto
- More Later, Less The Same
His works:
- Happy As The Day Is Long
- The Lost Pilot (for his father, 1922-1944)
- Never Again The Same
- Shut Up And Eat Your Toad
- The List of Famous Hats
- Days of Pie and Coffee
- Goodtime Jesus
- Loyalty
- My Felisberto
- More Later, Less The Same
Jonathan Edwards
Born: 5 October 1703, East Windsor, Connecticut, U.S.
Died: 22 March 1758 (aged 54), Princeton, New Jersey
Occupation: Pastor, theologian
Jonathan Edwards, the founder of the New England theology as a distinct type of doctrine, considered by many the greatest theologian America has produced.
Famous Work:
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741) -- For better or worse, the sermon for which Edwards is probably most famous—or infamous—is the one preached to the congregation of Enfield, Massachusetts (later Connecticut) in July 1741. Anthologized in high school and college textbooks.
Died: 22 March 1758 (aged 54), Princeton, New Jersey
Occupation: Pastor, theologian
Jonathan Edwards, the founder of the New England theology as a distinct type of doctrine, considered by many the greatest theologian America has produced.
Famous Work:
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741) -- For better or worse, the sermon for which Edwards is probably most famous—or infamous—is the one preached to the congregation of Enfield, Massachusetts (later Connecticut) in July 1741. Anthologized in high school and college textbooks.
New Republic
(1776-1836)
Famous Authors & their Works
Thomas Jefferson
Born: April 13, 1743, at Shadwell, Virginia
Died: July 4, 1826, Monticello
Ø Third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia
Ø Voiced the aspirations of a new America as no other individual of his era.
Ø As public official, historian, philosopher, and plantation owner, he served his country for over five decades.
Famous Works:· A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)
· Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775)
· Memorandums taken on a journey from Paris into the southern parts of France and Northern Italy, in the year 1787
Died: July 4, 1826, Monticello
Ø Third president of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia
Ø Voiced the aspirations of a new America as no other individual of his era.
Ø As public official, historian, philosopher, and plantation owner, he served his country for over five decades.
Famous Works:· A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)
· Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775)
· Memorandums taken on a journey from Paris into the southern parts of France and Northern Italy, in the year 1787
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (January 29, 1737 - June 8, 1809)
Ø Considered to be a "Founding Father" of the United States.
Ø As a pamphleteer, Paine had a significant impact upon the American Revolution.
Ø He is also notable for his advocacy of Deism and writings regarding the French Revolution.
Ø An English-American political activist, author, political theorist and revolutionary. As the author of two highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, he inspired the Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Britain.
Ø His ideas reflected Enlightenment era rhetoric of transnational human rights.
Ø He has been called "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination.
Famous Works:
- Common Sense
- The Crisis
Ø Considered to be a "Founding Father" of the United States.
Ø As a pamphleteer, Paine had a significant impact upon the American Revolution.
Ø He is also notable for his advocacy of Deism and writings regarding the French Revolution.
Ø An English-American political activist, author, political theorist and revolutionary. As the author of two highly influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, he inspired the Patriots in 1776 to declare independence from Britain.
Ø His ideas reflected Enlightenment era rhetoric of transnational human rights.
Ø He has been called "a corsetmaker by trade, a journalist by profession, and a propagandist by inclination.
Famous Works:
- Common Sense
- The Crisis
Philip Freneau
Philip Freneau (January 2, 1752 – December 18, 1832) is surely the “Poet of the Revolution,” as his work reflects the subject and “sense of mission of his time,” and one who lived to drive America in the direction of freedom.
Major Works:
• The Poems of Philip Freneau: Written Chiefly During the Late War
• The Miscellaneous Works of Mr. Philip Freneau Containing His Essays and Additional Poems
• Poems Written Between the Years 1768 and 1794
• Poems Written and Published During the American Revolutionary War
• A Collection of Poems...Written Between the Year 1797 and the Present Time
Major Works:
• The Poems of Philip Freneau: Written Chiefly During the Late War
• The Miscellaneous Works of Mr. Philip Freneau Containing His Essays and Additional Poems
• Poems Written Between the Years 1768 and 1794
• Poems Written and Published During the American Revolutionary War
• A Collection of Poems...Written Between the Year 1797 and the Present Time
Washington Irving
Washington Irving, an author and editor, was born in New York City on April 3, 1783. Irving achieved international fame for his fictional works, including the stories Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, as well as for his biographies and historical writings. Irving served as the United States ambassador to Spain and helped to promote international copyright before his death in 1859.
Major Works:
- Rip Van Winkle
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Major Works:
- Rip Van Winkle
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, then part of Massachusetts, and studied at Bowdoin College. After spending time in Europe he became a professor at Bowdoin, and later, at Harvard College. Longfellow wrote predominantly lyric poems, known for their musicality and offer presenting stories and mythology and legend. He became the most popular American poet of his day and also had success overseas. He has been criticized however, for imitating European styles and writing specifically for the masses
Oliver Holmes
Oliver Holmes
Surrounded by Boston's literary elite which included friends such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell- Holmes made an indelible imprint on the literary world of the 19th century. Many of his works were published in The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine that he named. For his literary achievements and offer accomplishments, he was awarded numerous honorary degrees from universities around the world. Holmes's writing often commemorated his native Boston area,and much of it was meant to be humorous or conversational. Some of is medical writings,notably his 1843 essay regarding the contagiousness of puerperal fever, were considered innovative for their time. He was often called upon to issue occasional poetry, or poems written specifically for an event, including many occasions at Harvard. Holmes also popularized several terms, including "Boston Brahmin" and "anaesthesia".
Works:
- A Ballad of the Boston Tea-Party
- A Parting Health
- A Good Time Going
- A Parody on "A Psalm of Life"
- A Hymn of Peace
Surrounded by Boston's literary elite which included friends such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell- Holmes made an indelible imprint on the literary world of the 19th century. Many of his works were published in The Atlantic Monthly, a magazine that he named. For his literary achievements and offer accomplishments, he was awarded numerous honorary degrees from universities around the world. Holmes's writing often commemorated his native Boston area,and much of it was meant to be humorous or conversational. Some of is medical writings,notably his 1843 essay regarding the contagiousness of puerperal fever, were considered innovative for their time. He was often called upon to issue occasional poetry, or poems written specifically for an event, including many occasions at Harvard. Holmes also popularized several terms, including "Boston Brahmin" and "anaesthesia".
Works:
- A Ballad of the Boston Tea-Party
- A Parting Health
- A Good Time Going
- A Parody on "A Psalm of Life"
- A Hymn of Peace
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman (May 31, 1819- March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between Transcendentalism and Realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American Canon, often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
Works:
- To You
- O Captain! My Captain
- O Me! O Life
- One's-self I Sing
- As I Ponder'd in Silence
Works:
- To You
- O Captain! My Captain
- O Me! O Life
- One's-self I Sing
- As I Ponder'd in Silence
References:
Best Famous Edward Taylor Poems. PoetrySoup. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poems/best/Edward_Taylor
Hata, B. Biography of Edward Taylor. Poemhunter.com. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://www.poemhunter.com/edward-taylor/biography/
Major Works. The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University.
Retrieved March 18, 2013,from http://edwards.yale.edu/research/major-works
Retrieved February 26, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow&sa=U&ei=txQrUcWfN8qXiQe7koCgDQ&ved=0CCIQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNHOgqt463-YZYYWs_ss6KwXvRotHA
Retrieved February 26, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes,_Sr.&sa=U&ei=ch8rUYCyJoqriAfT7YHgDg&ved=0CDEQFjAG&usg=AFQjCNFHlxmoGh6YqPC6_AcpwSsZWT8hmg
Retrieved February 26, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman&sa=U&ei=-iUrUfntAquXiQfQkIGIBA&ved=0CB8QFjAA&usg=AFQjCNFSQUpBjgvjwoNncjG5gUK5hY5Duw
Retrieved March 25, 2013 from http://www. biography.com/people/washington-irving-9350087
Retrieved March 25, 2013 from http://www. uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/edit/freneau.htm
Retrived March 20, 2013 from http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/annebradstreet.html#ixzz2OSQMYEml
Thomas Jefferson, A Brief Biography.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/brief-biography-thomas-jefferson
Thomas Jefferson.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson
Thomas Paine Biography.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://www.biographybase.com/biography/paine_thomas.htmlhttp://www.biographybase.com/biography/paine_thomas.html
Thomas Paine.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine
Retrieved February 26, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow&sa=U&ei=txQrUcWfN8qXiQe7koCgDQ&ved=0CCIQFjAA&usg=AFQjCNHOgqt463-YZYYWs_ss6KwXvRotHA
Retrieved February 26, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Wendell_Holmes,_Sr.&sa=U&ei=ch8rUYCyJoqriAfT7YHgDg&ved=0CDEQFjAG&usg=AFQjCNFHlxmoGh6YqPC6_AcpwSsZWT8hmg
Retrieved February 26, 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman&sa=U&ei=-iUrUfntAquXiQfQkIGIBA&ved=0CB8QFjAA&usg=AFQjCNFSQUpBjgvjwoNncjG5gUK5hY5Duw
Retrieved March 25, 2013 from http://www. biography.com/people/washington-irving-9350087
Retrieved March 25, 2013 from http://www. uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/edit/freneau.htm
Retrived March 20, 2013 from http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/annebradstreet.html#ixzz2OSQMYEml
Thomas Jefferson, A Brief Biography.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/brief-biography-thomas-jefferson
Thomas Jefferson.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson
Thomas Paine Biography.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://www.biographybase.com/biography/paine_thomas.htmlhttp://www.biographybase.com/biography/paine_thomas.html
Thomas Paine.NA.Retrieved last March 27, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine