The American Literary Renaissance

Early in the history of the United States, the many cultures and societies which made up the fabric of the new nation began to homogenize in some respects to form elements that would in time become known as "purely American". More likely than not, this process was fostered in many respects because of the wish of the people who made up the new nation to form their own sense of national identity, exercise the new freedoms afforded to them, and to join with others in a common culture, regardless of where these new Americans originally hailed. An excellent example of this is the period which has, in retrospect, become known as the American Renaissance, a time frame from the early 1840s to the end of the Civil War (mid 1860s) when a specifically American way of writing and a uniquely American style was formulated (Versluis, 2001).

In this research, the aforementioned claim of the existence of an American Renaissance will be supported with evidence from writers of that period, as well as the discussion of some additional facts which reinforce this claim. Ultimately, upon conclusion of the research, the reader will have gained a thorough understanding not only of the existence of the American Renaissance, but also those specific examples which make up the body of work that defined this pivotal period in the evolution of the American literary genre.

Birth of the American Renaissance

As was mentioned when this research began, it is generally acknowledged that the American Renaissance encompassed several decades, early in American history, up to and just beyond the time of the Civil War. In order to fully appreciate and comprehend the importance of the American Renaissance, as well as to establish the legitimacy of its existence, the "birth" of this period must be discussed.