Intellectual Turning Point

During the first years of America, literature was not very important. Authors did not gain success or recognition. The few books that were popular were accounts of the Revolutionary War, such as Mercy Otis’ “History of the Revolution” or Mason Weems rather distorted but nonetheless popular tale about George Washington’s life. All these were only riding on the pulse of patriotism that followed the new independence of the young country. But by the turn of the century, a few authors began achieving recognition for other works. The first of these was Washington Irving. He wrote culturally appropriate stories for the Dutch culture of his home state of New York, like the infamous Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman. Another celebrated author of the time was James Fenimore Cooper. He gained success by writing tales that appealed to the wild frontier fevor of the time. His most famous work was the Leatherstocking Tales, a collection of 5 stories about Natty Bumppo, a frontier rifleman. These two authors marked the beginning of a long and significant relationship between America and books.