On July 4, 1804, Elizabeth Manning gave birth to her first son, Nathaniel. Nathaniel Hawthorne grew up in Salem, Massachusetts along with his two sisters, Elizabeth and Maria. Other than in Salem, he spent most of his time in Sebago Lake as a young boy where he learned to appreciate nature. Hawthorne was the great-great grandson of the remorseless Judge Hathorne in the Salem Witch Trials. In fact, because of his great-grandfather’s involvement in the trials, Hawthorne added a W to his last name. He wanted to disassociate with his ancestors and redeem his name through his stories. In college, he became a student of Puritan psychology in hopes to come to terms with his family’s religious past. His stories mainly revolved around the Puritan religion to expose Puritanical hypocrisy and shine light on the negative aspects of such restrictive institutions. Hawthorne’s most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter, was one of the first novels in American history to be mass-produced. Hawthorne was able to entertain the entire country while teaching them important lessons about guilt, forgiveness, and the impacts of sin. He also wrote countless numbers of short stories such as “Young Goodman Brown” and other highly regarded novels. Because of his passion and determination, Hawthorne remains one of the most influential authors in American history.