Neoclassicism

Mid to Late 1700s

Literature of this time period reflects a change in the social structure from one which was largely influenced by Protestant theology to one which is centered on a respect for the common man and a move toward democracy.

Featured author for this period...

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

    • Benjamin Franklin- connect Bartleby.com and e-texts of some of Franklin's best known works.

    • The Electric Ben Franklin: The Quotable Franklin- a wicked fun site from USHistory.org

    • Ben Franklin: In His Own Words- great resource from the Library of Congress

    • Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience - Selected Textbook Resources:

        • Excerpt from Autobiography: “The Autobiography” -p. 142

        • Excerpt from Nonfiction: “Poor Richard’s Almanac” -p. 148

        • Speech: “Speech in the Convention” -p. 207

Audio Book/MP3

    • Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin- Read the full text of Franklin's autobiography with this link to the online (or downloadable if you prefer) e-text from Project Gutenberg.

    • Download the MP3 of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin from Libri-Vox and listen as you read along with the e-text.


Even more to explore...


Abigail Adams

Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur

    • Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience - Selected Textbook Resources:

        • Excerpt from Letter/Epistle: “Letters from an American Farmer” -p. 220

Olaudah Equiano

    • Olaudah Equiano - biographical information from Washington State University

    • Africans in America: Olaudah Equiano- interesting information from PBS

    • Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience - Selected Textbook Resources:

        • Excerpt from Autobiography: “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano” -p. 160

Patrick Henry

  • Colonial Williamsburg: Patrick Henry- interactive and filled with lots of interesting information.

  • Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience - Selected Textbook Resources:

      • Speech: “Speech in the Virginia Convention” -p. 202

Thomas Jefferson


Meriwether Lewis

Thomas Paine

    • Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience - Selected Textbook Resources:

        • Excerpt from Essay: “The Crisis, Number 1” -p.174

Phillis Wheatley

    • Columbia - click here and see a painting of the goddess Columbia as referenced in Wheatley's poem "To His Excellency, General Washington".

    • Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience - Selected Textbook Resources:

        • Poem: “An Hymn to the Evening” -p. 182

        • Poem: “To His Excellency, General Washington” -p. 184

There's so much to learn about Phillis Wheatley! If you're looking for a good research topic, check out this video and this poem: "To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth".

Overall "Text to World" & "Text to Text" Connections for this Literary Period

    • American Memory Timeline - from the Learning Page at The Library of Congress, this link will help you connect American history to American literature.