Great+Americans

Great Americans

Writers

Margaret Fuller- Group Members: Michael Zelnik, Jason Williams, Sam Wheeler, and John Yandam Margaret Fuller was one of many, maybe even the greatest, transcendentalists at the time. She wrote from 1839 to 1850. During this time period, slave independence was a rising issue, which would lead to the American Civil War, and toward the end of Fuller's writing career, revolutions in Italy would begin and end quickly. Her own life would end soon after revolutions. Early in her career, Fuller wrote mainly in New England. After writing many amazing pieces of criticism for her transcendentalist journal, The Dial, she became a foreign correspondent for the New York Tribune in Europe. Before leaving for Europe with her friends, Fuller's writings in The Dial were intended for women to start thinking independently and act the way women in today's society act, possibly being her most significant contribution to American readers as well. Three facts I found interesting were that when Fuller was young, rigorous educational training from her father brought many mental symptoms, and when her father died, she and her mother took care of her eight younger siblings. The most interesting fact, in my opinion, was that Fuller became as great a critic as Edgar Allen Poe, already a great writer at the time. Lastly, Margaret Fuller's contributions to American cultural literacy was the idea of independent thought for Americans, mainly women, being a pioneering feminist, and a social reformer. -Michael Zelnik

James Fenimore Cooper: Group Members- Carsyn Hager, Alina Hansen, and Patrick Guill James Fenimore Cooper was the first major U.S. Novelist of the early 19th century. All of his books were related to the politics of his time. Some of his books even demonstrate “an early 19th century American preoccupation with prudence and negligence in a country where property rights were often still in dispute” (Goodman). He was also the first novelist to include African and African American characters in his novels. His most famous books are about frontier adventures known as the “Leatherstocking” Tales. Cooper was able to create “a powerful and moving story of frontier life” (“Cooper, Fenimore James”). Even though the “Leatherstocking” Tales were his best work, he continued to write other fiction and non fiction novels such as __//The Pilot,//__ which were sea novels. __//The Pilot series//__ was once as popular as the “Leatherstocking” Tales. Even though Cooper moved to Europe in 1826 and stayed until 1833, he wrote most of his books in New York or New York City. When he lived in New York City between 1822 and 1826, Cooper focused on its intellectual life and founded the Bread and Cheese Club. The Bread and Cheese Club was a “social and cultural [private meeting] which was held on Washington Hall” (Bread and Cheese). Some of the members included American writers, editors, artists, and politicians. These men were involved with cultural and political affairs, just like Cooper himself. (Carsyn Hager)

Frederick Douglass: Group Members - Tyler, Ben, Laura Frederick Douglass lived between 1818 and 1895. He was a former slave and abolitionist and writer. He wrote during the Antebellum period, the Civil War and the reconstruction which is significant because his work showed the perspective of a former slave during the Civil War. Most of his works were written while he was a free slave in the North. His most significant work is his first autobiography about his life as a slave. The audience he wrote for were mostly politicians and other people with much influence because they had the power to change things. His first speech about his life as a slave in 1841 laid the foundation of his career as a writer, speaker and major abolitionist. During his two audiences with Lincoln he fought for the rights of slaves and equal rights for black soldiers. Beside for the rights for slaves he also fought for the rights of women - he was the only man who attended the Seneca Women’s Falls Conference in 1848. Frederick Douglass showed America how African Americans were not the stupid slaves they were made out to be, he showed that they could write and speak just as good as any white man.

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