Bartleby
Bartleby.com: John Donne: His Position and Influence
Excerpt taken from "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature," this site places Donne amidst Elizabethan poets of his era and defines Donne apart from them.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge Hist of Eng & Am Lit: Travellers and Explorers,1583 1763
Description of American colonist narratives written for relatives and friends left behind in England. Click on the link at the end of each page to access the entire chapter.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge History of Eng and Am Lit: Narratives Indian Captivities
Discusses Indian captivity narratives as the result of "involuntary journeying" and their contemporary appeal. Click on the next three names at the bottom of the page to read about some of the captives.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge History of Eng and Am Lit: Early Quaker Literature
A survey of the Quaker writers from the Colonial period extracted from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge History of Eng and Am Lit: Early New England Historians
Describes the themes and writing style of early New England historians. Clicking on the names at the bottom of each page will take you to information about individual historians.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge History of Eng and Am Lit: Narratives of the Indian Wars
Describes the shortage of accurate historical accounts of the Indian Wars in Colonial America. Click through the names at the bottom of each page to take you to a short description of individual historians.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Cambridge History of Eng and Am Lit: Beginnings of American Verse
Describes the beginnings of American poetry, beginning with a publication in 1610. Click through the 18 sections to get the full picture. Extracted from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.
Other
Animus: Puritanism, Enlightenment, and the u.s. Constitution
Examines the effect of Puritan religious thought on the U.S. Constitution. Discusses Puritanism and covenant theology.
US National Archives
Nara: Declaration of Independence
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides an extensive overview of the Declaration of Independence. View the actual document, explore the history of the document as well as it's "stylistic artistry," and much more.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: Johnson and Boswell
First section of a longer discussion on the Age of Johnson. Taken from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.
Other
The Great Books Foundation: The Natural Aristocracy
A letter to John Adams from Thomas Jefferson dated October 28, 1813 that provides a mini-summary of Jefferson's philosophy toward democracy and the ability of Americans to govern themselves.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: A Literary Survey: Archive
This search engine provides access to more than 3000 items including visual art, audio files, primary source materials, and additional texts supporting and enriching the understanding of American Literature. RI.9-10.9 US Documents,...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Native Voices
This unit features the rich oral tradition of Native Americans storytelling in various genres predating the introduction and influence of English writings, bringing three contemporary authors to light. RI.11-12.8 seminal U.S. texts,...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Race and Identity in Antebellum America
This unit features authors of Antebellum America and how they portray the American identity through their literature. Click on the tabs to explore the various resources available to enhance this unit.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: Restoration and Eighteenth Century: Introduction
This is an introduction to a Restoration and Eighteenth Century, which ranges from the Restoration of King Charles II to the turn of the 19th century. The essential questions for the unit focuses on how the events of the period...
Read Works
Read Works: The American Revolution, 1763 1783 [Excerpt]
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read an excerpt from an essay on the American Revolution and answer questions on comprehension, main idea, author's purpose, and more. Links to a paired text and paired text questions are...
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read: Poe: Stories and Poems
Guide to the stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe, including historical information, author biography, discussion questions, and a ten-lesson teaching unit with project ideas and essay questions. A radio show, with transcript, features...
Other
America Dept. Of State: Outline of American Literature [Pdf]
This online book presents an overview of American literature chronologically. Eras and movements are explained and biographies of significant authors are provided. This is a good way to understand the background and influences of...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Brief Timeline of American Literature
This Washington State University site provides a decade-by-decade timeline of American literature with historical events going on at the same time. Most topics on the timeline are links to additional information about the author, work,...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Timeline of American Literature 1700 1749
A time line of social, political, and literary history of the period from 1700-1749, the end of the Puritan period. Contains information about Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, and Sarah Kemble Knight, Puritan writers of the time.
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Captivity Narratives
This site contains definitions and analysis of American captivity narratives. Describes the conventions, rhetorical purposes, and themes of the captivity narrative genre. Lists example captivity narratives.
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Domestic or Sentimental Fiction
This site provides a wealth of information about Harriet Beecher Stowe's works. It provides some great links to "Uncle Tom's Cabin" information, a bibliography of primary and secondary sources by and about Stowe, and links to some of her...
American Rhetoric
American Rhetoric: Abraham Lincoln: "A House Divided"
This is the text of Abraham Lincoln's famous speech, "A House Divided" concerning the issue of slavery it was delivered on June 16, 1858, in Springfield, Illinois. It includes his famous quote: "A house divided against itself cannot...
American Rhetoric
American Rhetoric: Alexander H. Stephens: Cornerstone Confederate Speech
This is the text of the Cornerstone speech for the Confederacy which was delivered by Alexander H. Stephens on March 21, 1861, in Savannah, Georgia.