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Apr 26, 1536
Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin
This doctrine argued that God was the all powerful and all-good and that Humans were weak and corrupt. Calvin also claimed that there were some souls, the elect, who had been destined for eternal bliss and others for eternal torment. -
Poor Richard's Almanack by Benjamin Franklin
This famous piece of work emphasized homespun virtues such as thrift, industry, morality, and common sense. -
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Major Works of Literature and Writing
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The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson
The Declaration of Independence declared the rights and prividledges that the Colonists wanted from the British. -
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
In Common Sense, Thomas Paine argues for American independence. Paine begins by distinguishing between government and society. Society, according to Paine, is everything constructive and good that people join together to accomplish. Government, on the other hand, is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect us from our own vices. -
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles or essays advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution written by Madison, Jefferson, and Jay. -
The Constituion
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. The Constitution is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States. -
The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
The Age of Reason is a deistic pamphlet, written by eighteenth-century British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine, that criticizes institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible. -
North American Review
The North American Review (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale. -
The South Carolina Exposition by John C. Calhoun
The South Carolina Exposition and Protest was written by John C. Calhoun. The document was a protest against the Tariff of 1828 and stated that if the tariff was not repealed, South Carolina would secede. -
Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World by David Walker
This novel advocated a bloody end to white supremacy. -
The Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison
Garrison's The Liverator was a militantly antislavery newspaper and fired one of the opening barrages of the Civil War. -
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter was about how society reacted to a woman who commits adultery during the 1700's. Adultery was an evil sin back then and society felt it was their responsibility to persecute them. -
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
This was a complex allegory of good and evil and was widely popular. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the most profound novels on American society. It awakened to America the evils of slavery and how inhumane it is. This novel helped start the Civil War and win it because it gathered much antislavery support. -
Ten Nights in a Barroom and What I Saw There by T.S. Arthur
This novel by T.S. Arthur was a really popular anti-alcohol novel that described how alcohol can ruin a person's life. -
Walden: Or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
This book is a record of Thoreau's two years of simple existence in nature. It discussed transcendentaist values and the beauty of nature. -
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
This was a famous collection of poems that was romantic, emotional, and unconventional. They discussed many of the values of an American and defined Whitman as the "Poet Laureate of Democracy." -
The Impending Crisis of the South by Hinton Helper
Helper's novel showed through an array of statistics that indirectly the nonslaveholding whites were the ones who suffered most from slavery. -
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
"The Origin of Species" was a controversial volume that announced the sensational theroy that humans had slowly evolved from lower forms of life. Darwin's theory went against the bible and caused many people to reevaluate their religious views. -
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavareas County by Mark Twain
Mark Twain's novel is about the California gold rush and the westward movement and how when the easterners moved out west, they discovered their skills were usless. -
The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain
This novel by Mark Twain examines the natural of humans between people from different origins and how Europe was terribly run-down and was greedy for the dollars of the rich Americans. -
The Gilded Age by Mark Twaine and Charles Dudley Warner
"The Gilded Age" examined the time period after the Civil War and how politicians and speculators were corrupt. This book gave a name to the era because America appeared good and that they did not have any problems, but in reality there were many issues, and this novel exposed them. -
Daisy Miller by Henry James
"Daisy Miller" is about how a girl who embarks of the unusual European lifestyle in a free-spirited and open minded attitude. Due to the industrial boom a new class of wealthy appeared and for the first time, Americans are visiting Europe. In Europe, the wealthy Americans realize that their is a distinct difference in social status between themselves an the Europeans. -
Progress and Poverty by Henry George
Henry George discussed posssible solutions to escape poverty such as his single-tax idea. He also talked about how the pressure of growing population on a fixed supply of land unjutifiably pushed up property values. -
Ben Hur: A tale of the Christ by Lewis Wallace
"Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ" was a novel about the importance and truth of religion. This novel was written in the purpose of destroying the ideas of Darwinism. -
A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
"A Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James explores the conflict between American individualism and European social custom and the situation of Americans in Europe. -
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is one of the most popular novels by Mark Twain that centers around the institution of slavery. -
Our Country: Its Possible Future and Its Present Crisis by Reverend Josiah Strong
This novel was intended to promote domestic missionary activity but it actually inspired missionaries to support and imperialistic U.S. -
The Bostonian by Henry James
Henry James' novel is a significant story about the rising feminists movement. James was a big advocate for the women's rights. -
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy's novel is about a man who falls asleep and then awakends in the year 2000 and finds that the social and economic injustices of 1887 have melted away under an idyllic government, which has natinalized big business to serve the public interest. His novel is based on socialistic ideals and was very popular during the late 19th century. -
Principles of Phsychology by William James
William James' s novel helped establish the modern discipline of behavioral psychology. In his masterpiece, he established his four methods of psychology: analysis, introspection, experiment, and comparison. -
A Hazard of New Fortunes by William Dean Howells
"A Hazard of New Fortunes" portrays the reformers, strikers, and Socialists during the Gilded Age. It focuses on the struggles of the middle class. -
Magazines and other sources of Literature
At the time there were also magazines which satisfied the publics appetite for good reading. An example of these are Harper's, Atlantic Monthly, and Scribner's Monthly. The most liberal and highly intellectual New York Nation. The New York Nation was read mostly by intellectual preachers, publicists, and professors. However many of the "penny presses" was filled with yellow jouranlism which portreyed atrocities and eye catching headlines to increase circulation. -
How the Other Half lives by Jacob A. Riis
Jacob A. Riis gave a damning indictment of the dirt, disease, vice, and misery of the rat-gnawed human rockeries known as New York slums. This novel deeply influenced Theodore Roosevelt. -
The Influence of Sea Power by Captain Alfred Thayer
Thayer argured that control of the sea was key to world domination. His novel helped stimulate the naval race among the great power of America, England, Germany, and Japan. -
Maggie: A Girl of the streets by Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane's tale is about a poor prositute who is driven to suicide. This story illuminates how people in desperate positions takes desperates measures to make money. -
"Fronteir Thesis" by Frederick Jackson Turner
In theis piece Frederick Jackson Turner sheds light on the importance of the fronteir. He states the impact of the moving fronteir line on America. His writing indicates that United States history can not be properly understood unless it is viewed in light of the west ward moving experience. As well he worried that the end of the fronteir would have a negative effect on the country, -
Wealth Against commonwealth by Henry Demarest Lloyd
Lloyd exposed John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil company as corrupt and a representation of the industiral monopolies he despises. Lloyd suggested that the democratic brothehood be applied to the economy. -
The Will to Believe by William James
William James's "The Will to Beleive" explored the philosphy and pychology of religion, and defended the adoption of beliefs as hypotheses even without prior evidence of their truth. -
Women and Economics by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
"Women and Economics" was an extremely popular novel of the growing independence of women in the urban environment. In this novel, Gilman called upon women to abdandon their dependent status and contribute to the larger life of the community through envolvement in the economy. -
The Conjure Women by Charles w. Chestnutt
"The Conjure Women" discusses the destruction and dehumanizing force of slavery. This novel embraces the use of black dialect and folklore to capture the spontaniety and richness of southern black culture. -
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Awakening was a novel centered around the ideas of adultery, sucicide, and women's ambitions. The main purpose of this novel was to demonstrate a woman's fight for equality and rights in a time where they were neglected and taken advantage of. -
The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen
Veblen's novel was a savage attack on predatory wealth by claiming that economic life is driven not by notions of utility but by social traces from previous times. -
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
"Sister Carrie" is a graphically realistic story of a poor working girl who becomes a man's mistress and then elopes with another man to escape her lifestyle and become an actress. This novel demonstrates the actions poor people must take to rise in society. -
The Octopus by Frank Norris
"The Octopus" was an earthy saga of the stranglehold fo the railraod and the corrupt politicians on Californai wheat ranchers. The allusion of the Octopus depicts how the railroads and politicans are controlling eveything. -
Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
William James's a "Varities of Religious Experience" concerns the nature of religion and the neglect of science. through the exploring of the philosophy and psychology of religion -
The Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffans
Steffans launched this series of articles in Mclure's Cospmopolitan magazine where he unmasked the corrupt alliance between big businesses and municipal government. -
The Pit by Frank Norris
"The Pit" is the sequel to "The Octopus" and deals with the making and breaking of speculators on the Chicago wheat exchange. Both of these novels gave a light to the corrupt actions of politicians during the Gilded Age. -
Call of the Wild by Jack London
The purpose of this book is to show the importance of nature and that too much civiliazation is not good. Nature should be cherished and preserved. This book was widely supported by T.R. -
Frenzied Finance by Thomas W. Lawson
Lawson wrote these series of articles where he exposed the corrupt practices of his accomplices from when he worked in the Stock Market. These articles rocketed the circulation of the magazine "Everybody's." -
The Bitter Cry of the Children by John Spargo
This novel exposed to America the abuses of child labor and influenced many people to fight for the end of child labor. -
The Treason of the Senate by David G. Phillips
Philips wrote this article in Cosmopolitan where he charged that 75 of the 90 Senators did not represent the people at all but the railraods and trusts. This interested many people and supported reforms that got rid of these trusts. -
The Jungle by Upton Sinclaire
This was a sensational novel that appaled the public with his description of disgustingly unsanitary food products in a slaughterhouse in Chicago. This was a very influential novel as many people felt sick after reading it and refused to eat meat for weeks. Theodore Roosevelt was so moved that heappointed a Special Investigating Commission and led to the Meat Inspection Act. -
Pragmatism by William James
In William James's famous work, "Pragmatism", he colorfully desrcibes America's greatest contribution to the history of philopsohy. The concept of pragmatism held that truth was to be tested by the practical consequences of an idea. -
Following the Color Line by Ray Stannard Baker
Following the Color Line was a novel that extracted the sympathy of its readers by displaying that 90% of the 9 millions blacks still lived in the South, and 1/3 were illiterate. -
The promise of the American Life by Herbert Croly
This novel oppossed the aggressive unionization and supported economic planning to raise the general quality of society. This novel was the beginning ideas that T.R. adopted and developed into his platform of "New Nationalism." -
The Financier by Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser's novel made fun of promoters and profiteers. It was a part of the Triology of Destiny Volume along with The Titan published in 1914, and the Stoic in 1947. -
Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It by Louis P. Brandeis
This novel by Brandeis fanned the flames of reform and promoted the regulation on the banking system. -
Winesburg Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
Sherwood Anderson was one writer who wrote negatively small town American life. Speifically in his fictional piece, Winesbug Ohio he followed various small town life styles finsing them all negatively connected. -
The American Mercury by H.L Mencken
H.L Mencken, who was considered the "Bad boy of Baltimore" criticized American society through his green back monthly "The American Mercury." He slashed marriage, patriotism, democracy, prohibition, and middle class America. -
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald, a handsome Princeton graduate, became a celbrity in the 1920's when he published his masterpiece "This Side Of Paradise." At the time this book was considered a bible for the young. -
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Sinclair Lewis, a heavy drinking midwesterm , was considered the master of satire. In Main Street he documented one womens unsuccesful battle against provincialism. In 1922 he followed his first novel with a second, the BAbbitt. This story followed a middle class real estate broker who conformend to the materialm of his group. -
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scoot Fitzgerald followed up his first novel in the mid 1920's by writing The Great Gatsby. This novel examined the glamour and cruelty of the wealthy class in America. -
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
This novel was a masterpiece of the time. The American Tradgedy dealt with the murder of a pregnant girl by her socially ambitious young lover. This covered the theme of youth of the time, ambition and drive for wealth. -
Soldiers Pay, The Sound and the Fury, and As I lay Dying by William Faulkner
William Faulker a bitter Mississipian wrote about the History Rich Deep South he grew up in, Specificlly in The Sound and the Fury and As I lay Dying Faulker used layers of time and consciousness too depict the soctricted soul of his ingrown southern characters. -
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was a writer who was much influenced by his experience at war. He wrote about American propaganda and overblown patriotism at the time of war. This new writing style was immitated by many young writers however none were able to match his "word-perfect style." Hemingway went on to write The Farewell to arms in 1929. This was was considered one of the finest war stories of the time. -
Stranger Interlude by Eugene O'neil
Eugene O'neil an avid New Yorker, and princeton drop out wrote dramtic plays primarily about sex and youth, specifically the Stranger Interlude. As a playwright Eugene O'neil offered over dozens of plays. -
U.S.A. triology by John Dos Passos
John Dos Passos created a triology of books, containing "The 42nd Parallel" (1930), "Nineteen, Nineteen" (1932), and "The Big Money" (1936). The Trilogy covers the historical development of American society during the first three decades of the twentieth century. -
A Light in August by William Faulkner
This novel examined southern life during the Great Depression. -
Stud's Lonigan trilogy by James T. Farrell
This novel analyzed the impact of urban industrial decay on Catholic youth. -
The Disinherited by Jack Conroy
The Disinherited was a chronical of an average industrial worker's life in the Depression era. This novel conveyed disillusionment and cynicism. -
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
This novel glorified a simple, rural way of life to demonstrate many people's desire during the Great Depression to return to an earlier age of simplicity, -
The Human Comedy by William Saroyan
This is a novel about a boy who is fatherless and must step up to be the head of the family as his older brother goes to war. It makes many references to The Odyssey and is intended to give hope during World War II. -
A Walk in the Sun by Harry Brown
Harry Brown's novel tells of a small unit combat during World War II. -
A Bell for Adano by John Hershey
This novel suggests that the integriy of most American's abroad will ultimately outweight the cruelty of the few during war. -
An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal
Gunnar Myrdal's book exposed the contradiction between America's professed belief that all men are created equal and its sordid treatment of black citizens. -
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock
Dr. Benjamin Spock's book instructed millions of parents on how to raise children in a homely manner and area. -
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
This novel portrayed the theme of realism as Mailer described soldiery life in WWII. -
Sexual Behavoir in the Human Male by Dr. Alfred Kinsey
This novel was extremely popular in the 1960's as Kinsey discussed premarital sex and adultery, which were common issues in the 60's. -
The Cannibal by John Hawke
John Hawkes portrays occupied Germany as a landscape of gothic horrors. -
The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
This play by Arthur Miller created an iconic character Willy Loman as he represented a man driven by society's desire for sucess. -
The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman
This novel portrayed the postwar generation as a pack of conformists. -
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger portrayed an unforgettable portrait of a young, sensitve, upper class adolescent who sees the materialistic society as "phonies". -
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
he Old Man and the Sea is the final work published during Hemingway's lifetime. Hemingway wanted to use the story of the old man, Santiago, to show the honor in struggle and to draw biblical parallels to life in his modern world. -
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
This novel displayed graphic portrayals of American society and to be considered one of Steinbecks's most ambitious novel -
Invisible Man by Raplh Ellison
Ellison depicted the black individual's quest for personal identity. -
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Miller's play drew a parallel between the salem witch trials and McCarthyism during the red scare. -
The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills
This novel was an influential piece of modern muckracking. Mills calls attention to the interwoven interests of the leaders of the military, corporate, and political elements of society and suggests that the ordinary citizen is a relatively powerless subject of manipulation by those entities. -
The Assistant by Bernard Malamd
The novel discussed a touching portrait of a family of New York Jewish storekeeers. -
The Affluent Society by John Kennesth Galbraith
Galbraith questioned the relation between private wealth and the public good. He claimed that the postwar explosion of prosperity had produced a troublesome comination of private wealth amid public squalor. -
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorrain Hansberry
A Raisin in the Sun offered an affecting portrayal of African-American life. -
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
This novel dealt with the improbable antics and anquish of American airment in the wartime Mediterranean, and demonstrated the popularity of portraying war in a fantastic and comical way. -
The Other American by Michael Harrington
This novel revealed that in affluent America 20 percent of the population suffered in poverty. -
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan focused on the feelings of Women during the 50's and their boring suburban housewifering. Her novel launched the modern women's movement. -
For the Union Dead by Robert Lowell
In this poem, Lowell applied the wisdom of the Puritan past to the perplexing present. -
Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal
The novel discussed the live of a reincarnated transsexual and constituted the rear guard of an older, WASP elite that had long dominated American writing.
