American Seminar Semester 1 Review: Author Bios

Came to America on Mayflower in 1620

William Bradford

Born in Salem, MA in 1804

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fireside Poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Father was a Unitarian minister, and he followed him (briefly) in the ministry

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lydia Maria Child instrumental in publishing his/her work

Harriet Jacobs

Sailed on Arbella 1630

John Winthrop

Heavily influenced by sermons from Nonconformist Clyfton

William Bradford

Not only attended, but was also a professor at Bowdoin College

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Became a licensed preacher in 1839, following in the footsteps of his mentor, Charles Lawson

Fredrick Douglass

creator/originator of short story, detective story, and horror story

Edgar Allan Poe

Ran away to Philadelphia at the age of 17

Benjamin Franklin

Hid in an attic crawl space for 7 years

Harriet Jacobs

Moby Dick was dedicated to this individual due to friendship

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Wrote 3 versions of his/her autobiography

Fredrick Douglass

Recruited black soldiers for the Civil War

Fredrick Douglass

b. 1590-d. 1657

William Bradford

b. 1706-d. 1790

Benjamin Franklin

Attended Bowdoin College (but not a professor)

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Used slant rhyme and enjambment

Emily Dickinson

Changed American poetry by beginning free verse

Walt Whitman

Spent time in Paris and London as a diplomat

Benjamin Franklin

Attended the University of Virginia and West Point

Edgar Allan Poe

Became pessimistic after son Waldo dies

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A beloved American - 20,000 people attended his funeral

Benjamin Franklin

1800 poems in fascicles found from this poet

Emily Dickinson

Susan Gilbert was important to him/her

Emily Dickinson

Lawyer from Virginia

Patrick Henry

Attended and prematurely left Mount Holyoke Female Seminary

Emily Dickinson

Resigned as elementary school teacher for refusing to flog students

Henry David Thoreau

Died at the age of 44 of tuberculosis

Henry David Thoreau

Literary executor Rufus Griswold destroys his reputation

Edgar Allan Poe

Had two wives die prematurely

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

First famous political speech was against the Stamp Act

Patrick Henry

Most of this author's writing is actually literary criticism

Edgar Allan Poe

Often studied 13 hours a day

Jonathan Edwards

Leader of the American Transcendental Movement and "Transcendental Club"

Ralph Waldon Emerson

A slave of John and Susanna Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley

His/her poetry is rediscovered by abolitionists in 1830

Phillis Wheatley

First American memorialized in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Spent a night in jail for refusing to pay poll tax

Henry David Thoreau

Educated by a lifetime of various experiences, not at any college

Walt Whitman

Mysterious death

Edgar Allan Poe

Served as missionary to Native Americans after being removed as pastor of his church

Jonathan Edwards

Receiving a legacy from his wife's death allowed him to spend more time lecturing

Ralph Waldo Emerson

b. 1819-d. 1892

Walt Whitman

Experienced inherited guilt from his/her ancestors

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Physically weak, suffered from severe fatigue throughout life

Anne Bradstreet

Linda Brent

Harriet Jacobs

Took care of wounded soldiers during the Civil War

Walt Whitman

Sailed to New England because he/she preferred exile rather than compromising his/her faith

Edward Taylor

Female who received a strong education from a doting father in a time when most women did not

Anne Bradstreet

Became president of the College of New Jersey

Jonathan Edwards

Friend and biographer of President Franklin Pierce

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Atticus Finch of poetry - emphasizes empathy

Walt Whitman

Didn't publish much during lifetime due to refusal for editing

Emily Dickinson

Belle of Amherst

Emily Dickinson

A lifelong recluse

Emily Dickinson

Admitted to Yale at the age of 13

Jonathan Edwards

Parents were actors before he was orphaned

Edgar Allan Poe

Considered his journals his "savings bank"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Major figure in American Great Awakening

Jonathan Edwards

Early American religious poet known for puns, paradoxes, metaphor, and strong images

Edward Taylor

Wrote the "fourteener" but refused to follow strict expectations of the form

Emily Dickinson

Brother-in-law John Woodbridge secretly published his/her work

Anne Bradstreet

Served as minister, physician, and public servant in Westfield because he was most educated member of the community

Edward Taylor