Second half of the eighteenth century. The revolutionary period: speeches, argumentative essays, state papers.

In the second half of the eighteenth century, our literature presents the vivid reflection of that momentous struggle for independence upon which the American colonies had entered. Fiery speeches, able arguments set forth in newspapers and in pamphlets, sharp and bitter satire served to give utterance to the thought and passion of men's minds. One feature of this activity must be emphasized: geographical lines were now forgotten; the literature of this period is no longer local; essayists, versifiers, orators were inspired by a common purpose and by a devotion to the interests of the country at large.

James Otis, 1725-83.

Greatest of the Massachusetts orators and conspicuous at the beginning of the struggle was James Otis. In 1764 Otis published a pamphlet “The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved” -- one of the most acute and powerful among the many political papers of these years.

Political Essayists.

The historic events of the period came in quick succession. The Stamp Act, passed in 1765, was repealed in the following year; but taxes on tea, paper, glass, paints, and other articles were levied in 1767. Petitions, appeals, and resolutions were numerous. Pamphlets and essays appeared in great numbers. To these years belong the political papers of Franklin, who contributed vigorously to these discussions.

Thomas Paine, 1737-1809.

In the flood of political papers, with which patriotic writers deluged the colonies, there was none which wrought such effect as the pamphlet entitled “Common Sense”, published by Thomas Paine. His literary style was not impressive, the logic of his argument was not invincible, but the effect of his paper was electric. During the war Paine published a series of papers called “The Crisis”, the opening sentence of which -- "These are the times that try men's souls," became a proverbial phrase. Later he went to France, and in his enthusiasm for the cause of Revolution there, wrote “The Rights of Man” (1791-92).

The Declaration and the Constitution.

Two other great state documents -- eloquent products of this exalted time -- demand a place in the record of our nation's literature. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), a Virginian. Its sonorous sentences need not be subjected to depreciation by the colder literary criticism of to-day. Its lines were written by men who were intensely stirred by the spirit of their deeds. Thomas Jefferson was a fluent writer and a statesman who left a lasting impress on the political thought of his country. An exponent of the principles of popular government and a champion of individual freedom, he is the great representative of democracy in America, and is looked upon as father of the ideas embodied in the Democratic party.

The Constitution of the United States owed its precise formulation largely to the labors of Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), the brilliant champion of the federal principle in national government which insists upon the centralization of authority, and the unity of the federal relation.

POETRY OF THE REVOLUTION: SATIRES, EPICS, AND BALLADS.

The Revolutionary period was not without its poets. From the beginning of the conflict, in 1775, to the end, there was a copious flow of verse which sprang naturally enough from the turbulence of popular excitement and emotion. Here and there among the crude productions of these unschooled rhymers, one comes upon compositions which show an unexpected strength of feeling expressed with considerable literary art. This is especially true of the political satires and the ballads which are conspicuous in Revolutionary literature.

Jonathan Odell, 1737-1818.

Odell's literary talent was engaged in the composition of satiric poems; modeled on the satires of Dryden and Pope, they show considerable merit. Odell wrote with a trenchant pen. There is no humor in his satire -- it is wit, caustic, biting; the tone of his verse is the tone of bitter, implacable invective. Four satires, all written in 1779, furnish the best examples of his verse: “The Word of Congress”, “The Congratulation”, “The Feu de Joie”, and “The American Times”.

Three Revolutionary poets of large and serious purpose, and widely famed in their generation, may be grouped together: John Trumbull, Joel Barlow, and Timothy Dwight.

John Trumbull, 1750-1831.

Trumbull's contribution was a long satire, a burlesque epic, entitled “McFingal”. The Yankee poet, borrowing the rollicking measure of the earlier satirist, narrates the misadventures of his hero -- a tory squire in the midst of patriots. The poem first appeared in January, 1776, was afterward expanded and reappeared, in four cantos, in 1782. McFingal is full of native Yankee wit and humor, and contains many clever couplets. So popular was this merry epic “McFingal”, that it ran to thirty editions.

Joel Barlow, 1754-1812.

Still more ambitious was the effort of Joel Barlow, who published, in 1787 “Vision of Columbus”. In 1807, the completed work appeared under the epic title “The Columbiad”. It was a prodigious poem, intended to be a second Iliad. Columbus is led to the hill of Vision and is shown the future greatness of the land he had discovered.

In 1793, Barlow composed in lighter vein another poem which has outlived the ponderous epic. This is the happy composition in honor of Hasty Pudding, one of our best examples of light and fanciful verse. The poet still uses the heroic couplet, this time in mock-heroic strain; and the humorous realism of his rural scenes is no less attractive to the modern reader than it was to those who first enjoyed the poet's glorification of this homely theme.