Lincoln's Impact On American Literature Essay

As this semester comes to a quick close I have learned about the lives of many authors, the works of many authors and the variety of impact that they had on the nation. American Literature has had many different impacts on America. The literature has shaped the lives of the American people from generation to generation. The literature has shared the lives of those long before and created traditions to be passed on from family to family. From learning of a woman who changed the idea of women in literature to reading about the life of a man who shaped the nation as president, American Literature has increased my knowledge of the nation that I call home. There were authors I had no knowledge of such as Walt Whitman, authors that widely influenced

Many people would agree that Abraham Lincoln had a impact on America because he was the president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was president during one of the most devastating wars in the United States. Lincoln spoke around the United States during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln is arguably the most influential president. Abraham Lincoln was born a common man. His family lived in a small cabin, but he would grow to write some of the most inspirational speeches in history. Lincoln worked as an advocate to end slavery in the United States. Abraham Lincoln 's most influential speech was his Gettysburg Address speech. Lincoln work was not only inspirational and also unique. Lincoln 's Gettysburg Address was very short compared to the work of many other politicians. Lincoln was able to take the words of other powerful politicians such as Thomas Jefferson. Lincoln uses Jefferson 's words "all men are created equal" in an effort to justify the lives lost in the Civil War. Lincoln delivered speeches such as the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Speech that defined a great writer. He was able to take what one might say in many words and convey the same emotion in half the words. From a writer that changed American to a writer that changed writing all

Emerson who has had a large impact on the writing of many early American Literature. Emerson called Edgar Allen Poe "the jingle man," but at first this does not seem very fitting. One would expect the work of "the jingle man" to be happy and upbeat, but Poe 's work was not that at all. Emerson gave Poe that name because of the musicality of Poe work. Poe 's work was the true beginning of the dark writing in American Literature. Poe was clearly not a transcendentalist. Poe believed in the darkness in the world around him and inside himself. I found the darkness of Poe 's work refreshing after all of the hopeful writing in early American Literature. I enjoy the dark side of America that Poe was willing to expose. It is not surprising that Poe 's work would be dark because of the grim childhood that he experienced. Even into Poe 's life his young adult years did not work out as he had intended. Poe was discharged from West- Point for neglect of his duty. " The Fall of The House of Usher," published in 1839, was my personal favorite writing that I was required to read during high school and literature I was familiar with during this course. Poe 's " The Fall of The House of Usher" was such a eerie work of