The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-30
The GLOBES HOME STUDY COURSE
The Colonial Period Of .7fmenican Literature


1Aiiei iCoH Literature In Brown University.
| and helped to make colonial literature
unlike that of the present day
First, it should be remembered that it
was written by colonistS Of Great Britain
1t is not easy to understand all that this
meant to our forefathers For a century
and quarter the ruling ideas which
were in a colonist's mind have been grow
ing lndlstlnet, ending by a sudden dis
mlssal of them after the declaration of
independence A visit to Canada or a.
passage on the Dominion line will not in
variahy make them clear to a citizen of
the United States. They are a matter of
inheritance and faithful cherishing
For 125 years we have been throwing
to the winds a legacy for which we have
no more use than for crowns and thrones
In this way we have forgotten how large
ly these once substantial realities entered
into the thinking and writing of Amer
leans. Not that royalty always obtruded
itself into the kingdom of letters, but,
like the weather, it had its inspiIiting or
depressing effect, according to it's mood.
How often and how much this varied
cam be clearly traced in the complexion
OF the colonial documents public and
private. 1t changed with different mon
drchS and with the same ruler on differ
ent occasions, sometimes on account of
atmospheric changes in New England or
f1SlHld. buL III Tic HALL lNG cOlOulSL
was sensible of his connection with the
mother country and was affectionateIy
proud of it. He was am EngliShman
abroad, cultivating and, defending a parl
of the British empire. When he visited
England he spoke of going home His
ships brought back other Englishmen,
the wares, ideas and fashions of London
When he could afford it he sent his sons
to Oxford Cambridge, and they
brought back the law, medicine and some
of the theology they learned there.
Then there was what may be called
the court literature, which was a factor
in colonial production. What pleased
king and courtiers was likely to find gen
eral favor and a publisher The fashion
once set, there were pens enough to fol-
low it and to give a popular tone to
literature in England which would be
initiated in America, provided it did not
clash with colonial tastes and principles.
This, however, is an important proviso.
Perhaps the first movement toward in
dependence that can be discovered was
the refusal to allow the literary leading
. Of Charles lis dramatists and poets.
Boston laid an embargo upon them long
before it pitched taxed tea overheard.
However, this was carried too far and
books were interdicted that would have
been good for New Englanders.
While, then, the colonists were loyal to
British ideas, they never forgot that
they were BritonS, with the national
habit of thinking for themselves, often
aloud and in black and white This in
dependence was fostered here by their
distance from home, their isolation and
devotion to a few principles which they
came here to maintain. AS a conse-
quence their writings became intensely
provincial They could not well be other
wise. The new country was full of
strange interest to pilgrim and puritan
They were aware that they were COM
mitted to an enterprise with boundless
prospects for the future; that the eyes
of Europe were upon them. Meantime
their own world was the little settlement
between the wide ocean and the wilder
ness.
Their vision gradually became limited
to the neighborhood with it's meeting
house, school, magistrate and minister
The last of these was commonly what
they called him-their teacher. He was
expected to furnish ideas, to do most of
the reading, to be leader and guide critic
and censor for the community In return
they asserted the right to discuss his
propositions and criticise his manner.
But the discussion and the criticism, the
word spoken, and finally the word writ
ten, were largely in theologic and polemic
lines, and at length in political
Inc remainder was personal and town
talk The diary and the journals the
narrative and the minutes of the assem-
Oily mad for Item the Importance of what
IS near, personal and present. They
could not distinguish the perishable from
the permanent in their materials for his
tory Everything was in the foreground.
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