RUNNING HEAD: THE FIRST AMERICAN LITERATURE MOVEMENT

Sentimentalism: The First American Literature Movement

Samuel H. Wernert
South Newton High School

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Abstract
Sentimentalism was the first American literature movement and lasted from the mid-1700s
to the mid-1800s. It was ridiculed originally due to its tendency to clash with the religion of that
time. Many authors such as James Fenimore Cooper and Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote works
ahead of their time, posing questions about societys inner workings, humans themselves, and
about trying to find a better way to live. The novel, a formerly unpopular mode of distribution to
the masses, made a comeback and became accepted during Sentimentalism. This movement did
so much more than introduce fiction to a fledgling country.

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Picture a territory filled with people that had never read fiction nor wanted to. That
territory was actually the British-held American colonies, a place where hundreds of people had
only read the Bible and the local newspaper all of their lives. Sentimentalism made its first
appearance around the same time as the Salem Witch Trials, a time of religious piety. It was also
the first literary movement in the British American colonies, as well as one of the only literary
movements of all time to fail so completely at distributing its ideas to the masses. Although at
first unsuccessful in proclaiming their message, Sentimental novelists changed American
literature by paving the way for future literary movements and by taking on societal problems
ahead of their time.
The Sentimentalism movement is best described by the optimistic overemphasis on the
goodness of humanity (sensibility) (Early American Novel, n.d.), and Sentimentalists could not
create this overemphasis through well-written pamphlets and newspaper articles, nor could
their ideals be brought to the masses through the pulpit, as it was in part a reaction against
Calvinism, which regarded human nature as depraved (Early American Novel, n.d.). Thus, the
novel became the Sentimentalist weapon of choice, though it was a poor weapon at the time. At
that time, people as a whole were much more interested in the Good Book over a good piece of
fiction. Coupled with an incoherent critique of American society (Early American Novel, n.d.),
Sentimentalism became the first failed literary movement of all time, and Sentimentalists all but
disappeared, as seen by the lack of text from roughly the 1770s to the 1800s (Literary Gothic,
2013). As years passed, the United States of America became its own nation by rebelling against
Britain. The American frontier developed into a point of interest as the new country looked west
and saw a mysterious land that promised wealth and freedom to those who were brave enough to
settle there, as seen in James Fenimore Coopers The Leatherstocking Tales. Sentimentalists

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began their campaign again around the turn of the 1800s, a time of struggle for the American
identity,. New novels were written about the mystery of the frontier (The Leatherstocking Tales)
and of the American spirit (The Spy). Sentimentalism became an accepted, if still criticized, form
of writing.
Women also began to make their mark in this movement by writing novels to express their
ideas. Drawing on 18th-century British novels that tended to privilege affective relations, such
writing became associated with women writers in the 19th century(Sentimentalism, n.d.).
Women became the driving force of the Sentimentalism movement during a time when the role
of the female in society was changing. Instead, society [insisted] that the genteel female
should be ornamental, guided by her emotions, [and] oriented toward family and religion
(Aspects, n.d.). The Sentimentalist movement turned into one of the first chances for women
to express themselves in America, such as when Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the novel Uncle
Toms Cabin and used sentimentality to address the evils of slavery (Sentimentalism, n.d.). At
the same time, Sentimentalism became redefined by some critics as Literature that evoked a
sentimental response to a particular injustice became identified with women co-opting
sentimental conventions to shine light on social problems (Sentimentalism, n.d.). Along with the
participation of women, radical texts such as Uncle Toms Cabin and some of James Fenimore
Coopers writings served to make Sentimentalism a rally point for wrongs in society, as well as
James Fenimore Cooper, a fellow Sentimentalist, wrote The Pioneer some years before Uncle
Toms Cabin, proclaiming Men could learn from Leatherstocking to take the long view and
conserve the bounty that has been lavished upon the American settler (Ringe, pg 36, 1962). This
is a familiar view to todays population because it is a view that is presented by modern
environmentalists. Fenimore continued, saying that If [the settlers] do not do so the nation

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itself must eventually suffer the judgment of an exhausted earth (Ringe, pg 36, 1962). This
description of an exhausted earth is one that aptly describes the current state of the earth with
the recent onslaught of global warming, a crisis far ahead of Fenimores time.
Just as any movement had its own writing style; Sentimentalism was unique in its approach
to writing. One of the main features of this movement was its emphasis on class (Early Novel,
n.d.), shown by Deerslayers, also called Natty Bumppos, repetitive speaking of ones gifts and
class (Cooper, 1925, pg 243) in relation to marriage and social status. Bumppo would often
speak of these gifts pertaining to skin color when he was distinguishing what kind of actions
were proper for a certain colored person, such as which weapon of war was proper for the Indian
compared to the white man, as well as the clothing and expression of emotions that a white man
and Indian may have. The use of a lower class protagonist that is both a hero and a trickster
(Early American Novel, n.d.) is represented by Deerslayers humble birth (brought up by Native
American savages and Moravian missionaries). His craftiness when dealing with the Huron
Indians while trying to save his best friends fianc is a prime example of a hero trickster. Nattys
disdain for settlements and its inhabitants showcases another Sentimentalist characterization, that
being an emphasis on freedom and escape from conventional society (Early American Novel,
n.d.). Finally, nearly every Sentimentalist literary work has a conflict between the hero's desire
to survive and his natural impulses to side with truth and goodness (Early American Novel, n.d.)
as seen in the scene where Deerslayer is tied to the tree while the Hurons torture him, doing their
best to force Deerslayer into a marriage he sees as unnatural, yet another example of
Deerslayers gifts dictating his policy on life. Such characteristics, combined with the fictional
plots that were commonplace in Sentimentalist literary works, created a story that truly plucked
the heart-strings of the reader.

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In addition to their particular style, Sentimentalists had a few points that they preferred to
stress in their literary works that have become parts of todays society, but social class ranking
was perhaps the most stressed of them all. Much of the reform literature addressed itself to
developing a model of citizenship that dovetailed with class mobility, assuming the goal of
middle-class belonging (Sentimentalism, n.d.). The middle-class was a new part of society
characterized by its hard workers and a life that was neither prosperous nor desolate. Its newness
attracted a lot of attention, especially from the American writers that were looking for a way to
express the freedom of America. The middle-class was the perfect example for what the
American spirit was. It introduced a freedom to its members that only the wealthy had had in
years prior, that being the ability to go to public entertainment, to get that extra pair of clothes,
and to not have to clutch every penny like it was the last one the family would have for a long
time.
Sentimentalists wrote with the Christian perspective that wealth was a corruptive substance
and with the societal perspective that the lower class lived a miserable existence, both of which
can be seen in the Leatherstocking Tales and other such texts. Sentimentalist characters like
Natty Bumppo were supposed to symbolize the middle-class and its advantages, such as the
greater freedom of speech and action that Natty constantly expressed. Sentimentalist authors also
used these middle-class characters to demonstrate wrongful actions in the world. A literary
analysis of James Fenimore Coopers works further describes this point, saying To be sure,
there is strong irony in the fact that [Deerslayer] is persecuted for killing one deer out of season
when the people of Templeton have slaughtered and chopped with complete impunity merely
because they violated no man-made law (Ringe, pg 36, 1962), as seen in the book The Pioneers.
The middle-class characters also demonstrated the good that could be done in society. The

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character Harvey Birch from The Spy was used to affirm a fundamental system of value in those
who, despite the ambiguity of their environment, [were] willing to commit themselves
unconditionally to a sincere and honest belief (Ringe, pg 31, 1962). Characters like Harvey
Birch went above and beyond the call of duty in Sentimentalist literary works and were held in
great esteem by most because of their sacrifices.
Criticisms were not few for Sentimentalism, and they are best broken up into two different
periods of criticism: The pre-1800s and post-1800, the two main eras of Sentimentalist influence.
The authors and their writings changed quite a bit over the course of these two periods due to the
change in society and the public faced by the Sentimentalist authors. In the pre-1800s era, most
of the authors, such as Samuel Richardson [1740], and Henry MacKenzie's [1771] (Literary
Gothic, 2013) focused on writing with what the author of this article calls displays of emotion
which we sophisticated moderns find implausible, excessive, and psychologically unrealistic
(Literary Gothic, 2013). The author continues, saying, such emotions were the order of the day
they were, in fact, the defining and expected characteristics of such works (Literary Gothic,
2013). In a time where religious piety was a life-saver (the Salem Witch Trials were around the
same time as Sentimentalism) its no wonder Sentimentalism was criticized and derided. Yet, this
seems contradictory, considering many of the works created by these authors were created with
deeply pious protagonists. The reason for this contradiction is that pastors of the late 18th
century did not want their congregations to read literary works that spoke of religion in such an
understandable way. As Washington State University says, This was especially true because
novels, unlike sermons, required no intermediaries for interpretation (Early Novel, n.d.). After
1800, however, religion was a little less dangerously passionate, and Sentimentalism was no
longer marked down for being disruptive to society. Instead, Sentimentalism was disliked for its

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authors. For example, James Fenimore Cooper wrote his first book on a dare from his wife
(Trent, pg 294, 1913), and was known to have a certain lack of social grace, such as when he
skipped a dinner in New York just because he was embarrassed by the attention he was
receiving (Ringe, pg 36, 1962), and Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Toms Cabin to criticize
the practice of slavery, not exactly a popular position at the time of its publishing. The fact that
she was African-American only added insult to injury in most peoples eyes. In their later time,
Sentimentalists were seen as radicals, only a short step up from their former position as
blasphemous fools.
Though their literary works were widely read, Sentimentalists were not popular, possibly
because its critics [felt] implicated in it" (MUSE, n.d.), but also due to its radical nature.
Sentimentalism was the first literary movement of America, but it wasnt significant for that
reason. Instead, Sentimentalism was important because it heralded a new literary movement and
left society changed in its outlook on literature. Sentimentality put women on a pedestal and
constructed its base of purity and moral superiority (Aspects, n.d.), and it removed the
stigma, for the most part from, the word novel (Trent, pg 307, 1913). Sentimentalism worked its
changes on society, and then left a nation hungry for a movement that it could relate to. It
literally paved the way for Romanticism and all of the later movements in America.

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