When Christopher Columbus began making his discoveries he would document things that he witnessed. When looking back on those today you can get an idea of how long the art of literature has been around. You get an idea of the time period and can see that even though we as people have evolved over time, we still have many similarities.
Whenever Martin Luther King used to give speeches he would do it in such a powerful way. A way that was inspiring and a way that gripped the listener. Christopher Columbus wrote in a way similar to this. When reading his "Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage" he describes "trees of a thousand kind [that seemed to] touch the sky." Readers were intrigued , it caught the attention and the imagination of them. Whether or not you listening to King or reading of Columbus" voyages, you get a feeling that they knew how powerful words could be. .
However, within the past 500 years a lot of things throughout society has changed. You have to take into account things that we have been through, that of which shapes us into the country that we have become today. Throughout all the wars, all the technological evolutions, literature has stood the test of time. We can learn a lot when looking back and we can experience through different perspectives. One thing that will always be around is some form of literature, no matter what.
Toleration has been a huge part of what literature is. Looking back on what was acceptable then, is in no way comparable to that of today. I think that as we the people evolved we were willing to tolerate certain things. I think that this has been a good thing and allowed a huge number express their selves in ways that could have once been looked down upon. America has made good use of the past 500 years. We've come a long way on our perception of literature, but at the same time still never forget where it began.