As the new world struggled to gain independence from it's mother country, Britain, native authors also struggled to develop their own styles of writing. It quickly became evident that the search for native literature became a national obsession. Many people saw the triumph of American independence as a divine sign that America and her people were destined for greatness. Greatness came with a strong nation and thousands of poems and stories that shaped our nation. The revolution greatly expressed the heart of the American people; however, it would take another fifty years of development throughout America before it produced the first great generation of American writers such as, Anne Bradstreet, Thomas Paine and Edgar Allen Poe, just to name a few. .
Up until the early 17th century, American literature was chiefly about politics, religion, and recorded events. These writings were very dry and lacked insight into the everyday lives of the authors. To put into writing any individual spiritual reflections that strayed away from the religion of the colony could be dangerous at that time; possibly resulting in banishment from the colony or worse. Likewise, any writing that did not serve at least one of the purposes listed above was considered to be a waste of time that would be better spent praising God. Anne Bradstreet defied the rules of her time by writing about whatever she wanted including personal thoughts, reflections, emotions, and events. Bradstreet was the first to write about personal matters, which is her greatest literary contribution in early American literature. .
Bradstreet clearly stated her opinion of those who objected to her writing: "I am obnoxious to each carping tongue, who says my hand a needle better fits." (Baym, Levine, and Krupat35) Most writers were men and to have a woman even writing poems of their own was brave, but Bradstreet took it further and chose to speak openly about her relationship.
