Mary Boykin Chesnut

An item at American Writers Museum

Through her diary, Mary Boykin Chesnut offers a rare eyewitness perspective on the Civil War. She was privileged, born into the upper echelons of antebellum South Carolina society. At the same time, she held views that were unusual for someone in her social sphere: she believed in women's rights and detested slavery (even though she was married into a slave-owning family).

In the 1981 edition of the diary, historian C. Vann Woodward remarked on Chesnut's "keen awareness of history in the making, a resolute identification with a cause, ominous forebodings about the outcome, and a wry skepticism and amusement at the participants."

AMERICAN VOICES

An exhibit at American Writers Museum

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.

This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.

American Writers Museum