Francis Parkman

An item at American Writers Museum

Born into a wealthy Boston family, Francis Parkman pursued the "ungentlemanly" path of writing about nature, pioneers, and Native Americans. As a young man, he lived with the Oglala Sioux in the belief that writers should experience their subjects firsthand. The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life (1849) describes his time with them.
Despite his familiarity with the Sioux, Parkman valorized European and white pioneers, devoting a seven-volume series to French and English colonization. Parkman's language is vivid and dramatic. He immerses readers in the moment, enabling them to see history through the eyes of historical figures.

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