essentially a drama, in which descriptions should take the place of scenery. At the same time, William Dean Houells and Henry .James were working along lines which, though parallel, were nevertheless clearly separated. The former practically created the novel of American social life. His material was found in men and women rather than in incidents; and in his stories the most commonplace occurrences are rich in fascination, because of his skillful realization of the characters of whom he writes. Henry James has been cliaractcrized as the "creator of the international novel." His psychology is admiralilc, though almost too subtle, and his style is refined to a degree.
In 1894 the success of The Prisoner of Zenda, by an English author, Anthony Hope Hawkins, drew the attention of American writers to the possibilities of the romantic novel. The reading public had tired of psychology and dialect, and was only too glad to welcome tales of adventure and of love, which were all the more acceptable because their themes were in direct contrast with the commonplace civilization of the day. Winston Churchill, Mary Johnston, Charles Major, Maurice Thompson, S. Weir Mitchell, Paul Leicester Ford, and many less known writers wrote historical romances, of which hundreds of thousands of copies sold within incredibly short periods. The beginning of the twentieth century was marked b_y the introduction of the novel dealing with the individual who is in revolt against existing social conditions. Although this perhaps is not yet a clearly defined department of fiction, Unleavened Bread (1900), by Robert Grant, A Singular Life (1895), by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, and A Gentleman from Indiana (1900), by Booth Tarkington, are all novels which show the same general tendency to emphasize individualism.
In turning from fiction to poetry one is struck with the dearth of really important names. There have been any number of versifiers whose lyrics are musical and commonplace; but E. C. Stedman, R. H. Stoddard, T. B. Aldrich. Richard Watson Gilder, H. C. Bunner, Richard Hovey, and Madison Cawein are almost the only ones whose poetry has risen in the slightest degree above the ordinary level.
In historical composition there has been a, marked inclination to follow the example set by the English historian, J. R. Green, and not only to weigh carefully the dramatic events of political history, but also to study with equal thoroughness the character of the people themselves. This tendency has been especially evident in the works of John Fiske, John Bach McMaster, Woodrow Wilson, and Edward Kggleston, all of whom have added much to our knowledge of conditions and men at the beginnings of our national life. and in the elaborate researches of Justin Winsor. Other historical writers of importance are James Ford Rhodes, the historian of the Civil War, and William M. Sloane, the author of a monu-mental biography of Napoleon.
Literary criticism has had many representatives; but since James Russell Lowell's death, American literature has found no one fitted to succeed him. The best known critics who enjoyed a certain amount of authority in the decade ending with the year 1900, were William Dean Howells, Henny James, Hamilton W. Mabie, Brander Matthews, George E. Woodberry, Harry Thurston Peck, and William C. Brownell. Recent criticism, however, has been distinguished by the note of individual preference which is at times almost emotional, and by the absence of definite and unalterable æsthetic standards, such as those which characterized the work of Sainte-Beuve in France and of Matthew Arnold in England.
In conclusion, the most important developments since 1870 may be summed up as being New England's loss of literary supremacy; the wide distribution of literary activity; the decline of the essay as a recognized medium of purely literary expression; the predominance of light fiction; and an unparalleled increase in the number of books, newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals.
Bibliography. For the best account of Colonial and Revolutionary literature, consult: Tyler, History of American Literature, 4 vols. (New York, 1878-97); for a good general survey, Richardson, American Literature (New York, 1887-88); Nichol, American Literature (Edinburgh, (1882); Wendell, A Literary History of America (New York, 1901); C. Noble, Studies in American Literature (New York, I895); Katherine Lee Bates, American Literature (New York, 1898); for poetry, Stedman, Poets of America (Boston, 1885); Stedman, An American Anthology (New York, 1901); for prose. Carpenter, American Prose (New York, 1898); for anthologies of prose and verse, Stedman and Hutchinson, Library of American Literature (New York. 1888-90) ; Dtiyckinck, Cyclopædia of American Literature (New York, 1865). The best series of monographs on American authors is the American Men of Letters Series (Boston). A valuable handbook is Whitcomb, Chronological Outlines of American Literature (New York, 1894).
AMERICAN MUSEʹUM OF NATʹURAL HISʹTORY. See Museum.
AMERICAN NOTES. By Charles Dickens,
published in 1842, after his first visit to the
United States. A volume of impressions which
excited much resentment in America.
AMERICAN PAR′TY. The name applied
to three parties in the history of the United
States. The first and best known was organized
in 1852, chiefly to oppose the immigration of
foreigners, and had a considerable following
between the years 1852 and 1856. A fuller
account is given under the title Know-Nothings,
the name by which the party was generally
known. The second party was an outgrowth of
the National Christian Association, and was
organized in 1872 to oppose secret societies and
to advocate the prohibition of the sale of intoxicants,
the regular use of the Bible in the schools,
arbitration of international disputes, a direct
popular vote for President, the resumption of
specie payments, and a more general observance
of Sunday. After 1888, when it cast its largest
vote, it virtually went out of existence. The
third party was organized in Philadelphia in
September, 1887. to restrict the immigration and
naturalization of foreigners, to exclude all Anarchists
and Socialists from the privilege of citizenship,
and to prevent alien proprietorship of the soil.
Its influence has been inconsiderable.
AMERICAN RIVER. A river in north central California (Map; California, C 2). It rises in Eldorado County and flows southwesterly toward
