Page "Metamora; or, The Last of the Wampanoags" Paragraph 7

In the years following such pivotal events in history as the American Revolution and the war of 1812, a strong feeling of nationalism infiltrated early America.

This sense of national pride influenced not only everyday life, but also became evident in the arts, including early American theatre.

After a time when mostly British theatre was performed in America, a desire to create drama specific to America emerged.

America needed to establish itself in the midst of the well-developed drama and literature of other nations, as well as set a standard for what is uniquely American.

However, this need for nationalism soon manifested itself in drama through American character types: the Negro, the Yankee, and in the case of Metamora, the Indian.

As historian Walter Meserve points out, “ American literature became identifiable only after writers had recognized the potential of American scenery, custom, characters, and ideas ... in a sense, they were bound together by a similar desire for freedom: the Yankee from the English, the Indian from the Yankees, and the Negro from bondage .” Depictions of oppressed, underdog characters such as the Yankee, Negro, and Indian overcoming captivity, or dying gloriously, represented the themes of freedom and liberty that characterized the newly independent America.