Colonial period(1765-1790)

American literature is defined as literature written or produced primarily in English in the United States of America and its predecessor colonies. Before the United States was founded, the Thirteen Colonies on the present-day eastern coast of the United States were heavily influenced by British literature. Thus, the American literary tradition is a subset of the larger English-language literary tradition.
American literature begins with the orally transmitted myths, legends, tales and lyrics of many cultural tribes. Before the arrival of the first Europeans, there was no written literature among the more than 500 diverse languages and tribal cultures that flourished in North America. For this reason, Native American literature differ from others. Tribes practiced their own religions, worshipping gods, animals, plants, or sacred individuals. Systems of government ranged from democracies to councils of elders to theocracies. These tribal variants make their way into oral literature as well. For instance, The divine Quetzalcoatl, a god of the Toltecs and Aztecs, was worshipped by the Mexican tribes, and some legends of gods or culture were told elsewhere. However, after the American conquest, their culture also slowly began to change. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discover the coastline of the new world. But after , Christopher Columb English attempts at colonization started. The first colony was set up in 1585 at Roanake, off the coast of North Caroline. The second colony was more permanents. Jamestown, established in 1607, which endured starvation, brutality and misrule. However, the literature described this period as the richest to the opportunity.
Colonial period(1765-1790)-was the period of historical, religious and didactic literature. It refers to the literature during the period the colonisation, which from the perspective of the colonisers. The Colonial Period of American literature spans the time between the founding of the first settlement at Jamestown to the outbreak of the Revolution. A large portion of the literature from this time period is religious in nature, as the vast majority of the settlers came to America to escape religious and political strife and persecution. In their eyes, America was the Promised Land, a place where they could worship God on their own terms. The work of English adventurers and colonists in the New World was primarily for the benefit of readers in the mother country when American writing began. There were hundreds of authors writing on theological subjects during this long period.
Captian John Smith is sometimes referred to as the "first American writer." He was a soldier-adventurer who arrived in Virginia in 1607 and published pamphlets describing the new territory. His first book, A True Relation of Virginia (1608), was written to entice settlers and gain financial support for the colony. His General History of Virginia (1624) expands on his observations. In it, he describes how Pocahontas saved his life. Smith was a capable leader as well as an engaging reporter. His books are valuable because he was the first to write about English settlements.
Virginia plantation life was civilized, even elegant. However, the people were not intellectual, and they produced little writing. The people who lived there were descended from the Royalist, or "Cavalier," group in England and were devout members of the Church of England. They accepted religion as a given and saw no reason to write about it. Furthermore, plantation life, like feudalism in the Middle Ages, produced a number of isolated communities. This prevented people from congregating in cities.
People in the Southern Colonies had no need to write, and their social circumstances discouraged them from doing so. Later on, the South made significant contributions to statecraft and literature. The majority of colonial writing took place in New England, which is where American literature officially began.