Sleepy Hollow falls into the genre of folktale. Folktales were some of the earliest examples of American fiction – meaning that they are unique to our country as opposed to other types of fiction like short stories.

Written in 1820, this particular work is famous in large part because what claims it makes about America. (remember that it was 1784 that the Revolutionary War was officially over and the Treaty of Paris finally ratified – so there was still a lot of tension)

Folktales were the oral tradition of adults. Stories about peoples' lives and imaginations and as they struggled with their fears and anxieties in these tales around the campfire, they became better able to struggle with them in reality.

Descriptions are quick and to the point with little description and detail

Plausibility story is possible but not probable

Supernatural beingsExtraordinary animals, monster, or other

animated things Explain a natural phenomena or customGood versus bad/evil

Both the Democratic and the National Republican parties were formed during this decade.

A native literature began to appear. Several American authors were read in both the United States and abroad, and Irving was one of them.

An “American literary hero” was one helped America establish itself as a country 'culturally' apart from England whose values included love of nature, individualism, and physical ability.

(Also, just for the fun of it, Americans adopted coffee as a popular drink between 1820-1829…cause that’s important!)

Irving (1783-1859, Tarrytown, New York) is often called the "first American man of letters.” That technically makes him the first recognized American author

Knickerbocker Group (devoted to advancing the prestige of New York as a literary base) is the name of a group of writers who wrote in and about New York during the first half of the 19th century. 

The Power of Imagination Lack of Class Structure in America Human Selfishness The Natural versus the SupernaturalAbundance of Resources in America