ABSTRACT
It is easy to assume that, in the first century of national independence, American literature—exemplified by works such as “Rip van Winkle”—is unselfconsciously patriotic. But in fact, a great deal of that literature (including “Rip van Winkle”) is emotionally and ideologically complex. That complexity is in part a matter of affirming the value of universal, democratic egalitarian principles while simultaneously recognizing the great violations of those principles in the new nation. In addition to outlining the rest of the book, this introduction sketches the problems facing the formation of American national identity in relation to the destructive subnational divisions of race and sex. It also articulates some preliminary notes on how issues of social identity may be understood in light of recent research in cognitive and affective science and social psychology.
