The Connecticut Wits, and Other Essays

"The Connecticut Wits, and Other Essays" by Henry A. Beers is a compilation of literary analyses from the early 1900s that focuses on a group of 1700s Connecticut writers, called the Connecticut Wits, who wanted to grow American literature after the Revolutionary War. Beers sets them up as critical figures in forming a new national identity. The main idea is how these Yale graduates worked together to boost American writing, using their words to mirror the American experience and mix patriotism with a love for literature, also giving glimpses into the lives of their friends and family.