Often referred to as America's first important novelist, Charles Brockden Brown might also be considered the father of American literature and criticism. Although he had no one integrated theory, Brown recognized the importance of mastering the belletristic tradition that had made European literature superior. At a time when, in his own words, "our population is increased, our national independence secured, and our governments established, and we are relieved from the necessities of colonists and emigrants, there is reason to expect more attention to polite literature and science," Brown fostered a national literature through his pursuits as publisher, editor, novelist, annalist, and geographer. He sought to provide critical magazines as vehicles for American writers to present their poetry, prose, criticism, and ideas. In the preface to volume 1 of the American Review, and Literary Journal, Brown argued that "[G]enius in composition, like genius in every other art, must be...