James Fenimore Cooper--The Historian
             James Fenimore Cooper is, in his own right, a
             historian. Cooper is responsible for passing on views of
             early America that will never be available to us again. He
             helped many Americans view Indians and other ethnic groups
             as people and not "savages". Historical events greatly
             influenced Coopers writing. Time periods such as the
             Revolutionary war and the American exploration of the West
             were often the backgrounds for Coopers most successful
             novels. Novels such as The Spy, The Pioneers, and The Last
             of the Mohicans all possessed these qualities, and as a
             The Spy was Coopers second novel and first success.
             Many readers felt that The Spy possessed a quality of
             realism that his first novel, Precaution, didn't (Ringe13).
             It was in this novel that Cooper first branched the topic of
             a war theme. It took place in Westchester Country which was
             neutral ground and also the scene of many battles between
             the English and the American colonists. The novel makes
             good use of it's setting and revolves around the conflicts
             of one family (the Whartons). The majority of the family
             remain loyalists and support the English. However, the
             youngest daughter favors the rebels and goes as far as to
             become engaged to an American major (Long32-35). This
             conflict in particular was one that many Americans could
             relate to. Since many of Coopers readers had lived through
             the Revolutionary war, they had often had experiences like
             the ones in this book. Another important historical element
             that Cooper enriched this novel was the use of actual
             people as characters. Major Andre was mentioned several
             times in this novel. In real life, Major Andre was a
             revolutionary war spy for the British (Campbell1). Cooper
             used vivid imagery to portray the realities of war. In the
             beginning Chapter 8, he writes, "With fire and sword the
             cou...