Prevalent in early American Literature especially throughout the works of the Puritans and the Transcendentalists, was the common theme of rebellion against the government. The purpose of this literature was not to entertain, but to inform, which set the precedent for the next 200 years. The literature was to be informative, persuasive, but not entertaining, as shown as a recurring theme in: Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, "Common Sense" and "The Crisis" both authored by Thomas Paine, "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Resistance to Civil Government" by Henry David Thoreau, and the ultimate tribute to American independence, "The Declaration of Independence", written by Thomas Jefferson. Although the way in which each author presented the common theme of rebellion against the government differed, the influence on each author came from the times he lived in.
             Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford contains a section subtitled The Separatists Interpretation of the Reformation in England. The Puritans separated from the Anglican Church of England because nonconformists were considered criminals punished with death. Anglicanism was a mixture of Christianity and Protestantism; the Puritans were devout Protestants, not willing to except the views of Christianity. This was the backbone of Bradford's ideas in Of Plymouth Plantation, which outlined the faults of King James. For example, Bradford asserts that "[King James's] offices and callings, courts and cannons etc. were unlawful and antichristian; being such as have no warrant in the Word of God..." (34). In a country where church and state were ultimately one body, this accusation was momentous. The focus Of Plymouth Plantation was express the misgivings and objections to the newly established Church of England. The rebellion and dislike towards England was explicitly stated throughout the first...