Parrington, Vernon Louis

Parrington, Vernon Louis, 1871–1929, American literary historian and scholar, b. Aurora, Ill. His cultural interpretation of American literature was an expression of his belief in democratic idealism. His Main Currents in American Thought (3 vol., 1927–30) greatly influenced subsequent literary criticism. He was awarded the 1928 Pulitzer Prize in history for the first two volumes; the third volume was published posthumously. He also wrote Connecticut Wits (1926, repr. 1969).

See R. Hofstadter, Progressive Historians (1968).

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