How did Vernon L. Parrington evaluate American literature in Main Currents in American Thought?

In his influential work Main Currents in American Thought (1927–30), Vernon L. Parrington evaluated American literature through the lens of a progressive, Jeffersonian liberal.12

Rather than focusing primarily on aesthetic or formal qualities, Parrington interpreted the history of American letters by examining how authors and their works aligned with the concept of democratic idealism. He viewed this commitment to democratic principles as a defining characteristic of the American intellectual tradition. By situating literature within its broader social and political context, Parrington’s socio-literary approach sought to measure the development of American thought against the tenets of Jeffersonian democracy. This historical and ideological framework earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1928 and established him as a central figure in 20th-century American literary criticism.12