Writing is one of the oldest professions in the world. It was a popular profession. Many popular essayists and novelists chose to hold the pen and explain their thoughts through it. From their extraordinary writings, they wanted to share their views, interest, thoughts, political awareness, and knowledge as well. But writing has so many types and forms. You may know the fact that an essay is a simple piece of literary art. It helps people to understand the whole world better. In the early colonial days, essay writing was one of the most prevalent works. So, the American essay WRITER was so much reputed and knowledgeable. You should know that American essayist focuses on societal issues and problems.

So many educated writers, essayists, great thinkers, and poets were born and contributed their great works in America. Those thinkers and writers wrote about the movements and took a great change in the country.

Here are some popular and greatest names of American essayists:

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson:

He was a popular essayist. He influenced the generation of America. He was born in Boston in 1803. He was very popular among Americans. He felt that there is no place for free will. He also claimed that the world will be known due to the senses and not through intuition and thought. Emerson was an independent literary person. His top-most essays are Gifts, The Poet, and Self-Reliance.

2. Edgar Alan Poe:

He was an American essayist, writer, and poet as well. He contributed a lot to American literature. He was one of the most influential American essayists. He was born in 1809. His best book on various essays was The Philosophy of Furniture.

3. James Baldwin:

He was the greatest essayist of the 20th century. He was also a popular literary voice in civil rights action and development. In his writings, he explored so many issues and problems like sexuality, race, and humanity. He was born in 1924. He wrote a book of various essays. The name of the book was Notes of a Native Son. There was another popular book of essays. The name of this book was Nobody Knows My Name.

4. Margaret Fuller:

She was an American essayist, translator, editor, and critic as well. She was associated with the movement of transcendentalists. She was the first female war journalist at that time. Her famous book on essays was Papers on Literature and Art.

5. Oliver Holmes Senior:

He was a multi-talented person. He was a physician, essayist, and poet as well. He was recognized as one of the best writers in his group. Breakfast Table Series was one of his best works. This series was started with The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table. He contributed a lot to the history of medicine and literature. So, as you can see, he was a knowledgeable person at that time.

6. Jonathan Edwards:

He was a famous preacher and philosopher. He was a famous essayist of colonial times. He was popular as one of the popular and reputed American Philosophical Theologians. He contributed his thoughts to many famous sermons. The popular and classic sermon of Jonathan Edwards was Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. he was so popular in Christian literature and history.

7. Benjamin Franklin:

He was one of the important figures of the democratic period of America. He was an essayist and apart from this, he was a popular diplomat. He contributed so many essays to American literature. The name of his famous essays is The way of wealth and The Temple of Learning. He was very active in public issues and affairs. Till now, Franklin is one of the most celebrated figures in American history.

These are the top-most and greatest essayists in American history. They all tried to lift the status of American literature. Apart from these popular essayists, there are so many reputed names like Thomas Paine, James Cooper, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, and all. They all are reputed essayists in American history. You cannot deny their contribution to American literature. They all have polished writing skills. Their famous writings are still now popular. They all expressed their thoughts and feelings in a tricky but meaningful and straightforward way. They all tried to experiment with their writing techniques. But they gave us a lot.