American literature emerged as a distinct voice from England in the early 19th century. Writers like Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and Harriet Beecher Stowe began establishing a national literary tradition with settings and subjects related to the American experience. This period, known as the American Renaissance, saw two great masters - Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne - make lasting contributions with novels like Moby Dick and The Scarlet Letter that explored the American condition.