Main currents in American thought : an interpretation of American literature from the beginnings to 1920. Vols. 1-3, 1620-1920 / Vernon Louis Parrington.
Vol. 1: The colonial mind, 1620-1800 -- Vol. 2: The romantic revolution in America, 1800-1860 -- Vol. 3: The beginnings of critical realism in America, 1860-1920.