personal experiences provide

The computer ate my original response, so excuse this shortened version.

American writers, while not having the rich historical experiences and access to American texts, were not at a loss for material. The human experience is a wonderful avenue from which many authors for many centuries have drawn their ideas. Writers are frequently autobiographical in their work, and in being so, are able to draw upon their own personal experiences for their material. People often write best and most frequently about things most important to them and the early American writers were obviously doing just that.

Cooper was correct in the sense that these writers did not have the advantage of centuries of world experiences. Conversely, as seen through Brown's Edgar Huntley, the human mind and its demons can provide a wonderfully interesting tale. Brown aptly describes the results of guilt and obsession often brought out in our unconscious hours. It seems apparent that Brown was also responding to what he witnessed in his childhood with certain Indian tribes in the new world. Also, the intricacy in which the plot strands seem to converge can be the result of a thoughtful and clever mind as well as any real world experiences. While Cooper has a valid point, the evidence of the actual writers would prove otherwise.