June 21, 1639
When English Prose Became a Tool of Colonial Society
Born on June 21, 1639, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, Increase Mather became one of the most influential intellectual figures of colonial New England. Minister, educator, historian, and prolific author, he produced sermons, histories, theological works, political arguments, and educational writings that helped shape the written culture of early English-speaking America.
Mather belonged to a world in which writing was not merely literary.
It was religious, political, educational, and public. Through his works and his leadership, he helped establish a tradition of serious English prose in North America—one concerned with authority, learning, memory, and community life.
His influence reached beyond individual books.
He helped shape a culture built around the written word.
Giving Early America a Public Prose Tradition
Mather wrote at a time when English-speaking North America was still developing its institutions and intellectual identity.
Sermons, histories, pamphlets, and theological debates were among the first substantial bodies of prose produced in the colonies. Through these forms, English became a language capable of supporting public discussion, scholarship, and collective reflection.
Writing served practical purposes.
It guided communities, preserved ideas, and helped define colonial society.
Mather became one of the most prominent voices within that emerging tradition.
Making Writing a Form of Leadership
As one of New England’s leading ministers, Mather used prose as an instrument of influence.
His sermons sought to persuade, teach, and interpret events through a moral and religious framework. In colonial society, written and spoken language carried immense authority.
A sermon could shape public opinion.
A pamphlet could influence political debate.
A theological argument could affect the direction of community life.
Writing became a form of leadership, and Mather was one of its most visible practitioners.
Strengthening Education and Intellectual Life
Mather’s influence extended beyond publishing.
As president of Harvard College, he occupied a central position within one of the most important centers of learning in colonial America.
Institutions such as Harvard helped transmit traditions of reading, scholarship, rhetoric, and formal argumentation from one generation to the next. Through education, English became not only a language of daily communication but also a language of intellectual authority.
Mather helped strengthen a culture in which learning and public responsibility were closely connected.
Preserving the Memory of Colonial America
Mather was also a chronicler of his age.
His writings recorded religious controversies, political concerns, social anxieties, and historical events that shaped colonial New England. Today, they provide valuable insight into the worldview of early English-speaking America.
His works belong to the foundations of English-language writing in North America.
Before the emergence of a distinct American literature, writers like Mather were helping create the written record from which that literature would later grow.
Why It Matters
The birth of Increase Mather in 1639 marks the arrival of a figure who helped establish the written culture of colonial English America.
Through sermons, histories, educational leadership, and public argument, he contributed to a society in which writing became a tool of authority, instruction, memory, and intellectual life.
English became not only a language spoken in the colonies, but increasingly a language through which communities governed themselves, preserved their history, and expressed their beliefs.
Key Shifts in English Through Increase Mather
- English prose became a major tool of colonial public life
- Writing gained authority in religious, educational, and political affairs
- Early America developed stronger traditions of scholarship and public argument
- Historical writing helped preserve the memory of colonial society
- English became a language of intellectual and institutional leadership in North America
Some writers leave behind important books.
Increase Mather helped build a society in which books, sermons, and written ideas could shape an entire community.
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