James Fenimore Cooper
...he had experienced and turned them into best-selling novels that have held up throughout the years. He became famous with the publication of the wilderness adventures. Along with the success these books brought, so to came some criticism. To truly understand Coopers books you have to delve deeply into them and know from where he got the ideas for the stories.
James Fenimore Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey on September 15th 1789 ("James Fenimore Cooper," American Eras, n.p.). He was the eleventh child of William Cooper and Elizabeth Fenimore Cooper, whom he would later adopt part of his name from. His father was a land speculator, judge and Federalist politician ("James Fenimore Cooper", DISCovering Biography, n.p.). In the early years of Fenimore Cooper's life the family relocated from Burlington to the wilderness of Ostego Lake, New York. There, William Cooper built Ostego hall and developed the surrounding area as Cooperstown ("JFC", DISCovering Biography, n.p.).
In 1803 James Fenimore Cooper entered Yale at the tender age of thirteen years. However his immaturity proved to be consequential as he was expelled for blowing up a classmate's door with gunpowder ("JFC", DISCovering Biography, n.p.). After his expulsion, presumably as a consequence for his actions, Cooper joined the Navy and sailed aboard the Stirling. On the ship he was witness to many adventures such as pursuit by pirates and British impressments of U.S. sailors (JFC, DISCovering Biography, n.p.).
In December of 1809 William Cooper died. However upon his death, he left James Cooper a large sum of money ($50,000). This money did not all go into Cooper's pocket as he had to use some of it to care for his siblings (JFC, DISCovering Biography, n.p.). In May of the next year James would request a twelve-month break from the Navy to tend to family business. In his time from the Navy,...
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