-After the American Revolution, "Americans experienced unprecedented and accelerating social and environmental changes"
-During Cooper's earlier years, the Six Nations were still strong, and Indian raids were common.
-"The wilderness was his earliest and most potent teacher."
-He made a good income selling his works, but was greatly impacted by the Depression.
-The Native Americans that Cooper wrote about impacted American fiction, but were wildly unrealistic.
-Cooper did not have much interaction with Indians, and those which he described were unlike any that could be found.
