---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was…"
description: "\"IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year which produced The Power of Sympathy and that when he died Uncle Tom's Cabin was passing throug..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg"
---

#  IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year…

![“IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year which produced The Power of Sympathy and that when he died Uncle Tom's Cabin was passing through its serial stage, and yet the limits of his life mark almost exactly the first great period of American fiction.” quote by Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg)

> “IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year which produced The Power of Sympathy and that when he died Uncle Tom's Cabin was passing through its serial stage, and yet the limits of his life mark almost exactly the first great period of American fiction.”

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Cooper’s lifespan aligns with the birth and rise of early American novels, marking a pivotal era in U.S. fiction.

**In simple terms:** Cooper’s life book the start of American fiction.

Key Takeaway

Recognize historical timing in literature.

Themes

literary history American fiction timeline

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

historical critical educational

When to use this quote

- studying literary periods
- teaching American literature
- researching author biographies

Key Concepts

cultural development historical coincidence

Questions to Reflect On

- How does chronology shape literary significance?
- What other authors define that period?

A Different Perspective

Limits of his life ignore other contributors of the era.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[American Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-fiction-374351/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Cabins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabins/) [Coincidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coincidence/) [Coincidence Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coincidence-cooper-4269997/) [Cooper Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooper-born-4269998/) [Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing/) [Passings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passings/) [Periods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/periods/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Sympathy Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy-died-4269999/) [Uncle tom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncle-tom/) [Uncle Tom's Cabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncle-toms-cabin/) [Uncles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncles/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/)

## Related quotes

> [Anyone can see that to write Uncle Tom's Cabin on the knee in the kitchen, with constant calls to cooking and other details of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-garlin-spencer/anyone-can-see-that-to-write-uncle-tom-s-cabin-on-the-knee-in-the/)

[Anna Garlin Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-garlin-spencer/)

> [I did not write it (Uncle Tom's Cabin). God wrote it. I merely did his dictation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/i-did-not-write-it-uncle-tom-s-cabin-god-wrote-it-i-merely-did-his/)

[Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/)

> [When you look at the history of slavery in the United States, and you see the impact that 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' had, culture sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/when-you-look-at-the-history-of-slavery-in-the-united-states-and-you/)

[Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/)

> [A handful of works in history have had a direct impact on social policy: one or two works of Dickens, some of Zola, 'Uncle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/a-handful-of-works-in-history-have-had-a-direct-impact-on-social/)

[Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/)

> [Harriet Beecher Stowe was thirty-nine when she began Uncle Tom's Cabin. She had given birth to seven children and seen one die. She wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/harriet-beecher-stowe-was-thirty-nine-when-she-began-uncle-tom-s/)

[Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/)

> [I've heard 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' read, and I tell you Mrs. Stowe's pen hasn't begun to paint what slavery is as I have seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-tubman/i-ve-heard-uncle-tom-s-cabin-read-and-i-tell-you-mrs-stowe-s-pen-hasn/)

[Harriet Tubman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-tubman/)

> [“Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852. It became a publishing sensation. Lincoln was later wryly to remark to her: ‘So you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/harriet-beecher-stowe-published-uncle-tom-s-cabin-in-1852-it-became-a/)

[Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/)

> [Uncle Tom's Cabin' is another one of my favs as is 'Song &amp; Dance Man'! I have favorites for different reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jani-lane/uncle-tom-s-cabin-is-another-one-of-my-favs-as-is-song-dance-man-i/)

[Jani Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jani-lane/)

> [“Coloured people don't like Little Black Sambo . Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin . Burn it. Someone's written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/coloured-people-don-t-like-little-black-sambo-burn-it-white-people/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [Is art influential? It can be - 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' rallied abolitionists, and 'The Jungle' provoked the demand for a safer food industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-shetterly/is-art-influential-it-can-be-uncle-tom-s-cabin-rallied-abolitionists/)

[Will Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-shetterly/)

> [My current novel, Pallas, is all about that culture war - in fact it's been called the Uncle Tom's Cabin of the Sagebrush Rebellion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/my-current-novel-pallas-is-all-about-that-culture-war-in-fact-it-s/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [Harriet Beecher Stowe thought Uncle Tom's Cabin was written through her by Another Hand, so little did she know what was going to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/harriet-beecher-stowe-thought-uncle-tom-s-cabin-was-written-through/)

[Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/)

> [I don't like to be described as a Southern writer. The danger is, if you're described as a Southern writer, you might be thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/i-don-t-like-to-be-described-as-a-southern-writer-the-danger-is-if/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [If I could write a story that would do for the Indian one-hundredth part what 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did for the Negro, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/if-i-could-write-a-story-that-would-do-for-the-indian-one-hundredth/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [However, the daily life of the slaves in the South, as observed by many travelers, was obscured for all time by the relentless promotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eustace-mullins/however-the-daily-life-of-the-slaves-in-the-south-as-observed-by-many/)

[Eustace Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eustace-mullins/)

## More by Carl Clinton Van Doren

> [Guy Rivers, a conventional piece as regards the love affair which makes a part of the plot, is a tale of deadly strife between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/guy-rivers-a-conventional-piece-as-regards-the-love-affair-which/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [In fiction, too, after the death of Cooper the main tendency for nearly a generation was away from the conquest of new borders to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/in-fiction-too-after-the-death-of-cooper-the-main-tendency-for-nearly/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [Although by 1851 tales of adventure had begun to seem antiquated, they had rendered a large service to the course of literature: they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/although-by-1851-tales-of-adventure-had-begun-to-seem-antiquated-they/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [The race of man, while sheep in credulity, are wolves for conformity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-race-of-man-while-sheep-in-credulity-are-wolves-for-conformity/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [The most familiar quotations are the most likely to be misquoted. Some misquotations are still variable, some have settled down to false versions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-most-familiar-quotations-are-the-most-likely-to-be-misquoted-some/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [The first writers are first and the rest, in the long run, nowhere but in anthologies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-first-writers-are-first-and-the-rest-in-the-long-run-nowhere-but/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [Familiar life, tending to sordidness, had been succeeded by remote life, generally idealized; historical detail had been brought in to teach readers who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/familiar-life-tending-to-sordidness-had-been-succeeded-by-remote-life/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [The two most common charges against the older fiction, that it pleased wickedly and that it taught nothing, had broken down before the discovery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-two-most-common-charges-against-the-older-fiction-that-it-pleased/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [The region west of the Mississippi continued in the popular mind to be a strange land for which the reports of explorers and travellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/the-region-west-of-the-mississippi-continued-in-the-popular-mind-to/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [Melville brought to the task a sound knowledge of actual whaling, much curious learning in the literature of the subject, and, above all, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/melville-brought-to-the-task-a-sound-knowledge-of-actual-whaling-much/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

> [It is obvious that no difficulty in the way of world government can match the danger of a world without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/it-is-obvious-that-no-difficulty-in-the-way-of-world-government-can/)

[Carl Clinton Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

[Explore all 12 Carl Clinton Van Doren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/)

## More Born quotes

> [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/)

[Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/)

> [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/)

[Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/)

> [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/)

[Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/)

> [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/)

[Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/)

[Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/)

> [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/)

[Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/)

> [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/)

[Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/)

> [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/)

[Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/)

[Browse all 11,606 Born quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year which produced The Power of Sympathy and that when he died Uncle Tom's Cabin was passing through its serial stage, and yet the limits of his life mark almost exactly the first great period of American fiction.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Carl Clinton Van Doren"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-born-in-the-year-which/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Born"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-born-in-the-year-which/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ebc/carl-clinton-van-doren-37918_born_it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-b_1300760.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“IT is mere coincidence that Cooper was born in the year which produced The Power of Sympathy and that when…” — Carl Clinton Van Doren",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Carl Clinton Van Doren",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-clinton-van-doren/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "IT is mere coincidence that Cooper...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-born-in-the-year-which/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-clinton-van-doren/it-is-mere-coincidence-that-cooper-was-born-in-the-year-which/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
