I think you could say Mary Rowlandson’s main contribution to American literature is her captivity tale. In February 1676, Indigenous people attacked Rowlandson and other American settlers. The Indigenous people killed many people and kidnapped several others, including Rowlandson and her children. Rowlandson described her captivity in vivid and biblical terms in a book with a very long title: The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.

This book was a central contribution to the captivity genre. You might say that what the Twilight series did for the vampire genre, Rowlandson did for the captivity genre. It was a best-seller when it was first published. It continues to be one of the most anthologized and studied captivity tales. Her story seems to provide myriad insight into the mindsets and prejudices of the settlers and colonizers.

As for Phillis Wheatley, her major contribution to American literature came through her poems. She was the first Black woman to publish a collection of poetry. Her poems supply a direct account of slavery and Black identity. They also reveal the ways in which she was influenced by the English, including John Milton and Alexander Pope.

You could also say Wheatley’s influence extended beyond the field of American literature. It reached to several aspects of American life, including the growing fight for abolition. They seemed to have used Wheatley as an example to counter the racist belief that Black people lacked intellectual abilities.