A Growing Nation

1800-1870

History of the Times In 1800 the united states consisted of sixteen

states clustered near the east coast 1803 Jefferson doubles the nation’s size with

the Louisiana Purchase Railroads, steamboats, and sailing packets

helped speed people and goods across the nation

Democracy and Government

American’s took more direct control of government

Andrew Jackson eliminated property requirements for voting rights

Africans remained enslaved The Trail of Tears occurred in 1838

The West and Economic Growth

1825 Erie Canal is completed 1850’s the railroad began to dominate

American long distance travel Advances in technology spurred social

change: factories, steal plow, telegraph communication, etc

Change for a brighter future

During the 1840’s-50’s women’s rights were promoted for voting, law suits, etc

Started creating child labor laws for factories, etc

True abolition of slavery American’s saw the need for social

changes to ensure a brighter future

Literature Comes of Age

Before 1800, writers were not widely read in America

The writers of this period, however, would define the American Voice

Primary theme: the quest of the individual to define him or herself

Romanticism

Major players: Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, James Fenimore Cooper, and Edgar Allen Poe

Romanticism does not mean “love story” or writings about love

Romanticism was an artistic movement that elevated imagination over reason and intuition over fact

Romanticism

The Romantic writers reveled in nature The Romantic writers often highlighted

the fantastic aspects of human experience (made them more interesting!)

Romantic writers trade fact for flavor to enhance their stories or to make a point

Why all the Romance?

Romanticism is concerned with the individual more than with society.

The individual consciousness and especially the individual imagination are especially fascinating for the Romantics.

“Melancholy” was quite the buzzword for the Romantic poet

There was a downgrading of the power and importance of reason

Romanticism was a reaction to the enlightenment

Why all the Romance?

Romanticism loosened the rules of artistic expression

Language became more relaxed and unnatural giving way to blank, unrhymed verse for poetry

One of the most popular themes was country life (pastoral poetry)

Anti transcentalism Romanticism led to a darker side to

individualism called the Gothic era The belief that imagination leads to a focus on

the demonic, the fantastic, and the insane A pessimistic view of mankind; potential for evil

in all people Essential truths about life: Greed, Betrayal,

Fear, etc. Famous writers: Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel

Hawthorne