Unit 3

The American Within

1800-1900

Advances in American Life

At the beginning of the 1800s: Population just over 5 million Area of nation was 889,000

square miles of territory

By the mid-1800s, both the population and area of the United States had nearly quadrupled.

The prosperity of the growing country was fueled in part by advances in Transportation Agriculture Manufacturing

Romanticism and Democracy

Writers in the United States kept in step with the changes taking place in the 1800s.

They began to break away from the rationalism of the Age of Reason.

Romantics valued Intuition and emotion over

reason

In their works, Romantics focused on The personal experiences of

the individual The splendors of nature

Some well-known Romantics: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow John Greenleaf Whittier Washington Irving

The growth of democracy in politics corresponded to the rise of Romanticism in literature.

In both areas, the common person acquired new importance.

Some changes were: All free men granted the right

to vote A movement toward free

public education

Some changes were: The first abolitionists

questioned the morality of slavery

The beginnings of agitation for women’s rights

Romantics with a Darker Vision

Some Romantics were haunted by a darker vision of human existence.

Their stories are characterized by A probing of the inner life of their

characters An examination of the complex,

often mysterious forces that motivate human behavior.

Nathaniel Hawthorne: Agreed with the Romantics

emphasis on emotion and the individual, but

He did not see these as completely positive forces.

Hawthorne’s stories reflect his fascination with his Puritan ancestors.

He drew on the dark side of his Puritan heritage to examine the darker facets of human nature, such as Greed Vanity Guilt

Edgar Allan Poe Considered today to be an

eccentric madman and a skilled craftsman

Poe explored human psychology from the inside Used first-person narrators

who are sometimes criminal or even insane.

In many of his stories and poems, Poe portrayed the psychological effects of Evil Terror Grief on the human soul.

Transcendentalism

A literary-philosophical movement that shared the general characteristics of Romanticism.

Transcendentalists were: Mostly young intellectuals From the Boston area Gathered at Ralph Waldo

Emerson’s house to talk about art and ideas.

Transcendentalists emphasized Emotion Individualism Nature(like Romantics)

In addition, Transcendentalists Placed great faith in higher forms

of knowledge Held the view that human

spirituality is reflected in nature.

Henry David Thoreau Emerson’s protégé Retreated from society to live

simply and experience the “fundamental unity” between humans and nature.