Imagination & the Individual:

American Romanticism
1800 - 1860
American Romanticism
Prior to this time period, America had little for original
culture.

During this time period, two movements emerged and

created a unique American culture.
Romanticism & Transcendentalism
The Nation Expands
History:
Westward Expansion
Nationalism
Industrialization
Immigration

Literature:
Romanticism
The Nation Expands: History
 Westward Expansion
 Lousiana Purchase
 Southwestern Expansion

 Nationalism
 Americans shared a pride of being AMERICAN.

 Industrialization
 The Industrial Revolution caused …
 Mass Production

 Improved Products

 Improved Technology

 Loss of Skilled Jobs

 Poor Working Conditions

 Immigration
 Numerous immigrants caused urban overcrowding.
 1800 = 11.8 million

 1840 = 17.1 million

The Nation Expands:
Literature
Romanticism
Romanticism is a reaction to Rationalism.
 Nature vs. Progress/Metropolitan
 Individual vs. Community
 Imagination/Emotion vs. Reason
 Romantics believed in the welfare of the common man.
New Ideas Take Root
History
Reformers worked to improve society.
 Education
 Women’s Rights
 Abolition
 Industrialization

Literature
Transcendentalism
New Ideas Take Root -
History
In response to the hardships of Industrialization,
numerous reform movements developed.
Workers fought for better working conditions.
Feminists
Abolitionists
Public education
 Lyceums became incredibly popular.

The ideas of utopias developed.

Many were developed – none succeeded.
New Ideas Take Root - Literature
Transcendentalism – “in determining the ultimate reality
of God, the universe, the self, and other important matters,
one must transcend, or go beyond, everyday human
experience in the physical world”
They worked toward perfectionism.
Transcendentalists also believed in intuition’s ability to
reveal a higher voice.

Ralph Waldo Emerson – A Leader in Transcendentalism

Emerson believed one could be in the presence of God by
communing with nature.
Differences Threaten National Unity
History
Despite the social reforms and feelings of optimism,
conflict grew.
 Native Americans
 Slavery

Literature
Dark Romantics
 Contrary to Transcendentalists, these writers believed evil was
present in the world.
Differences Threaten National Unity -
History
A Time of Growing Conflict
Slavery
 Northern states had abolished slavery.
 Abolitionists started working on the Southern states.

Native Americans
 Many Native Americans were being forced from their land.
 Those who tried to assimilate were met with harshness.
 The U.S. government passed the Indian Removal Act.
Differences Threaten National Unity -
Literature
Dark Romantics (a.k.a. Anti-Transcendentalism)
Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe
Like Transcendentalists, these writers valued intuition and
the value of nature.
Unlike Transcendentalists, they believed evil did exist.
 Good vs. Evil
 Effects of Guilt and Sin
 Insanity
A Reaction Against Rationalism
Recall: What is rationalism?

Romanticism contrasts rationalism.

Romantics value…
 Feeling and intuition over reason.
 Imagination.
 Nature/natural beauty.
 Individuals/common men.
Romantic Escapism
Romantics tried to escape the realities of an industrial
society.

Romantics set their stories in more “natural” settings or

past settings.
Romantics wanted to create a shared past.

Romantics believed nature could reveal beauty and truth.

Nature could reveal a supreme truth.
The American Novel & the Wilderness
Experience
Romantic novelists are the first American novelists to
gain international success.

They created a novel that was unique to America.

James Fenimore Cooper, one of the most successful,

created stories that had American heroes, American
settings, and American themes.
American Romantic Poetry:
Read at Every Fireside
Romantic poets, unlike Romantic novelists, emulated
British poets.
They followed European traditions in literature.