More handpicked essays just for you.
Importance of romanticism in literature
Essay on Romanticism in American literature
How do writers in american literature portray the american dream
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Importance of romanticism in literature
Romanticism as a period of American Literature came after the Colonial period. As a new country, America found itself in a time of newfound freedom and an ability to take itself in whatever direction it wanted. This led to the rise of romanticism as a way to express the feelings and thoughts of the authors of the times as they attempted to form America’s identity. The Romantic movement was influenced by the American Revolution and America’s unique history. This caused American writers to question what America should be based around, and many of them wrote about the ideas of freedom and democracy. Writers such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Walt Whitman specifically pioneered new forms of poetry that often featured the ideas
Boyer, Paul S. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. D.C. Heath and Company, Mass. © 1990
“Never let them return to this happy land”, a newspaper article in Pennsylvania wrote (Doc B). The government was to be advocated on states’ rights, giving all white males a chance to be free during this trying time, to have the freedoms without being the tyranny that Britain was. Nobody wanted to return to the stress that Britain gave to the American people. Politics were an important asset to the starting of the new America, learning how to break away from Britain entirely.
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the United States grew and flourished as a country. It went from being a nation focused only on expanding within their own country, and comprised of basically only one heritage, to becoming one of the world's greatest military, economical, and political superpowers, as well as being the earth's preeminent "melting pot" of thousands of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
In early America between the years of 1825-1850, America was rapidly changing and reforming the way people lived. Societal problems and major discrepancies that had previously been overlooked began to rapidly gain awareness. The main idea of the reforms in the United States at this time was the relatively new sense of Democracy. Reform sought to maximize these benefits in light of Democracy and for this reason came up with many changes in which greater good can be found through freedom, justice, and equality of all people.
Between 1800 and 1850 the United States of America was an evolving nation in almost all possible ways including national unity. Many factors effected the change in national unity but none quite as much as territorial expansion. During this time period the United States more then doubled in size and by the end of its expansion reached from atlantic coast all the way to the pacific. When the nation first started to expand it brought with it the “era of good feeling”. With new states being created, the rapid growth of white settlement, and the economy expanding a rising spirit of nationalism was was consuming the United States in the years after the war of 1812. However, too much of anything, even something positive like territorial expansion, can bring negative effects. The first time the negative effects of territorial expansion became evident was during the panic of 1819. One of the next major events that showed clear evidence of decreased nationalism was attributed to the large amount of immigration in to America that took place between 1820-1840, this brought with it an rise in nativism. Lastly, during this booming immigration period, the United States also under went the industrial revolution which
The above statement is one that seems to be very true when looking back upon the history of the United States. From the years 1877 to 1933, this country went through many changes and transitions in the areas of politics, economy, society, and culture, which resulted in the birth of a new nation.
A mixture of processes and voyagers transformed America into a “new world”, catching the world by surprise. America would not have developed to the period of existence today, if it was not for this growing period of the “old” and “new” worlds.
During the enlightenment period in the 1600’s to the 1700’s, writers like Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau influenced some of America’s founding documents, including the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. During this time period, these writers had no idea that their works would impact such influential documents. The first document these writers influenced was the Virginia Declaration of Rights.
The term “America” does not have one but many definitions that various people have come up with through out the centuries. Some believe America is everything they could hope for and some have believed that it is not what it seems. Frederick Douglas’ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July and Michael Rogin’s text Political Repression in the United States are two pieces of historic evidence that show what each individual imagined America as. Although both pieces have similarities, they have differences as well not only in their ideas but their writing style and content as well.
In the words of Joseph Margulies, “National identity is not fixed, it is made.” Through the event of 9/11 our national identity has changed significantly. Before we dive into the now and the changed national identity, lets set a foundation of where national identity started. In the nineteenth century, Protestant Americans were incomparably dominate. It was argued that the Enlightenment and the Western intellectuals of the eighteenth century were still the foundation of national identity in the nineteenth century. However, from the writer, Samuel Huntington, the religious foundations of American society were based off the Anglo-Protestant heritage. (Page 24) On the other hand, in Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity, the author stated the American culture was dwindling Anglo-Protestant heritage. The original values were based off the Anglo-Protestant heritage included liberty, equality, individualism, democracy, and the rule of law under a constitution. Later in the nineteenth century, the European heritage grew and the ideas of individual freedom, political democracy, and human rights grew as well. (Page 19) The nineteenth century introduced the “well-being and integrity of the community and the virtuous citizen’s obligations to the community’s welfare (page 20).”
The early 1800’s was a very important time for America. The small country was quickly expanding. With the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, America almost tripled in size by 1853. However, even with the amount of land growing, not everyone was welcomed with open arms. With the expansion of the country, the white Americans decided that they needed the Natives out.
America has grown to be the country it is today not by luck, but by the fact that it has struggled in trying to become an independent nation. Regardless of the hardships, turmoil, and chaos it has gone through, the events that occurred between the years 1865-1900 have caused America to be the independent nation that it is today.
Harrison, Robert Pogue. “America: The Struggle to Be Reborn.” The New York Review of Books. NYREV, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Yet America still beckoned most strongly to the struggling masses of Europe, and the majority of migrants headed for the "land of freedom and opportunity". There was freedom from aristocratic caste and state church; there was abundant opportunity to secure broad acres and better one’s condition.
The epoch known as the Age of Reason, or the Enlightenment, was a secular intellectual movement that looked to reason as an explanation of the world. The Enlightenment began in 1687 with the publishing of Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia and ended in 1789 with the French Revolution (Fiero 134). The epoch of Romanticism was a reaction to the rationalism of the Enlightenment. The movement of Romanticism began in 1760 and ended in 1871. Romanticism as a movement was a reaction to the Enlightenment as a cultural movement, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind (210).