American Arts

1. American Arts Chapter 13-2 Pages 405-407

2. Transcendentalism • New England writers and philosophers studied transcendentalism, the belief that people could transcend, or rise above, material things in life. • Transcendentalists believed people should depend on themselves rather than on outside authority. • Some important transcendentalists were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau.

3. Emerson was a popular writer and thinker who said Americans should follow their own beliefs and disregard institutions. He wrote “Self-Reliance.” Thoreau wrote “Walden” after living at Walden Pond for two years, and advised being self-reliant and living among nature away from society. More Transcendentalism…

4. Utopian Communities • Some transcendentalists formed utopian communities—groups of people who tried to form a perfect society. Brook Farm, Massachusetts was a notable example, built in the 1840s. • People who lived in these communities pursued abstract spirituality and cooperative lifestyles. These communities didn’t last for long because people did not work together well.

5. American Romanticism • Romanticism involved a great interest in nature, emphasis on individual expression, and rejection of established rules. This concept of simple life and nature inspired painters and writers in the early and mid-1800s. • Artists and writers thought each person brought a unique view to the world and used emotion to guide their work, which celebrated the beauty of the American landscape. • Images contrasted with the huge cities and corruption of nature that many Americans saw as typical of Europe.

6. …More Romanticism… • Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter during this period, which explored Puritan life in the 1600s. • In addition to novels, poetry was popular during the Romantic period. • Edgar Allen Poe was famous for the poem “The Raven.” • Emily Dickinson wrote short poems that were not published until after her death. • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote popular story-poems like The Song of Hiawatha. • Walt Whitman praised American individualism in his simple, unrhymed poetry. One of his most popular poems was “Leaves of Grass.”

7. Applying your new knowledge… Using the information we just discussed about American Arts, answer the following questions in complete, thoughtful sentences on the back of this paper. • In your own words, explain what transcendentalism is. • Do you think utopian communities are possible? Why or why not? • What ideas did the Romantic movement express? • In what ways were the Romantic movement and transcendentalism similar? How were they different? • Fill in the graphic organizer with the correct information:

8. 13-2 American Arts Name: Period: Date: Using the information we just discussed about American Arts, answer the following questions in complete, thoughtful sentences on the back of this paper. • In your own words, explain what transcendentalism is. • Do you think utopian communities are possible? Why or why not? • What ideas did the Romantic movement express? • In what ways were the Romantic movement and transcendentalism similar? How were they different? • Fill in the graphic organizer with the correct information: