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American Romantic Period

American Romantic Period. Also known as the American Renaissance. 1800 - 1860. What’s going on in the world: 1803 – Louisiana Purchase 1810 – Mexico begins it’s war of independence from Spain 1812 – British attempt to take back America in the War of 1812 1815 – Napoleon defeated at Waterloo

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American Romantic Period

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  1. American Romantic Period Also known as the American Renaissance

  2. 1800 - 1860 What’s going on in the world: • 1803 – Louisiana Purchase • 1810 – Mexico begins it’s war of independence from Spain • 1812 – British attempt to take back America in the War of 1812 • 1815 – Napoleon defeated at Waterloo • 1820-1821 – Missouri Compromise (free state/ slave state) • 1830 – Underground railroad begins • 1837 – Queen Victoria rules England • 1845 – United States annexes Texas (leads to war with Mexico in 1846) • 1849 – California gold rush • 1854 – Republican party formed (opposed extension of slavery) • 1858 – England takes over rule of India

  3. Louisiana Purchase • From France • 4 cents an acre (15 million dollars total) • Doubled US Territory

  4. The Gold Rush • Helped to develop the West • Led to the building of railroads • California and Alaska were major rushes

  5. Romanticism • NOT about love • Values feeling and intuition over reason • Romantics believed that imagination could discover truths that the rational mind could not • Nature is very important Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. -Edgar Allan Poe

  6. Characteristics of the American Romantic period • Values feeling and intuition over reason • Values the imagination over reality • Civilization is bad Nature is good • Educated sophistication is bad Youthful innocence is good • Individual freedom is important • Nature is the way to find God • Progress is bad • Most settings are in exotic locales or the supernatural • Poetry is the highest expression of the imagination • Lots of inspiration from myths and legends

  7. The American Hero • Young (or at least acts young) • Innocent and pure • Sense of honor higher than society’s honor • Has knowledge of people and life based on a deep understanding, not based on education • Loves nature • Quests for a higher truth

  8. The Hero • First American Hero – created by James Fennimore Cooper: Natty Bumppo(went by other names – Hawkeye, Deerslayer, and Leatherstocking)

  9. The Fireside Poets • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • John Greenleaf Whittier • Oliver Wendell Holmes • James Russell Lowell

  10. Fireside Poets • People liked to read their works by the fireside at night • For a very long time were known as the most popular poets ever • Very un-Romantic in their style

  11. Transcendentalists • Weird • One must go beyond (transcend) the everyday human experience in order to determine the ultimate reality of God • What is perceived by the senses is not necessarily true • Believed in human perfectibility • Ralph Waldo Emerson is best known

  12. Themes in Transcendental Works • Individualism • Democracy • Intuition supersedes logic • Nature is king • Utopia (perfect place) • Optimism • Materialism is corruption

  13. The Dark Romantics • Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville • Believed what the Romantics did, but felt that at the core of everyone was a dark, sinister being • Has a lot of crazy or guilt-racked people in their stories

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