An American Renaissance: Religion, Romanticism, and Reform

1. An American Renaissance: Religion, Romanticism, and Reform Chapter 13

2. Erosion of Calvinism More Optimistic Social Progress Individual Perfectibility God planned the universe, set it in motion, and then stepped aside People drawn to the less harsh interpretation of the Gospel I. Rational Religion - Deism

3. Influence of the Enlightenment

4. Deism

5. Revolutionary Deists Thomas Jefferson Benjamin Franklin

6. Oneness and benevolence of God Humans inherently good Reason over confessions All eligible for salvation Especially popular in Boston I. Rational Religion - Unitarianism William Ellery Channing

7. Attracted lower class social groups Salvation available to all God would not condemn anyone to hell I. Rational Religion - Universalism John Murray

8. II. The Second Great Awakening

9. Camp meetings Traveling preachers Presbyterianism popular in New England Baptists: simplicity, universal redemption, adult baptism Methodists: more centralized church structure; circuit riders II. The Second Great Awakening – Revivals on the Frontier Francis Asbury Peter Cartwright

10. Esp. New York where much revival activity had taken place Individuals are key piece to conversion; used tactics to play on human emotions II. The Second Great Awakening – The Burned Over District Charles Grandison Finney

11. Warned that all other religions were false and found the Book of Mormon on golden tablets Translated into English the “lost sections of the Bible” A following gathered around his teachings Smith and his brother killed in 1844 on grounds of polygamy II. The Second Great Awakening – The Mormons Joseph Smith

13. Successor to Smith Authoritarian Led followers to Salt Lake City, Utah Today, there are 9 million Mormons – the fasted growing religion in the world II. The Second Great Awakening – The Mormons Brigham Young

15. III. Romanticism in America

16. III. Romanticism in America • Spirit emphasized over logic and reason • “Heart over head” • Movement found in art, literature, and thought • Reaction in opposition to the Enlightenment • Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who wrote Critique of Pure Reason

17. To rise above the limits of reason Drew on the strict moral code of Puritanism as well as the “inner light” of the Quakers Transcendental Club originated in Massachusetts III. Romanticism in America - Transcendentalism

18. Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian minister Promoted individualism through writings such as “Self-Reliance” III. Romanticism in America - Transcendentalism

20. Henry David Thoreau Friend of Emerson’s “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.” Attended Harvard Had to quit teaching after refusing to cane a student Pencil-maker Loved nature Walden “Civil Disobedience” III. Romanticism in America - Transcendentalism

25. IV. The Flowering of American Literature

26. New England Group Longtime resident of Salem Haunted by his Puritan past Twice-Told Tales Themes included sin and its consequences IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Nathaniel Hawthorne

28. New England Group Recluse in Massachusetts 1,800 poems (only two published before her death) Themes included life, death, fear, loneliness, and God IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Emily Dickinson

31. Wrote histories, biographies, essays, and stories Focused on authentic American themes “Rip Van Winkle” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Washington Irving

32. Country gentleman He bet his wife that he could write a better novel than she could The Pioneers The Leather-Stocking Tales Themes included the “noble savage” and man against nature IV. The Flowering of American Literature – James Fenimore Cooper

33. Heavy drinker Wrote Gothic horror Sought to bring about emotional tensions for his reader “The Tell-Tale Heart” IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Edgar Allan Poe

35. Born into wealth but his father died, leaving him in poverty Became a seaman at age 20 Wrote of his sea travels Moby Dick IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Herman Melville

36. Fascinated by the city Leaves of Grass – some were unhappy with his sexual references and disregard for rhyme and meter “The greatest democrat the world has seen”, said Thoreau due to his view on women’s roles IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Walt Whitman

37. New technology increased production U.S. had more newspapers than any country in the world – New York Herald, New York Tribune Newspapers often focused on sensationalized news Magazines: North American Review, Harper’s Illustrated Weekly IV. The Flowering of American Literature – Popular Press

38. V. Education

39. Republican government required a moral and literate populace Horace Mann of Mass. pushed for statewide school systems Overall, insufficient funds Would only become well established after the Civil War V. Education – Early Public Schools Horace Mann

40. Societies formed to educate the general public Day and evening classes Public speeches Development of public libraries V. Education – Popular Education

41. Small church schools State universities Tension between state and religious schools regarding curriculum and funding West Point and Annapolis Women not educated past elementary school V. Education – Higher Education

43. Religious motivations Workplace safety and productivity Human Relations 1833 – American Temperance Union Between 1830 and 1860, alcohol consumption decreased VI. Antebellum Reform - Temperance

44. All manner of criminals housed together without the necessities of life Those with mental illnesses often put into jail with criminals Dorothea Dix: inspections; changed attitude towards mental illness VI. Antebellum Reform – Prisons and Asylums

46. Catharine Beecher was the leading advocate of “cult of domesticity”; wrote A Treatise on Domestic Economy; Believed women should be educated in order to help their children and run a more efficient household Antebellum Reform – Women’s Rights

47. Beecher’s Kitchen Design

49. No higher education, no voting, no control of property, no voice in court Protests began Lucretia Mott Elizabeth Cady Stanton Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 Susan B. Anthony Lucy Stone Progress would be slow Antebellum Reform – Women’s Rights