Unit 2: Celebrating the Individual American Romanticism (1800-1855) Guided Reading Notes

Unit 2: Celebrating the Individual--American Romanticism (1800-1855) Guided Reading Notes Patriotic and individualistic, urban and untamed, wealthy and enslaved—Americans in the first half of the 19th century embodied a host of contradictions. Struggling to make sense of their complex, inconsistent society, writers of the period turned inward for a sense of truth. Their movement, known as romanticism, explored the glories of the individual spirit, the beauty of nature, and the possibilities of the imagination. I. Historical context: This section of the essay (page 305) describes America’s westward expansion during the first half of the 19th century and explains some negative aspects of that expansion. The text also describes the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and its impact upon Americans. A. The Spirit of Exploration (p. 305)  What was the “price” of the physical expansion of the United States? Expansion cost Native Americans their land and often their lives. In addition, belief in the concept of “manifest destiny” led to the Mexican-American War, which cost soldier’s lives on both sides. B. Growth of Industry (p. 305)  What were the chief effects of the Industrial Revolution? The Industrial Revolution changed the basis of the national economy from agriculture to industry and prompted the migration of people from farms to cities. It also encouraged the expansion of slavery in the South and prompted writers to seek answers to life in nature and the self.

 Reread the final sentence of Growth of Industry. How does the earlier Thoreau quotation connect to that idea? Thoreau’s comment emphasizes the importance of conscience, an idea that reflects a belief in the ability to find “simplicity, truth, and beauty” in the self

II. Cultural Influence and the Age: This section of the essay (pages 306–307) explains the growing split between North and South over the issue of slavery. The text also describes how an increasing number of Americans called for social reform, speaking out against slavery and supporting the rights of workers and women. A. The Tragedy of Slavery (p. 306)  Demand cotton = increase in slavery

 Brutal treatment of enslaved workers

 North-South tension over the issue o View of South: slavery as economically necessary o View of North: slavery as immoral

 Involvement of writers

 Consider what you know about slavery from the account by Olaudah Equiano in Unit 1 or from any other account you have read or seen. What conclusion might you draw from this section, which describes slavery a generation after Equiano’s account was published? Because of increased cotton production, slavery had expanded in the American South, and its brutality affected more persons than ever. Enslaved families were broken up, and men, women, and children were subjected to cruel treatment. Southern plantation owners considered slavery essential for increasing their profits, increasing tension between pro-slavery Southerners and Northerners who considered slavery to be immoral.

B. Call for Social Reform (pp. 306–307)  Rise in opposition to social ills

 End to slavery

 Improved conditions for workers

 Opportunities for women

 Involvement of writers

III. Ideas of the Age: This section of the essay (page 307) describes how sectionalism, focused largely upon the issue of slavery, threatened a rising nationalistic spirit. A. Nationalism vs. Sectionalism (p. 307)  Explain how protest was a part of the 1830s and ‘40s. Why do you think most of this protest took place in the North rather than in the South? Economic interests also challenged nationalism. Tariffs on manufactured goods from Britain forced Southerners to buy more expensive, Northern-manufactured goods. From the South’s point of view, the North was getting rich at the South’s expense. Sectionalism, or the placing of the interests of one’s own region ahead of the nation as a whole, began to take hold.  Define nationalism in your own words and to explain how slavery undermined feelings of nationalism. Nationalism: the belief that national interests should be placed ahead of regional concerns or the interests of other countries.

IV. The Early Romantics (p. 308–309)

 Were inspired by the beauty of nature

 Emphasized emotions and the imagination over reason

 Celebrated the individual spirit

 Three Early Romantics: 1. William Cullen Bryant 2. Washington Irving 3. James Fenimore Cooper  What did the romantics reject, and what did they admire? The romantics rejected the neoclassical love of reason and classical forms; they admired nature, emotion, and imagination.  What were “the more modern sensibilities” that the early romantics reflected? How did these writers respond? These sensibilities were an awareness and appreciation of the country’s dynamic growth. In response, the early romantics focused more upon individualism, emotion, and imagination than upon reason; they also found greater inspiration in nature than in the fear of God.  Given what you already know about American literature and culture, which writer of early romanticism—Bryant, Irving, or Cooper—do you think has had the greatest impact, and why? All possible answers are acceptable.

V. The Fireside Poets (p. 310)

 The Fireside Poets 1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 2. James Russell Lowell 3. Oliver Wendell Holems 4. John Greenleaf Whittier  Characteristics of Fireside Poets: o Emphasized moral themes in work o Were viewed as equals of British poets of the day o Stressed individualism and an appreciation of nature o Were committed to social reform

 Why were these poets called the Fireside Poets? In the 19th century, a common form of family entertainment was reading poetry aloud beside the fire.  In what sense did each member of the Fireside Poets attempt to improve the United States? Lowell, Holmes, and Whittier were concerned about social issues, and they used their poetry to advocate for social reform in the United States. Longfellow may not have been as openly committed to social reform, but by frequently writing about America’s past, he may have been trying to improve the United States by giving Americans a heritage of which they could be proud. VI. The Transcendentalists (p. 311)

 The transcendentalists, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau o Emphasized living a simple life o Stressed a close relationship to nature o Celebrated emotions and the imagination o Stressed individualism and self-reliance o Believed intuition can lead to knowledge o Believed in the inherent goodness of people o Encouraged spiritual well-being over financial well-being

 What did the transcendentalists reject, and what did they admire? The transcendentalists rejected commercialism and Puritan attitudes; they admired individualism, intuition, intellectualism, and a spiritual relationship with nature.  How was Emerson’s adaptation of transcendentalism “peculiarly American”? Emerson stressed the individual’s role in finding “higher truth” through intuition. This emphasis on individualism was very much in keeping with the American values of the era.  Consider what you know of American life at this time. How would you respond to someone who called transcendentalism an impractical philosophy? Encourage answers that demonstrate an awareness of these points: o the transcendentalists’ unorthodoxy vs. the nation’s Puritan heritage o the transcendentalists’ belief in reflection and personal conscience vs. the sense of national pride, unity, and drive that marked the country as a whole in the early 1800s.

VII. American Gothic: The “Brooding” Romantics (pp. 312–313)

 Three other giants from this period, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville are what have been called “brooding” romantics or “anti-transcendentalists.” o Did not believe in the innate goodness of people o Explored the human capacity for evil o Probed the inner life of characters o Explored characters’ motivations o Agreed with romantic emphasis on emotion, nature, and the individual o Included elements of fantasy and the supernatural in works

 How does the work of these writers compare and contrast with that of the early romantics?

Like the early romantics, these writers emphasized individuality, imagination, and emotion. However, these writers had a darker view of the world, humankind, and the imagination.

 Explain this statement from the essay: “For the dark romantics, the imagination led to the threshold of the unknown. . . .” The “brooding” romantics cast off the restrictions of reason and followed their imagination into the darker side of human experience. Writers such as Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville explored some of the negative forces at work in human psychology and their effect on human life.

 Why would you expect a writer from this group to be reluctant about trusting personal intuition? The “brooding” romantics focused on the dark mysteries of human psychology, so they probably would not trust intuition the way that optimists such as the transcendentalists did. Connecting Literature, History and Culture (pages 314-315) 1. Which European authors were contemporaries of American romantic writers? • Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Emily Brontë, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels were contemporaries of the American romantics. 2. What evidence do you see that slavery was not only an American problem? • Slavery was not only an American problem, as evidenced by these facts: The British slave trade was abolished in 1807; slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829; and slaves mutinied aboard the Spanish ship Amistad in 1838. 3. What nations were battling for independence or dealing with its challenges? • Venezuela and Mexico were seeking independence; the United States was dealing with its challenges. 4. What inventions were moving the world into a more technological age? • The steamboat (1807), the telegraph (1832), and the sewing machine (1851) were technological inventions of the era. 5. Which American author published his first novel 20 years after James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans? What was the title? • Herman Melville published Typee (1846). 6. How many years after the United States banned the slave trade did Mexico abolish slavery? • Twenty-one years passed (1829). 7. What innovations in transportation took place in the United States during this era? • The launching of the first steamboat (1807), the opening of the Erie Canal (1825), and the start of construction on the first railroad in the United States (1828).