The Romantic Impulse

Nationalism and Romanticism in American Painting

The establishment and praise of a unique American culture was championed, especially through painting and art. American painters sought to capture the power of nature and beauty of the nation by depicting grand and detailed landscapes. Frederic Church, Thomas Cole, Thomas Doughty, Asher Durand, and other notable painters spent time capturing the untamed Hudson Valley. Many of these painters considered nature the best source of wisdom and fulfillment, far more than civilization. The emergence of paintings and boastfulness of America’s “wild nature” resulted due to these factors.

• Hudson River school: the first great school of American painters that emerged in New York, focused on transcendentalist ideals and the beauty of the American landscape

An American Literature

In an effort to create distinctive American literature, great American novelists emerged with stories on the American West and the natural goodness of individuals. Romanticism and aspects of democracy and liberation were common in works by authors such as Walt Whitman. Moby Dick, another renowned classic, was published during this time period by Melville and reflected ideals and misgivings with American society at the time.

• Walt Whitman: a popular American writer in the 1850s who influenced romanticism, his most notable book of poems titled “Leaves of Grass” being published in 1855

• Herman Melville: author of Moby Dick (published in 1851), his writing often interpreted as a metaphor for the harsh, individualistic, and achievement driven culture of 19th century America

Literature in the Antebellum South

Many writers and artists focused on the nature of America in the South. However, white southerners tended to produce very different images of what society was and should be than their northern counterparts. Edgar Allen Poe was a notable writer and creator of popular poems at the time. Other southern novelists wrote historical romances and eulogies for the plantation system of the upper south. Many southern writers strongly championed slavery, which wasn’t received as well in the North. Some, however, were drawn to capturing the painfully realistic aspects of the South, one notable realist being Mark Twain.

The Transcendentalists

Borrowing heavily from German and English writers and philosophers, transcendentalists established themselves as a group of people who valued understanding and enlightenment from the natural world, often drawing a distinction between “reason” and rationality and “understanding” of the world and the connection to the natural universe. Transcendentalist philosophers, writers, painters, and other artists were popular among themselves and with others during this time.

• transcendentalists: a 19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who formed an ideal system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths, often focusing on nature and the untamed aspects of the wilderness for guidance

• Ralph Waldo Emerson: a Unitarian minister who left the clergy in 1832 to devote himself to writing, teaching, and lecturing. He established many transcendentalist ideals and goals and gained a following

• Henry David Thoreau: a transcendentalist writer who repudiated the repressive forces of society, and advocated that each individual should work on self-realization by resisting pressure to conform to society’s expectations, instead responding to their own instincts

The Defense of Nature

A small but influential group of Americans in the 1900s feared that capitalism would have negative and irreversible effects on the integrity of the natural world. Many saw nature as a source of deep, personal human inspiration and a sight into universal truth and spirituality. This foreshadowed the environmental movement of the 20th century, with the essential unity between humanity and nature highlighted and defended above all else.

Visions of Utopia

People looking for brighter futures and reforms of society created communal groups centered around the idea of reformed living. One of the most notable communal experiments was Brook Farm, established by Boston transcendentalist George Ripley. They aimed to create a society in which every member would have the opportunity for self-realization, and contribute through communal work and leisure time. Other smaller utopian communities such as New Harmony and “Owenite” experiments would pop up in following years.

• Nathaniel Hawthorne: a writer and one of the original residents of Brook Farm, he wrote fiction with heavy undertones of criticism for transcendentalist beliefs and experiments such as Brook Farm

Redefining Gender Roles

Some utopian societies broke away from common norms such as economic classes and division, individualistic ideals, and among the more radical ones, gender roles. The Oneida Community in 1848 was an example of a community where all residents rejected traditional family and marriage roles, and communal raising of children was common. The Shakers also experimented with traditional gender roles, as one notable feature of their society was their commitment to complete celibacy and exercise of greater power of women than in usual gender roles and responsbilities.

• Oneida “Perfectionists”: residents of the Oneida community, they rejected traditional notions of family and marriage, considered themselves as “married” to all other residents; there were to be no permanent conjugal ties, women would be protected from unwanted childbearing, and children were raised communally

• Shakers: a utopian society where all members pledged celibacy, living in communities where contacts between men and women were strictly limited, and they endorsed the idea of sexual equality

The Mormons

A new sect of religion was created as an effort to create a new and more ordered society, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. Mormonism provided its followers a new history of the world, a new establishment of the Christian church, a new book of scripture and set of prophets to join those in the Bible, a new call to prepare for the Second coming, and a new promise that all believes could become like God himself as they ascended to heaven. The creator of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, sought for a settlement for his community of followers, but was unsuccessful in finding permanent grounds as many neighbors continually harassed and drove out Smith and his Mormons. Brigham Young brought a group of 12,000 Mormons to settle in Utah, where they were able to create a lasting settlement that remains in places such as Salt Lake City to this day.

• Joseph Smith: the founder of Mormonism, he organized the church and published the Book of Mormon in 1830, named for the ancient prophet who he claimed had been its chief editor

Remaking Society

Revivalism, Morality, and Order

Protestant revivalism was another popular reform movement during this period attempting to better society and its flaws. The New Light evangelicals rose to popularity with the belief that everyone was capable of salvation through their own efforts and devout teachings. By 1840, temperance was a major national movement that gathered over a million followers who had signed a pledge to abstain from hard liquor.

• temperance: abstinence from drinking alcohol, closely associated with the Evangelical Protestantism reform movements and those who argued that the excessive use of alcohol was the most responsible for crime, disorder, and poverty

Health, Science, and Phrenology

New theories of health and knowledge were other forms of discovery during the drive for the reform and improvement of society. Public health in general, however, was not backed by scientific methods or solutions, leading to different experimental forms for improving health. For example, the wealthy (women especially) would try hydrotherapy, and different diets. One new popular belief was the “science” of phrenology (now universally understood to have no real scientific value) which argued that the shape of an individual’s skull indicated their character and intelligence. Bumps and indentations were used to calculate size and strength in different parts of the brain and the functions and behaviors behind these sections of the brain.

Medical Science

Medicine was a scarce and rarely coveted professing at the time, and many poorly educated people ended up pursuing and practicing medicine. The lack of basic knowledge on disease provided a great challenge in making any important advancements in the practice of medicine and health. Many medical achievements happened by accident or chance, with the vaccination being adapted from folk peoples’ practices, and the development of anesthetics coming from a dentist originally. Many theories we know as correct and proven medical law today were met with heavy skepticism and criticism by medical professionals at the time, such as germ theory and the causes of infections.

Education

The effort to produce a system of universal public education was started in the 1830s, and grew rapid support as people saw a need to educate children and prepare them for the workforce. Horace Mann made notable changes to the school system, lengthening the academic year to six months, doubling teachers’ salaries, broadening the curriculum, and introducing new methods of professional training for teachers. However, development of the education system varied depending on region, with Northeastern institutions and systems being more accessible, while Western schools often had barely literate teachers and severely limited funding. Black children were prohibited from schools, and many white children often attended school sporadically and at their leisure. Some attempts were made to “civilize” and educate Native Americans in a white, Euro-colonial society, however they proved to be mostly unsuccessful.

• Horace Mann: the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837, he believed that the only way to preserved democracy was to create a free political system and provide a strong public educational program for the country

Rehabilitation

New institutions were created to help those with disabilities. Some of these included schools for the blind, “asylums” for mentally ill criminals, and prison and hospital reforms were instituted, too. Many antiquated jails and mental institutions had inmates living in inhuman conditions, and the movement to reform these institutions had considerable momentum, with advocates such as Dorothea Dix being essential to giving voices to those under the old and oppressive systems.

• Dorothea Dix: an advocate for the reform of asylums, penitentiaries, and other mental health institutions, spent time in an institution and wrote criticism of the treatment of patients there

The Rise of Feminism

The first American feminism movement emerged as many women grew frustrated with the social and legal restrictions on their participation and voices in society. Many argued that “men and women were created equal, and are both moral and accountable beings; whatever is right for man to do, is right for women to do.” Early advocates and reformers constantly pressed at the boundaries of “acceptable” female behavior in order to push for the right to vote, have a voice in politics, and attend conventions and rallies. Many of the women who advocated for gender equality and drafted the Declaration of Sentiments were Quakers.

• Harriet Beecher Stowe: abolitionist and early feminist, best known for her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin that depicted the harsh realities and treatment of enslaved people at the time

• Lucretia Mott: abolitionist and women’s rights advocate who co-organized the Seneca Falls Convention

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton: abolitionist and women’s rights advocate who co-organized the Seneca Falls Convention

• Susan B. Anthony: abolitionist and one of the most iconic and active leaders of the early women’s rights movement

• Seneca Falls Convention: the 1848 meeting that produced the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions arguing for women’s inalienable rights

Struggles of Black Women

Black women had the difficult position of not only being subjected to sexist discrimination, but brutal treatment under slavery and racial inequalities as well. As a result, some became spokespeople to advocate for the equal rights of women and Black people. Many Black women and key figures such as Sojourner Truth, Jarena Lee, and Rebecca Cox Jackson used religion specifically to advocate for equality between women and men.

• Sojourner Truth: a Black woman born into slavery and escaped to freedom at 29 years old, she was a leading voice for women’s rights in the 1840s-50s

• Jarena Lee: a woman who sought to preach in church but was turned down from doing so, she preached in public with such passion that Rev. Richard Allen invited her to speak at his church, but she faced discrimination and was turned away from other congregations

• Rebecca Cox Jackson: grew up a free woman in Philadelphia, lived with her brother who was a minister, she tossed aside convention and invited both men and women to worship side by side, advocating for the right to preach and met considerable backlash from men (ministers)

Consider the Source: Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Seneca Falls, New York (1848)

At the Seneca Falls Convention, this document was written as a “rewrite” or new document based on the Declaration of Independence, now clearly outlining the rights and free voices of women. It states that men AND women are created equal, and lists the grievances against women throughout the history of the country and in general. Some include women being prevented from the right to elective franchise, not being able to vote, not owning property or being in control of wages, and “enslavement” by their husbands.

The Crusade Against Slavery

Early Opposition to Slavery

In the early 1800s, the most opposition to slavery seen publicly was usually expressed moral disapproval. Some abolitionist organizations, such as the American Colonization Society (ACS) attempted to relocate liberated Black people back to Africa, but did not have the funding or support on a large enough scale to do so for enough people. Most Black people by this time were a few generations removed from Africa, and didn’t wish to emigrate anyways.

• Liberia: African nation established in 1830 by freed Black people whose manumission and voyage was sponsored by the American Colonization Society (ACS)

America in the World: The Abolition of Slavery

Emancipation in the United States was part of a worldwide antislavery movement that occurred through the 18th-19th centuries. It was one of the ideals of the Enlightenment, which inspired new concepts of individual freedom and political equality. The attack on slave trade gained momentum, and eventually it was outlawed in many European countries and the US. While Europe outlawed slavery in the early 1800s, the US wouldn’t formally do so until the Civil War in 1863.

Garrison and Abolitionism

William Lloyd Garrison helped revitalize the antislavery movement in the North in the 1830s, starting his own newspaper dubbed “The Liberator.” His ideology that discussions of slavery should focus on the damage the system did to enslaved people became a popular sentiment and uncomplicated the issue for many. He ended up forming the American Antislavery Society in 1833.

• William Lloyd Garrison: founder of The Liberator, a newspaper that focused on the harsh truths of slavery and argued for the immediate release of the enslaved and extension of citizenship to all

Black Abolitionists

The free Black population in the North also made considerable strides to advocate for antislavery. While they faced poverty and racial discrimination, they were fiercely proud of their freedom and spoke about the plight of enslaved Black people in the South. Some notable Black abolitionists were David Walker and Frederick Douglass.

• David Walker: an early Black abolitionist, who called for an uncompromising opposition to slavery on moral grounds, released the critical and unapologetic abolitionist pamphlet “An Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World”

• Frederick Douglass: one of the most famous Black abolitionists and an electrifying orator of his time, Douglass was born a slave in Maryland and escaped to Massachusetts. He spent years lecturing in England and the US, purchasing is freedom and founding an antislavery newspaper, eventually releasing his own autobiography

Anti-Abolitionism

Almost all white southerners were vehemently opposed to the rise of abolitionism. Some white people even in the North feared that abolitionism would produce destructive civil war, and that it would lead to a great influx of free blacks into the North who would displace white workers. Mobs attacking antislavery headquarters and abolitionist leaders weren’t uncommon occurrences, and even led to the death of a few such as Elijah Lovejoy.

Abolitionism Divided

Cracks in the abolitionist movement began to become apparent by the mid 1830s. Violence of the anti-abolitionists, as well as radical preachings by leaders such as William Lloyd Garrison scared many followers and led to divisions within the antislavery movement. Some were more moderate in their calls for abolition, arguing that abolition could only be accomplished as a result of a long, patient, peaceful struggle. Parties such as the “Free Soil” party, which stood for keeping slavery out of the territories and North, would emerge that gained a considerable following. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” also sparked conversations on slavery as a whole across the country.

• Amistad: ship at the center of an 1841 Supreme Court case over the foreign slave trade; the Court decided that the Africans who had commandeered the ship had been illegally captured and sold and were granted freedom

Patterns of Popular Culture: Sentimental Novels

The “sentimental novel,” a genre of literature written and read mostly by middle-class women gained popularity in the culture of the early to mid 19th century. The sentimental novel gave voice to women’s hopes and anxieties in their modern world. The stories often centered around a female protagonist with obstacles to achieving the life coveted at the time, and ended happily with romanticized images of fulfillment through protection and marriage.

Conclusion

Comprehension Questions

1. What is “romanticism” and how was it expressed in American literature and art?

2. How did religion affect reform movements, and what was the effect of these movements on religion?

3. What were the aims of the women’s movement of the nineteenth century? How successful were women in achieving these goals?

4. What arguments and strategies did the abolitionists use in their struggle to end slavery? Who opposed them and why?