Morning, Looking East Over the Hudson Valley from the Catskill MountainsFrederic Edwin Church(1826-1900)Oil on canvas, 1848AIHA Collection: Gift of Catherine Gansevoort Lansing

Broadway and City Hall1818Baron Axel Klinköwstrom (1775-1847)Watercolor, 15x22

Beginnings of a National Literature

In the early years of the 19th century, Europe and America were industrializing.

This industrialization created crowded, polluted cities.

The 18th century view of using reason alone to solve the worlds problems no longer seemed to work.

Americans looked toward the vast western frontier and were filled with optimism.

Americans had also just broken from Europe.

A nationalist spirit began to develop in America.

The Americans’ experience began to diverge from that of the Europeans.

American authors were beginning to develop a uniquely American literature.

Values feeling and intuition over reason Places faith in inner experience and the

power of the imagination Shuns the artificiality of civilization and

seeks unspoiled nature Prefers youthful innocence to educated

sophistication Champions individual freedom and the

worth of the individual

Reflects on nature’s beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development

Looks backward to the wisdom of the past and distrusts progress

Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales, the supernatural realm, and the inner world of the imagination

Sees poetry as the highest expression of the imagination

Finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folklore

James Fenimore Cooper and the other Romantic writers that followed him created an American hero

The hero: Is young or possesses youthful qualities Is innocent and pure of purpose Has a sense of honor based not on society’s rules but

on some higher principle Has a knowledge of people and life based on deep,

intuitive understanding, not on formal learning Loves nature and avoids town life Quests for some higher truth in the natural world

Poe, Hawthorne, Melville Saw the dark side of life Heirs of the Puritans Saw signs and symbols in all events Explored

conflict between good and evil psychological effects of guilt and sin madness