Unit 2 A Growing Nation America 1800 1870

Unit 2 A Growing Nation America 1800 -1870

Snapshot of the Period • 1831 French writer Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America and wrote about American culture • By 1870 industrialism, population growth, economic changes, and the Civil War had all aged the nation’s spirit • Distinctly American writers were produced

Industrialism

Walt Whitman

Henry David Thoreau

Edgar Allan Poe

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emily Dickinson

Essential Questions • What is the relationship between place and literature? • How does literature shape or reflect society? • What makes American Literature American?

Historical Background The American Renaissance (1800 -1870) • European Renaissance – Rebirth of classical art and learning. Took place in the 14 th, 15 th and 16 th centuries • 1800 America’s capital moved from Philadelphia to Washington D. C. • 1800 Library of Congress established.

Philadelphia

Washington D. C.

Library of Congress

Steam, Steel, and Spirit • 1803 Thomas Jefferson doubled the nations size by signing the Louisiana Purchase • Canals, turnpikes steamboats and railroads multiplied • After California was added the gold rush of 1849 drew thousands of people to CA looking to get rich

• Factories sprang up in the Northeast, new farm tools encouraged aggressive settlement of the new territories • Telegraph made almost instant communication possible across America

The Slow March of Democracy • 1828 President Andrew Jackson ushered in the era of the common man as property rights for voting had been eliminated • Only white men could vote; women and Native Americans could not vote, and most African Americans remained slaves. • Native Americans forced to move west because of the policy of “Indian Removal”

Andrew Jackson

On The World Stag • War or 1812 • 1823 The Monroe Doctrine - warned Europe not to intervene with new Latin American Nations • 1830’s Texas succeeded from Mexico – became a state in 1845 – U. S. goes to war with Mexico and wins, adds more territory to the nation, including california.

Winds of Change • America becomes divided because of slavery • Abolitionists argued that slavery was morally wrong • Advocates of states’ rights argued that the issue of slavery was not a federal issue • Conflict over states’ rights eventually led to the war between the states

Next Time… The American Renaissance • What is the relationship between place and literature?

Exit Slip • This period has three major historical developments: – Physical expansion and technological progress lay the foundation for an american cultural flowering. – Democracy advanced, although women, Native Americans, and African Americans did not fully share in it. – The conflict over Slavery eventually led to a civil war • Come up with a short news paper headline for each of these developments