American Revolution

1750-1800

History

A. England wanted control of government for colonies in New World.

1. Imposed several types of taxes to help pay for debts.

B. Led to Revolutionary War, Boston Tea Party.

History

C. (Americans) decided they needed to have a new government.

1. Humanity, reason and justice would prevail.

2. Colonies joined and created a document to present to England.First political cartoon by Ben

Franklin in 1754. He was encouraging the American

Colonies to unite.

History

D. Creation of Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776.

1. America declared a new country -- at war with England.

2. British surrender to George Washington in 1781.

Boston Tea

Party, 1773.

Declaration of Independence signed, 1776.

Ben Franklin convinced men to sign the Constitution, 1787.

Revolu-tionary.

War ended , 1781

A Timeline of History during the

Revolutionary Period

Literature

The Age of Reason

Literature – The Age of Reason

A. Writing is based on practical nature, which urges social and political reform.

1. Pamphlets, essays, written speeches, letters and non-fiction written expectations for the new nation.

2. Emphasis is on reason over emotion. Society over nature.

Literature – The Age of Reason

B. Notable Authors

1. Benjamin Franklin---Autobiography--moral perfection

2. Thomas Jefferson-Declaration of Independence

3. Thomas Paine-pamphlet, Common Sense

Romantics

1800-1855

Romantics

A. Colonies are now a nation, 23 states-expanding rapidly.

1. 1803 Louisiana Purchase.2. War of 1812 against Britain opened up

more landa. By 1820, moving west and claiming land

for civilization.b. Native Americans struggled to hold on to

land.

Romantics: Literature

A. Tired of reason and logic, the Romantics wished to examine inner feelings of individuals and their emotions.

1. Emphasis on the unique individual2. Recognize personal intuition over

reason3. Importance of the common people,

their lives and experiences.

Romantics broke into two categories:

Transcendentalists American Gothic

Transcendentalists

Definition: Stresses spiritual well-being achieved through intellectual activity (meditation) and a close relationship with nature.

Transcendentalists

A. Beginners of the movement are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

1. Disgust for conformity and praised individuality.

2. Search for the inner self. 3. Respect intuition to guide people to a higher

level of knowledge-supernatural forces.4. Close relationship to nature.5. Criticized material possessions and “get

ahead” work ethic.

Transcendentalists

B. Set up their own transcendentalist farm (Brook Farm) in Massachusetts 1840-1847.1. Lived from the land, grew food, self-sufficient farm2. Discussed thoughts and feelings about life with other members of their “ideal” society.

Transcendentalist Authors

EMERSONTHOREAU

American Gothic

Definition-Emphasis on the dark side of the individual. Not optimistic like transcendentalists. Interested in emotion, nature, the unusual, and the human capacity for evil.

American Gothic

A. Edgar Allen Poe1. Writing deals with

the terror of the soul. Deterioration of the mind.

2. Growth of the horror story.

American Gothic

B. Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor

1.Writing examines the deterioration of the heart under conditions of fear, greed, vanity, mistrust, and betrayal.

Both categories are considered Romantics because of the focus on the individual and their reactions to the world in which they

live.