the making of “victorian” america

J. Phay / American Lit / 2013

The Making of “Victorian”

America

America up to and in the nineteenth century


Historical (Global) Context Culture and Society in 19th-century America

Question

What are the repeating trends and significant ideas in American history?

Overview


Historical (Global) Context

The Making of a NationRethinking Globalisation


Spain and Portugal: global naval powers European rivalries 1492: Columbus sailed the ocean blue

He died refusing to believe he hadn’t found India!

Destruction of the Aztec empire 1524 onwards: French exploration of North

American continent

Before 1550


English navigators

make attempts to claim land

1587: Roanoke colony The lost colony

1588: Spanish Armada defeated

Decline of Spanish supremacy

1500 - 1600


The English are Sailing

Reasons for colonial enterprise: Only the eldest son inherits Poor flooding into the cities Excess workers Challenge Spanish domination Religious differences

Problem: who’ll pay to set up a colony?

Solution: Joint-stock companies


Virginia company 1607: Jamestown

colony Searched for gold,

ignored farming John Smith: “Work or

starve” Invalided back to

England

The First English Colonies


Failure?

1609-10: The Starving Time

Financial failure 1624: Virginia

Company bankrupt Colony came

under royal rule


Growth of tobacco trade Virginia settlement flourishes Indentured servitude to man tobacco

plantations House of Burgesses The New England colonies 1620: the Mayflower and Plymouth colony

1600 - 1700


Another accident:

supposed to join Jamestown colonists

Lost at sea Landed near Cape Cod No charter to rule them 1620: Mayflower

compact Independent rule!

Plymouth Colony


Thanksgiving

Landed in November = no harvest 44 survived out of 102 How did the colony survive?

Squanto Alliance with Massasoit Indians William Bradford

Harvest festival Declared by Lincoln to be a national holiday


The 13 Colonies


The Middle Colonies (1)

Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware More multicultural

English Swedes Dutch Scots Irish French African slaves Native American tribes


Middle ground between the “Puritan North”

and the “plantation South” More tolerant than their neighbours?

Fertile ground Literally In terms of mixing of ideas, religions, etc. Benjamin Franklin: printer and philanthropist

The Middle Colonies (2)


Printer

Pennsylvania Gazette Poor Richard’s Almanac

Philanthropist Firehouse Hospital College of Pennsylvania

Inventor The lightning experiment Wood burning stove Bifocal glasses

Benjamin Franklin


Plantation economy

Tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton Labour intensive Indentured servitude to slavery 1661: Virginia legally established slavery All early colonies had slaves, but more in the

Southern colonies because of economic demand!

The Southern Colonies


The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade


Journey from West Africa to West Indies Three weeks “Loose packing” “Tight packing” By 1700: tens of thousands of slaves African diaspora

The Middle Passage


Slave Codes

Increasing number of slaves = increasing anxiety for their white masters

Slave rebellions Slave Codes

Slaves are property Slaves cannot own property Not allowed to assemble without the presence of a

white person No slave can give testimony against a white person No slave can be taught to read or write Slave marriages are not recognised


Setting the stage for Revolution

Enlightenment ideas in Europe Newton John Locke Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Distance from England “What is the American?” Tradition of independent rule Smugglers Immigrants who never owed allegiance to England in

the first place The Zenger Trial: freedom of the press!

1700 - 1763


From ushistory.org:

Many events transpired between the years of 1763 and 1776 that served as short-term causes of the Revolution. But the roots had already been firmly planted. In many ways, the American Revolution had been completed before any of the actual fighting began.

(“The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking”)

Run Up to Revolution


England and France at war (again) France loses her possessions in North America

And develops a desire to humiliate England England incurs huge debts

And tries to recover by taxing her colonies American colonists gain fighting experience

Meanwhile, Back in Europe…


“I cannot tell a lie.” Born 1732 in Virginia Wealthy plantation owner’s

son Apprenticed to a surveyor Colonel in the French-

Indian War

George Washington


Disagreement over Ohio settlement French lost – ceded the Ohio Valley to

the British Britain did not want American

colonists to move in Royal Proclamation of 1763

Colonists are not to cross the Appalachians

To the British: “I’m protecting you.” To the colonists: “You just want to

control my movements and restrict my success.”

1763 - 1776


Writs of Assistance

British customs officials started exercising their right to search American ships

No courts British troops stationed in America To the British: “I’m protecting you, shouldn’t you

play your part?” To the colonists: “You’re sending troops to watch

me.” Boycott of British goods Stamp Act repealed

1763 - 1776


The Boston Patriots 1766: Second attempt to

tax American goods directly 1770: Boston Massacre

Angry mob at customs house

British soldiers fired without orders

5 men killed All taxes repealed except

that on tea

1763 - 1776


I dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, equipped with a small hatchet, . . . [and] after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith, I repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the ships lay that contained the tea...

We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard, and we immediately proceeded to execute his orders, first cutting and splitting the chests with our tomahawks, so as thoroughly to expose them to the effects of the water. In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found in the ship. . . .

– Anonymous, "Account of the Boston Tea Party by a Participant," (1773)

1773: Boston Tea Party


Series of punishing Acts

Stop sea trade British gain control over legislative system in Boston Direct rule over Quebec

1774: British take over Boston 1775: Fighting begins

The American Revolution has started Fought by local militias!

1776: Declaration of Independence approved by colonies

1773 - 1776


1781: British general Cornwallis surrenders in

Virginia Impact on slavery:

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” 1775: First anti-slavery society formed Northern states begin to ban slavery British army freed slaves

Impact of the Revolution: Slavery


Free to change/add laws Land laws: No more primogeniture Separation of church and state

By 1833: even Puritan states no longer used tax dollars to support the church

Impact of the Revolution: Legislature


Men fought in the Revolution Women became heads of their households Republican motherhood

To have strong nation, you need enlightened citizens

To have enlightened citizens, you need enlightened mothers

Education + new roles = growing class of outspoken women

Impact of the Revolution: Gender

Norms


I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. -Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776

Abigail Adams


The French Revolution Deep political divide in America Emergence of two parties:

Federalists Democratic-Republicans

Election of 1796: Adams (Northern states) Thomas Jefferson (Southern states) Growing North-South divide

1980s - 1800


Culture and Society of Nineteenth-

Century America

EconomicsPoliticsGenderRace

Literature


A growing nation (literally)

1776: 13 colonies on the Eastern coast By 1821: 11 new states added

“Growing regional distinctiveness” 1823: Monroe Declaration

A “bold new national identity”

(“Social Change and National Development,” ushistory.org)

A New Century


Industrialisation

Factory system Female workers Concentrated in the northeast

Rise of wage labour Growth of banking industry South: crisis in tobacco industry Eli Whitney’s cotton gin Cotton industry takes off to feed Northern

mills

A New Century: Economics


Fed the

industrial revolution

Rail magnates Transcontinenta

l railroads Chinese Irish

The Railroads


Religious revivals Emphasis on humans’ ability to change for the better Emphasis on free will More public roles for women and African Americans

The noise was like the roar of Niagara. The vast sea of human beings seemed to be agitated as if by a storm ... Some of the people were singing, others praying, some crying for mercy. A peculiarly strange sensation came over me. My heart beat tumultuously, my knees trembled, my lips quivered, and I felt as though I must fall to the ground.

- (“Religious Transformation,” ushistory.org)

A New Century: Religion


The politics of language

Webster’s dictionary Emergence of American writers

Washington Irving James Fenimor Cooper

American painters Thomas Cole John James Audubon

What does it mean to be an American artist?

A New Century: Arts and Culture


Egalitarian principles Women’s greater participation in religious life Women moving slowly into public space

1830s: female schoolteachers outnumber male Still paid less than men Still few options New gender norms?

A New Century: Gender


Growth of industrial cities and towns Money as a sign of status Disease, poverty, crime Infrastructure and social services cannot cope Haven needed Cult of the Home Ideals: True Manhood and True Womanhood

Changing Ways of Life


Binary worldview

Gender

Men Women

Masculine Feminine

Rational, logical Emotional, irrational, intuitive

Harsh world of “business”

Domestic world of “the home”

Competitive, aggressive Protective, nurturing

Strong – guides and teachers

Weak – need guidance

Deal with important matters

Deal with trivial matters


Without ignoring accomplishments, or casting a slur upon any of the graces which serve to adorn society, we must look deeper for the acquirements which serve to form our ideal of a perfect woman. The companion of man should be able thoroughly to sympathize with him — her intellect should be as well developed as his. We do not believe in the mental inequality of the sexes; we believe that the man and the woman have each a work to do, for which they are specially qualified, and in which they are called to excel. Though the work is not the same, it is equally noble, and demands an equal exercise of capacity.

From Godey's Lady's Book, Vol. LIII, July to December, 1856.

True Womanhood


Laws that stem from and reinforce inequality?

Divorce laws Property laws Right to vote

But apart from law?

Systemic Oppression (1)


Not seen as important = overlooked?

“Domestic technology” Women’s healthcare

Social expectations Women and marriage Women and children Women and other women?



Economic

Lower wages for women Social sentiment keeps women out of “real

jobs” Money seen as a marker of status Women cannot bring in money, therefore…?



“It is apparent that even the women think of

themselves as having less important roles than men.”

Widespread Issue


Growth of cotton industry Increasing numbers of Abolitionists First solution: ship slaves back to Africa African Americans: “But we built this nation

too. Why should we leave?” Increasingly outspoken Gag Rule Attacks on Abolitionists

Changing Social Norms


Helped slaves

escape to freedom in the North

Operated at night Harriet Tubman

Born a slave Escaped Returned 19 times

to help other slaves

The Underground Railroad


Harriet Beecher Stowe Serialised, then published as a

novel Portrays in vivid detail the pain

and trauma suffered by slaves separated from their families

"So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war."-Abraham Lincoln to Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom’s Cabin


1840: Western territories still controlled by

countries like Mexico 1845 onwards: “manifest destiny” Desire for land Discovery of gold in California Mission to Christianise the natives Imperialism 1846: War against Mexico 1847: California secured by the United States

Westward Ho!


North vs South

Should slaveholding be allowed in the new territories?

Balancing act More states = more say in the federal

government Each new slaveholding state must be balanced

with an Abolitionist state Kansas-Nebraska Act 1860: Abraham Lincoln becomes President South Carolina secedes

Regional Conflict


From ushistory.org, “A House Divided”

The Civil War was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. For four long and bloody years, Americans were killed at the hands of other Americans. One of every 25 American men perished in the war. Over 640,000 soldiers were killed. Many civilians also died — in numbers often unrecorded.

Civil War


At the battle of Antietam, more Americans were killed than on any other single day in all of American history. On that day, 22,719 soldiers fell to their deaths — four times the number of Americans lost during the D-Day assault on Normandy in WWII. In fact, more American soldiers died in the Civil War than in all other American wars combined.

Civil War (2)


1865: North wins, war ends Battles fought predominantly in Southern

lands Death toll Runaway inflation in the South Destruction of property Emotional trauma: Way of life destroyed?

Aftermath


From ushistory.orh, “Reconstruction”:

It was a time of great pain and endless questions. On what terms would the Confederacy be allowed back into the Union? Who would establish the terms, Congress or the President? What was to be the place of freed blacks in the South? Did Abolition mean that black men would now enjoy the same status as white men? What was to be done with the Confederate leaders, who were seen as traitors by many in the North?

Reconstruction: A Nation Divided


New economic boom

Factories built for the war continued operations 1877-1893: American economy doubled in size

Rise of the tycoons John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Andrew Carnegie – Carnegie Steel J. Pierpont Morgan – banker extraordinaire

The American Dream Horatio Alger’s dime novels

Toward the Twentieth Century


Edgar Allan Poe Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Nathaniel Hawthorne Mark Twain Charlotte Perkins Gilman Kate Chopin Henry James Edith Wharton

Rise of American Writers


YOU don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt Polly -- Tom's Aunt Polly, she is -- and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as I said before.

- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, chapter 1

A Distinctive Language

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/images/modeng/public/Twa2Huc/twahuc1b.jpg


There even are places where English completely disappears; in America they haven't used it for years.

- Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady

Other Reactions?


An ideal or convenient label rather than

“objective truth”? Represents the “spirit” of America at that

particular age Content Form (language) E.g., Herman Melville’s Moby Dick E.g., Mark Twain’s The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn E.g., F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

The Great American Novel


The Awakening and Other Stories

Kate Chopin

Poetry + short storiesHorror + detective

“The Fall of the House of Usher”“The Cask of Amontillado”“The Purloined Letter”

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn


Henry James

Critic, novelist, short story writer

Portrait of a LadyTurn of the Screw

Edith Wharton

Novelist, interior designer?

The Age of InnocenceEthan FromeGhost Stories


Urbanization overtakes the agricultural life

New lifestyles A new understanding of “family”

New attitudes toward wealth New attitudes toward education

Compulsory schooling for children Higher education for women

Print explosion: new ideas, new cosmopolitanism

More time for leisure: baseball

A Brave New World


Freedom of the individual Freedom of the individual versus society Relationship with the “Old World” What is the American? Money, wealth, and their relationship with the

spiritual The American dream

Some Important Ideas?

the making of “victorian” america

Documents

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