1. -Alexis de Tocqueville
Quote of the Day
“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?”
-Alexis de Tocqueville

2. Goal 2: Expansion and Reform ( ) - The learner will assess the competing forces of expansionism, nationalism, and sectionalism.

3. Objective: Describe how the growth of nationalism and sectionalism were reflected in art, literature, and language.

4. What does it mean to be American. What is American Culture
What does it mean to be American? What is American Culture? What is distinctly American? What does society have to be proud of?
Rhetorical Questions!

5. U.S. Cultural Movements of Early 1800s

10. If I told you this wasn’t the U. S. , where would you say it was
If I told you this wasn’t the U.S., where would you say it was? What time period?

11. Neoclassical architecture
Revival of Greek and Roman styles
US modeled itself after the Roman Republic and the democratic ideals of ancient Greece
Sometimes called the “Federal” style in the US

12. The White House
Built 1792 – 1800
Burned during War of 1812, but restored by 1817
Built onto in 1824, 1829, 1901, 1927, and 1946
In 1950s, entire structure was rebuilt with a steel frame from the inside, out when it was found to be collapsing!

13. US Capitol
Built 1793 – 1811
Burned during War of 1812, but restored by 1819
Expanded between 1826 and 1863; small dome was added but soon replaced by the larger dome seen today

14. Monticello Built 1768 – 1809 Charlottesville, VA
Home of Thomas Jefferson – he designed it himself
Today, it is the only private home designated as a World Heritage Site by the UN

15. Moving on…..

16. Alexis de Tocqueville 1805 – 1859 French
Author of Democracy in America
Toured US for 2 years observing how democracy was creating a uniquely and distinctly “American” culture
Determined America was a society where hard work and money-making was what drove people, where commoners never deferred to their “betters”, and where individualism was admired

17. Distinctly American Language

18. Noah Webster 1758 – 1843 Published his first dictionary in 1806
In 1826, published his “American” dictionary where he provided new American spellings of English words and included thousands of distinctly American words

19. Romanticism
Artistic and literary movement that advocated feeling over reason, inner spirituality over external rules, individual over society, and nature over human-made environments

20. Distinctly American Art

21. Hudson River School of Artists
American artists who focused on painting distinctly American landscapes – canyons, rivers, scenes of wild, untamed frontiers
Popular throughout 1800s

29. Distinctly American Literature and Poetry

30. Washington Irving
1783 – 1859
Wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip van Winkle
Usually wrote under a pseudonym
Perfected the short story as a true literary artform 30

31. Edgar Allan Poe 1809 – 1849 “Master of the Macabre”
Wrote many poems and short-stories in the horror genre: The Raven, The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Tell-Tale Heart
Married his 13 year-old cousin (he was 26) but she died at 15
Died of unknown causes (known to drink heavily) 31

32. James Fenimore Cooper 1789 – 1851 Wrote The Last of the Mohicans
Wrote mostly about the frontier and relations between white settlers and Native Americans 32

33. Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804 – 1864 Wrote The Scarlet Letter
Wrote largely on man’s tendency to sin, resulting in his work being called “dark romanticism” 33

34. Herman Melville 1819 – 1891 Wrote Moby Dick
One of the only Romantic authors to not be very popular during his own lifetime 34

35. Walt Whitman 1819 – 1892 Free Verse Poet
Best known for his work Leaves of Grass
Works described as obscene in his own time because of sexual frankness

36. Transcendentalism Literary and philosophical movement
People need to “transcend” (overcome) the limits of their mind to embrace beauty and truth
A philosophy stressing the relationship between human beings and nature, spiritual things over material things, and the importance of the individual conscience. / Encouraged people to involve themselves in reforming society.

37. Ralph Waldo Emerson
1803 – 1882
Philosopher, lecturer, essayist, and poet
Believed that all things were divine because all things were connected to God
Strong belief in individualism

38. Henry David Thoreau
1817 – 1862
Author of Walden and Civil Disobedience
Early environmentalist
Abolitionist
“That government is best which governs not at all”
Opposed taxes

39. Distinctly American Newspapers and Magazines

40. Atlantic Monthly 1857 – Today Focused on literary and cultural trends
Founded and run by famous writers of the time: Stowe, Emerson, Longfellow, etc.
Has published everyone from Mark Twain to Martin Luther King

41. Harper’s Weekly
1857 – 1916
Featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor
Became famous for its political cartoons by Thomas Nast