The American Renaissance

1
The American Renaissance

• 1840-1860

2
Declaration of Literary Independence

• A rebirth American literary genius
• Key authors Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne,
  Melville, Poe

3
Lyceum Movement

• Began 1826
• Lectures about music, history, philosophy, famous
  people, scientific advancement
• Goals of this movement educating adults,
  training teachers, instituting social reform,
  establishing museums
• Time of social improvement and improved public
  education

4
Transcendentalists

• Another utopian group that formed
• Term comes from Immanuel Kant based on
• Idea that one must transcend everyday reality
  to determine ultimate reality of God
• Idea that intuition is important to the discovery
  of truth
• Ideal belief in human perfectibility

5
Transcendental Roots

• Immanuel Kant (German philosopher)
• Plato (Greek philosopher)
• Ideas from Europe and Asia fused with American
  philosophy
• Puritan beliefs (ie, Bradford, Jonathan Edwards)
• Romantic traditions (ie, William Cullen Bryant)

6
Emersons Outlook

• Optimistic
• God is good.
• God can be found directly working through nature.
• Death is simply part of cycle of life.
• Man is capable of evil when separated from
  direct, intuitive knowledge of God.
• Each of us is part of the Divine Soul.

7
The Anti-Transcendentalists

• The Dark Romantics
• Hawthorne, Melville, Poe
• Not so optimistic
• Felt the Transcendentalists ignored the dark
  sidefrom Original Sin.
• Explored conflict between good and evil, the
  psychological effects of guild and sin.