U.S. Cultural Movements

of Early 1800s

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

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!

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

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

Alexis de Tocqueville

1805 – 1859 French Author of Democracy in

America Toured US for 2 years

observing how democracy was creating a uniquely “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

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

Romanticism Artistic and literary

movement that advocated feeling over reason, inner spirituality over external rules, individual over society, and nature over human-made environments

Hudson River School of Artists

American artists who focused on painting distinctly American landscapes – canyons, rivers, scenes of wild, untamed frontiers

Popular throughout 1800s

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

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)

James Fenimore Cooper 1789 – 1851 Wrote The Last of

the Mohicans Wrote mostly about

the frontier and relations between white settlers and Native Americans

Nathaniel Hawthorne

1804 – 1864 Wrote The Scarlet

Letter Wrote largely on

man’s tendency to sin, resulting in his work being called “dark romanticism”

Herman Melville 1819 – 1891 Wrote Moby Dick One of the only

Romantic authors to not be very popular during his own lifetime

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, homosexual themes

Emily Dickinson 1830 – 1886 American poet Wrote thousands of

poems Obsessed with death Broke rules of poetry

concerning structure, rhyme, and capitalization

Famous recluse – did not leave her home for the last 30 years of her life

Transcendentalism Literary and

philosophical movement

Emphasized individualism and self-reliance over religion

People need to “transcend” (overcome) the limits of their mind to embrace beauty and truth

Hated conformity and “followers”

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

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

Margaret Fuller 1810 – 1850 Author Woman in the

Nineteenth Century – first major feminist work published in US

Believed in women’s rights to education and employment; wanted prison reform and an end to slavery

Died in a shipwreck

“Penny” Press Mass produced

daily newspapers which became affordable for common people

Focused on reports of fires, crime reports, marriages, gossip, politics, local news

Godey’s Lady’s Weekly 1830 – 1898 Covered poetry,

literature, and art primarily from women artists

Included dress patterns, sheet music

First magazine to copyright its material to prevent other publications from using it

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

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