Nationalism Within Cultural
Arts
Hannah Morton, Randy Adams, Peter Hayes,
Sydney Carpenter
Art

Hudson River School
◦ Belief that nature & wilderness was above
civilization
 America was better untouched and uncorrupted by
European civilization
 Landscape was ‘American’ art, nothing like Europe
Thomas Cole

Rocky Mountain School
◦ Much like the Hudson River School
 Naturalistic views
◦ Thomas Moran’s vision of the west was
critical to the creation of Yellowstone
National Park
 Moran’s artwork of landscape and terrain was
presented to congress and helped them to establish
the National Park System in 1916
Albert Beirstadt
Thomas Moran

Genre Artists
◦ These artists painted everyday American life
 The depictions glorified even the most average daily
tasks
William Sidney Mount
Architecture

Jefferson believed that classical revival was
a more appropriate style for American
building
◦ Buildings in Greece are comparable to the
classical revival structures
 A democracy like Greece’s was what Jefferson was
aiming for
◦ Georgian style reflected Europe too much
Monticello
University of Virginia
Virginia State Capitol Building
Literature

Ralph Waldo Emerson
◦ “The American Scholar Address”
 Took practical ideals of self-improvement & virtue
and made them more personal
 Encouraged the people to look inward
 Self pride
national pride
 Turn to nature as a resource that could energize
nation politically and elevate it morally
 Transcendental ideas
 Unify nature, soul, & God
 Self reliance
 Efforts on behalf of the individual are necessary
 Led to important ideas about social reforms that would
make America a more inclusive and equal society

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
◦ “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”
 Written in a tough time prior to the Civil War
 Give the determination and courage of past
Americans to the present and future Americans
 Gives everyone a good hero to root for
 Promotes nationalism by exhibiting the courage of a
past American
 Brings feelings of unification because everyone knows the
story of Paul Revere

Nathaniel Hawthorne
◦ “Grandfather’s Chair”
 Describes the history of the United States as a
colony, as a revolutionary state, as a republic
 Promotes nationalism by describing the achievements of the
US from the viewpoint of an American that had seen it all