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The Arts
and
Nationalism
Group 3
AP US History (3rd)
Winkleman
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VISUAL
ART
…AND ITS LINK TO NATIONALISM
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Hudson River School

Background Context
 This is not a real school (like we’re in right now). It was used to
call a group of painters who had the same outlook and styles
of the art through a common thread (and the art was of the
Hudson River).
 Thomas Cole: known as the founder
 Humans and Nature exist peaceful (pastoral style)
 Blended with romanticism ideas

Link to Nationalism
 Europe had ancient monuments, but America had NATURE
 They used it to their advantage, showing pride and beauty in
the landscapes of America – thus, influencing nationalism.
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Rocky Mountain School
 Background
Context
 This was crucial to the creation of not only Yellowstone
National Park, but also the National Park System when
these pictures were presented to Congress in 1916.
 Thomas Moran: known as the leader
 Emphasized the beauty of the Western United States, a
place that was still fairly “new” to everyone
 Link
to Nationalism
 The establishment of the National Park System was the
key to nationalism, as it showcased our natural beauty
in an open, raw setting.
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Genre Artists
 Background
Context
 Basically, a piece of “genre art” would show everyday life.
This could be a marketplace, a barn, anything that
depicted normal life in the era (early America).
 William Sydney Mount: foundational in establishing a
genre art presence in early America
 Link
to Nationalism
 Depicting everyday life in a grandiose, elaborate form
such as art elongated nationalism in a way that made
American life seem classy and elegant. This, too,
boosted nationalism.
ARCHITECTURE
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…AND ITS LINK TO NATIONALISM
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Classical Revival vs. Georgian
CLASSICAL REVIVAL
•Ancient Roman
architecture revival
•Used in the US on the
basis that America
ought to be likened to
the once powerful and
influential Roman
republic
GEORGIAN
•The iconic British form
of Architecture
•Reminders of King
George and Britain,
which were not to be
reminded of in the new
America
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Jefferson’s Architecture
Virginia State
Capitol
Monticello
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Jefferson’s Architecture
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LITERATURE
…AND ITS LINK TO NATIONALISM
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Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nature

Nature focused on the fields of religion and philosophy. He
believed in individualism, non-conformity, and the allimportant harmony between man and nature.

Transcendentalism: Emerson’s movement that derived
religion and philosophy from mental essence and inner
spirituality of the human (intellectual capacity).

**Link to Nationalism: Transcendentalism, and Emerson’s
works in general, worked to foster intellectual movements
across the United States. Emerson, among others, created the
birth of thought and questioning for new ideas. Intellectual
nationalism began, as the US became a dominant thinker in
the global arena.
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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Paul Revere’s Ride”

Written with the purpose of fulfilling citizens with a strong
ideology that would keep them confident even through future
hardships (like the Civil War… which literally does happen
after)

Longfellow’s interpretation is said to be of greater
significance than the actual event because…

**Link to Nationalism: He interpreted the event in such a way
that allowed for future generations and citizens to be armed
with a cultural identity of what their nation stood for
(nationalism).
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Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter

The ideas presented in The Scarlet Letter show Hawthorne’s
view that the fall of a society, group of people, or humanity is
full of sin, guilt, anxiety, and sorrow (in that order). And that,
in Hawthorne’s works, was the fall of society.

**Link to Nationalism: In Hawthorne’s view of America, he
projected nationalism (an iconic sense of culture of American
society) that was centered around an inherent attraction to
sin, following by guilt and anxiety, which leads to sorrow (or
failure).