American Renaissance
1830 to 1860
Renaissance = Rebirth
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During 1830 to 1860, literary achievements
lifted American literature to prominent
place in national literary worlds
Rebirth and maturation of American
literature
Many Americans propelled by 2 forces:
 Dissatisfaction with present conditions
 Optimism about the future
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Population doubles from 1760-1830, then doubles
again from 1830-1860
Expansion westward and into large cities
Industrialization
All of these affected American values, and writers of
this time examined the impact of expansion and
industrialization on those values.
Technological Effects
in machinery for mass production
in communication technology
Morse code; telegraph
in railways, canals, roads
Social Effects
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Skilled workers replaced by unskilled
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Women and children
Unsafe working conditions
Increase in poverty
Loss of American values
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People become the things---Emerson
Reform groups
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Created Utopian societies
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each with special economic theory or religious
doctrine (Socialist reform)
each expected to become the model for social
perfection
Most failed
Most effective reformers did not look to change
social system, rather looked to adapt new
industrial conditions into traditional American
values.
The Utopian community at Brook Farm
arose from the ideals of nineteenth-century
American transcendentalists
Brook Farm with Rainbow (1845) by Josiah Wolcott (1815?-1885). Oil on canvas.
Focus of Reform
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Education (especially of women)
Women’s Rights
Slavery
Education
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Prior to 1860, no state supported public
education
After 1860, every state had tax-supported
public schools
1st co-ed college
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Oberlin College in Ohio (1833)
2nd Univ. of Utah (1850)
Education = Rapid spread of newspapers,
magazines, trade & profess. associations
Increase in education = need for more teachers
Not enough men to be teachers, so teaching became a
“women’s” profession
Now illogical for women to teach the future doctors,
lawyers, etc…but not be allowed to become the doctors,
lawyers, etc…
Creation of the Lyceum
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an association of citizens who invited prominent
intellectuals to give public lectures
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Lyceum - the name is derived from the Lyceum, the
school near Athens where Aristotle lectured to his
students.
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provided information and shaped public opinion.
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encouraged the development of other adult education
institutions such as libraries, evening schools, and
endowed lecture series.
Women’s Rights
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Legally, women were minors and under
control of husbands
Wife beating was LEGAL in most states
Divorce was rare
No making contracts, wills, owning property
No vote
Women as Reformers
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Equality was ultimate
goal
More immediately,
women need basic
human rights.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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Equality and rights are separate (pg 205-206)
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Right to vote is essential. WHY?
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“Proof of one does not determine the truth of the
other”
All white men have rights, yet not all are equal
“Men must know the advantages of voting, for they
all seem very tenacious about the right.”
Despite best efforts, women’s suffrage was still
70 years away
Amelia Jenks Bloomer
Slavery
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Abolitionists’ movement
Some increasing efforts by some Northerners
to resort to violence and insurrection
Many writers took up cause for freedom
William Lloyd Garrison
Burned a copy of the
Constitution because in
its original form, it made
provision for slavery
While era began with hopes of
realizing American individualism,
conflicts between harsh conditions of
industrialized society and the push
to preserve values led toward a civil
war.