American Renaissance (1800-1870)
Changes and Inventions of the Era












1800 – Capital moved to Washington, D.C. from Philadelphia and founding of Library of Congress
1803 – Louisiana Purchase doubles size of America and causes building of canals, turnpikes, and
railroads – prompts changes in “technology” like steel in Pittsburgh and telegraph for better
communications
1804 – Filter Coffee Pot
1807 – Steamboats
1814 – Iron-tipped Plow
1828 – Andrew Jackson becomes president – People’s President – first common “white” man to
become president – still no rights for women, African American slaves; Indians (Trail of Tears)
1835 – Sewing Machine
1845 – Porcelain False Teeth
1849 – California Gold Rush
1857 – Passenger Elevator
1861 – Battle over slavery escalates into Civil War
1863 – Roller Skates and Typewriter
European Renaissance was a “rebirth” of arts and learning
American Renaissance was a birth of arts and learning
3 visions of America
1. Social – New World rivals Old World; Americans wrote thoughts of rights of women, slaves, and
Indians – Americans explored public self in writing
2. Romantic – explored private self; Imagination valued over reason, feelings over facts, and nature
above all – Poe, Hawthorne, and Mellville
3. Transcendental – real truth was outside sensory experiences – Emerson and Thoreau