A GROWING NATION 1800-1870

JEFFERSON SCORES! In 1800, the United States consisted of sixteen states, clustered near the east coast. In 1803, Jefferson doubled the nation’s size by signing the Louisiana Purchase, extending the nation’s territory to the Rocky Mountains.

HISTORIC EVENTS 1804- Lewis and Clark begin their expedition exploring and mapping the West 1812- U.S. declares war on England. (The War of 1812) 1814- Francis Scott Key writes “The Star Spangled Banner.”

WESTWARD EXPANSION 1845- Texas admitted to the Union 1850- California admitted to the Union 1853- Arizona and New Mexico join the Union

INDIAN REMOVAL With the westward expansion began the forced westward migration of Native Americans from confiscated tribal lands, also known as “indian removal.”

THE TRAIL OF TEARS 1838- U.S. Army marches Cherokees of Georgia on the long “Trail of Tears” to Oklahoma. 4,000 of 15,000 Cherokee perished on the trek from Georgia to Oklahoma

THE IRON HORSE AND THE GOLD RUSH In the 1850’s the “iron horse” (the railroad) began to dominate long-distance American travel. By 1869, rail lines linked the east and west coasts. With this new mode of transportation also came a flood of people dreaming of “striking it rich” by discovering gold in California, known as the Gold Rush.

THE LITERATURE Before the 1800’s, American writers were not widely read- even in America. However, that all would change, and the writers of this period would help to define the “American voice.”

THE ROMANTICS Romanticism is an artistic movement which dominated Europe and America during the 19th century. Romantic writers stressed the imagination over reason. It was a reaction to the focus of reason and science of the Enlightenment period.

ROMANTICISM ISN’T REALLY ABOUT LOVE Romanticism placed new emphasis on such emotions as horror and terror and awe —especially that which is experienced in confronting the sublime quality of untamed nature Romantic writing often accented the fantastic aspects of human experience.

THE FINE LINE BETWEEN BEAUTY AND TERROR Sublime- a combination of the grotesque and beautiful as opposed to the classical ideal of perfection. The Romantics saw nature as best demonstrating the sublime in that it was both beautiful and terrifying.

ROMANTIC WRITERS Washington Irving wrote “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” James Fennimore Cooper is best known for the Leatherstocking Tales and “frontier literature.” Nathaniel Hawthorne - yes, The Scarlet Letter is a Romantic novel.

EDGAR ALLAN POE In 1827, Edgar Allan Poe published his first collection of poems. In 1839, Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” first appears in print.

MO’ POE Poe’s writing best embodies the terrifying side of the sublime in Romantic writing. Poe remains the most popular writer of the period. His life, marked by Opium addiction and death of those closest to him, was as terrible as many of his stories.