A New Nation Literature PDF

Sarah Josepha Hale, American writer and editor, becomes well-known for being a forceful editor at *Ladies' Magazine* in Boston from 1828 to 1837 and at the *Godey's Lady's Book* in Philadelphia from 1837 to 1877. In addition to other works, in 1830 she writes *Poems for Our Children,* which contains...

Sarah Josepha Hale, American writer and editor, becomes well-known for being a forceful editor at *Ladies' Magazine* in Boston from 1828 to 1837 and at the *Godey's Lady's Book* in Philadelphia from 1837 to 1877. In addition to other works, in 1830 she writes *Poems for Our Children,* which contains the popular rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb." **Newspapers** As of 1765, America has more than thirty newspapers, and by 1830 it has about a thousand. In 1833 Benjamin H. Day develops the "penny paper," which he says is designed "to lay before the public, at a price within the means of every one, all the news of the day." ***The Frugal Housewife*** This bestseller by Lydia Maria Child is published in 1829. It is full of tips for cooking, housekeeping, and home remedies. Americans and Europeans, ordinary and famous (including Charles Dickens), jot down their impressions of this new country. Some are published, such as Crévecoeur's *Letters of an American Farmer,* which describes the American as "a new man, who acts upon new principles." **About Politics** Americans like to express themselves on the issues of the day. Broadsides---sheets of papers containing various kinds of writing---are tacked up everywhere. The writing, though not sophisticated, is earnest and has popular appeal. In the new century, as democracy is spreading, so is the importance of the common person. Romanticism, which focuses on individualism and the concerns of the heart, rather than the mind, emerges as a movement. Personal experience, emotions, intuition, the splendors of nature, and love of one's country find their way into poetry and prose. The new literature, still being shaped by European writing, begins to feature Americans dealing with American problems. For the most part, as in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Romanticism is in tune with the optimism of the growing nation. However, the movement also has a dark side, expressed by such writers as Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Emerson finds Hawthorne's tales gloomy, while Hawthorne thinks Emerson is "a mystic, stretching his hand out of cloud-land, in vain search for something real." Optimism and pessimism, individualism and nationalism, a love of nature and a fascination with the supernatural--- all are part of the American consciousness. **The Transcendentalists** Nineteenth-century New England sees the rise of a new movement of writers and philosophers known as the Transcendentalists. The Transcendentalists, such as Emerson, believe in the unity of all creation and the essential goodness of humankind. In addition, Transcendentalists believe that basic truths can be reached only by "going beyond," or transcending, reason and reflecting on the world of the spirit. Real knowledge, they argue, comes from a person's deep and free intuition and is available to everyone. They believe that the individual can transform the world---and that is what they aim to do, not only through their writings but through antislavery activity and other social action. *Stirred by the spirit of a young nation and its untarnished beauty, American writers during the* *second half of the eighteenth century hope to produce a truly American literature. At the same* *time, however, they remain strongly influenced by established European traditions. The first* *novels written by Americans use British models to explore American themes. Charles* *Brockden Brown's 1798 novel,* Wieland, *for example, follows the Gothic style---characterized* *by the grotesque and mysterious. By the 1820s, however, the first truly American novels* *emerge. By then, Romanticism is beginning to take hold in Europe---a movement stressing* *individualism, freedom from old forms, and a love of nature. American writers embrace the* *movement and make it their own.*