The American Renaissance (1830 - 1865)
The term indicates the beginning of a truly American literature, with themes and a style of its own
The most influential figure was Ralph Waldo Emerson
His philosophy was called Transcendentalism.
The key-ideas of this philosophy were
Man was the emanation of the over-soul
The over-soul was the spiritual principle linking everything together
Contact with nature was the best means to reach truth and awareness of the unity of all things
This philosophy encouraged an optimistic and self-reliant point of view
All reality was seen as a single unity, in fact oneness and multiplicity were the same thing
Was developed by a group of intellectuals and writers about the middle of the 19th century
The American Civil War
What are the differences between North and South about slavery?
The Economical Situation
The Northen Countries increased thei output
The economy of the South collapsed
Question Of Slavery
South: There was pressure to abolish slavery
North: there were the abolitionists who included intellectuals and writers whose Abrham Lincoln
Began in 1861 and finished in 1865 with the abolition of slavery
The Northern countries increased their output to supply military needs
The economy of the South collapsed during the war.
In 1862 HomeStead Act garanted the free soil for the first occupants.
In 1848 California was discovered
This encouraged the expantion and settlement in West
The War not grant the blacks equality. In fact the black slaves were free but homelss and penniless
The Political Situation
The Soutern economy was based on the plantations of cotton and tobacco and slavery
The North was industrialized
