The Major Concerns of America's Greatest Imaginative Writers in the Early 19th Century

During the period of 1790-1860, the United States witnessed a substantial ferment of reform and culture. Prior to the upsurge of nationalism following the War of 1812, America was gravely lacking in the finer areas of literature, art, and intellectual pursuits. Foreign visitors often sneered at the developing nation's rough and crude pioneering lifestyle. Most of the reading material at the time was taken from foreign countries (especially Britain) and used in American society. In 1812, America and Britain once again engaged in warfare. Upon entering the conflict, the U.S. was a divided and weak nation. However, by the cessation of hostilities in 1815 (with the Treaty of Ghent), America had emerged with a newfound sense of nationalism and pride. As the older seaboard areas were no longer in a state of crisis, literature was able to become a formally recognized profession in some regions. For the first time, an authentic national American literature was developed to suit the burgeoning Republic. Scores of eminent authors published well-remembered works and texts that resonated with the American people. During the early 19th century, America's writers were in fact in tune with the values of American culture and society at the time, as they identified with the popular principles of transcendentalism, individualism, and settings of American landscapes.

During the second quarter of the 19th century, a ‘golden age' of sorts dawned on the then nonexistent national American literature. Especially in New England (i.e. Boston), one of the sources of this intellectual upsurge was transcendentalism. This movement was the byproduct of the liberalizing of strict Puritan theology. These transcendentalists believed that truth "transcends" the senses and allows the individual to understand nature and religion. Thus, religious and social matters were backed by individualism. For example, Boston-born Ralph Waldo Emerson caught the individualistic spirit of the Republic by stressing self-reliance, optimism, self-improvement, self-confidence, and freedom. Similarly, Henry David Thoreau (Emerson's associate) condemned a government that supported slavery and refused to pay his poll tax [which resulted in him being jailed overnight]. He is known for his Walden: Or Life in the Woods (1854). He believed (as a strict individualist) that he should reduce his bodily wants so as to gain time for a pursuit of truth through study and meditation. His writings, reflecting many of the chaotic ideas