• The Industrial Revolution started in Britain and spread to the United States.

• Manufacturing shifted from skilled manual labor to large complex machines causing economic growth and change.

• The steamboat and railroad revolutionized transportation.

• The Industrial Revolution divided the nation into the North and South. The North had large cities and factories. The South had few large cities and one cash crop- cotton.

• Idealistic Americans brought about many reforms during the 1820’s and 1830’s.

• Many were inspired by the Second Great Awakening.

• Americans joined together to end slavery, stop drunkenness, secure women’s rights, provide better care for the mentally ill and improve prisons.

• Romantic writers valued imagination and feeling over intellect and reason.

• Some were optimists and believed in the basic goodness in people, equality, and the right to self-govern.

• Others were pessimists and focused on the dark and bad aspects of human nature and the world.

• Author to know—Ralph Waldo Emerson

• Many romantics also believed in the importance of nature.

• Instead of being a wilderness to be tamed, Romantics celebrated the beauty, power and wonder of nature. They also stressed the value of nature as a spiritual and moral guide for mankind.

• Author to know—Henry David Thoreau

• Many Romantics focused on the dark side of human nature such as emotions, evil, and insanity.

• They were also fascinated by remote periods and places making these the setting of many works.

• Gothic literature emphasizes the unknown and inspires fear.

• Author to know – Edgar Allan Poe

Literary Terms

• Theme- the central message of a work of literature that readers can apply to life.

• Argument- form of persuasion that uses logic, reasons, and evidence.

• Assonance- repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds.

• Consonance- repetition of the consonant sounds, typically at the end of non-rhyming words.