Enlightenment vs Romaticism

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The evolution of American thought through the Enlightenment and the Era of Romanticism was an ongoing process that began even before the American Revolution. It spanned well over one hundred years during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the contributors to the progression were many. The basic pattern of this time period was one of a constant quest for freedom, first from the bounds of England and Puritanism and eventually from even the limits of science and reason. America was founded on the doctrine of independence, and this subject was and still is a crucial issue in our country, no matter what it is in reference to. The Enlightenment can be defined as the period of time when reason and science became the driving forces of life. Men began to rationalize that the contribution of inventions and other things of use to society was what would please God and was also the best way to live. Men realized that they could harness nature. Religion also evolved, and Deism, the belief that the universe is run by an intelligent and benevolent God, came into play. Americans yearned to break free from the narrow-mindedness of the Provincial era, and embraced this period of time to the fullest extent. The Romantic Movement emphasized emotions over reason; feelings and intuition were more prevalent than intellectual ideas or thoughts. Note how different this is from the previous period, the Age of Reason. Emotions, even passions and sexual attractions, were addressed in literature written during the Romantic Period. Writers during the Romantic Period wrote from their imaginations rather than presenting life realistically. So, in contrast to the realistic literature written during the Enlightenment, literature written during the Romantic Period was imaginative and unrealistic. Romantic literature was also a break with classicism, which creates its own themes and forms.
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