Many literary critics interested in philosophy have found in Emerson's thought the origins of American pragmatism, and philosophers from around the globe who value the active mind more than systemic philosophical exposition continue to respond enthusiastically to the two sides of Emerson that Buell identifies: the democratic idealist and the anarchic provocateur. In addition, Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience, which hangs on a transcendental understanding of self-reliance, helped to inspire the movements of peaceful revolution set in motion by Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Futhermore, Whitman's radically cosmic belief in the unique grandeur of every self and every mindis Romantic vision of a universal oversoul connecting slave, whore, president, and preacher all alike through a daily sharing in the erotics of experience, as expressed in Leaves of Grass (1855)mounts to the first philosophically significant statement of tolerance and multicultural acceptance in American
Paine had progressive ideas about society: he was one of the first to advocate a world peace organization and social security for the poor and elderly. When in the United States, he opposed slavery and contributed to the success of the Revolutionary War a great deal with communicating the ideas of the Revolution to the people and encouraging them in the warfare hardships. Although he had only been in America for a year when the Revolution was started in 1775, not only did he commit himself to the cause of American independence, but he also became the most persuasive writer and propagandist of the Revolution. General Washington found the first article of Paine's The
Many Puritans immigrated to the New World in the 17th century. Once there, they sought to fabricate a Holy Commonwealth in the New England region. Puritanism remained one of the dominant cultural powers in that region until well into the 19th century. The morals and ideals held by Puritans between 1630 and 1670 influenced the social development of the colonies by putting into practice a series of rules, from which our own Founding Fathers would take their inspiration, the political structure of the New England colonies by establishing a need for a local government (set up by the Cambridge Platform), and last but not least, the Puritans influenced the economic well being of the colonies by helping to set the precedent of self reliance (as far as farming), and a minimal dependence on international trade in the New England area (for goods and labor). The social structure of the New England colonies under the Puritans was one of brotherhood, togetherness, community, and even liberality.
When the Louisiana Purchase was bought in 1803, Lewis and Clark went to discover the mysterious territory and see the changes that could be made into something great we see today. The quote “He’s cleaning up his system to keep his nature pure,” is part of the act in industrializing and having the country look better. Our country America is on going in learning new thing and is in constant motion of changing. Even today in America we are still trying to come up with new inventions and keep our country clean and pure. America still strives to be something great and eye catching to other people around the world.
Through this pamphlet he addressed those issues and made it possible for public support of independence to gain ground. Knowing this, it isn’t hard to wonder: Would the Declaration of Independence have been written if “Common Sense” hadn’t opened the door before it? Thomas Pain was born in England and made his living there until 1774 when his life made many changes and he met Benjamin Franklin, who encouraged him to try his luck in America. Inspired by the American Congress’s refusal to separate from Britain and Britain’s treatment of the colonies he wrote “Common Sense”. It was a pamphlet designed to awaken the people of the American colonies to the unjust treatment done to them by Great Britain and to unite them against British rule.
Kalee Ouderkirk Professor Mary Olea American Literature before the Civil War May 5, 2013 Early American Literature: Common Themes American Literature teaches present day Americans a lot about the daily struggles they encountered living in the New World. Colonists wrote many pieces about the way they lived their lives and the new things they learned while adjusting to the new land. While reviewing their writing, a few general themes were noticed. Exploration, religion, independence, and ethnocentrism are a few common themes that can be found within early American Literature. Most settlers came here to explore a new land and build colonies upon the unclaimed territories.
Fighting for Our Mind: The Grotesque in “Clytie” The representation of mental ideas through a medium of communication is the fundamental challenge facing artists. On a rudimentary level, conceptualization in literature is a balancing act – the writer on one side and the reader on the other. This involves the somewhat nebulous processes of creation of meaning on the part of the writer and translation of this meaning by the reader. Flannery O’Connor’s “Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction” written in 1960, is a reactionary essay to the democratization of literature, and attempts to elevate the role of the writer in the creation of meaning. The writer is seen as a literary “prophet”, a “realist of distances” (O’Connor, 818), because he takes upon himself the task of explicitly illuminating that which most other texts merely imply, and thus the scales of meaning are tipped almost entirely in favor of the writer.
Hansen 1 Skye Hansen Yarbrough English 5-21-2012 In the eighteenth century, the Deceleration of Independence gave the Americans true freedom. New inventions also started making the world becoming more modernized in technology (Bellis, Mary). The Great Awakening was a major part of religion (Religion in Eighteenth Century America). The mothers became more dominant than the fathers during the era, and children had a lot of roles to take (Mintz, Susan). All of these facts describe the eighteenth century.
XVIII, Sec. 1, 2, &3) What brought upon the want to peel away one of America’s favorite pastimes? Well, it’s story that spans over a hundred years, with many variables at play during the rise of prohibition. America was at a point of rampant expansion and urbanization. American culture had begun to incorporate new ideologies on how we chose to perceive each other and the world around us; with several Americans still holding on to old world customs and beliefs.
Anna Lacy AP Language and Composition; p6 Mrs. McFeely 22 March 2013 The Neon Sign A truly American Audience seeks literature that sparks the human- and specifically American- principles upon which the country was initially built. Ayn Rand is significant to an American Audience for this reason. She brings together the values of egoism, Capitalism, individualism, romantic realism and logic- the components of her philosophy, Objectivism, in her philosophically and metaphysically educational literary works. She enlightens, or reminds, the public about the means to achieve true and genuine happiness by reaching the best possible version of themselves. Rand is to be considered an American hero, thus extremely influential to any audience member she reaches, based on the practical American values she revives in her work.