4.9 The Development of an American Culture

Between 1800 and 1848, territorial expansion, economic growth, reform movements, and new artistic styles helped shape American culture. Writers, artists, and reformers debated what made the United States distinct while nationalism and regional differences both grew.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

What to Know About the Development of an American Culture

• American culture drew on European traditions and democratic values, but regions differed: the Northeast emphasized commerce and reform, while slavery and agriculture shaped the South.
• The potato famine drove Irish immigration, while economic hardship and failed democratic revolutions drove German immigration; fears of foreign influence fueled nativism.
• Washington Irving's folk legends, Hudson River School painting, and Greek Revival public buildings were part of a developing American culture.
• Transcendentalists valued intuition and self-reliance; Emerson promoted spiritual self-reliance, and Thoreau refused to pay taxes in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War.
• New Harmony and Brook Farm tried different communal models, reflecting dissatisfaction with mainstream society and belief in human perfectibility.

Influences on American Cultural Identity

The formation of American culture in this period came from multiple sources:

American Elements

• Democratic ideals and republican values
• Frontier experiences and westward expansion
• Growing sense of exceptionalism and destiny
• Regional diversity and distinctive local traditions
• Emerging capitalist market economy

European Influences

• Enlightenment ideas of rationality and progress
• Romantic movement's emphasis on emotion and nature
• Liberal social and political philosophies
• Artistic and literary traditions
• Immigrants bringing cultural practices from their homelands

Regional Cultural Sensibilities

• Northeast: Commercial, urban culture with emphasis on education and reform
• South: Plantation culture shaped by slavery and agricultural economy
• West: Frontier culture emphasizing individualism and opportunity
• Various immigrant communities maintaining distinct cultural identities

Immigration and Cultural Diversity

Immigration dramatically reshaped America's cultural landscape during this period:

Irish Immigration

• Primary cause: Potato famine (1845-1852) led to mass emigration
• Settlement patterns: Concentrated in urban areas, especially in the Northeast
• Economic status: Generally poor, worked as laborers and domestic servants
• Religious impact: Significantly increased Roman Catholic population
• Social reception: Faced widespread anti-Catholic discrimination
• Political influence: Became active in urban politics, typically supported Democratic Party

German Immigration

• Primary causes: Economic hardship and failed democratic revolutions of 1848
• Settlement patterns: More dispersed, with significant movement to western farms
• Economic status: Often arrived with skills and modest resources
• Cultural contributions: Strong support for education and cultural institutions
• Political attitudes: Often opposed slavery and supported public education
• Religious diversity: Included both Catholics and Protestants

Source: IrishCentral

Nativism and Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

• The Order of the Star-Spangled Banner (1840s): Secret anti-immigrant society
• Anti-Catholic riots in major cities
• Political impact: Many nativists supported the Whig Party
• Cultural concerns: Fear of foreign influence on American institutions
• Economic anxieties: Competition for jobs and resources

Art, Literature, and Architecture

American creative expression during this period reflected the search for national identity:

📖 American Literature

• First distinctly American literary tradition emerged
• Important authors:
  • Washington Irving: Created American folk legends in "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
  • James Fenimore Cooper: Explored frontier themes in the Leatherstocking Tales
  • William Cullen Bryant: Poet who celebrated American landscapes
  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Created national mythology through poetry

🖼️ American Art

• The Hudson River School: First distinctly American painting movement
  • Thomas Cole: Founder who depicted dramatic American landscapes
  • Asher Durand: Created idealized views of American wilderness
  • Themes included the sublime power of nature and tension between civilization and wilderness
  • Often portrayed anxiety about westward expansion destroying pristine nature

🏛️ Architecture

• Greek Revival: Became dominant architectural style for public buildings
  • Symbolized connection to classical republican values
  • Examples: U.S. Capitol, many state capitols and courthouses
• Gothic Revival: Popular for churches and some homes
• Distinctive regional styles developing in different parts of the country

Transcendentalist Movement

Transcendentalism represented one of America's first homegrown philosophical movements:

Core Beliefs

• Intuition and personal experience as sources of truth
• Divinity of nature and humanity's connection to it
• Self-reliance and individualism
• Rejection of traditional religious authority
• Belief in human perfectibility and self-improvement
  • This Romantic conviction, that people can be improved, also shaped art, literature, architecture, and philosophy, from Emerson's essays on self-reliance and the idealized wilderness of Hudson River School paintings to the hopeful planning of utopian communities

Source: HowStuffWorks History

Key Figures

• Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Former Unitarian minister who advocated spiritual self-reliance
  • Influential essays included "Nature" and "Self-Reliance"
  • Emphasized the importance of individual conscience over social convention
• Henry David Thoreau
  • Lived simply at Walden Pond as social experiment (1845-1847)
  • Wrote "Walden" documenting his experience in nature
  • Advocated civil disobedience against unjust laws
  • Briefly imprisoned for refusing to pay taxes in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War

Cultural Impact

• Influenced American literature, philosophy, and reform movements
• Promoted ideals of simplicity and authentic living
• Established individualism as central to American identity
• Provided philosophical basis for later social reform movements

Utopian Communities and Social Experiments

The period saw numerous attempts to create ideal communities separated from mainstream society:

Shaker Communities

• Founded by Mother Ann Lee, who claimed to be Christ's female incarnation
• Reached peak of about 6,000 members in 1840s
• Distinctive practices:
  • Strict celibacy and separation of sexes
  • Communal property ownership
  • Simple, functional design aesthetic
  • Ritual dancing as religious expression
• Eventually declined due to inability to attract new members

Other Communal Experiments

• New Harmony (Indiana): Robert Owen's secular socialist community
• Brook Farm (Massachusetts): Transcendentalist community emphasizing intellectual development
• Oneida Community (New York): Practiced complex marriage and communal child-rearing
• Mormon settlements: First in Ohio and Missouri, later in Utah

Common Themes

• Rejection of competitive individualism of market economy
• Experimentation with alternative family and gender arrangements
• Search for spiritual fulfillment through communal living
• Attempts to create more egalitarian social structures

These utopian experiments, while often short-lived, reflected both discontent with aspects of mainstream American society and the period's belief in human perfectibility and social progress.

The period from 1800 to 1848 saw Americans actively constructing their cultural identity through literature, art, philosophy, and social experiments. While drawing on European traditions and influences, they increasingly sought to develop distinctive American forms of expression that reflected their democratic values, diverse population, and unique landscape. This emerging national culture was neither uniform nor static but rather a dynamic blend of diverse elements that both unified Americans and highlighted their differences.

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