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Timothy Morrow
13
December 2017
The American Renaissance and the Historical Knowledge It Lends
Studying the American Renaissance is important on multiple regards when
considering the time as well as the literary period. The Antebellum Period
trademarks some of America’s most intriguing and innovative writers such as
Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, and Nathanial Hawthorne. While there is a plethora
of literary elements and genres to examine during this period, their historical
prevalence in the literature is present as well. Written works from this period,
much like most literary works, reflect the environment in which they were made.
Many of the works from the American Renaissance deal with the conflict leading
up to or during the Civil War and its impact on Americans. Although American
Literature may seem like an unlikely place to learn more about the United
States, by looking at the works of Henry David Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln, Walt
Whitman and Fredrick Douglass, the narratives interweave the events leading to
the Civil War and the war itself into the narratives, which in turn educates the
reader not only on literature but history during that time.
One example of literary works being instructive in understanding the
literary periods history would be Henry David Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil
Government.” Coming into this course I had been somewhat aware of the reason
Thoreau enacted his civil disobedience, not wishing to pay taxes going to the
Mexican War, but I was unaware of the several reasons the Mexican War was even
happening. The author mentions those pushing against the reform of slavery “are
more interested in commerce and agriculture than they are in humanity, and are
not prepared to do justice to the slave and to Mexico, cost what it may”
(Thoreau). During lecture, the class examined the importance of the Mexican War
and how it accelerated the Civil War. The expansion of land after the war caused
a new market for slaves, which helped tighten the tension between the Northern
and Southern states. Thoreau’s issue with the war was not simply because he
opposed war, but he understood that the war would only complicate the issue of
slavery in America. The historical aspect of this literary piece, as instructed
in class, gave me a deeper understanding of Thoreau’s brave decision and how it
was a multilayered decision.
Another literary work from the American Renaissance that helps instruct
the reader with a more well-rounded historical presence is Abraham Lincoln’s
“The Gettysburg Address.” While growing up, the phrase “Four score and seven
years,” intersected my life repeatedly during my childhood, not only in my
history books, but in pop-culture as well. Yet as my interests moved away from
general education to literature, I lost a lot of background information of what
truly happened doing the Civil War. After taking this course and reading the
assigned literature, I have a better idea of the historical atmosphere doing the
Civil War. When appealing to the troops to continue on the former president
states, “that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause
for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of freedom” (Lincoln).
The appeal that Lincoln gives to the
troops is eye-opening, considering that nearly 50,000 soldiers died in
Gettysburg. He refers to how, if the nation gives up now, not only will those
men’s lives be lost in vain, but there may not ever be a nation to fight for
much longer. After learning the details and number of lives lost, months before
this moment, there is a morbid yet inspiring weight to Lincoln’s words. Simply
reading the speech as a literary classic can only take the student so far. The
history inscribed in Lincoln’s words helps the reader understand the anxiety and
depth of the thing the president was asking. Having the historical aspect in a
literature classroom helps students have a great understanding of the background
to the speech and how imperative it was for Abraham Lincoln to make the speech
when he did.
The Civil War’s impact on those helping from the sidelines can be
examined with the Walt Whitman poem “The Wound-Dresser.” While many times in
popular literature or pop-culture there is the representation of the front
lines, like The Red Badge of Courage,
but there is little out in the media depicting those helping out the war effort
from the sidelines. Walt Whitman during the war volunteered as a nurse. He wrote
a first-hand account of his experience in the medical tents through free verse
poetry, portraying a dark yet accurate account of the condition in the camps.
When referring to a wounded soldier, he writes, “From the stump of the arm, the
amputated hand, / I undo the clotted lint, remove the slough, wash off the
matter and blood, / Back on his pillow the soldier bends with curv'd neck and
side falling head, / His eyes are closed, his face is pale, he dares not look on
the bloody stump, / And has not yet look'd on it” (Whitman).
Whitman writes a situation that was very real doing the Civil War.
Medicine during this time was not very advanced, and many times soldiers were
patched up in barbaric and crude ways for the sake of time. Amputations were a
constant reality for many soldiers wounded in the war, something that thankfully
has lessened in present times.
While one may feel like they know the suffering of the Civil War after watching
a blockbuster film about it, it is through reading a literary work that one can
understand and see the medical reality of the time in history.
While one can learn about how President Lincoln was generally viewed in
history books, by looking at the “Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln” by
Fredrick Douglass, one can learn a different viewpoint on how the slave
narrative writer observed President Lincoln. When growing up, I heard the phrase
“honest Abe” tossed around when speaking about the Civil War era president and
how he managed to bring a country together after the constant suffering they
endured during the war. One thing attributed to him the Emancipation
Proclamation. Generally speaking, before this class I would assume that Fredrick
Douglass, a former slave, would have a high respect for President Lincoln.
After reading the oration Douglass wrote for Lincoln’s funeral, I stand
corrected. He wrote, “[Lincoln] was ready to execute all the supposed guarantees
of the United States Constitution in favor of the slave system anywhere inside
the slave states. He was willing to pursue, recapture, and send back the
fugitive slave to his master], and to suppress a slave rising for liberty”
(Douglass). While throughout grade school, I was taught of the greatness and
kindness of President Lincoln and his general motivation to freeing all slaves.
Douglass’ account shows an alternative history than what is normally taught.
Douglass’ perspective of Lincoln depicts a president who was not the great
emancipator, but someone who was willing to settle for something immoral in
order to gain peace. Douglass’ speech explores the complex history of the Civil
War and the many obstacles Lincoln had to overcome, yet felt pressured to
succumb to it in order to establish peace for the nation. Learning about
Fredrick Douglass’ viewpoint of Lincoln in a literature class helps not only
show the passionate words written by Douglass, but also the historical layers to
Lincoln’s character as a whole.
While the American Renaissance is an instructive place to analyze
literary genres and styles, the writing period also can help educate a classroom
on the historical climate during the Civil War era.
Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” presents not only a
convincing argument on civil disobedience, but offers the reader Thoreau’s
disagreement with the historical abolishment of slavery and how the Mexican War
helped caused the Civil War. Lincoln’s “The Gettysburg Address” enriched with
historical background is instructive in understanding the weight of the former
president’s invocation to the troops. Whitman’s “The Wound-Dresser” depicts the
dreadful condition in which the war placed people on the sidelines and the
historical state of medicine during that time. Douglass’ “Oration in Memory of
Abraham Lincoln” presents an alternative perspective of President Lincoln, one
that is not the great emancipator, but a peacemaker, for better or worse.
Teaching historical facts in a literature classroom, accompanied by the literary
writing of the time, helps ground the texts in reality. While students may come
into a class believing they have an understanding of the time period they are
reading, through analysis and historical reference, there is further education
on the conditions of the past. When studying the Antebellum Period and its many
great writers, it is essential to also understand the historical events and
circumstances they were writing under and how their literary works were affected
by antiquity.
