LITR 4232 American Renaissance 2012 final exam—Answers to Question B3 "History as Literature, Literature as History" final exam assignment

Jennifer Lawrence

B3. A Discovery of the Past

In the “American Renaissance” course, we have surveyed literature from a dynamic and formative period in American history. On the first day we learned that the American Renaissance was a period that developed sometime between the late 18th century and early 19th century and lasted until the late 19th century. This era, also known as the Romantic period, saw the rise of America as a competitive literary force and is known as the greatest period in American history. As a history student, I was already familiar with some of the great writers of the period. However, studying the period from a literary standpoint to gain knowledge of what was occurring historically as well as stylistically has helped me to analyze the texts I had already read on a deeper level. By becoming more engaged with the people and texts from the period, I have been able to achieve a valuable insight beyond the historical figures in my textbook and develop a fuller understanding of the culture of the time.

  Historically, the romantic period was a response to social changes that were occurring and is also known as the Age of Revolution. Throughout the western world democracy was emerging as the result of the French Revolution in Europe and the American Revolution at home, which gave the common man a greater opportunity to better his position and led the development of the middle class. The advancement in technology also brought about the Industrial revolution which changed the landscape of the world, creating innovations such as factories, the steam engine, locomotive, and telephone. Due to the mass production of products in factories, the world became increasingly materialistic. Population growth occurred, with a large number of people migrating to the cities to work in the factories. At the same time, an agricultural revolution was happening which allowed farms to produce larger amounts of food, and resulted in a large number of the small, poor farmers becoming unable to sustain a living and moving to the cities. This growing urbanization led to positive social and cultural changes, such as increased literacy and education, but also negative ones, such as a growing inequality in the population and worsening working conditions.

Increasingly people were becoming aware of problems in society, and the growing cities allowed the people the opportunity to gather and debate the issues. After reading the texts for this class, I have come to the realization that the figures of this time are intertwined and connected to one another. Although history teaches about each movement that occurred during this time separately, Dr. White did a great job making sure we understood how each movement relates to each other. When people think of Antebellum America, or the time before the civil war, the first issue that normally comes to mind is the issue of slavery. One my favorite parts of this class is getting to gain a new perspective on this issue. Normally we just learn the facts, laws, and events that transpired and lead to the civil war. However, getting the chance to read literature written by former slaves was inspiring. Frederick Douglass, a slave who escaped to freedom, wrote about his life before as well as after he gained his freedom. In his book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass described the moment in which he realized literacy was the solution to ending slavery:

“I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty—to wit, the white man's power to enslave the black man. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom. It was just what I wanted, and I got it at a time when I the least expected it” (section 6.5).

The intimate knowledge of Douglass’s feelings that we gain from reading his work, transform him from just another historical name learned in class into a real person that we come to respect and look up to. It is interesting to read what other people thought of the figures we have learned about. William Lloyd Garrison, editor of the Liberator, wrote a letter describing Douglass when he met him: “There stood one, in physical proportion and stature commanding and exact—in intellect richly endowed—in natural eloquence a prodigy” (G2). Garrison was able to give a firsthand account of the type of person Douglass was.

          Garrison was also a supporter of women’s rights. When the founding fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men were created equal, they had no idea this concept would lead to social change. One of the greatest advocates of ending slavery was the women. The convergence of the anti-slavery movement with the women’s movement is only natural. When displaying the inequality in one group, it illuminates the inequalities in other groups as well. Harriet Beecher Stowe, a female writer from this period, was a good choice for the class because not only is her work influential, but it also contains numerous examples of terms we learned in class. The women’s domestic influence that she was able to exert inside her home, allowed her to passively promote change. Stowe’s mission when writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was to humanize the slaves to the northern readers, forcing them to sympathize with the flight of the slave. Writing about the institution of slavery in the book: “but over and above the scene there broods a portentous shadow—the shadow of law. So long as the law considers all these human beings, with beating hearts and living affections, only as so many things belonging to a master” (1.63). Stowe is making the point that slavery isn’t just a social problem, but displays a fundamental problem contradiction in American law. On one hand, the Declaration of Independence asserts the equality of everybody; while on the other hand, the laws of the nation defined slaves as property.

          Through the popularity of her book, Stowe was able to reach and influence a large number of people. In fact, the most recognized figure in American history, Abraham Lincoln, himself mentions Stowe. Lincoln described Stowe as: “the little lady who started this big war.” By the time that Lincoln had become president, America had achieved its goal of expanding from coast to coast. As a result of this theory of manifest destiny, America would be forced to deal with the issue of expanding slavery into the new territories. Sometimes called the ‘forgotten war,’ the Mexican-American war that occurred from 1846 to 1848 was central to bringing the issue of slavery to the forefront. On the website we examined in class, it was apparent that the acquisition of territory from Mexico and the acceptance of Texas into the union was instrumental in the growing tension that lead to the civil war. President Lincoln, as a result of his actions to preserve the union, has become almost a mythical figure in history. In his The House Divided Speech Lincoln told the country: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free” (section 1), this speech would prove important when he became president, since South Carolina would refer to it in its secession speech which divided the union.

          The importance of literature’s ability to influence history demonstrates the central role it holds when analyzing the past, and vice versa. Discovering the history of a time period can illuminate the motivation behind a specific historical text, in addition to allowing us to discover how the text can have meaning for us today. On the course page Dr. White wrote that historicism is: “the view that concepts, beliefs, and truths can only be understood in relation to the whole moral, intellectual, and religious culture of a historical period.” Without written documents there would be no way for us to know anything about the past, except for physical artifacts left behind. However, without knowledge of history there could be no context for writers to base their work. When deciding what subject would be the best option to take with history as a double major, it was only natural that I should choose literature, since it would be impossible to have one without the other.