Discusses the intellectual atmosphere in the 1800s as America struggled to find its identity. The influences of the Enlightenment and Romanticism are described, and the ideas of various writers and philosophers.

Explains what the 'Scottish philosophy' was and how well it fitted with American sensibilities in the 1800s. Over time it evolved into the American philosophy of Pragmatism. The other philosophy that took hold in some groups of society...

This chart features the six American Literary Time Periods: Puritan Times (to 1750), Rationalism/Age of Enlightenment (1750-1850), Romanticism (1800-1850), Realism (1850-1900), Modernism (1900-1950), and Contemporary/Postmodernism...

This is the text and audio of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an anti-slavery novel published in 1852, that was said to "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War." It was the best-selling novel of the 19th...

Concise explanation of the term "Romanticism," largely as it applies to poetry. It discusses the movement's origins and some of its major features.

George Catlin's paintings and illustrations show Native-Americans as real people as opposed to noble savages as Europeans often viewed them. View examples of his paintings and read their backstory in this essay.

Wikipedia overview in Spanish of American literature from its roots to contemporary authors and themes. This entry is a broad sweep -- no era is covered in depth but it's a helpful "big picture" view for Spanish-speaking students, with...

This site defines and identifies characteristics for the Romance, the novel, and the Gothic novel. Uses good examples to distinguish between these genres.

This lesson plan focuses on the Romantic Period's essayists and poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, the Brahmin Poets, and more.

This article focuses on the Second Great Awakening and Transcendentalism in America. It looks at the relationship between religion and politics.

This site houses the text to John Greenleaf Whittier's poem entitled "Snow-Bound. A Winter Idyl."

This is the text and audio of Chapter 2.2 of Walden by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. It focuses on where he lived and what he lived for.

The exotic settings and complex characters of Poe's work are explored in this brief essay.

From the home page, click on the elk icon to enter, then go to "collections". The National Museum of Wildlife Art holds works of the American West from 1819 to the present, with themes of explorer art, sporting art, Romanticism,...

In this 3-lesson unit, students will read Douglass's narrative. They will analyze Douglass's vivid first-hand accounts of the lives of slaves and the behavior of slave owners to see how he successfully contrasts reality with romanticism...

A site from which to search databases of collections belonging to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and for information on hundreds of thousands of artworks in public and private collections worldwide. For serious researchers only,...

This is a site from The Academy of American Poets about the poet William Blake (1757-1827 CE). While the primary purpose of the site is to provide a biography of the author, there are very good links on the page. By clicking on the links...

A rich Fordham University site of primary source material that include full-text, and multimedia sites. There are additional study and research guides such as Modern History in the Movies.

"Washington Crossing the Delaware" by German Emanuel Leutze is one of the most recognizable images in the history of American art. Read the backstory and view pictures of this painting.

Biographical account covers the life and career of Joseph Mallord William Turner, an English Romantic landscape painter.