1. 1800-1870

2. Physical Growth
 1800: US = 16 states
 1803: Louisiana Purchase doubles size
 Improved transportation: canals, turnpikes,
railroads, steamboats, etc.

3. Democratic Growth
 Americans take more control of government
 “Era of the Common Man” – Andrew Jackson
 Property requirements for voting eliminated
 Still restricted to white males

4. American Literature
 Romanticism
 NOT necessarily about love!
 Imagination > Reason
Intuition > Fact
 Nature

5. Washington Irving
 1783-1859
 Romantic writer
 Began studying law at 16 but was more
interested in traveling and writing
 Explored New York’s Hudson Valley, Europe

6. Washington Irving’s Writing
 Satirical essays  pen name: Jonathan Oldstyle
 Magazine: Salmagundi
 A History of New York from the Beginning of the
World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty  pen
name Diedrich Knickerbocker
 Funny description of colonial NY society

7. Washington Irving’s Writing
 1815-1832: lived in Europe, learned customs,
traditions, folklore
 “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
 “Rip Van Winkle”
 Both take European tales and rewritten about
Americans in the Hudson Valley
 Ichabod Crane and Rip Van Winkle = classic figures
of American literature
 Pen name: Geoffrey Crayon

8. Washington Irving’s Writing
 Tales of a Traveler
 “The Devil and Tom Walker”
 Ill-gotten wealth
 Based on German folktale of man selling his soul to
the Devil in exchange for earthly possessions

9. “The Devil and Tom Walker”
 Omniscient Point of View
 narrator stands outside the action
 details about the thoughts and feelings of ALL
characters
 narrator’s commentary about events in story
 Direct vs. Indirect Characterization
 Direct = narrator tells the reader what the
character is like
 Indirect = personality traits revealed through
words, thoughts, actions of characters

10. “The Devil and Tom Walker”
 Cultural attitudes of New Englanders
 Colonists’ belief in Devil
 References to Native Americans as “savages”