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Sofia de la Morena, Merritt Fish

Whipple, Cooper
AP US History 3rd/2nd, AP Language 6th
November 18th, 2016

A Connected America

In the years between 1800 and 1850, the United States experienced a great variety of

changes. With the rise of the Market Revolution, the country began to modernize through the

emergence of new technologies such as the cotton gin, steel plow, and textile mills. In addition,

during the Industrial Revolution, the emergence of new transportation methods like railroads,

canals, and roads helped accelerate the conveyance of messages, ideas, goods and people. These

new developments made the North, South, and Midwest more interconnected and dependent on

each other. Further, this era is known for its romantic writers. As the nation was changing, the

peoples perspectives became more shaped and opinionated regarding their roles within their

community, which resulted in a new search for meaning through a stronger emphasis on human

thought and nature. New motifs, including the interconnectedness of the world, were born from

this new style of writing. The emergence of this motif during the Romantic Era reflected the

transformation of the American consciousness from a regional and agrarian lifestyle to an

industrialized and interdependent country through the development of roads and canals, as well

as tighter economic systems across regions.

In accordance to the written works, the transcendentalist philosophies first emerged as

part of American Romanticism, a movement in art and literature that stressed emotion and

imagination through the celebration of the individual spirit and human nature. Through the

writings of Henry David Thoreaus Civil Disobedience and Walt Whitmans Song of Myself,

the interconnectedness of the world is a motif that seeks to explain the ties that unite all common

elements of the world. Within Civil Disobedience, Thoreau uses metaphor to compare the birth
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of America to a stream. This is a fitting comparison because both the foundations of the

country and the river have a beginning, and change as they move along their path. It becomes

significant because one cannot limit to focus on the part of the creek that hes in, but must trace

it up its stream in order to perceive the most genuine version of the truth (Thoreau, 15). With

this, Thoreau illustrates how our past history connects us all into our present, for we are all born

from the same place; therefore, we must track our origins if we are to understand the overarching

concept of who we are. Similarly, the asyndeton that Walt Whitman uses in his poem Song of

Myself functions to elaborate the motif of the interconnectedness of the world by claiming he is

a farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker and so forth (Whitman, 16). By omitting

the articles and conjunctions, making the passage more primitive and formulaic, the enlisting of

the roles he plays are made distinct. However, by separating them with commas, keeping them

within a same sentence, the author illustrates how these positions are connected for they are all

played by a single being- Walt Whitman. This helps support the authors argument that although

people may perform different jobs, they are all capable of multiple things and are all united by a

common part: being American. Whitman chooses to link these professions in order to

demonstrate how we have more things in common than we have apart, proving the

interconnectedness of men within their different statuses and positions.

In terms of American history, the interconnectedness of the world is evident during the

Market and Industrial Revolutions. The shift from manually producing goods to mass

manufacturing them marks the beginning of the Market Revolution, and it led to the better

communication and connection of the North, South and Midwest regions. Abraham Darby and

Henry Bessemer developed new ways to mass produce iron and steel - two products essential for

building means of transportation (Industrial Revolution). Consequently, steamboats and

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railroads were created, which helped connect the three regions. In addition, the National Road

was finished in 1834, stretching 820 miles long, and connected the North with the Midwest

(Weiser). These transportation developments demonstrate the motif, the interconnectedness of

the world, because they allowed for easier and faster travel and communication, therefore

connecting the regions. Also, transportation methods further expanded during the Market

Revolution, when roads and canals, like the Erie Canal, were constructed. The Market

Revolution introduced the idea of maximizing profit, and this created a new motivation for mass

production. In the South, innovations like the cotton gin and steel plow, which were introduced

in the Industrial Revolution, allowed for the vast planting of cotton. Simultaneously, the

Midwest, or the Bread Basket, used technologies similar to those in the south, which in turn,

boosted farming of wheat, corn, and other grains. The crops from the South and Midwest were

then shipped via railroads to the North, who then turned the cotton into cloth in textile mills and

the grains into baked or processed goods. The interconnectedness of the world is further

expressed by showing how this desire for wealth caused the regions to work together to

maximize profit. Before this time, America had grown dependant on British factories to process

their resources into finished products. However, after these revolutions, the economies of the

three regions became more connected as they became less dependant on Europe and more

dependant on each other. The South and Midwest supported the North by giving them raw

materials, while the North turned the raw materials into desired goods, which all of the three

regions would consume.

In our creative piece, we are able to interconnect the ideas of both transcendental writers,

Whitman and Thoreau, with the Market and Industrial Revolutions. Around the perimeter of the

map, appear different types of people including a farmer, gentleman, and priest. The people are
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all different colors and labels, but they are all connected throughout America, representing

Whitmans idea that despite occupation, ethnicity, or social class, they are all American, and

therefore, all connected. The center map of America in the 1800s depicts the connection of three

regions: the South, the North, and the Midwest. Through developments of the Industrial and

Market Revolutions, like transportation advancements and a more interconnected economy, the

regions became connected because of their mutual dependence. The transportation methods,

which are evident on the map, include railroads, steamboats, and roads. They not only physically

connect the three regions, but they also connect the economies. The cotton industry in the South,

the development of factories in the North, and the wheat and corn production in the Midwest, as

shown in the map, all contributed to the connection of the regions. Even though all three regions

have contrasting lifestyles and beliefs, they share common ties within their economies, for no

economy can survive without what the others have to offer; this ultimately interconnects them to

one another into a single American economy.

In conclusion, transcendentalist ideas of the early 19th century mirror the historical

events of the time, for they encompass the search for introspection, individualism and

interconnectedness as seen throughout American Romanticism. As Whitman and Thoreau began

to change the public thought, they developed a search for a national identity through establishing

common factors that united people, such as tighter economies, similar goals, and faster means of

transportation. This helped pave the path for progress brought about by the Market and Industrial

Revolutions, as they made the common man more open to embrace the changes the country was

experiencing, for it was a means to unite the people into a common American identity.
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Works Cited

Industrial Revolution. History.com, 2009, A+E Network, 29 November 2016

http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution.

Thoreau, Henry David. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau. Civil Disobedience, AP

Language and Composition III, Ms. Cooper, Stephen F. Austin High School, 18 October

2016. Class Handout.

Weiser, Kathy. The National Road- First Highway in America. Legends of America,

July 2015, 29 November 2016, http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-nationalroad.html.

Whitman, Walt. Walt Whitman Song of Myself. Song of Myself, AP Language and

Composition lll, Ms. Cooper, Stephen F. Austin High School, October 2016, Class

Handout.