James Lowell Research Paper

James Russell Lowell The Louisiana purchase changed the lives of Americans forever. During the 1800s, American people expanded west into the vast lands which many would soon call home. Writers and readers alike found a new sense of individualism and a strong connection with nature, leading them to form what we now recognize as American Romanticism. One of the forerunners in this bunch of romantic writers was James Russell Lowell, an avid abolitionist who used his talents of writing poetry to create a new sense of nature and how we interact with it. Lowell can especially be seen showing his romantic roots and antics in a few of his widely renowned poems, such as “The Fountain” and “Freedom”, where the reader is taken to be alongside nature.

Shortly after changing his career path, he married one of his poetical inspirations, Maria White, and had four children with her (Poetry Foundation). As mentioned before, Lowell was a very prominent abolitionist, and wrote many articles and essays on the topic. In 1846, he released the Biglow Papers, which criticized the Mexican American War for trying to lengthen the era of Slavery (Poetry Foundation). These papers would eventually be added to and become one of his most well known series of works. According to the Poetry Foundation, he even went as far as to become, “-a chief editorial writer during the mid 1840s for the Pennsylvania and the National Anti-Slavery Standard”. He used a very “-rustic Yankee” (Poetry Foundation) kind of voice in his work against politics. This technique was used not only his poems, but across a spectrum of writers, who were especially influenced by his well known persona Hosea Biglow. He was one of the most popular authors in America at

This brought forth a sense of a new start and individualism to American citizens, and in the 1820s, American Romanticism was born. Romanticism is known to show “-an exaltation of the primitive and the common man, an appreciation of external nature-”(“Romanticism”), which can be interpreted as man is able to be simple and at one with nature. Romanticism brought a sense of freedom to exploring Americans, telling them they could be what they wanted to be without having so much emphasis on gods and religion. This style of writing focuses mainly on men being naturally good in the presence of nature, but inherently “evil” in civilization and its impurities. “Difference Between” states that “Romanticism educes strong emotions and exemplifies significant events. Romanticism is not about soft music, candlelit dinners, or fine dining. It is about a strong motivational force that focuses on patriotism, loyalty, and allegiance”. Romanticism was meant to encourage Americans to embrace their freedom over the vast lands that were now theirs, and rejoice over the beauty of nature and the emotions of the individual rather than listen to a higher force such as a