The Fireside Poets: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendel Holmes

The fireside poets were popular at a time when the United States was a new nation, suffering pressure from outside governments as well as growing pains of its own. Historical events such as the War of 1812 threatened to overwhelm the young democracy. At the same time, there was the beginning of the push for westward expansion, and the beginnings of the schism over slavery which would culminate in the Civil War. The fireside poets represented a movement to involve the reader in events of the current day through literature. Most of them had causes about which they were passionate, and they incorporated this into their writing, inviting readers to consider highly charged issues such as abolition, workers’ rights, and immigration on a level that was more personal than had previously been done. Literature has frequently been reflective of the social and political climate in which it is written. The fireside poets were one of the first groups to take their views to a more real-world level, in founding magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly (John Greenleaf Whittier), supporting public projects such as Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (William Cullen Bryant), and even founding a political party and running for Congress (John Greenleaf Whittier). The lead-up to the Civil War was also weighing on the minds of many, which prompted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to write “Paul Revere’s Ride”, an encouragement to a young country facing a serious conflict. Far from

George Washington Carver was born in Diamond Grove, Missouri during the spring of 1864 or 1865. Like many slaves, he was uncertain of his birth date. His mother, Mary, was a slave who belonged to Moses and Susan Carver. As an infant, slave raiders kidnapped his mother. The childless carvers reared George and his older brother, James.

 made writings of detailed descriptions of the area he went----> he saw Americas as new continents

Huey Long was birthed August 30, 1893, in a little countryside area called Winnfield Louisiana. He was born to the parent of Caledonia and Huey Long Senior. Huey being the seventh child of nine surviving children, was lucky because back then there so few opportunities for large families with a minute amount of money.

Whitfield became known at the age of sixteen for his works on African American colonization. He later moved to New York where he picked up the trade of barbering and used this trade as a source of income but still continued to write. He began to publish work in various African American newspapers, one of which was Frederick Douglass’ North Star. He teamed up with other black people who wanted to start their own society and together they encouraged African Americans to colonize else where. Whitfield lectured at several men’s conferences and even took a trip to Central America in hopes of finding a place to establish an African American community. Whitfield’s articles and poetry reflected his militant attitude and were often written with a bitter hostility towards the oppression of black people in America. A perfect example of Whitfield’s resentful attitude towards slavery is one of his most famous poems “America.”

George Washington Carver was approved at Highland College in Highland, Kansas, but was denied automatically once college administrators figure out his race. Whilst interested in science, Carver was also interested in the arts. He then began studying art and music at Simpson College in Iowa, in 1890, expanding his painting and drawing skills through sketches of plant samples. Therefore, as for

He worked on the poem from 1833 to 1850 as an elegy after the death of his dear friend, Arthur Hallam.

1. The thesis of this essay in the author's words is "Travel is how we put a voice to the Other and step a little beyond our second hand images of the alien." In other words, the author is trying to tell us that travelling is necessary in order for us to not hold prejudices and experience the lifestyle of other cultures.

John Greenleaf Whittier was born on December 17, 1807 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Being the son to John Whittier and Abigail Hussey Whittier, two devoted Quakers1, he grew up at their countryside homestead given little formal schooling due to the lack of economic stability as their farm was not very profitable. Whittier was however an eager reader, studying his fathers books on Quakerism until he later on got introduced to poetry by his teacher. On June 8, 1826, Whittier's sister sent his very first poem “The Exile's Departure” to William Lloyd Garrison, an editor to the Newburyport Free Press, who published it even though neither he or Whittier's sister had the permission granted by Whittier himself to do so. The year after, Whittier

After completing his studies, Chopin planned a longer stay abroad to become acquainted with the musical life of Europe and to win fame. Up to then, he had never left Poland, with the exception of two brief stays in Prussia. In July 1829 he made a short

Similar to majority of cities in the United States today, there are many churches that can be visited in New York City. There are a multitude of buildings in that historic city that have historical significant and which relate to American politics today. Among the houses that have continued through natural disasters, one special church stands out as a place well-maintained and historic political significance. St. Paul's Chapel stands out in the crowd, appearing in the street of a modern New York City like a visual slice of history. Although there are many politically historic buildings still standing throughout New

Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts to John Thoreau and Cynthia Dunbar. Thoreau studied at Harvard College and took various courses

The vivid description of how the adolescents were treated in the dorms enrages me since these young people are so innocent. They have been running from the evil oppressors their entire lives. They have seen their friends and family die and have watched themselves slowly die, also. I could never live after leaving my loved ones to die. I would be way, way, way too grief-stricken. However, I realize that they are forced to leave them behind in order to fend for themselves. I can not comprehend how Benson is still mentally sane after witnessing such terrible tragedies over and over again, day in and day out. How can one remain sane if they are constantly running from death? I believe that the event at the dorm along with having to constantly travel

At its beginning, American poetry was extremely influenced by its European roots. This is evidenced by the fact that the first colonists were English, who also brought along their poetic styles and patterns. These European traits set the standard for the genesis of American poetry, which will later we further developed and adapted by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, who are now considered to be the first great American poets.

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the characters are often mislead by the impression of reality. The quote “fair is foul and foul is fair” (Shakespeare 1.1.12), is said by the three witches. This quote is very significant, as it is an elaborate theme throughout the play. Also, the word "fair" means good, and "foul" means evil. "Fair is foul and foul is fair" is a theme that demonstrates how appearances often differs from reality. This theme can also be described as “Illusion vs. Reality” because within the play, many are blinded by false accusations and have difficulty coming face-to-face with reality. This theme is greatly expressed through the characters Lady Macbeth,