American culture during
the period of the revolution and the civil war had a heightened ego. The
American win over the British made the new American nation very sure of itself.
“Even before the revolution, literature and art had been critical venues for imagining
American identity. In the 1760s, colonists began to prophesy an imminent
outbreak of American greatness in high cultural pursuits”.[1]
After defeating the biggest empire of in the world, it is understandable that
the people viewed themselves in the light that they did. “It was
philosophically grounded in the prevalent belief that artistic excellence and
political empire traveled together through time on a journey from east to
west”.[2]
Like the Greek and Roman empires along with others that came before them the
American people were sure that their time had come to take their place on the
world stage.
While
the new nation was continued to grow; it experienced some growing pains along
the way as well. These pains of the country would show themselves throughout
the culture, even in the realm of entertainment in the theater. “The Astor
Place riot, which in essence was a struggle for power and cultural authority
within theatrical space, was simultaneously an indication of and a catalyst for
the cultural changes that came to characterize the United States at the end of
the century”.[3]
The theater once had been a place where all classes of people would be seen
enjoying an evening’s entertainment. Eventually
the outside pressures and conflicts would take a toll on the theater industry
as well leading to theaters for separate classes of people. “This dramatic
split in the American theater was part of more extensive bifurcations that were
taking place in American culture and society”[4] That splintering of people into groups and
against each other helped lead the country into the civil war. The greatest
struggle for the country would be that of slavery which also split the country
against each other. The north and south seemed to be complete opposites. The
southern economy was strongly held up by slavery while the north was more
manufacturing oriented. The north having the manufacturing was able to make
goods for trade and keep the military well supplied.
Prior
to the civil war, immigration continued to bring different ethnic groups to the
country with a heavy influence from Germany and Ireland. Many people began to
worry about the influx of immigrants that came to America and would push out
the people that were natural citizens. As this country moves forward many of
the same problems from the past, it is still trying to deal with even today. The link below is a scene from the movie Gangs of New York , it shows the type of
welcome many of the Irish might find when coming off the boat from Ireland.
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