Transcendentalism!

1. With the expansion of methods of transportation (railroads, canals and plank roads), people were finally able to travel to places where they hadn't before, experiencing they had never seen or done. This opened the door for new ideas and philosophies.
2. Expansion had its pros and cons, the nineteenth century led to new harsher conditions that no one was used to(child labor, low wages, long hours and poor working conditions, women's rights). This provided a new topic for writers.
3. Political events gave flames to the fire.
4. Writers helped promote and shed light on new views( i.e. utopia) which came from americans expanding across the country.
5. Writers wanted to separate themselves from the style of writing that europeans were creating, which they had followed for so many years.
6. Emerson, Throreau and Hawthorne jump-started the transition into creating "classic" american literature.
7. The era was that of information with different view points being shared( transcendentalists vs. anti-transcendentalists)