The first half of the nineteenth century was an expansive and
troubled time for America. Territorial gains had increased the
size of the country while, at the same time, improvements in
transportation seemed to shrink it (Baym 922). Conformity and
materialism was on the rise. Calvinism had given way to a more
moderate Protestantism—although most writers of the time still
found themselves at odds with the dominant religion (Baym 925).
Waves of European and Irish immigrants (mostly Catholics)
created a sense of alarm amongst many citizens and xenophobia
led to the burning of many catholic churches and schools (Baym
927). This time too saw the continuation of some of the most
egregious national sins: slavery (of blacks) and genocide (of
the eastern Indian tribes) (Baym 928). In terms of the literary
expectations of the period, American writers found themselves in
an odd situation. On the one hand, they were taxed with the
creation of a new quintessentially American literature. On the
other they were expected to