American writers of this period were influenced by European Romanticism but soon adapted it to their own culture. The Romantics reacted to what had come before, including both the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason and also the strict doctrines of Puritanism. Romantics were inspired by nature and celebrated the individual human spirit, including the emotions and imagination. An early Romantic, Washington Irving was the first truly American writer who was recognized abroad. As a pioneer of the short story form, he influenced later writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne.

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