Existing comment:
Early Republic Era
Following its War of Independence (1775-83), the newly formed United States looked to the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome in its transformation from diverse colonies and territories to a cohesive nation. Viewing themselves as heirs to antiquity's democratic tenets and traditions, American embraced neoclassical themes on a variety of levels -- from a republican structure of government to classical conventions in architecture and the arts. The nation's founding principles of freedom and equality took root despite the fact that they were not extended to the entire population -- particularly Native Americans, African Americans, and women. As a legitimizing federal (or "high") style of national identity emerged, regional (or "vernacular") tendencies continued to assert themselves, especially in decorative art and so-called folk art. |