ABSTRACT
The freedom to pursue one's own aims and desires replaced the previous ideas of virtue and self-control. Exploitation of the land and of the people grew increasingly common. Laborers, increasingly degraded and aware of their plight, worked twelve-hour days often for less than a dollar a week. Brutal working conditions led to organizations of mechanics and other labor groups. Over 160 strikes were recorded between 1833 and 1837 alone. Religious faith along with public education were considered the chief bulwarks of republican America, the most important props of democracy, because of their ability to wield moral influence and instill self-control on the populace without the use of force. Religion, it was thought, would help develop a national conscience and, in the difficult battle against rapacious economic individualism, religion would remind the public of its moral obligations. Despite the many influences on American landscapists, a surprisingly homogeneous style developed through the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s.
