Natural / Environmental Change
Antebellum / Slavery Period

Margaret Fuller

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In the early and mid 1800s, American society in the Northeast was becoming increasingly “modern.” Factories appeared throughout the region, providing many jobs. Cities grew bigger and bigger. New inventions like the steam engine and railroad allowed people to travel more easily. Life in general seemed to be moving away from the more traditional style, of small farms and country living to a newer, city-based model.

In this era of rapid social and economic change, a group of writers, artists, and activists worked to remember and promote the more traditional lifestyle. They believed it was important to live simply, close to nature, and without all the hassle and stress that the new factory-based city life brought with it.

Margaret Fuller

One of these people was Margaret Fuller. Margaret Fuller was a writer and activist who strongly believed in living close to nature. She worked with fellow writer Ralph Waldo Emerson on a newspaper dedicated to the subject of nature, called The Dial. She was also one of the first women’s rights activists and wrote extensively on the subject.

Summer on the Lakes, in 1843

This is a page from Summer on the Lakes, one of Margaret Fuller’s books about nature. In it, Fuller paints an idealized view of nature. She describes some “buildings” around Niagara Falls , and argues that although people protested their presence, nature’s beauty is even stronger than these industrial buildings. Her praise of nature was common among other philosophers and activists at that time in history.

Summer on the Lakes, in 1843

In another section of Summer on the Lakes, Fuller writes about female settlers. She identifies the various hardships female settlers faced on the journey westward.

Lowell, Mass., mills on Merrimack River
In the 1830s, Lowell , Massachusetts , became one of the first factory towns in America . Using the local river water as a power source, many mills emerged in the town to produce textiles. Many other towns in the Northeast were built using Lowell as a model for building new cities around factories.
Margaret Fuller House [i.e. Brattle House], Cambridge, Mass
Margaret Fuller was born in Cambridge , Massachusetts , in this house. She and many other activists from the early and mid 1800s were from the Northeast. Fuller grew up as the first wave of industrialization swept through places like Lowell in Massachusetts .