19th Century Romanticism

The 19^th century was a time of great change in society that it was the beginning of a new set of ideas that helped the future push along for greater and better things. Some of these ideas was the start of the Industrial Revolution which brought to pass Romantic philosophical thinking. This led to many social commentaries like the concept of nationalism, the importance of nature, the emphasis on individualism, and the fascination of the supernatural. The supernatural created this fascination because there was a whole new world that the public does not understand like ghosts, goblins, fairies, magic and even higher beings like God the Divine. The idea of God and a higher being that is above all humans has been around for centuries but with the individualism being highlighted on top of that has helped people to be okay with having more questions and to seek for those answers.

This curiosity of God the Divine was very prevalent in places like the United States of America when freedom of religion was established, sending a frenzy to the people to explore their curiosity in such a being that was only taught in very few ways. That’s why there was an excitement of religion and the start of church organizations rising left and right and one of those organizations was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints being re-established in 1830 by Joseph Smith. This was the perfect time for the Restoration of the Gospel to take place and soon start to spread all over the western hemisphere reaching Asian countries, such as the Philippines where my family’s life has changed for the better. If it was not for this century of a new mindset of personal, individual reflection and considering that “feelings are more than reason”, we all would not have been able to have the free will to make our own decisions even when it comes to our own core beliefs.

The Romantic era has to be my favorite time in history because of the drive of curious thinking and the chance to make and think of your own decisions for your life. I love the emphasis on individualism, and I think that that notion should be applied in everyone’s lives. I know that I will be implanting that in the future when I start my own family and have children. I want my children to have the freedom to choose what they think is best for them and help them through it while they challenge through their feelings. This idea has definitely shaped society into the different, authentic ways it is and we should keep it like that under reason.