This project analyzes late Post-Revolutionary American poetry and the role it played in the growth of nationalism by examining the various mediums, like song and oral recitation, and the impact poetry had on the illiterate populace. Previous studies into nationalism have focused mostly on the polled (those able to vote) demographic. However, these studies excluded the high number of poor, illiterate citizens in America who did not qualify as a polled citizen, but were influential and important as United States citizens regardless. Using primary and secondary texts, this project will explore this unpolled demographic, their impact on national issues, and how they were influenced by the polled populace. The project will then explore the different influential poems and mediums used to convey them to the citizenry. Finally, the project will examine if and how the poetry influenced the unpolled populace and how that, in turn, affected American nationalism
