What were the basic characteristics of the 19th century ‘romantic' movement?

The characteristics of the 19th century American novel differ based upon the period to which is being referred to. There were three different writing movements which took place during the 19th century: The Romantic Period, The American Renaissance, and The Realist Movement (Realism). The main characteristics of the Romantic Period (dating 1800-1860) were: - The theme of the personal journey in regards to independence. - Romantics wished to move "life" from the corrupt urban areas to those of the nature-filled rural areas. - Romantics associated this area (the rural) with clarity, purity, and independence. - The Romantics valued intuition and feeling over reason, the power of imagination, and viewed life as it should be (idyllic), instead of how it really was.