Transcript Division, Reconciliation, and Expansion 1850-1914

Snapshot of the Period
These years saw great
transformation.
The North and South
fought for power.
We went from an
agricultural nation to a
modern industrial power.
Each had notable
strengths.
This happened in the years
leading up to the Civil War.
When it was all over the
North had won, the Union
was held, and slavery was
abolished.
It was a DEVASTATING
cost!
Historical Background
(1850-1914)
Prelude to War
Brother Against Brother
Americans Go West
The Frontier Disappears
The Electric Society
Painful Growth and
Electric Change
The Civil War left the nation physically,
economically, and emotionally devastated.
Riding the railroad, Americans moved West and
annihilated the frontier.
The Age of Electricity transformed every day life.
Cities, with all their pleasures and problems,
expanded rapidly.
What Literary Forms Did Writers Use to Discuss
Social and Political Issues During This Period?
Spirituals
Life Stories
Fiction and
Journalism
How Did Popular Literature Reflect the Era’s Social
and Political Issues?
Rags to Riches
Twists and Turns
The West and the
Wizard
How Did Social and Political Issues Lead to
Realism and Naturalism?
The Common Life
Naturalism
Writers focused on creating
portrayals of real life
ordinary people.
The belief that forces far
more powerful than any
individual shaped individuals.
They showed characters in
a honest and factual way.
Nature, blind fate, heredity
and chance determined lives.
Theme: Human endurance in
the face of overwhelming
natural forces pervades.
What Elements of Physical Environment
Affected Northern Writers’ Attitudes?
Industry
Urban Life
How Did Expressions of Place Show Up in
Literature?
Local Color
Urban
Sophistication
What Literary Elements Contributed to an
American Style?
Settings and Plots
Dialogue and Style
Humor
What Roles Did Writers Play in Shaping
American Identity?
Writer as a Realist
Writer as a Naturalist
In the first half of the century
Romanticism dominated.
These writers were
detached.
After the horrors of the Civil
War there was a rise in a
more objective attitude
toward the world and human
affairs.
They were influenced by
Darwin, Marx, and Zola.
Hard fact took more of a role.
They believed that heredity,
environment, and social
conditions determined
people’s actions.
At the Dawn of the Twentieth Century, What
Did Literature Reveal About American
Attitudes?
Pragmatism
Loss of Idealism
Democracy
Science