Realism: 1850-1915

Slavery in America

The south supported slavery

Abe Lincoln was elected president in 1860

Lincoln was anti-slavery

Abolitionists wanted to ban slavery

The "industrial" north wanted to abolish slavery

Slavery in America

The civil war broke out: 1861-1865

North vs south

Union vs confederacy (Blue vs Grey)

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe (famous novel about the horrors of slavery)

Slavery in America

Industrial Revolution

1880's

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell

Electricity was invented

The phonograph was invented

Industrial Revolution

The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney

The framework for the first automobile was developed

All of these inventions were important in the advancement of the U.S.

PopulationBetween 1865-1914, 22 million people immigrated to the U.S., many through Ellis Island

Westward expansion began because the cities in the east became overcrowded

Life in the west (frontier life) was very harsh and primitive

Wealth in America

There were very few wealthy people, they were called "The Captains of Industry"

John D Rockefeller = oil

Andrew Carnegie = steel

J P Morgan = banking

Wealth in America

Immigrants viewed America as the "Land of Opportunity"

They believed that the streets in the US were "paved with gold," that everyone was rich, and they thought they could easily become rich as well

Wealth in America

This idea led Mark Twain to term this time period "The Gilded Age"

To gild = to cover something of poor quality with gold (gold-plated)

Women

Could not vote

Not treated equally

Primary role was to be homemakers

Important Literary Movements

The ideas of romanticism were abandoned for two reasons:

The civil war was tragic

Life on the frontier was difficult

Realism

Focuses on real events and ordinary people

Characters and events were portrayed in an objective (factual) way

NaturalismDeveloped from realism (focused on real events and ordinary people) but characters were portrayed as having no control over their own lives

Lives controlled by environment, heredity and fate

Writing was very negative (pessimistic)

RegionalismFocuses on areas of he U.S.

Writers used "regional dialect" (different expressions)

Used vivid descriptions of the landscape so people could visualize areas

Most popular literary movement during this time because people were interested about different sections of the country they had never seen

JournalTopic: New Year

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one." - Brad Paisley

What will your "book" be about?