Civil War to 1914 Rise of Realism

Romanticism and its ideals Remember…Romanticism values feeling and intuition, places faith in inner experience and the power of imagination… transcendentalism

Civil War The United States was a still a young nation. Yet the Civil War broke out as a result of four decades of intense sectional conflict – political, economical, and social differences between the North and the South.

Differences North South Industrial, manufacturing, commercial Regard the federal government as the primary authority over civil and economic rights Agricultural, produces cash crops (sugar cane, tobacco, cotton) for export to the North and to Europe Included nearly 4 million enslaved blacks, who made up of 1/3 of the population Championed states’ rights

Differences (2) North South

Causes of the Civil War Many theories exist: some economic (not giving up free labors for the cash crops), some social (maintaining the racial classicism), some political (states’ rights) Ultimately, if we were to boil down to one cause, it would be slavery. Fighting for Freedom

Why slavery? To the South… Economics: slaves = free labor = not having to pay salary = keeping all the profit Politics: states’ rights = letting each state do what it wants to do (slavery or not) Social: maintaining the status quo = allowing the South to keep their way of life Slavery and Life in the North and South

Why slavery? To the North… Economics: the advances beyond agriculture to Politics: the hypocrisy of a country who violates the basic American principle of equality. Social: the monstrous violation of human rights

After a series of comprises…succession

Realities of War: Appalling Suffering

Appalling Conditions: Many of the injured stayed in the battlefield for two or three days until the camp hospitals had room for them. Antiseptics were primitive, as were operating techniques.

Surgical Instruments:

Ambulance Wagons

War in Literature Few American writers saw the Civil War firsthand. Some were abroad, some died during the war, and some were living well far away from the battle sites.

Realism takes over Romantic novels: lives lived idealistically – beyond the level of everyday life. Realism: aimed at the common courses of life with subjects drawn from the slums of rising cities – far from idealized characters.

Elements of Realism Writers tried to represent faithfully the environment and manners of everyday life: the way ordinary people lived and dressed and the things they thought and felt and talked about. They also sought to explain why ordinary people behaved the way they do. Realism

American realism: Regionalism Regionalism = literature that emphasizes a specific geographic setting that makes use of the speech and manners of the people who live in that region. Writers tried to be realistic, but ended up being unrealistic and even sentimental in their depictions.

Then came Naturalism: Analyze human behavior objectively Human behavior was determined by forces beyond the individual’s power (hereditary and environment)