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)
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
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