1. DIVISION, RECONCILIATION, & EXPANSION Realism, Naturalism, & Regionalism (1850-1914)

2. Change in America  Agricultural to industrial  South  Slower paced  Agricultural  Technological progress has little impact  North  Cities of bustling activity  More immigration (Ireland, Germany)  Education, banking, science are topics of concern

3. Slavery  Slavery dominated politics and literature  Uncle Tom’s Cabin becomes a powerful anti-slavery weapon  Southern novels produced to try to counter its influence  More conflict with Lincoln in office

4. Expansion & the Frontier  Homestead Act of 1862  160 acres to anyone who would settle land and improve it  Gold mining  Transcontinental railroad  1890: Frontier disappearing  Settlers  Railroads  Ranching

5. Native Americans  Native Americans of West forced from land  Government promised territories; however, many reopened up for settlers  Disappearance of buffalo with expansion forced others to leave

6. A Changing Society  Second Industrial Revolution—electricity  More recreation and modern conveniences  Immigration  Many leave farm life in search of opportunity in cities  Competition for cheap labor  Socioeconomics  Mark Twain—“The Gilded Age”

7. Realism  Pre-war—idealistic view of life  War and harshness of frontier life shattered this view  Sought to portray life as realistically and accurately as possible  Attempted to remain objective and “factual”

8. Naturalism  Branch of Realism  People were not in control of their own destinies  Forces beyond people’s control  Fate  Nature  Heredity  War, frontier life, and severity of industrialism lead people to believe they had no control over change—or their own lives

9. Regionalism  Attempt to observe and depict the qualities of a geographical region and its people  Regional dialect Pronunciations and expressions  Local color Physical environment, mood, mindsets