A House Divided: The Civil War Era and Its Aftermath 1850–1890 The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was a cataclysmic event that divided the nation. Four years of destruction and bloodshed left more than 600,000 soldiers dead and the South in ruins. Slavery was abolished, but African Americans still faced a struggle for freedom and equality. Reactions to the grim casualties of the war and to the rapid urban expansion of the postwar years led many writers and artists to abandon their Romantic ideals. A new literary movement, called realism, emerged. KEY CONCEPTS Civil War Divides Slavery Leads to War The Country Rebuilds the Country History of the History of the History of the When Slavery was the Both North and the war ended, the South Times Times major cause of the Civil South were motivated faced economic War. After the election of by ideology and devastation. As Abraham Lincoln, who economics. Northerners Reconstruction began, the opposed slavery in the new fought to end slavery nation, which had lost its territories, Southern states and to preserve the innocence through the began seceding from the Union. Southerners experience of war, began Union and joined to form the fought to uphold states' to rebuild itself as a united Confederate States of rights and to defend country. America. their way of life. Literature of the Literature of the The Literature of the Times The devastation of suffering of enslaved African Times Most literary the Civil War caused Americans found expression works to come out of disillusionment in many in slave narratives and the war were of writers who turned away spirituals. These accounts historical interest: from Romanticism to and songs vividly show the diaries, letters, journals, realism. Realism focused injustice of slavery and the and public documents. on ordinary people instead determination to gain Apart from Whitman, of idealized heroes. freedom. few major writers witnessed the war firsthand.
A House Divided: The Civil War Era and Its Aftermath 1850–1890 The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was a cataclysmic event that divided the nation. Four years of destruction and bloodshed left more than 600,000 soldiers dead and the South in ruins. Slavery was abolished, but African Americans still faced a struggle for freedom and equality. Reactions to the grim casualties of the war and to the rapid urban expansion of the postwar years led many writers and artists to abandon their Romantic ideals. A new literary movement, called realism, emerged. KEY CONCEPTS Slavery Leads to War Civil War Divides the Country The Country Rebuilds History of the Times Slavery was the major cause of the Civil War. After the election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery in the new territories, Southern states began seceding from the Union and joined to form the Confederate States of America. Literature of the The suffering of enslaved African Americans found expression in slave narratives and spirituals. These accounts and songs vividly show the injustice of slavery and the determination to gain freedom. History of the Times Both North and South were motivated by ideology and economics. Northerners fought to end slavery and to preserve the Union. Southerners fought to uphold states' rights and to defend their way of life. Literature of the Times Most literary works to come out of the war were of historical interest: diaries, letters, journals, and public documents. Apart from Whitman, few major writers witnessed the war firsthand. History of the When the war ended, the South faced economic devastation. As Reconstruction began, the nation, which had lost its innocence through the experience of war, began to rebuild itself as a united country. Literature of the Times The devastation of the Civil War caused disillusionment in many writers who turned away from Romanticism to realism. Realism focused on ordinary people instead of idealized heroes.
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