1850-1880

Before the Civil War, America was essentially an idealistic, confident, and self- reliant republic. After the war, the United States emerged as a nation whose purpose and place in the universe was shaken.

1. Very little important poetry and fiction came directly from the Civil War because most of America’s major writers didn’t have first hand war experience.

2. Direct accounts of the war found their way into other types of literature.A. Emotional lettersB. Diaries

3. The Civil War directly affected the style of writing in the United States.

4. Examples of Civil War literature:A. Slave narratives- Frederick

Douglass Sojourner

TruthB. Political speeches- Abraham LincolnC. Poetry- Walt Whitman

Emily Dickinson

The literary form most appropriate for handling such strong material as found in war- the realistic novel- was not developed until after the war. As a result, the “real war”

did not find a place in American literature until the rise of realism.

Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Keep Your Hands on the Plow

Go Down, Moses

Follow the Drinking Gourd

Wade in the Water

1. Spent her life battling slavery and demanding voting rights for women1. Believed resisting injustices was her

divinely ordained duty2. Real name- Isabella3. Born into slavery in New York and escaped

at the age of 294. Believed she saw visions and her messages

from God5. Changed her name to Sojourner Truth

which means visiting traveler, spreading the truth of God

7. Preached throughout the Northeast and Midwest United States.

8. Began to weave antislavery messages into her sermons

7. Became a champion of women’s rights especially the right to vote.

10. after the start of the Civil War, she worked to gather supplies and funds for black volunteer regiments.

11. Accepted job in Washington, D.C. with the National Freedmen’s Relief Association counseling former slaves.

1. Writings were based on warfare and the cruel joke it plays on humanity

2. Born the 10th of 13 children to poor, unsuccessful farmer

3. Educated primarily through exploring his father’s small library

4. While serving in the Civil War, was severely wounded and cited for bravery no fewer

than 15 times

4. Had a successful career as a newspaper editor and columnist

5. Set off for Mexico in 1914 to report on, or to join in, its revolution- no further word has ever been heard from him again