America Breaks and Grows 1865-1939 Reconstruction: 1865-1877 Gilded Age: 1877-1890 Progressive Era: 1890-1914 WWI: 1914-1919 Roaring 20’s: 1920-1929 Great Depression: 1929-1939 How Did We Get Here? 1863 – Emancipation Proclamation 1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne died. Opened the doors, so to speak. 1865 – Twain hits his stride. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" 1835-1910 End of Civil War April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865 Walt Whitman (18191892) saw Lincoln often, but the two never met face to face. Wrote much about Lincoln. “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” “O Captain, My Captain” Lincoln Assassinated on April 14 Whitman’s Themes Transcendent power of love, brotherhood, and comradeship Imaginative projection into others’ lives Optimistic faith in democracy and equality Belief in regenerative and illustrative powers of nature and its value as a teacher Equivalence of body and soul and the unabashed exaltation of the body and sexuality Reconstruction: 1865-1877 Carpetbaggers Copperheads 14th amendment – Minorities born in USA get citizenship (not Native Americans) 15th Amendment – Black men get right to vote Military rule over South 1866 – Freedmen’s Bureau 1870- Grant’s Ku Klux Klan Act designed to curtail the KKK using federal troops 1876: 100 Year Anniversary Grown from 2.5 M to 46 M people Exports exceeded imports for first time Rights of Women movement starts NYC: Children’s Aid Society contains 11,000 homeless boys; 3000 more abandoned babies on its doorstep Vanderbilt Family spends $200,000 on a party. Wealth gap increases. Gilded Age: 1877-1893 Twain, William Dean Howells, Louisa May Alcott, Bret Harte, Henry James Blue collar worker expansion Rural to urban migration 1870-1900: 12 million immigrants 70% through New York Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 German, English, Irish, Chinese William Dean Howells: 1837-1920 • Campaign Manager for Lincoln • U.S. Consul to Italy (1861-1865) • Editor of Atlantic Monthly (18711881) • Realism author. Rise of Silas Lapham (1885) • Dean of American Letters • Wrote a hundred books in various genres, including novels, poems, literary criticism, plays, memoirs, and travel narratives • Social Issues subject of his books: women’s rights, workers rights, and rights for minorities. • 1887 – execution of Haymarket radicals Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) 1868 – Little Women 1871 – Little Men 1873 – Work Promoted interracial marriage and racial blurring. Alcott’s novels emphasize the growth their heroines must undergo to become intellectually and emotionally independent. In Alcott's vision of womanhood, only when a woman can stand alone and is not dependent on a man for fulfillment is she capable of finding happiness, whether married or not. By 1882, she was famous and wealthy. Emily Dickinson: 1830-1886 Throughout her life, she seldom left her house and visitors were scarce. Her poems are typically marked by the intimate recollection of inspirational moments, which are decidedly life-giving and suggest the possibility of happiness. Wrote about 800 good poems Bret Harte: 1836-1902 Short stories of the West 1867 – The Lost Galleon 1869 – Outcasts of Poker Flat 1876 – Gabriel Conroy Romanticist thwarted by Realism. Stock characters. Twain and Harte broke off friendship in 1877, after the flop of a co-written play. Twain said, “"Well, Bret came down to Hartford and we talked it over, and then Bret wrote it while I played billiards, but of course I had to go over it to get the dialect right. Bret never did know anything about dialect." Henry James: 1843-1916 1877 – The American 1878 – Daisy Miller 1881 – Portrait of a Lady 1886 – Bostonians 1897 – What Maisie Knew 1898 – Turn of the Screw W.D.H. on James: “[It is his] realism of Daudet rather than the realism of Zola that prevails [in his work], and it has a soul of its own…” (A compliment) Westward Ho! 1849 Gold Rush 1876 Dakota Gold Rush 1896 Klondike Gold Rush Manifest Destiny Explorers, Outlaws, Lawmen Land Grant states Indian Wars American Gold Rushes 1848 – California: Before the discovery of gold, California contained 12,000 Mexicans, 20,000 Native Americans and 2,000 Yankees. By 1850, there were more than 100,000 immigrants. 1874 – South Dakota: 1,000 men, led by General Custer patrolled the Black Hills area, a large region held sacred by the Sioux. A couple miners attached to his party discovered gold. The mines produced 10 percent of the world’s gold supply over the next 125 years. 1896 – Klondike, Alaska: Gold discovered in the White and Chilkoot passes, each inhumanly forbidding highaltitude areas. Of the 100,000 people who set out for the Klondike, 30-40 thousand got there, and only 1520 thousand prospected. Possibly 4,000 found some gold. Explorers, Outlaws, and Lawmen ▪ Cochise, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, and Custer ▪ "Buffalo Bill" Cody ▪ Theodore Roosevelt ▪ Butch Cassidy and "The Sundance Kid" ▪ John Fremont ▪ Billy the Kid ▪ Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday ▪ Jesse James Gang ▪ Calamity Jane The dead men after the OK Corral Shootout Manifest Destiny From 1845-1890, this meant Westward expansion. From 1890-1929, it meant expansion outside of North America. Lady Columbia, a personification of America, leads settlers westward, stringing telegraph wire as she travels, while holding a schoolbook. The Indians and wild animals flee. Notice the different socioeconomic backgrounds represented. “Indian” Wars: 1872-1890 Battle of the Little Big Horn (1876): General Custer’s force of just over 200 engaged the Lakota and Cheyenne Indian force of about 750. Custer and his entire force were killed in about 3 hours. Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890): fighting lasted less than an hour; over 150 Lakota were killed and 50 wounded. The U.S. Army casualties numbered 25 dead and 39 wounded. Oklahoma Land Rush 1889-1895: In 1893 alone, more than 100,000 white settlers rush into Oklahoma's Cherokee Outlet to claim seven million acres of former Cherokee land. 1892 World’s Fair, Edison’s Telephone, Chicago Riot Depression (Panic) of 1893 Why? Gold standard changed New building construction Agrarian factors – limited economic influence and increased competition High debt (especially to England) 1870-1890 number of farms rose 80%, to 4.5 Million 1870-1890 price of farmed goods dropped 60% Unemployment Rates 1890-1900 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 Rise of Business, Unions, and Socialism: 1890-1910 1890 – Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1 901, 1911) 1890 – Jane Addams’ Hull House founded 1891 – Populist Party formed 1891 – Edison’s Kinetoscope is invented Hamlin Garland, Sara Orne Jewitt, Stephen Crane, Kate Chopin, Emily Dickinson, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser Naturalism relies on these conditions Hamlin Garland: 1860-1940 A novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist, and memoirist, Garland lectured widely on American literature and writers for over 40 years. 1891 – Main-Traveled Roads “Under the Lion’s Paw” is most famous short story. Sara Orne Jewitt: 1849-1909 1890 – Tales of New England Her fiction is characterized by intimate views of characters' lives, the growth and trials of friendship, and a good deal of humor, both broad and subtle. Stephen Crane: 1871-1900 Realist 1893 – Maggie, Girl of the Streets 1895 – Red Badge of Courage 1897 – “The Open Boat” 1900 Census 76.2 Million People 45 states 1800 Census: 5.3 Million People New York’s Metropolitan Museum excluded the working class, as it was closed on Sunday, the only day workers were free. That changed in 1891 as an early “Progressive” move. Kate Chopin: 1851-1904 1894 – Bayou Folk “A Pair of Silk Stockings” “Desiree’s Baby” “The Story of an Hour” 1899 – The Awakening Realist. Distinctly unsentimental in her approach, she often relied on popular period motifs, such as the conflict of the Yankee businessman and the Creole. Progressive Era: 1893-1914 Congress chartered the National Child Labor Committee in 1907. However, it took until 1938 before Congress disallowed kids under 16 to work in dangerous jobs. Congress also enacted the 40 hour work week in 1938. Frank Norris: 1870-1902 Naturalist who takes on Big Business 1899 – McTeague 1900 – A Man’s Woman 1900 – Blix 1902 – The Pit Most of his works include realistic descriptions of violence, squalor, and determinism. Theodore Dreiser: 1871-1945 1900 – Sister Carrie 1912 – The Financier Naturalist – Social inequality 1925 – An American Tragedy From An American Tragedy: "Well, here is one who, whatever her defects, probably does what she believes as nearly as possible." Early American Imperialism Panama Canal (1904-1914) Spanish American War (1898) Puerto Rico, Philippines, Cuba, Guam Lending issues with Europe Chinese ports for trade Oil contracts Edith Wharton, Jack London, Robert Frost, Gertrude Stein, Sinclair Lewis, Hamlin Garland, T.S. Eliot, Sherwood Anderson Edith Wharton: 1862-1937 1905 – House of Mirth 1911 – Ethan Frome 1920 – The Age of Innocence Wharton made fun of the narrow-minded and ignorant upper class through irony Crossed the Atlantic 66 times Won France’s highest civilian award Jack London (1876-1916) Highest paid, most popular writer in America in early 20th Century. Man vs. Nature An illegitimate child from California At 15 became an oyster pirate At 17 joined a sealing ship for 3 months 30 day imprisonment; after, went to Cal Berkeley Gained information for stories from his time in the Klondike searching for gold Call of the Wild (1903), Sea-Wolf (1904), White Fang (1906) Died a millionaire at 40 of various diseases and treatments First real “scientific farmer” – Darwinist stockbreeder Built his own ship, The Snark, and cruised the South Pacific for 27 months. Robert Frost (1874-1963) 4 Pulitzer Prizes Called the “American Bard” “Road Not Taken,” “Mending Wall,” “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” Born in California; named for Robert E. Lee New England settings; moved there at 11 Study of contrasts – dark and depressed/beauty of nature Traditional form and meter Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) Coined the term “Lost Generation” Openly lesbian and feminist (Alice B. Toklas) Volunteered to drive supply vehicles in WWI in France Spent most of her life abroad, especially in France Anti-FDR; opposed New Deal Elitist poet and author Three Lives (1909); Tender Buttons (1914) Picasso (1938); Patriarchal Poetry (1953) Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) Nobel Prize in 1930 (first American winner) 22 novels and 3 plays Main Street (1920); Babbitt (1922) Socialist (typical of many authors of his time) Awarded Pulitzer Prize in 1926, but rejected it, saying prizes were silly. He had lost the Pulitzer twice as a runner-up. He accepted the Nobel in 1930. Hamlin Garland (1860-1940) Midwestern guy (Wisconsin) Main-Traveled Roads (1891): “Under the Lion’s Paw” Realist – can we argue Naturalist, too? 1922 Pulitzer Prize Wrote biographies and much about the Wild West and issues concerning the Midwest The Book of the American Indian (1923) Forty Years of Psychic Research (1936) The Mystery of the Buried Crosses (1939) T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) 1948 Nobel Prize Literary Critic, poet, essayist, dramatist “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1917) Wasteland (1922) Born in USA; became British citizen in 1927 Modernist – Ezra Pound’s “Make it New!” Ash Wednesday (1930) – Conversion Poem Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939) – became the basis for Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical Cats. A book for children. Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941) Winesburg, Ohio – short story collection (1919) Fought in Spanish American War (1899) American Grotesque Epitaph: “Life, Not Death, is the Great Adventure” "Everyone in the world is Christ and they are all crucified." Friends with famous authors of his time: William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Carl Sandburg, and scrapped with Hemingway. Black America Jim Crow Laws (1876-1968) 1896 – Plessy vs Ferguson Harlem Renaissance (19191934) KKK (1866-1873; 1925-present) Jim Crow Laws (18761954, 1964, 1968) Enacted in Southern States as Reconstruction ended (1876). Basically overruled 14th and 15th Amendments (1870) Horrific laws imposed on Blacks Examples: voting disfranchisement, public accommodations, living quarters, athletics, separate libraries, advertisements marked “colored” or “white,” etc. Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) Upheld the Constitutionality of Racial Segregation (Separate IS Equal) June 7, 1892, in a planned act, Homer Plessy boarded a whites-only train car. He was an octoroon, and could often “pass.” He did not this time. He refused to leave and was arrested. Lost his case in local, district, and federal courts. Destroyed most of 1875 Civil Rights Laws Upheld most of 1890 Louisiana State mandatory separation laws. Overturned in 1954 Brown vs. Topeka Board of Ed. Harlem Renaissance (1919-1934) The Harlem Renaissance was more than just a literary movement: it included racial consciousness, "the Back to Africa" movement led by Marcus Garvey, racial integration, the explosion of music particularly jazz, spirituals and blues, painting, dramatic revues, and others. Langston Hughes, WEB DuBois (The Talented Tenth), Booker T. Washington (D. 1915, but impact greatly felt), Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Arna Bontemps, Nella Larsen. William H. Johnson - artist KKK (1866-1873; 1915-present) Birth of a Nation (1915) Founded by Confederate Soldiers after Civil War Destroyed by Pres. Grant with 1870-1871 Civil Rights Acts (Federal Troops) In 1925, 15% of all white men (4.7 million) were in KKK Anti: Catholic, Black, Jew, Communist Today: 70,000 members nationwide, in numerous small “cells” or “chapters” WWI (1914-1919) The Great War Trench Warfare Almost 10 million killed Germany lost, and several European nations earned independence. Britain lost imperialistic ground Unresolved issues led to European theatre in WWII America emerged from limited involvement as world power Battle of the Somme – 450,000 British Dead U-Boats and the Lusitania Zimmerman Telegram (from British Room 40) Trenches, Machine Guns, and Poison Gas Jingoism/Nationalism “Extreme chauvinism” and Nativism Imperialism and heavy military influence Teddy Roosevelt – 1893 Suppression of rights for immigrants Modernism: 1917-1939 Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Wallace Stevens, Ernest Hemingway, William Carlos Williams, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner Political, artistic and cultural movement that is positive and powerful, advocating the use of all scientific and human means of determining a better environment and living it. “Make it new!” Roughly encompasses 1890-1940 Roaring 20’s (1919-1929) Intolerance, isolation, cynicism $5 workday, incredible economic power, first Transatlantic flight, Jazz Age Gangsters, KKK, harsh immigration laws, Volstead Act (Prohibition) Flappers, parties, wealth acquisition, automobile, aircraft, radio, telephone Stock Market Crash (1929) Buying stock on margin – for each dollar of stock, purchased $9 of stock DOW increased from 60 to 400 from 1921 to 1929. Did not reach 400 again until 1955. Economics - banks had invested customer money in stock (on margin). 10,000 banks failed, and $140 Billion in customer money disappeared. Also the Fed had raised interest rates too high to stifle inflation. Did not learn lessons from the first depression in 1893 Market lost $16 Billion in capitalization Great Depression 1929-1939 Migration War machine CCC New Deal Patriotism (against communism) Stats: 32% of Americans were below poverty line. Ezra Pound (1885-1972) Most important player in Modernist movements in literature and the arts Left U.S. for China and Europe in 1908 “invented” imagism in art, sculpture, and poetry Detested WWI – felt betrayed by Europe and U.S. Cathay (1915) The Cantos (1915-1972) – an epic spanning his entire life. Portions of it won major awards In 1924, Pound moved to Italy. Not a wise choice overall. Worked for Axis powers during WWII as propagandist. Nervous breakdown in 1945 in prison. Arrested and tried for treason by U.S. Government. Found unfit for trial because of insanity. Institutionalized from 1946-1958. Released in 1958, moved to Italy, and stayed until death. Vicious opponent of federal banking systems. F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) “Inventor” of “Lost Generation” novel Named after his relative, Francis Scott Key. Married Zelda Sayre in 1920. The Romantic Egotist (1920) The Great Gatsby (1923) Tender is the Night (1934) Friends with Hemingway, until a fight split them forever. (Zelda hated Hemingway anyway). Zelda was inspiration for much of his partying, “lost” characters. He quoted her directly in some characters. She had a more powerful personality than Fitzgerald. Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) Major Modernist poet Fun fact: His wife Elsie’s face was used on the Mercury Dime (1916-1945) Lawyer and eventual V.P. of insurance company (The Hartford) Pulitzer Prize in 1955 His best work was written after he turned 50, an amazing accomplishment. Harmonium (1923) National Book Awards (1951, 1955) Believed old religion was dead, and life must be lived differently now. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) A part of ex-pat community in Paris. Many canonical works: In Our Time (1925) Sun Also Rises (1926) A Farewell to Arms (1929) For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) The Old Man and the Sea (1952) – won Pulitzer for this in 1953. Won Nobel in 1954. Notorious exaggerator; great athlete. Drove ambulance in WWI. William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) Imagist poetry “The Red Wheelbarrow” Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) Sonnets (see course pack) Bohemian John Steinbeck (1902-1968) Modernist. Accent novellas first William Faulkner (1897-1962) Time, identity, Southern Gothic Absalom! Absalom! Sound and the Fury Snopes Trilogy Yoknapatapha Xounty Then What Happens? German invasion of Poland, in 1939 End of Colonialism (1946-1950) Atomic Bomb (1945) WW II (1939-1945) Korean War (1950-1953) Cold War (1945-1989) Vietnam (1964-1975)