Podcast
Questions and Answers
What was a primary factor that initially deterred American settlers from moving to the Great Plains during the early nineteenth century?
What was a primary factor that initially deterred American settlers from moving to the Great Plains during the early nineteenth century?
- The region's vast, treeless grasslands, coupled with a harsh climate and challenging soil, posed significant obstacles. (correct)
- The abundance of trees made it difficult to clear land for farming.
- The lack of access to eastern markets hindered economic opportunities.
- The presence of established European settlements created territorial disputes.
How did the expansion of railroads and improvements in farming equipment impact westward expansion in the United States during the 1860s?
How did the expansion of railroads and improvements in farming equipment impact westward expansion in the United States during the 1860s?
- They increased tensions between settlers and Native Americans, leading to armed conflicts.
- They made it more difficult for farmers to cultivate crops in the East.
- They facilitated the transportation of goods and people, making the Great Plains more accessible and farmable. (correct)
- They decreased the availability of public land for settlement.
What fate did Native Americans face during Westward Expansion?
What fate did Native Americans face during Westward Expansion?
- Native Americans were encouraged to assimilate into European-American culture and society.
- Native Americans prospered through trade and collaboration with settlers and the U.S. government.
- Native Americans saw their traditional ways of life disrupted and were often forcibly relocated to reservations. (correct)
- Native Americans negotiated treaties that expanded their territory and preserved their traditional ways of life.
What was the U.S. government's policy toward Native Americans after the Civil War?
What was the U.S. government's policy toward Native Americans after the Civil War?
What factors contributed to the rapid industrial growth of the United States during the Gilded Age?
What factors contributed to the rapid industrial growth of the United States during the Gilded Age?
Why was the late 19th century in the United States called the Gilded Age?
Why was the late 19th century in the United States called the Gilded Age?
What was a significant social consequence of the rapid industrial growth during the Gilded Age?
What was a significant social consequence of the rapid industrial growth during the Gilded Age?
How did reformers during the Gilded Age aim to address the challenges associated with industrialization and urbanization?
How did reformers during the Gilded Age aim to address the challenges associated with industrialization and urbanization?
What role did muckrakers play during the Gilded Age?
What role did muckrakers play during the Gilded Age?
What fundamental belief motivated reformers like Susan B. Anthony in their fight for women's rights after the Civil War?
What fundamental belief motivated reformers like Susan B. Anthony in their fight for women's rights after the Civil War?
Which event marked the culmination of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
Which event marked the culmination of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
What did Regionalist writers aim to capture in their works following the Civil War?
What did Regionalist writers aim to capture in their works following the Civil War?
How did writers of the Realism movement differ from those of the Romanticism movement?
How did writers of the Realism movement differ from those of the Romanticism movement?
What scientific theories influenced Naturalist writers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
What scientific theories influenced Naturalist writers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
How did Naturalist writers view the influence of heredity and environment on human beings?
How did Naturalist writers view the influence of heredity and environment on human beings?
What belief distinguishes Realist writers from Naturalist writers?
What belief distinguishes Realist writers from Naturalist writers?
What broad societal shift is reflected in the transition from Romanticism to Realism and Naturalism in American literature?
What broad societal shift is reflected in the transition from Romanticism to Realism and Naturalism in American literature?
Which of the following best describes the social and economic conditions that fueled the rise of Realism and Naturalism in American literature?
Which of the following best describes the social and economic conditions that fueled the rise of Realism and Naturalism in American literature?
In what way could the focus of Regionalist writers be seen as a response to the increasing homogenization of American culture during the Gilded Age?
In what way could the focus of Regionalist writers be seen as a response to the increasing homogenization of American culture during the Gilded Age?
How did the social and cultural context of the Gilded Age influence the themes and perspectives explored by Realist writers?
How did the social and cultural context of the Gilded Age influence the themes and perspectives explored by Realist writers?
Flashcards
Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A law that enabled settlers to claim public land in the Great Plains, encouraging westward migration.
Sodbusters
Sodbusters
Term for prairie farmers who faced challenges like drought and isolation in the Great Plains.
Reservations (Native Americans)
Reservations (Native Americans)
The U.S. government's policy after the Civil War to relocate Native Americans onto designated areas.
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age
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Muckrakers
Muckrakers
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Hull House
Hull House
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Women's Suffrage
Women's Suffrage
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Regionalism (in literature)
Regionalism (in literature)
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Realism (in literature)
Realism (in literature)
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Naturalism (in literature)
Naturalism (in literature)
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Study Notes
Westward Expansion
- American settlement paused at the edge of the Great Plains in the early nineteenth century
- Settlers found the treeless grasslands challenging due to little rainfall, a fierce climate and soil difficult to plow
- Improvements in farming equipment, railroad expansion, and the Homestead Act made more Americans willing to move to the Great Plains starting in the 1860s
- Prairie farmers still faced toil, drought, extreme temperatures, blizzards, tornadoes, grass fires, locusts, and isolation
- Gold, silver, and copper deposits in the West served the needs of growing Eastern industries
- Precious metals brought the first settlers to populate the mountain states of the West
- Westward expansion was disastrous for Native Americans due to settlers encroaching on their traditional ways of life
- Native Americans of the Great Plains depended on buffalo for food, clothing, and shelter
- The destruction of buffalo herds by white hunters doomed the Native American way of life by the 1880s
- The U.S. government policy after the Civil War was to move Native Americans onto reservations
- Resistance by some Native Americans led to armed clashes with U.S. troops
The Gilded Age
- Cities in the East and Midwest grew as the Great Plains and West were settled
- New inventions like the electric light and telephone improved economic efficiency and created new jobs
- Thousands of Americans and millions of immigrants moved to cities in search of work
- By the early 1900s, the United States became the world’s leading industrial nation
- Rapid growth had a social cost with corruption in business and politics
- The Gilded Age refers to the widespread corruption, referencing Mark Twain's satire
- The gap between rich and poor Americans widened, and some became very wealthy
- Cities were overpopulated, and the poor lived in crowded, dirty, and unsafe tenement houses
- Reformers and writers aimed to improve working and housing conditions
Hull House
- Jane Addams founded Hull House in Chicago as a settlement house for immigrants and poor working people
- Hull House offered hot lunches for factory workers and English classes
- Journalists known as muckrakers exposed social problems from industrialization and urbanization
- Ida Tarbell analyzed the Standard Oil Company's control of 95% of the country's oil-refining capacity
- Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle exposed the filthy and unsafe conditions in Chicago's stockyards and meatpacking plants
Women’s Rights
- Reformers like Susan B. Anthony realized women would remain powerless without property rights and voting rights after the Civil War
- Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869
- The federal government balked at giving women the right to vote, but Western states were more progressive
- Wyoming became the first state to give women the right to vote in 1890
- Women could vote in fifteen states by 1914
- The Nineteenth Amendment guaranteed voting rights for all American women in 1920
Regionalism, Realism, Naturalism
- Regionalist or local color writers created vivid portrayals of their own regions
- Realism attempted to portray people as they actually were
- William Dean Howells defined Realism as "the truthful treatment of material"
- Naturalist writers were influenced by scientists like Charles Darwin
Regionalism
- Following the Civil War, some American writers focused on the unique characteristics, or local color, of a particular region of the country
- They attempted to portray the landscape, speech, customs, and other cultural details of their chosen region
Realism
- Writers turned away from Romanticism and tried to create the appearance of ordinary life
- Realists aimed to render the truth of everyday experience as they saw, heard, and felt it
Naturalism
- Naturalism, is a more extreme movement, grew out of Realism
- Naturalist writers believed human beings are shaped by heredity and environment and dominated by economic, social, or natural forces
Realism and Naturalism
- Realism and Naturalism portray nature and human lives as faithfully as possible
- Realists believe people can choose a direction in life and make choices
- Naturalists believe human life is determined by heredity and environment and that individuals are trapped in predestined lives that they cannot change
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