AMERICAN LITERATURE 2

Centers largely on the Civil War—attitudes leading into it; the issues that defined it, such as slavery; and how American writers responded to it. Several lessons are dedicated to the transcendentalists—most prominently Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau—and their eloquent optimism. Juxtaposing their idealism are works from Nathaniel Hawthorne, Frederick Douglass’s autobiography, and several other slave narratives. Riding the proverbial line that is realism, excerpts from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address showcase the true art that is political rhetoric. The unit closes with Herman Melville and Stephen Crane, authors characterized by postwar pessimism and harsh naturalism, respectively. A significant portion of the unit is dedicated to poetry, featuring in-depth looks at Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman and a comparison of the two.

Common Core correlations