Civil War and Reconstruction Era Literature — Flashcards

Grade 11 · English · Flashcards

Key terms, authors, and concepts for Civil War and Reconstruction era literature in 11th grade English.

Flashcards

Slave Narrative: First-person autobiographical account of slavery used as personal testimony and abolitionist argument
Frederick Douglass: Formerly enslaved author of 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass' (1845), the defining slave narrative
Double Consciousness: W.E.B. Du Bois's concept: Black Americans see themselves through both their own eyes and the prejudiced gaze of white society
Gettysburg Address: Lincoln's 1863 speech redefining the Civil War as a fight for democratic equality rooted in the Declaration of Independence
Harriet Jacobs: Author of 'Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl' (1861), focusing on women's experiences under slavery
Elegy: A poem of mourning for the dead — a central form in Civil War literature
Drum-Taps: Walt Whitman's 1865 poetry collection about the Civil War, shaped by his service as a hospital volunteer
Reconstruction: Post-Civil War period (1865-1877) attempting to rebuild the South and achieve racial equality; ultimately curtailed
Abolitionism: The movement to end slavery; slave narratives were key abolitionist literary weapons
The Souls of Black Folk: W.E.B. Du Bois's 1903 essay collection introducing double consciousness and analyzing the Reconstruction legacy
Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln's 1863 executive order freeing enslaved people in Confederate states still in rebellion
13th Amendment: Constitutional amendment (1865) that formally abolished slavery throughout the United States