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Use the timeline above to explore the explosion of American voices following the Civil War. Clicking the link under a writer’s picture will show you more about that writer, and buttons will help you explore the era. You can also scroll down the page to read about all the writers in this time period.

Many Voices in the New United States

After the end of the Civil War and the greater connection allowed for by the transcontinental railroad, American literature expanded greatly. Many minority writers rose to great prominence in this period as writing became more accessible. Postbellum (after war) writing was also somewhat more subdued and grounded in reality than pre-Civil War literature had been. Learn more about writing after the Civil War from Eastern Connecticut State University here.

Click the buttons below for more information about different aspects of the postbellum era.

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

María Ruiz de Burton

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Charles W. Chesnutt
Courtesy Cleveland Public Library Digital Gallery

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin

Jump to Featured Writers:

María Ruiz de Burton | Mark Twain | Kate Chopin | Charles W. Chesnutt | Abraham Cahan | Edith Wharton | Ida B. Wells | Sophia Alice Callahan | W.E.B. Du Bois | James Weldon Johnson | Paul Laurence Dunbar | Jack London | Mary Antin