Romanticism to Realism

By 1865, there was a general change in our perception of human potential versus experience; writers and thinkers concerned themselves less with aspirations and more with actual existence in America. The New England Renaissance was waning, and the ideas of Romanticism and Transcendentalism were diminishing in influence. Romantic writers had examined human nature apart from society, isolated and absorbed by the imagination and inner reflection, concerned with ultimate questions about the universe. After the conclusion of the American War between the States in 1865, a age that is referred to as the Post-War Period, writers tended to treat everyday human problems in complex social settings. These writers were not concerned with metaphysical questions; they focused their attention and interest in human experiences. This movement is known as Realism.