Colonial period(1765-1790)

Realism(1865-1900)- American Realism was a style in art, music, and literature that depicted contemporary social realities as well as ordinary people's lives and daily activities. The movement began in literature in the mid-nineteenth century and became a significant trend in visual art in the early twentieth century. American realist works attempted to define what was real, whether it was a cultural depiction or a scenic view of downtown New York City.
A new generation of painters, authors, and journalists was emerging in the United States at the turn of the century. Older American artists such as Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, J. Alden Weir, Thomas Pollock Anshutz, and William Merritt Chase influenced many of the painters. However, when the United States entered the new century, they were interested in creating new and more urbane works that mirrored city life and a place that was more urban than rural.
Naturalism(1900-1914)- Naturalism in American literature can be traced back to Frank Norris, whose theories differed markedly from Zola's, particularly regarding the status of naturalism within the loci of realism and Romanticism; Norris saw naturalism as Romantic, while Zola saw himself as "a realist of realists." According to Link, while American naturalism had trends, there was no unified critical consensus on its definition. Among Link's examples are Stephen Crane, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, and Frank Norris, with William Dean Howells and Henry James clearly defining the naturalist/realist divide.
Crane's naturalism is best known for his painting "The Open Boat," which depicted a naturalistic view of man with his depiction of a group of survivors adrift in a boat. With their creation, humans confronted the sea and the natural world. Crane articulated the illusion of gods and the realization of the universe's indifference in these men's experiences.
Modern Period(1914-1939)- Science and technological advancements in Western countries accelerated significantly at the turn of the century, resulting in a sense of extraordinary progress. In Europe and the United States, the devastation of World War I and the Great Depression caused immense suffering. Within modernism, a movement in the arts defined first and primarily as a fundamental departure from the past, these opposing forces may be found whirling. However, this rupture was frequently accompanied by acts of destruction, resulting in a loss of faith in traditional structures and beliefs. Despite, or perhaps because of, these contradictory impulses, the modernist period in American literature proved to be one of the richest and most productive. Much American modernist fiction is tinged with disillusionment and loss.