“A tale intended to be after the fact…” is how Stephan Crane presented his poignant story, “The Open Boat,” but this statement also shows that history influences American literature. Throughout history, there has been a connection between literary works from different periods. The connection is that history, current events, and social events have influenced American literature. Authors, their literary works and specific writing styles; are affected and influenced by the world around them. Authors have long used the experiences they have had and/or drawn from history to shape and express their works. Writing styles are also affected by current trends and opinions of the period they represent. In reading American literature, we have seen the inhumane treatment of slaves, we have seen the destruction caused by wars, and we have seen the devastation of eras such as the Great Depression. In order to see how cultural and historical situations affect literature throughout history, it is important to provide a brief history of each era covered in this article. The first era we will look at will be the writings from 1865 to 1914. The Civil War had just ended in 1865. America lost over half a million Americans in the war. The nation was in disarray and the South was devastated. The country nevertheless prospered. America industrialized and saw innovations such as: railroads, telegraph, telephone, and electricity. The population of the United States had also begun to increase due to immigration. Between the years 1865 and 1914, American literature was primarily composed of three writing styles: realism, regionalism, and naturalism. Realism aims to describe life realistically. Although realism...... middle of paper......a woman trying to find an identity through her heritage. All of these stories give us examples and show us what life would be like for the characters at that time. They give details that show readers the world around them. History, current events, and social events have truly influenced American literature. The authors were influenced by the world around them and this is reflected in their works. This is seen throughout the many eras studied in this course. It can also be seen in all types of literature, such as playwrights, fiction, non-fiction, and poems. This can also be seen in all different styles of writing such as realism, modernism, and post-modernism. It is important that American literature was influenced in this way because the authors showed us their personal points of view and insight into situations that one would not find in a history textbook..