Honors English Literature Timeline By jbielskis May 24, 1607 Jamestown Aug 9, 1629 Massachusetts Bay Colony Period: Feb 1, 1692 to May 1, 1693 Salem Witch Trials Period: Jan 1, 1825 to Dec 31, 1865 Romanticism Sep 1, 1830 Emerson's "Self-Reliance" Period: Jan 1, 1835 to Dec 31, 1860 Transcendentalism Jan 1, 1850 The Scarlet Letter Aug 9, 1854 Henry David Thoreau's Walden Period: Apr 12, 1861 to May 10, 1865 Civil War Period: Jan 1, 1865 to Dec 31, 1910 Realism Period: Jan 1, 1890 to Dec 31, 1945 Modernism Period: Jan 1, 1893 to Dec 31, 1914 Naturalism Period: Jul 28, 1914 to Nov 11, 1918 World War I Period: Jan 1, 1920 to Dec 31, 1930 Lost Generation Period: Jan 1, 1920 to Oct 29, 1929 Jazz Age Period: Jan 1, 1920 to Dec 31, 1930 Harlem Renaissance Period: Jan 16, 1920 to Dec 5, 1933 Prohibition Aug 18, 1920 Nineteenth Amendment Jan 1, 1925 The Great Gatsby Period: Oct 29, 1929 to Dec 31, 1939 Great Depression Jan 1, 1932 Light in August Jan 1, 1937 Their Eyes Were Watching God Period: Sep 1, 1939 to Sep 2, 1945 World War II Period: Jan 1, 1945 to Dec 31, 2006 Postmodernism Period: Jan 1, 1947 to Dec 31, 1991 Cold War Period: Jan 1, 1948 to Dec 31, 1953 HUAC/McCarthyism Period: Jun 25, 1950 to Jul 27, 1953 Korean War Jan 1, 1953 The Crucible Period: Jan 1, 1955 to Dec 31, 1964 Beat Generation Period: Nov 1, 1955 to Apr 30, 1975 Vietnam War