Embedded Files
This page is a collection of library resources that might be of interest for anyone looking to learn more about US History. Click on each title to learn more.
eBooks
Hutchinson Dictionary of American History
AUTHOR: Helicon Publishing
DESCRIPTION: Dictionary style entries of peoples, places, events, movements, terms, and battles relevant to US History.
An Infinity of Nations: How the Native New World Shaped Early North America
AUTHOR: Michael Witgen
DESCRIPTION: An Infinity of Nations explores the formation and development of a Native New World in North America. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, indigenous peoples controlled the vast majority of the continent while European colonies of the Atlantic World were largely confined to the eastern seaboard. To be sure, Native North America experienced far-reaching and radical change following contact with the peoples, things, and ideas that flowed inland following the creation of European colonies on North American soil. Most of the continent's indigenous peoples, however, were not conquered, assimilated, or even socially incorporated into the settlements and political regimes of this Atlantic New World. Instead, Native peoples forged a New World of their own. This history, the evolution of a distinctly Native New World, is a foundational story that remains largely untold in histories of early America. Through imaginative use of both Native language and European documents, historian Michael Witgen recreates the world of the indigenous peoples who ruled the western interior of North America. The Anishinaabe and Dakota peoples of the Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains dominated the politics and political economy of these interconnected regions, which were pivotal to the fur trade and the emergent world economy. Moving between cycles of alliance and competition, and between peace and violence, the Anishinaabeg and Dakota carved out a place for Native peoples in modern North America, ensuring not only that they would survive as independent and distinct Native peoples but also that they would be a part of the new community of nations who made the New World.
Labor in America: A History
AUTHORS: Melvyn Dubofsky and Joseph A. McCartin
DESCRIPTION: This book, designed to give a survey history of American labor from colonial times to the present, is uniquely well suited to speak to the concerns of today's teachers and students. As issues of growing inequality, stagnating incomes, declining unionization, and exacerbated job insecurity have increasingly come to define working life over the last 20 years, a new generation of students and teachers is beginning to seek to understand labor and its place and ponder seriously its future in American life. Like its predecessors, this ninth edition of our classic survey of American labor is designed to introduce readers to the subject in an engaging, accessible way.
At Home in Nineteenth-Century America: A Documentary History
AUTHOR: Amy G. Richter
DESCRIPTION: Few institutions were as central to nineteenth-century American culture as the home. Emerging in the 1820s as a sentimental space apart from the public world of commerce and politics, the Victorian home transcended its initial association with the private lives of the white, native-born bourgeoisie to cross lines of race, ethnicity, class, and region. Throughout the nineteenth century, home was celebrated as a moral force, domesticity moved freely into the worlds of politics and reform, and home and marketplace repeatedly remade each other. At Home in Nineteenth-Century America draws upon advice manuals, architectural designs, personal accounts, popular fiction, advertising images, and reform literature to revisit the variety of places Americans called home. Entering into middle-class suburban houses, slave cabins, working-class tenements, frontier dugouts, urban settlement houses, it explores the shifting interpretations and experiences of these spaces from within and without. Nineteenth-century homes and notions of domesticity seem simultaneously distant and familiar. This sense of surprise and recognition is ideal for the study of history, preparing us to view the past with curiosity and empathy, inspiring comparisons to the spaces we inhabit today--malls, movie theaters, city streets, and college campuses. Permitting us to listen closely to the nineteenth century's sweeping conversation about home in its various guises, At Home in Nineteenth-Century America encourages us to hear our contemporary conversation about the significance and meaning of home anew while appreciating the lingering imprint of past ideals.
The Twentieth Century in 100 Moments: A Visual History
AUTHORS: Akim Reinhardt and Heather Rounds
DESCRIPTION: Experience the twentieth century through the people and events that made headlines--a unique collection of voices, images, and unforgettable cultural touchstones. The Twentieth Century in 100 Moments: A Visual History groups and explains the most important events of the twentieth century in the United States, creating a textured, entertaining, and riveting narrative. Images from and ideas about the twentieth century are brought into focus through the following five themes. Triumph: Great and rousing moments that signal achievement and mark monumental accomplishments. Struggle: The hard work and long odds that bring deeper meaning to life. Living: How Americans indulge their spirit of playfulness. Celebrity: The people who have captivated America's attention. Discovery: American exploration and invention. To present this century is to tell the nation's collective story: the country's changing and shifting world views, common experiences, and discoveries on Earth and beyond, all told with the the century's rich visual imagery, photography, and film that tell the story of who we are.
Minority Soldiers Fighting in the American Revolution
AUTHOR: Eric Reeder
DESCRIPTION: Although African Americans and Native Americans faced racism, unequal treatment, and even slavery in the colonial period, minority soldiers fought bravely for both the British and the Americans in the Revolutionary War. This book looks at the contributions of Native American and African American soldiers and spies, contextualizing their experiences before and after the war. The book also provides information about the war itself and two case studies that trace minority soldiers' heroism in detail.
The Columbia History of Post-World War II America
EDITOR: Mark Carnes
DESCRIPTION: Beginning with an analysis of cultural themes and ending with a discussion of evolving and expanding political and corporate institutions, The Columbia History of Post-World War II America addresses changes in America's response to the outside world; the merging of psychological states and social patterns in memorial culture, scandal culture, and consumer culture; the intersection of social practices and governmental policies; the effect of technological change on society and politics; and the intersection of changing belief systems and technological development, among other issues. Many had feared that Orwellian institutions would crush the individual in the postwar era, but a major theme of this book is the persistence of individuality and diversity. Trends toward institutional bigness and standardization have coexisted with and sometimes have given rise to a countervailing pattern of individualized expression and consumption. Today Americans are exposed to more kinds of images and music, choose from an infinite variety of products, and have a wide range of options in terms of social and sexual arrangements. In short, they enjoy more ways to express their individuality despite the ascendancy of immense global corporations, and this volume imaginatively explores every facet of this unique American experience.
The Revolutionary Era: Primary Documents on Events from 1776 to 1800
AUTHOR: Carol Sue Humphrey
DESCRIPTION: From 1776 to 1800, the United States ceased to be a fantastic dream and became a stable reality. Newspapers were increasingly the public's major source of information about people and events outside of their community. The press reflected the issues of the day. Its foremost concern was naturally the armed struggle with Britain. The press covered the conflict, providing both patriot and loyalist interpretations of the battles and personalities. Yet after the British withdrew, a host of new challenges confronted the United States, including the Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, the Bill of the Rights, the Whiskey Rebellion, slavery, women's roles, the French Revolution, the XYZ Affair, the Sedition Act, and more. Again, the press not only purveyed the facts. It became a political tool trumpeting the viewpoint of Republicans and Federalists, ushering in a new era of American journalism. Beginning with an extensive overview essay of the period, this book focuses on 26 pressing issues of the war and the early republic. Each issue is presented with an introductory essay and multiple primary documents from the newspapers of the day, which illustrate both sides of the debate. This is a perfect resource for students interested in the Revolutionary War, the birth of the new nation, and the actual opinions and words of those involved.
This Day in American History
AUTHORS: Ernie Gross and Roland H., Jr. Worth
DESCRIPTION: This 2012 fourth edition of the most important and interesting data--on a day by day basis--throughout American history includes more than 1,400 new entries with information on a wide variety of subjects--both the "important" matters (Supreme Court decisions, war events, scientific breakthroughs, etc.) and the lesser known but thought provoking incidents and phenomena (societal changes, unexpected events) that add richness and depth to American history.
Digital Magazines
American History
Publisher: Harrisburg: Weider History Group, Inc
Full text coverage from: Mar/Apr 1997 (Vol. 32, no. 1) - present
Description: The American experience comes alive through thoroughly researched stories, outstanding photography and artwork. American History is the leading popular magazine that explores the rich texture of the American experience. The magazine’s lively storytelling, thought-provoking essays and more bring America’s past alive in every issue.
Academic Journals
The Journal of American History
PUBLISHER: Oxford: Organization of American Historians
Peer reviewed.
Full text available: Mar 1988 (Vol. 74, no. 4) - Dec 2011 (Vol. 98, no. 3)
Description: The Journal of American History is the official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, the official journal of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association.
Videos
The Unfinished Nation
Title: INTELECOM History Video Collection: The Unfinished Nation
Description: The Unfinished Nation-Part I brings early American History to life for learners. Using dramatic recreations, historical maps and original illustrations, and featuring the contributions of noted historians and scholars, The Unfinished Nation-Part I offers a comprehensive treatment of American History that is unparalleled in both quality and scope. 26 episodes.
Database Resources
ProQuest
Websites
USHistory.org: Individual pages covering many historical events, people, places, and things. Free digital textbooks also available.
Library of Congress: Digital Collections: Archives, photographs, documents, and more from the Library of Congress.
The Avalon Project: Historical documents separated by era archived by Yale Law School.
California Digital Newspaper Collection: Searchable, full text database of historic California newspapers.
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