The United States

This third edition of The United States: A Brief Narrative History remains a basic, readable, and highly affordable core text for the introductory survey of United States history. While not intended as the only resource for students enrolled in such courses, it remains the most concise U.S. survey on the market—its length, approach, and price encouraging the use of supplementary readings, novels, research projects, and primary documents (many of which are available on the Internet) all for a price that falls well below the list price of a traditional survey text. In addition to taking the engaging narrative all the way up through the second decade of the twenty-first century, the new edition features new maps. Loyal users will appreciate that fact that the book retains its cultural literacy approach, its lively narrative style, and highly effective highlighting of the names, terms, and concepts common to an educated person’s understanding of American history. Finally, its appendices comprise a useful, annotated text of The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and a list of U.S. Presidents.

Preface xi Introduction American’s First Nations 1 Philip Weeks Chapter Review 13 Chapter 1 Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization 15 Chapter Review 23 Chapter 2 Revolution and Independence 25 Chapter Review 32 Chapter 3 The Young Republic 35 Chapter Review 45 Chapter 4 Jefferson and the Democratic Republic 47 Chapter Review 56 Chapter 5 The Age of Jackson 57 Chapter Review 66 Chapter 6 The West (Pre-Civil War) 68 Chapter Review 72 Chapter 7 Sectional Conflict 73 Chapter Review 80 Chapter 8 Civil War and Reconstruction 82 Chapter Review 89 Chapter 9 The West (Post-Civil War) 91 Chapter Review 96 Chapter 10 The Gilded Age and Imperial America 97 Chapter Review 109 Chapter 11 Populism, Progressivism, and the Great War 111 Chapter Review 123 Chapter 12 Boom, Bust, and the New Deal 125 Chapter Review 135 Chapter 13 World War II and the Origins of the Cold War 137 Chapter Review 152 Chapter 14 Postwar America: The Fifties and Sixties 154 Chapter Review 167 Chapter 15 Retrenchment: The Seventies and Eighties 169 Chapter Review 179 Chapter 16 Cold War Ends, War on Terror Begins 181 Chapter Review 195 Appendix A The Declaration of Independence 197 Appendix B The Constitution of the United States 202 Appendix C Presidents of the United States of America 227 Index 231 Maps: The First Thirteen States, 1779 34 Growth of the U.S. to 1853 67 Secession, 1861 81 North African and European Campaigns 141 U.S. Offensive against Japan 145 Cold War Europe 149 The Middle East 183 The United States (front endpaper) The World (back endpaper)