America's promise : a concise history of the United States / William J. Rorabaugh, Donald T. Critchlow, and Paula Baker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rorabaugh, W. J.

Contributor:

Critchlow, Donald T., 1948-

Baker, Paula C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History.

United States.

History.

Physical Description:

volumes : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield : Distributed by National Book Network, c2004-

Summary:

From the colonial town green to the televised town hall, Americans have shaped their destiny through their public life and the communities in which they continue to live and work towards America's Promise. In this text, authors William J. Rorabaugh, Donald T. Critchlow, and Paula Baker effectively blend political, social and cultural history to present a balanced portrait of America's past. Designed to emphasize major themes and events, the work also captures the rich and often amusing character of the American people. Extensively revised and expanded from America: A Concise History (Rorabaugh and Critchlow), America's Promise is a succinct, highly readable introduction to American history.

Contents:

1 A Big Country 1

Prehistory and the First Americans 1

North American Indians in 1500 5

Europeans Explore and Exploit the Americas 8

Building the Spanish Empire, 1513-1542 11

France and Spain Become Rivals in North America 15

England Comes Late to the Party 17

2 The Plantation South, 1607-1771 22

Virginia's Early Days, 1607-1624 22

Governor Sir William Berkeley's Virginia, 1642-1677 27

The Great Planters Turn to Slavery 31

Founding the Other Southern Colonies 37

3 Religious New England, 1620-1760 44

The Pilgrims Found Plymouth Colony, 1620 44

England in 1620 46

The Puritans Found Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1629-1642 48

Puritan Life Revolves around Religion 53

Troubles Come to Massachusetts, 1660-1692 57

Awakenings, Commercial and Religious, 1700-1760 62

4 The Diverse Middle Colonies, 1624-1760 67

The Dutch Found New Netherland, 1624-1664 67

The English Add New York to Their Empire, 1651-1750 70

Multiethnic Experimenting in Pennsylvania, 1681-1760 74

Philadelphia Grows and Prospers, 1682-1760 79

Founding the Other Middle Colonies 82

5 The American Revolution, 1750-1783 85

Americans Help Maintain the British Empire, 1750-1763 85

The Mother Country Abuses Her Children, 1764-1774 92

Americans Make a Revolution, 1774-1783 98

6 The New Nation, 1783-1800 110

Living under the Articles of Confederation, 1783-1787 110

Planning the United States Constitution, 1787-1789 114

George Washington's Presidency, 1789-1797 118

John Adams's Presidency, 1797-1801 124

7 Thomas Jefferson's America, 1801-1829 132

Thomas Jefferson Envisions a Great, Expanding Nation 132

Friction with Britain Leads to the War of 1812 139

The Era of Good Feelings, 1816-1824 143

John Quincy Adams's Presidency, 1825-1829 147

8 The Market Revolution, 1790-1850 152

Textile Manufacturing Starts the Market Revolution 152

King Cotton Drives the Economy 156

Improved Transportation Stimulates Commerce 159

The Market Revolution Transforms Society 163

9 Evangelical Religion and Reform, 1790-1850 172

Southerners Embrace Revivals but Disdain Reform 172

Northeasterners Undertake Revivals with Reforms 176

Reformers Tackle Social Problems 181

Idealists Seek Change 187

10 Andrew Jackson of the West 192

The Frontier West Gives Birth to Jacksonian Ideals 192

Jackson Brings Frontier Democracy to the Nation 197

Jackson Fights to Preserve the Union 199

Jackson Wrecks the Banking System and the Economy 201

Jackson Removes Eastern Indians to Western Reservations 205

Jackson Casts a Shadow, 1836-1845 209

11 The Problem of Slavery 213

The Revolutionary Generation Attacks Slavery 213

Black Life in the South 216

Colonizationists Urge Abolition with Removal 220

Southerners Adopt a Positive View of Slavery 222

Religious Abolitionists Call Slavery a Sin 224

Militant Abolitionists Denounce Slavery 228

12 Americans at Midcentury: Unbounded Optimism 234

Rapid Growth Reshapes the Country 234

The Middle Class Adopts Modern Values 237

Americans Lay Claim to the Continent 240

The Texas Question Leads to War with Mexico 244

Adopting the Compromise of 1850 248

Manifest Destiny and Filibusters 252

13 The Sectional Crisis, 1852-1861 256

The Territorial Slavery Issue Returns, 1852-1854 256

Violence Helps the Republican Party, 1854-1856 260

James Buchanan's Presidency, 1857-1861 264

Secession Crisis, 1860-1861 273

14 Civil War, 1861-1865 277

The War Begins, 1861 277

The War Grows Long, 1862 282

The Key Year, 1863 289

The Confederacy Crumbles, 1864-1865 295

15 Reconstruction, 1863-1877 302

Wartime Reconstruction, 1863-1865 302

Johnson and Congress Quarrel, 1865-1866 306

Radicals Continue Reconstruction, 1867-1873 312

Conservatives Regain Power in the South, 1868-1877 316

Appendix I The Declaration of Independence 1

Appendix II The Constitution of the United States of America 5

Appendix III U.S. Population Characteristics 20

Appendix IV Population for Selected Large Cities 21

Appendix V Presidential Elections 22

1.1 Location of Native Peoples around 1500 6

1.2 European Explorations in North America 12

2.1 American Seaboard Colonies 38

6.1 The United States in 1783 111

10.1 Water versus Land Transportation 193

12.1 The American West, 1818-1859 241

13.1 The United States in 1861 272

14.1 The Civil War in the East, 1861-1865 282

14.2 The Civil War in the West, 1861-1862 283

14.3 Gettysburg 291

14.4 The Civil War in the West, 1863-1865 293

1.1 The Columbian Exchange 3

5.1 Estimated Immigration to British North America, 1700-1775 86

13.1 The 1856 Presidential Election 264

13.2 The 1860 Presidential Election 271

14.1 Civil War Commanders 286.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0742511898

074251191X

OCLC:

52714651