Of the People A Concise History of the United States

by Oakes, James; McGerr, Michael; Lewis, Jan Ellen; Cullather, Nick; Boydston, Jeanne

• ISBN13: 9780195390728
• ISBN10: 0195390725
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Of the People: A Concise History of the United States not only tells the history of America--of its people and places, of its dealings and ideals--but it also unfolds the story of American democracy, carefully marking how this country's evolution has been anything but certain, from its complex beginnings to its modern challenges. This comprehensive survey focuses on the social and political lives of people--some famous, some ordinary--revealing the compelling story of America's democracy from an individual perspective, from across the landscapes of diverse communities, and ultimately from within the larger context of the world. The Concise Edition tells the same great story, but with fewer words and images. Maintaining the structure, the features, and maps of the comprehensive edition, this concise version has been thoughtfully condensed--paragraphs now contain trimmed sentences and a reduced number of examples--thus leaving the book's core content and compelling narrative unchanged

Author Biography

James Oakes is Distinguished Professor of History and Graduate School Humanities Professor at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Michael McGerr is Paul V. McNutt Professor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington.

Jan Ellen Lewis is Professor of History and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark. She also teaches in the history PhD program at Rutgers, New Brunswick, and was a visiting professor of history at Princeton.

Nick Cullather is a historian of U.S. foreign relations at Indiana University-Bloomington.

The late Jeanne Boydston was Robinson-Edwards Professor of American History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Table of Contents

Map
Features
Preface
Acknowledgments
Supplements
About the Authors
Dedication

Chapter 1: Worlds in Motion, 1450-1550
American Portrait: Malinche, Cultural Translator
The World of the Indian Peoples
The Archaic Indians
The Indians of the Eastern Woodlands
The Indians of the Plains
The Indians of the Deserts
The Indians of the Pacific Coast
The Great Civilizations of the Americas
The Worlds of Christopher Columbus
European Nations in the Age of Discovery
The Political Economy of Europe
The World of the West African Peoples
Slavery Before 1500
The Golden Age of Spain
Worlds in Collision
Christopher Columbus Finds a Patron
Columbus Finds a New World
Tainos and Caribs
The Origins of a New World Political Economy
The Requerimiento and the Morality of Conquest
America and the World: Debating the Morality of Conquest
The Biological Consequences of Conquest
Demographic Decline
The Columbian Exchange
Onto the Mainland
The First Florida Ventures
The Conquest of Mexico
American Landscape: Tenochtitlan
The Establishment of a Spanish Empire
Gender and Conquest
The Return to Florida
Coronado and the Pueblo Indians
Conclusion

Chapter 2: Colonial Outposts, 1550-1650
American Portrait: Don Luis de Velasco Finds His Way Home
Pursuing Wealth and Glory Along the North American Shore
European Objectives
The Huge Geographical Barrier
Spanish Outposts
New France: An Outpost in the Global Political Economy
The Indian Background to French Settlement
Champlain Encounters the Hurons
American Landscape: Huronia
Creating a Middle Ground in New France
An Outpost in a Global Political Economy
New Netherland: The Empire of a Trading Nation
Colonization by a Private Company
Slavery and Freedom in New Netherland
The Dutch-Indian Trading Partnership
The Beaver Wars
England Attempts an Empire
The Origins of English Nationalism
Raiding Other Empires
America and the World: The English on the Periphery of Empire
Rehearsal in Ireland
The Roanoke Venture
The Abandoned Colony
Conclusion

Chapter 3: The English Come to Stay, 1600-1660
American Portrait: The Adventures of John Rolfe
The First Chesapeake Colonies
Planning Virginia
Starving Times
Troubled Relations With the Powhatans
Toward a New Political Economy
Toward the Destruction of the Powhatans
A New Colony in Maryland
The Political Economy of Slavery Emerges
The Problem of a Labor Supply
The Origins of Slavery in the Chesapeake
America and the World: Christian Slaves in Muslim Africa
Gender and the Social Order in the Chesapeake
A Bible Commonwealth in the New England Wilderness
The English Origins of the Puritan Movement
What Did the Puritans Believe?
The Pilgrim Colony at Plymouth
The Puritan Colony at Massachusetts Bay
The New England Way
Changing the Land to Fit the Political Economy
American Landscape: New England Settlements
The Puritan Family
Dissension in the Puritan Ranks
Roger Williams and Toleration
Anne Hutchinson and the Equality of Believers
Puritan Indian Policy and the Pequot War
Conclusion

Chapter 4: Continental Empires, 1660-1720
American Portrait: Tituba Shapes Her World and Saves Herself
The Plan of Empire
Turmoil in England
The Political Economy of Mercantilism
New Colonies, New Patterns
New Netherland Becomes New York
American Landscape: New Amsterdam/New York
Diversity and Prosperity in Pennsylvania
Indians and Africans in the Political Economy of Carolina
The Barbados Connection
The Transformation of Virginia
Social Change in Virginia
Bacon's Rebellion and the Abandonment of the Middle Ground
Virginia Becomes a Slave Society
New England Under Assault
Social Prosperity and the Fear of Religious Decline
King Philip's War
Indians and the Empire
The Empire Strikes
The Dominion of New England
The Glorious Revolution in Britain and America
The Rights of Englishmen
Conflict in the Empire
Massachusetts in Crisis
The Social and Cultural Contexts of Witchcraft
Witchcraft at Salem
America and the World: Witchcraft in Global Perspective
The End of Witchcraft
Empires in Collision
France Attempts an Empire
The Spanish Outpost in Florida
Conquest, Revolt, and Reconquest in New Mexico
Native Americans and the Country Between
Conclusion

Chapter 5: The Eighteenth-Century World, 1700-1775
American Portrait: George Whitefield: Evangelist for a Consumer Society
The Population Explosion of the Eighteenth Century
The Dimensions of Population Growth
Bound for America: European Immigrants
Bound for America: African Slaves
American Landscape: The Slave Ship
"The Great Increase of Offspring"
The Transatlantic Political Economy: Producing and Consuming
The Nature of Colonial Economic Growth
The Transformation of the Family Economy
Sources of Regional Prosperity
Merchants and Dependent Laborers in the Transatlantic Economy
Consumer Choices and the Creation of Gentility
America and the World: Consumer Tastes in Global Perspective
The Varieties of Colonial Experience
Creating an Urban Public Sphere
The Diversity of Urban Life
The Maturing of Rural Society
The World That Slavery Made
Georgia: From Frontier Outpost to Plantation Society
The Head and the Heart in America: The Enlightenment and Religious Awakening
The Ideas of the Enlightenment
The Enlightenment and the Study of Political Economy
Enlightened Institutions
Origins of the Great Awakening
The Grand Itinerant
Cultural Conflict and Challenges to Authority
What the Awakening Wrought
Conclusion

Chapter 6: Conflict on the Edge of Empire, 1713-1774
American Portrait: Susannah Willard Johnson Experiences the Empire
The Victory of the British Empire
New War, Old Pattern
The Local Impact of Global War
The French Empire Crumbles From Within
The Virginians Ignite a War
From Local to Imperial War
Problems With British-Colonial Cooperation
The British Gain the Advantage
Enforcing the Empire
Pontiac's Rebellion and Its Aftermath
Paying for the Empire: Sugar and Stamps
America and the World: Paying for War
Rejecting the Empire
An Argument About Rights and Obligations
The Imperial Crisis in Local Context
Contesting the Townshend Duties
A Revolution in the Empire
"Massacre" in Boston
American Landscape: Occupied Boston
The Empire Comes Apart
The First Continental Congress
Conclusion

Chapter 7: Creating a New Nation, 1774-1788
American Portrait: James Madison Helps Make a Nation
The War Begins
The First Battles
Congress Takes the Lead
Military Ardor
Declaring Independence
Creating a National Government
Creating State Governments
Winning the Revolution
Competing Strategies
The British on the Offensive: 1776
American Landscape: The Winter at Jockey Hollow
A Slow War: 1777-1781
America and the World: Mercenaries in Global Perspective
Securing a Place in the World
The Challenge of the Revolution
The Departure of the Loyalists
The Challenge of the Economy
Contesting the New Economy
Can Women Be Citizens?
The Challenge of Slavery
A New Policy in the West
The Indians' Revolution
The End of the Middle Ground
Settling the West
Creating a New National Government
A Crippled Congress
Writing a New Constitution
Ratifying the Constitution: Politics
Ratifying the Constitution: Ideas
Postscript: The Legacy of the Revolution
Conclusion

Chapter 8: Contested Republic, 1789-1800
American Portrait: William Maclay Goes to the Senate
The United States in 1789
Lands and People
Ways of Living
The First Emancipation Movements
American Landscape: Philadelphia
Conflicting Visions of Republican Society
America and the World: Transatlantic talk about the Rights of Women
The Culture of the Early Republic
The Struggle to Form a Government
The States and the Bill of Rights
Congress Begins Its Work
Political Economy and Political Parties
Controlling the Borderlands
America in the Transatlantic Community
Other Revolutions
Between France and England
To the Brink of War
The Administration of John Adams
Conclusion

Chapter 9: A Republic in Transition, 1800-1819
American Portrait: Washington Irving's America
A Politics of Transition
Democratic Republicans in Office
The Louisiana Purchase
Embargo
The War of 1812
Madison and the War
The Federalist Response
An Economy in Transition
International Markets
America and the World: The United States in China
Crossing the Appalachian Mountains
Invention and Exploration
Early Industrial Society in New England
The Rule of Law and Lawyers
Ways of Life in Flux
Indian Resistance to the Yeoman's Republic
Winners and Losers in the Market Revolution
American Landscape: Religion in the Backcountry: Cane Ridge, Kentucky
The Problem of Trust in a Changing Society
The Panic of 1819
Conclusion

Chapter 10: Slavery and the Nation, 1790-1828
American Portrait: Lucretia Coffin Mott and the Free Produce Movement
Southern Slavery
"Property in Man"
The Domestic Slave Trade
Plantation Slavery
American Landscape: Profit and Loss on an American Plantation
Other Varieties of Slavery
America and the World: The Demand for Raw Cotton
Resistance and Creation among Southern Slaves
Slavery and National Development
Slavery and Industrialization in the Northeast
Slavery and the West
Slavery and the Laws of the Nation
Free Black People in a Republic of Slavery
The Politics of Slavery
The Missouri Compromise
Antislavery in the 1820s
Conclusion

Chapter 11: Jacksonian Democracy, 1820-1840
American Portrait: Harriet Noble
Common People and the Political Economy of Democracy
Settlers
The Political Economy of Free Labor
Suffrage Reform
Opposition to Special Privilege and Secret Societies
Jackson and the National Republicans
Changes in the Democratic Republican Party
James Monroe and National Republicanism
America and the World: The Monroe Doctrine
The Election of 1824 and the "Corrupt Bargain"
The Adams Presidency and the Gathering forces of Democracy
The Election of 1828
A Policy of Removing Indigenous People
Jackson and Native Peoples
The Removal Act
American Landscape: Liberty and the Land: Cherokee Removal
History, Destiny, and the Disappearing Indian
The Bank War
Jackson's Opposition to the National Bank
Dismembering the Bank
The Specie Act
The Growth of Sectional Tension
The Political Economy of Southern Discontent
South Carolina's Protest
The Nullification Crisis
Conclusion

Chapter 12: Reform and Conflict, 1825-1840
American Portrait: Nat Turner
Perfectionism and the Theology of Human Striving
Millennialism and Communitarians
Urban Revivals
The Benevolent Empire
America and the World: The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission
Reform and the Urban Classes
Wage Dependency and Labor Protest
American Landscape: Freedom and Wage Labor
A New Urban Middle Class
Immigration and Nativism
Internal Migration
Self-Reform and Social Regulation
A Culture of Self-Improvement
Temperance
The Common School Movement
Penal Reform
Electoral Politics and Moral Reform
Abolition and Women's Rights
Antislavery Becomes Abolition
Abolitionism and Antiabolition Violence
The Gender Limits of Antebellum Activism
Conclusion

Chapter 13: Manifest Destiny, 1836-1848
American Portrait: Mah-i-ti-wo-nee-ni Remembers Life on the Great Plains
The Decline of Jacksonianism
Political Parties in Crisis
Van Buren and the Legacy of Jackson
The Political Economy of the Trans-Mississippi West
Manifest Destiny in Antebellum Culture
Texas
American Landscape: Culture and Politics in Manifest Destiny: Tejanos in Texas
Pacific Bound
Nations of the Trans-Mississippi West
Slavery and the Political Economy of Expansion
Log Cabins and Hard Cider: The Election of 1840
And Tyler, too
Occupy Oregon, Annex Texas
War with Mexico
America and the World: Lt. Dilworth in the War with Mexico
Conclusion

Chapter 14: The Politics of Slavery, 1848-1860
American Portrait: Frederick Douglass
The Political Economy of Freedom and Slavery
A Changing Economy in the North
The Slave Economy
The Importance of the West
Slavery Becomes a Political Issue
Wilmot Introduces His Proviso
A Compromise Without Compromises
The Fugitive Slave Act Provokes a Crisis
The Election of 1852 and the Decline of the Whig Party
Nativism and the Origins of the Republican Party
The Nativist Attack on Immigration
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Revives the Slavery Issue
The Expansion of Slavery as a Foreign Policy
America and the World: Slavery as a Foreign Policy
Kansas Begins to Bleed
American Landscape: The Sack of Lawrence, Kansas
A New Political Party Takes Shape
The First Sectional Election
The Labor Problem and the Politics of Slavery
An "Irrepressible" Conflict?
The Lecompton Constitution Splits the Democratic Party
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
The Retreat From Union
John Brown's War Against Slavery
Northerners Elect a President
Conclusion

Chapter 15: A War for Union and Emancipation, 1861-1865
American Portrait: Edmund Ruffin
From Union to Emancipation
The South Secedes
Civilians Demand a Total War
Slaves Take Advantage of the War
Military Strategy and the Shift in War Aims
Mobilizing for War
The Confederate States of America
Union Naval Supremacy
Southern Military Advantages
The Slave Economy in Wartime
What Were Soldiers Fighting For?
The Civil War Becomes a Social Revolution
Union Victories in the West
Southern Military Strength in the East
Emancipation as a Military Necessity
America and the World: The Diplomacy of Emancipation
Emancipation in Practice: Contraband Camps and Black Troops
American Landscape: Freedman's Village, Arlington, Virginia
The War at Home
The Care of Casualties
Northern Reverses and Antiwar Sentiment
Gettysburg and the Justification for War
Discontent in the Confederacy
The War Comes to a Bloody End
Grant Takes Command
The Theory and Practice of Hard War
Sherman Marches and Lee Surrenders
The Meaning of the Civil War
Conclusion

Chapter 16: Reconstructing a Nation, 1865-1877
American Portrait: John Dennett Visits a Freedmen's Bureau Court
Wartime Reconstruction
Experiments with Free Labor in the Lower Mississippi Valley
Lincoln's Ten-Percent Plan Versus the Wade-Davis Bill
The Freed People's Dream of Owning Land
Presidential Reconstruction, 1865-1867
The Political Economy of Contract Labor
Resistance to Presidential Reconstruction
Congress Clashes with the President
Origins of the Fourteenth Amendment
American Landscape: Race Riots in Memphis and New Orleans
Congressional Reconstruction
Origins of the Black Vote
Radical Reconstruction in the South
Achievements and Failures of Radical Government
The Political Economy of Sharecropping
The Retreat from Republican Radicalism
The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson
Republican Become the Party of Moderation
America and the World: Reconstructing America's Foreign Policy
Reconstructing the North
The Fifteenth Amendment and Nationwide African American Suffrage
Women and Suffrage
The Rise and Fall of the National Labor Union
The End of Reconstruction
Corruption as a National Problem
Liberal Republicans Revolt
A Depression and a Deal "Redeem" the South
Conclusion

Chapter 17: The Triumph of Industrial Capitalism, 1850-1890
American Portrait: Rosa Cassettari
The Political Economy of Global Capitalism
The "Great Depression" of the Late Nineteenth Century
America and the World: The Global Migration of Labor
America Moves to the City
The Rise of Big Business
The Rise of Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie Becomes a Financier
Carnegie Dominates the Steel Industry
Big Business Consolidates
A New Social Order
Lifestyles of the Very Rich
The Consolidation of the New Middle Class
The Industrial Working Class Comes of Age
Sharecropping Becomes Wage Labor
American Landscape: Mining Camps in the West
Clearing the West for Capitalism
The Overland Trail
The Origins of Indian Reservations
The Destruction of Indian Subsistence
The Economic Transformation of the West
Cattlemen: From Drovers to Ranchers
Commercial Farmers Subdue the Plains
Changes in the Land
Conclusion

Chapter 18: Cultural Struggles of Industrial America, 1850-1895
American Portrait: Anthony Comstock's Crusade Against Vice
The Varieties of Urban Culture
Minstrel Shows as Cultural Nostalgia
The Origins of Vaudeville
Sports Become Professional
America and the World: World's Fairs
The Elusive Boundaries of Male and Female
The Victorian Construction of Male and Female
Victorians Who Questioned Traditional Sexual Boundaries
Immigration as a Cultural Problem
Josiah Strong Attacks Immigration
From Immigrants to Ethnic Americans
The Catholic Church and Its Limits in Immigrant Culture
Immigrant Cultures
The Creation of High Culture
High Culture Becomes Sacred
The Emergence of a Cultural Establishment
American Landscape: The Modern University
Social Darwinism and the Growth of Scientific Racism
Artistic Realism Embraces Urban and Industrial America
The Triumph of Literary Realism
Painting Reality
Is Photography Art?
Conclusion

Chapter 19: The Politics of Industrial America, 1870-1892
American Portrait: Luna Kellie and the Farmers' Alliance
Two Political Styles
The Triumph of Party Politics
Masculine Partisanship and Feminine Voluntarism
Critics of Popular Politics
Economic Issues Dominate National Politics
Weak Presidents Oversee a Strong Federal Government
Government Activism and its Limits
Greenbacks and Greenbackers
America and the World: Foreign Policy and Commercial Expansion
Growth of the Central Government
States Regulate; Municipalities Reform
Middle-Class Radicalism
Henry George and the Limits of Producers' Ideology
Edward Bellamy and the Nationalist Clubs
American Landscape: The "Crusade" Against Alcohol
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Discontent Among Workers
The Knights of Labor and the Haymarket Disaster
Agrarian Revolt
The Rise of the Populists
Conclusion

Chapter 20: Industry and Empire, 1890-1900
American Portrait: J. P. Morgan
The Crisis of the 1890s
Hard Times
The Overseas Frontier
America and the World: Singer Sewing Machine Company
The Drive for Efficiency
American Landscape: Pullman, Illinois
Progress and Force
Corporate Consolidation
A Modern Economy
Currency and the Tariff
The Cross of Gold
The Battle of the Standards
The Retreat from Politics
The Lure of the Cities
Inventing Jim Crow
The Atlanta Compromise
Disfranchisement and the Decline of Popular Politics
Organized Labor Retreats from Politics
American Diplomacy Enters the Modern World
Sea Power and the Imperial Urge
The Scramble for Empire
War With Spain
The Anti-Imperialists
The Philippine-American War
The Open Door
Conclusion

Chapter 21: A United Body of Action, 1900-1916
American Portrait: Alice Hamilton
Toward a New Politics
The Insecurity of Modern Life
The Decline of Partisan Politics
Social Housekeeping
Evolution or Revolution?
The Progressives
Social Workers and Muckrakers
Dictatorship of the Experts
America and the World: The Calorie
Progressives on the Color Line
Progressives in State and Local Politics
Redesigning the City
Reform Mayors and City Services
Progressivism and the States
The Presidency Becomes "The Administration"
The Executive Branch Against the Trusts
The Square Deal
Conserving Water, Land, and Forests
American Landscape: The Hetch Hetchy Valley
TR and Big Stick Diplomacy
Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
Rival Visions of the Industrial Future
The New Nationalism
The 1912 Election
The New Freedom
Conclusion

Chapter 22: A Global Power, 1914-1919
American Portrait: Walter Lippmann
The Challenge of Revolution
The Mexican Revolution
Bringing Order to the Caribbean
A One-Sided Neutrality
The Lusitania's Last Voyage
The Drift to War
American Landscape: Plattsburg Training Camp
The Election of 1916
The Last Attempts at Peace
War Aims
The Fight in Congress
Mobilizing the Nation and the Economy
Enforcing Patriotism
Regimenting the Economy
The Great Migration
Reforms Become "War Measures"
Over There
Citizens into Soldiers
The Fourteen Points
The Final Offensive
Revolutionary Anxieties
Wilson in Paris
The Senate Rejects the League
America and the World: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918
Red Scare
Conclusion

Chapter 23: A Modern Nation, 1920-1928
American Portrait: "The Queen of the Waves"
A Dynamic Economy
The Development of Industry
The Trend toward Large-Scale Organization
The Transformation of Work and the Workforce
The Defeat of Organized Labor
The Decline of Agriculture
The Urban Nation
A Modern Culture
The Spread of Consumerism
New Pleasures
A Sexual Revolution
Changing Gender Ideals
The Family and Youth
American Landscape: "Flaming Youth" on Campus
The Celebration of the Individual
The Limits of the Modern Culture
The "Lost Generation" of Intellectuals
Fundamentalist Christians and "Old-Time Religion"
Nativists and Immigration Restriction
The Rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan
Mexican Americans
African Americans and the "New Negro"
A "New Era" in Politics and Government
The Modern Political System
The Republican Ascendancy
The Politics of Individualism
Republican Foreign Policy
America and the World: "Jazz-band partout!"
Extending the "New Era"
Conclusion

Chapter 24: Great Depression and a New Deal, 1929-1940
American Portrait: Margaret Mitchell
The Great Depression
Causes
Descending into Depression
Hoover Responds
The First New Deal
The Election of 1932
FDR Takes Command
Federal Relief
The Farm Crisis
The Blue Eagle
The Second New Deal
Critics Attack from All Sides
The Second Hundred Days
American Landscape: Angola, Louisiana
Social Security for Some
Labor and the New Deal
The New Deal Coalition
Crisis of the New Deal
Conservatives Counterattack
The Liberal Crisis of Confidence
America and the World: The Global Depression
Conclusion

Chapter 25: The Second World War, 1941-1945
American Portrait: A. Philip Randolph
Island in a Totalitarian Sea
A World of Hostile Blocs
The Good Neighbor
America First?
Means Short of War
Turning the Tide
Midway and Coral Sea
Gone with the Draft
The Winning Weapons
The Second Front
Organizing for Production
A Mixed Economy
Industry Moves South and West
New Jobs in New Places
Women in Industry
Between Idealism and Fear
Japanese Internment
American Landscape: Manzanar
No Shelter from the Holocaust
Closing with the Enemy
Taking the War to Europe
Island Hopping in the Pacific
Building a New World
America and the World: Bretton Woods
The Fruits of Victory
Conclusion

Chapter 26: The Cold War, 1945-1952
American Portrait: Esther and Stephen Brunauer
Origins of the Cold War
Ideological Adversaries
Uneasy Allies
From Allies to Enemies
National Security
The Truman Doctrine
Containment
American Landscape: Dhahran
Taking Risks
Global Revolutions
America and the World: Underdevelopment
Korea
NSC-68
The Reconversion of American Society
The Postwar Economy
The Challenge of Organized Labor
Opportunities for Women
Civil Rights for African Americans
The Frustrations of Liberalism
The Democrats' Troubles
Truman's Comeback
Fighting the Cold War at Home
Doubts and Fears in the Atomic Age
The Anti-Communist Crusade
The Hunt for Spies
The Rise of McCarthyism
Conclusion

Chapter 27: The Consumer Society, 1945-1961
American Portrait: Gene Ferkauf
Living the Good Life
Economic Prosperity
The Suburban Dream
American Landscape: Levittown, New York
The Pursuit of Pleasure
A Homogeneous Society?
The Discovery of Conformity
The Decline of Class and Ethnicity
The Resurgence of Religion and Family
Maintaining Gender Roles
Persisting Racial Differences
The Survival of Diversity
The Eisenhower Era at Home and Abroad
"Ike" and 1950s America
Modern Republicanism
An Aggressive Cold War Strategy
Avoiding War with the Communist Powers
America and the World: Popular Music as a Cold War Weapon
Crises in the Third World
Challenges to the Consumer Society
Rebellious Youth
The Beat Movement
The Rebirth of Environmentalism
The Struggle for Civil Rights
An Uneasy Mood
Conclusion

Chapter 28: The Rise and Fall of the New Liberalism, 1960-1968
American Portrait: Lt. Fred Downs
New Ideas, New Leaders
Grassroots Activism for Civil Rights
The New Liberalism
The New Conservatism
The New Left
The Presidential Election of 1960
The New Frontier
Style and Substance
Civil Rights
Flexible Response and the Third World
Two Confrontations with the Soviets
Kennedy and Vietnam
The Great Society
Lyndon Johnson's Mandate
"Success Without Squalor"
Preserving Personal Freedom
The Death of Jim Crow
American Landscape: The Long Cool Summer" of Greenville, Mississippi
The American War in Vietnam
Johnson's Decision for War
Fighting a Limited War
The War at Home
The Great Society Comes Apart
The Emergence of Black Power
The Youth Rebellion
The Rebirth of the Women's Movement
Conservative Backlash
1968: A Tumultuous Year
America and the World: International Student Protest, 1968
Conclusion

Chapter 29: Living with Less: 1968-1980
American Portrait: "Fighting Shirley Chisholm"
A New Crisis: Economic Decline
Weakness at Home
The Energy Crisis
Competition Abroad
The Multinationals
America and the World: Carl Gerstacker's Dream
The Impact of Decline
American Landscape: Youngstown, Ohio
Confronting Decline: Nixon's Strategy
A New Foreign Policy
Ending the Vietnam War
Chile and the Middle East
Taming Big Government
An Uncertain Economic Policy
Refusing to Settle for Less: Struggles for Rights
African Americans' Struggle for Racial Justice
Women's Liberation
Mexican Americans and "Brown Power"
Asian American Activism
The Struggle for Native American Rights
Homosexuals and "Gay Power"
Backlash: From Radical Action to Conservative Reaction
"The Movement" and the "Me-Decade"
The Plight of the White Ethnics
The Republican Counterattack
Political Crisis: Three Troubled Presidencies
Watergate: The Fall of Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford and a Skeptical Nation
"Why Not the Best?": Jimmy Carter
Conclusion

Chapter 30: The Triumph of Conservatism: 1980-1991
American Portrait: Linda Chavez
Creating a Conservative Majority
The New Economy
The Rehabilitation of Business
The Rise of the Religious Right
The 1980 Presidential Election
The Reagan Revolution at Home
The Reagan Style
Shrinking Government
Reaganomics
The 1984 Presidential Election
The Reagan Revolution Abroad
Restoring American Power
Confronting the "Evil Empire"
The Reagan Doctrine in the Third World
The Middle East and Terrorism
The United States and the World Economy
America and the World: Japanese Management, American Workers
The Battle over Conservative Social Values
Attacking the Legacy of the 1960s
Women's Rights and Abortion
Gays and the AIDS Crisis
African Americans and Racial Inequality
"The Decade of the Hispanic"
American Landscape: San Antonio
From Scandal to Triumph
Business and Religious Scandals
Political Scandals
Setbacks for the Conservative Agenda
A Vulnerable Economy
Reagan's Comeback
Conclusion

Chapter 31: "A Nation Transformed," 1989-2008
American Portrait: Tiger Woods
The Age of Globalization
The Cold War and Globalization
New Communications Technologies
Multinationals and NGOs
Expanding Trade
Moving People
America and the World: Globalization's Final Frontier
The Politics of A New economy
The Information Economy
A Second Economic Revolution?
Boom and Insecurity
The Return of Inequality
The Power of Conservatism
Contesting Globalization
A Changing People
A Diverse Society of Color
African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era
Culture Wars
Women in the Post-Feminist Era
Winning Gay and Lesbian Rights
America in the Post-Cold War World
The New World Order
The Persian Gulf War
Retreating from the New World Order
Al Qaeda and 9/11
American Landscape: Gitmo, "The Least Worst Place"
The War on Terror
The Iraq War
America in Crisis
Iraq and Afghanistan in Turmoil
The Economy in Jeopardy
The Presidential Election of 2008
Conclusion

Appendixes
Appendix A: Historical Documents
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
Appendix B: Historical Facts, Data
U.S. Presidents and Vice Presidents
Admission of States into the Union
Glossary
Photo Credits
Index