20th Century America : A Social and Political History

by Goldfield, David; Abbott, Carl; Argersinger, Jo Ann E.; Argersinger, Peter H.

• ISBN13: 9780130995148
• ISBN10: 0130995142
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-05
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

This book presents a compelling story of both the familiar and distant events and people of the twentieth century. The goal of this book is to emphasize to readers what they will need to know about our past to function best in the society that emerged from the twentieth century. The authors accomplished this by seeking integration -- combing political and social history, to fit the experience of particular groups into the broader perspective of the American past, and to give voice to minor and major players alike. This strong, clear narrative is told in an engaging, forthright way, but also provides readers with an abundance of tools to help them absorb the material and put it into context.Presents well balanced political and social coverage of all points of view on controversial issues such as civil rights, military and foreign policy, feminism, the great waves of foreign migration, and cultural revolutions in music, fashion, and behavior. Stresses the importance of religion in twentieth-century American society. Features primary-source documents, letters, diary entries, and other first-hand accounts to highlight the personal dimensions of the American journey.For history enthusiasts.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
The American Journey in 1900	1	(30)
New Industry	4	(4)
New Immigrants	8	(5)
Settling the Race Issue	13	(7)
New Cities	20	(5)
Attacking the American Indian Problem	25	(3)
An Emerging World Power	28	(3)
Toward a Progressive Society	31	(32)
The Ferment of Reform	33	(11)
Reforming Industrial Society	44	(12)
Moral Crusades and Social Control	56	(5)
Conclusion	61	(2)
Progressive Politics: 1900--1916	63	(33)
Reforming Politics and Government	66	(6)
Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Presidency	72	(11)
Taft and the Tensions of Progressive Politics	83	(4)
Woodrow Wilson and Progressive Reform	87	(6)
Conclusion	93	(3)
Creating an Empire: 1898--1917	96	(31)
The Roots of Imperialism	99	(5)
The Spanish-American War	104	(7)
Imperial Ambitions: The United States and East Asia, 1899--1917	111	(5)
Imperial Power: The United States and Latin America, 1899--1917	116	(6)
Playing ``An Ever Growing Part:'' The United States and Europe, 1900--1914	122	(3)
Conclusion	125	(2)
America and the Great War: 1914--1920	127	(31)
Waging Neutrality	130	(7)
Waging War in America	137	(7)
Waging War and Peace Abroad	144	(6)
Waging Peace at Home	150	(5)
Conclusion	155	(3)
Toward a Modern America: The 1920s	158	(31)
The Economy That Roared	161	(4)
The Business of Government	165	(5)
Cities and Suburbs	170	(4)
Mass Culture in the Jazz Age	174	(4)
Culture Wars	178	(5)
A New Era in the World?	183	(2)
Herbert Hoover and the Final Triumph of the New Era	185	(1)
Conclusion	186	(3)
Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression: 1929--1933	189	(26)
Crash!	191	(3)
Hard Times in Hooverville	194	(7)
Herbert Hoover and the Depression	201	(7)
Repudiating Hoover: The Election of 1932	208	(3)
Waiting for Roosevelt	211	(2)
Conclusion	213	(2)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Depression, and the New Deal: 1933--1939	215	(27)
Launching the New Deal	217	(6)
Consolidating the New Deal	223	(5)
The New Deal and American Life	228	(8)
Ebbing of the New Deal	236	(1)
Good Neighbors and Hostile Forces	237	(3)
Conclusion	240	(2)
World War II: 1939--1945	242	(37)
The Dilemmas of Neutrality	244	(8)
Holding the Line	252	(4)
Mobilizing for Victory	256	(11)
War and Peace	267	(9)
Conclusion	276	(3)
The Cold War at Home and Abroad: 1946--1952	279	(33)
Launching the Great Boom	280	(7)
Truman, Republicans, and the Fair Deal	287	(3)
Confronting the Soviet Union	290	(6)
Cold War and Hot War	296	(7)
The Second Red Scare	303	(6)
Conclusion	309	(3)
The Confident Years: 1953--1964	312	(34)
A Decade of Affluence	314	(10)
Facing Off with the Soviet Union	324	(4)
John F. Kennedy and the Cold War	328	(5)
Righteousness Like a Mighty Stream: The Struggle for Civil Rights	333	(5)
``Let Us Continue''	338	(5)
Conclusion	343	(3)
Shaken to the Roots: 1965--1980	346	(39)
The End of Consensus	347	(12)
Cities Under Stress	359	(6)
The Year of the Gun, 1968	365	(3)
Nixon and Watergate	368	(10)
Jimmy Carter: Idealism and Frustration in the White House	378	(4)
Conclusion	382	(3)
The Reagan Revolution and a Changing World: 1981--1992	385	(38)
Reagan's Domestic Revolution	387	(12)
The Second (Short) Cold War	399	(9)
Growth in the Sunbelt	408	(5)
Values in Collision	413	(7)
Conclusion	420	(3)
Complacency and Crisis: 1993--2004	423	(36)
The Politics of the Center	424	(11)
A New Economy?	435	(8)
Broadening Democracy	443	(6)
Edging into a New Century	449	(3)
Paradoxes of Power	452	(4)
Conclusion	456	(3)
Bibliography	459	(15)
Credits	474	(2)
Index	476

Excerpts

This book began with our students. The twentieth century is the time they entered the world, the time they are most familiar with, yet parts of which seem distant, even ancient to them. Their lives, who they are, where they live, and what they believe are most intimately connected with this century. Our objective is to render both the familiar and the distant events and people of the twentieth century accessible and connected to our students'' lives today. The key to achieving that goal is a strong clear narrative. Twentieth-Century Americais a compelling story of soaring ideals, incomparable tragedies, and perseverance; which is to say, the stuff of all human history. We try to tell this story in an engaging, forthright way, but we also provide students with an abundance of tools to help them absorb that story and put it in context. We introduce them to the concerns of the participants in America''s history with primary source documents. The voices of contemporaries open each chapter, describing their own personal journeys toward fulfilling their dreams, hopes, and ambitions as part of the broader American journey. These voices provide a personal window on our nation''s history, and the themes they express resonate throughout the narrative. But if we wrote this book to appeal to our students, we also wrote it to engage their minds. We wanted to avoid academic trendiness, particularly the restricting categories that have divided the discipline of history over the last twenty years or so. We believe that the distinctions involved in the debates about multiculturalism and identity, between social and political history, between the history of the common people and the history of the elite, are unnecessarily confusing. What we seek is integration--to combine political and social history, to fit the experience of particular groups into the broader perspective of the American past, to give voice to minor and major players alike because of their role in the story we have to tell. APPROACH In telling our story, we had some definite ideas about what we might include and emphasize that other texts do not--information we felt that the current and next generations of students will need to know about our past to function best in the society that emerged from the twentieth century. Chronological Organization.A strong chronological backbone supports the book. We have found that the jumping back and forth in time characteristic of some textbooks confuses students. They abhor dates but need to know the sequence of events in history. A chronological presentation is the best way to be sure they do. Geographical Literacy.We also want students to be geographically literate. We expect them not only to know what happened in American history, but where it happened as well. Physical locations and spatial relationships were often important in shaping historical events. The abundant maps in Twentieth-Century America--all numbered and called out in the text--are an integral part of our story. Regional Balance. Twentieth-Century Americapresents balanced coverage of all regions of the country. In keeping with this balance, the South and the West receive more coverage in this text than in comparable books. Point of View. Twentieth-Century Americapresents a balanced overview 9f the history of that century. But "balanced" does not mean bland. We do not shy away from definite positions on controversial issues, such as civil rights, military and foreign policy, feminism, the great waves of foreign migration, and cultural revolutions in music, fashion, and behavior. If students and instructors disagree, that''s great. Discussion and dissent are important catalysts for understanding and learning. Religion.Nor do we shy away from some topics that play relatively minor roles in other texts, like religion. Historians are often uncomfortable writing about religion and tend to slight its influence. This text stresses the importance of religion in twentieth-century American society as both a source of strength and a reflection of some of its more troubling aspects. Historians mostly write for each other. That''s too bad. We need to reach out and expand our audience. An American history text is a good place to start. Our students are not only our future historians, but more important, our future. David Goldfield Carl Abbott Jo Ann E. Argersinger Peter H. Argersinger