Hypertext History: Our Online American History Textbook
An interactive, multimedia history of the United States from the Revolution to the present.
Interactive Timelines The key events that made American History.
Guided Readings:
The First AmericansNo aspect of our past is more enshrouded in myth and misconceptions than the history of Native Americans. This chapter examines the rich and diverse cultures of the first Americans and the far-reaching consequences of their encounter with Europeans.
Exploration and DiscoveryThe fifteenth and sixteenth century voyages of discovery brought Europe, Africa, and the Americas into direct contact, producing an exchange of foods, animals, and diseases that scholars call the “Columbian Exchange.”
ColonizationHere, you will learn about the economic, religious, and social developments that led Europeans to colonize new lands; the differences between Spanish, French, and English colonization; and the difficulties they encountered as a result of the varied climates and topographies.
The Origins and Nature of New World SlaverySlave labor played an indispensable role in the settlement and development of the New World. This chapter examines slavery in the ancient, medieval, and early modern world; the process of enslavement; the Middle Passage; and the evolution of slavery in colonial, revolutionary, and antebellum America.
Patterns of Change 1700-1775In this chapter you will learn about England’s efforts to create an empire based on mercantilist principles and the conflicts that these efforts to assert control produce. You will also learn about the forces that transformed colonial life, including an expanding population, economic stratification, the Enlightenment, and the Great Awakening.
The American RevolutionThis chapter examines the series of events that ruptured relations between Britain and the American colonies, and the long and bitter war that the colonists waged in order to gain independence.
The FoundersThis chapter examines the key figures who led the struggle for independence and drafted the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The Critical Period: America in the 1780sIn this chapter, you learn abut the internal difficulties besetting the new republic, such as financing war debts, the threat of a military coup, and popular demand for tax relief, as well as efforts to expand freedom of religion, make land more readily available, increase women’s educational opportunities, and address the problem of slavery.
The US Constitution and the Bill of RightsThis chapter examines the creation of a new government based on the principles of popular sovereignty, rule of law, and legislation enacted by elected representatives.
The First New NationDuring the first 12 years under the Constitution, the United States established the machinery of government, defined the office and powers of the president, enacted a financial program that secured the nation’s credit and stimulated the economy, and created the first political parties to involve the voting population in national politics.
AntislaveryThis chapter examines the growth of antislavery thought, the colonization movement, the emergence of immediatist abolition, and political antislavery.
Jeffersonian RepublicanismHere you will learn about Thomas Jefferson’s efforts to reestablish republican government by reducing the federal budget and Federalist influence over the judiciary, the emergence of the doctrine of judicial review, and the Louisiana Purchase, as well as British and French threats to American shipping and the causes and significance of the War of 1812.
The Era of Good FeelingsThe War of 1812 stirred a new sense of nationalism, evident in a series of landmark Supreme Court decisions and in foreign policy, especially the Monroe Doctrine. Paradoxically, these years also exacerbated political and sectional conflicts. The financial Panic of 1819 produced new political divisions and the Missouri crisis contributed to a sectional split between North and South.
Jacksonian DemocracyBetween 1820 and 1840 property qualifications for voting and officeholding were repealed, voter participation increased, and a new two-party system emerged. President Andrew Jackson opened Indian lands to white settlement, destroyed the Second Bank of the United States, and denied a state the right to nullify the federal tariff.
Pre-Civil War American CultureBefore the Civil War, American literature began to employ native scenes and characters; the Transcendentalists popularized a philosophy that emphasized each person’s potentialities and glorified nature as a creative force; and a popular commercial culture emerged, including the penny press, the minstrel show, and the western adventure novel.
Pre-Civil War ReformThis chapter examines the social, intellectual, and religious roots of early 19th century reform movements, and the efforts of reformers in the areas of education, criminal justice, the treatment of the mentally ill; and the abolitionist and women’s rights movements.
Religion and the Early RepublicThis chapter traces the growth of liberal and evangelical religion in early 19th century America.
The Roots of American Economic GrowthAfter the War of 1812, the economy grew at rapid pace, as the nation overcame obstacles that stood in the way of sustained economic growth. Improved transportation and communication, technological innovation, the rise of the factory system, and mass immigration transformed the United States into an industrial leader.
The Struggle for Public SchoolsDuring the early 19th century, educational reformers established the nation’s first systems of public education.
Westward ExpansionDuring the 1830s and 1840s, the United States acquired vast new territories in the West. This chapter describes the Native Americans and Mexicans who inhabited the region; the forces that drove traders, missionaries, and pioneers westward; and the acquisition of western lands by annexation, negotiation, and war.
The Pre-Civil War SouthThis chapter critically evaluates stereotypes about the “Old” South, analyzes the impact of slavery on the southern economy, traces the decline of antislavery sentiment in the South, and examines the efforts of Southern nationalists to promote industry and a distinctive southern identity.
The Impending CrisisDuring the 1850s, the political system became incapable of resolving the sectional disputes between the North and South. This chapter analyzes the Compromise of 1850, including the Fugitive Slave Law; the demise of the Whig Party and the emergence of the Republican party; the Kansas-Nebraska Act; the Dred Scott decision; and John Brown’s raid.
Tragedy of the Plains IndiansThe Civil WarThis chapter examines the election of 1860, the secession crisis, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Union and the Confederacy, the military history of the war, as well as the economic and social changes the war produced.
ReconstructionHere you will learn about President Lincoln’s and President Johnson’s plans to readmit the Confederate states to the Union; the more stringent Congressional plan; the struggle between President Johnson and Congress, including the impeachment vote; the Reconstruction era’s contributions to civil rights; the reasons for Reconstruction’s demise; and the emergence of sharecropping.
Along the Color LineThis chapter examines African American life in the South after Reconstruction. It analyzes lynching, the convict lease system, segregation and disfranchisement, the judicial response to Jim Crow, and responses to Booker T. Washington’s policy of racial accommodation.
Closing the Western FrontierThis chapter chronicles the construction of the transcontinental railroad; the settlement of the Great Plains; the mining, cattle, and farming frontiers; the oil industry’s birth; and popular culture’s treatment of the Western frontier.
Industrialization and the Working ClassThis chapter examines the impact of and responses to industrialization among American workers, including the attempt to form labor unions despite strong opposition from many industrialists and the courts.
The Huddled MassesIn this chapter you learn about the new immigrants from eastern and southern Europe and the anti-immigrant reaction.
The Making of Modern AmericaThe late 19th century saw the advent of new communication technologies, including the phonograph, the telephone, and radio; the rise of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines; the growth of commercialized entertainment, as well as new sports, including basketball, bicycling, and football, and appearance of new transportation technologies, such as the automobile, electric trains and trolleys.
The Rise of Big BusinessThis chapter traces the rise of the corporation as the dominant form of business organization in the United States. It describes the economic, legal, and technological factors that encouraged rapid industrialization, the history of business consolidation, and the growth of new management techniques.
The Rise of the CityThis chapter traces the changing nature of the American city in the late 19th century, the expansion of cities horizontally and vertically, the problems caused by urban growth, the depiction of cities in art and literature, and the emergence of new forms of urban entertainment.
The Struggle for Women's SuffrageThis chapter traces the 72-year-long struggle for women’s suffrage and the suffrage movement’s impact, as well as the campaign for birth control.
The Gilded AgeThe 1880s and 1890s were years of unprecedented technological innovation, mass immigration, and intense political partisanship, including disputes over currency, tariffs, political corruption and patronage, and railroads and business trusts.
United States Becomes a World PowerThis chapter examines the reasons why the United States adopted a more aggressive foreign policy at the end of the 19th century; the causes, military history, and consequences of the Spanish American War; and early 20th century U.S. involvement in China, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
The Political Crisis of the 1890sThe 1890s were turbulent years that saw labor violence, racial tensions, unrest among farmers, and discontent among the unemployed. Particular attention is paid to the problems facing the nation’s farmers, farmers’ efforts to organize, and the critical election of 1896.
The Progressive EraThis chapter examines the sources of the progressive movement; progressivism at the municipal, state, and national levels, and the influence of progressive ideas on foreign policy.
The Twentieth CenturyAn overview of the far-reaching economic and social changes that transformed American society in the 20th century, including innovations in science and technology, economic productivity, mass communication and mass entertainment, health and living standards, the role of government, gender roles, and conceptions of freedom.
America at War: World War IThis chapter examines the war’s causes, the reasons why the United States intervened in the conflict, how American industry was mobilized for war, wartime propaganda and political repression, and the social changes and unrest produced by the war.
The Jazz Age: The American 1920sThe 1920s was a decade of major cultural conflicts as well as a period when many features of a modern consumer culture took root. In this chapter, you will learn about the clashes over alcohol, evolution, foreign immigration, and race, and also about the growth of cities, the rise of a consumer culture, and the revolution in morals and manners.
1930sThis section examines why the seemingly boundless prosperity of the 1920s ended so suddenly and why the Depression lasted as long as it did. It assesses the Depression's human toll and the policies adopted to combat the crisis. It devotes particular attention to the Depression's impact on African Americans, the elderly, Mexican Americans, labor, and women. In addition to assessing the ideas that informed the New Deal policies, this chapter examines the New Deal's critics, and evaluate the New Deal's impact.
America at War: World War IIIn this chapter, you will learn about the war’s causes, the Holocaust, the military history of the war, the impact of the war on women and racial and ethnic minorities, the internment of Japanese Americans, and the dawn of the atomic age.
Postwar America: 1945 - 1960The chapter examines the origins of the Cold War; the implementation of the Containment policy; the Korean War; and fear of Communist subversion at home. It also traces the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement; the emergence of youth culture; and postwar cultural critics, including the Beats.
America in Ferment: The Tumultuous 1960sThis chapter examines the Civil Rights struggle against segregation and racial equality; the feminist fight for equal educational and employment opportunity; the Mexican American battle against discrimination in voting, education, and employment; the Native American campaign for tribal sovereignty and land rights; the gay and lesbian drive to end discrimination based on sexual preference; and the environmentalist campaign to reduce pollution and promote conservation.
Vietnam War This chapter discusses how American became involved in southeast Asia; the escalation of American involvement in the Vietnam war; reactions to the war on the homefront; President Nixon’s strategies for ending the war; and cultural reactions to the war.
The Past Three Decades: Years of Crisis - Years of TriumphThis chapter examines the impact of the collapse of Communism on international stability; the resurgence of the American economy during the 1990s; the presidencies of George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush; and American responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
