Short History of the American Nation, A by John A Garraty
Short History of the American Nation, A by John A Garraty
Soft Cover
547 pages
Copyright 1977
CONTENTS
Preface xix
Chapter 1 The Age of Discovery and Settlement 1
COLUMBUS AND THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 2
THE INDIAN AND THE EUROPEAN 5
THE SPANISH DECLINE 7
ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA 7
THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA 8
THE PILGRIMS OF PLYMOUTH PLANTATION 10
MASSACHUSETTS BAY PURITANS 11
OTHER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 12
FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS 12
MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS 13
THE MIDDLE COLONIES 15
THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA 16
Chapter 2 The Colonial World 19
AN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 20
SOUTHERN LAND AND LABOR 21
AGRICULTURE IN THE SOUTH 24
SOUTHERN INTELLECTUAL AND RELIGIOUS TRENDS 26
AGRICULTURE IN THE NORTH 28
NORTHERN MANUFACTURING AND COMMERCE 28
LAND AND LABOR IN THE NORTH 30
THE IMPACT OF PURITANISM 31
THE GREAT AWAKENING 34
THE IMPACT OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT 34
SOCIAL MOBILITY 36
SECTIONAL CONFLICTS 37
Chapter 3America and the British Empire 41
THE BRITISH COLONIAL SYSTEM 42
THE THEORY OF MERCANTILISM 43
THE NAVIGATION ACTS 44
THE EFFECTS OF MERCANTILISM 45
EARLY COLONIAL WARS 46
THE GREAT WAR FOR THE EMPIRE 47
POSTWAR PROBLEMS 49
TIGHTENING IMPERIAL CONTROLS 50
BEGINNINGS OF THE GREAT DEBATE 51
THE STAMP ACT CRISIS 53
THE TOWNSHEND ACTS 55
THE TEA ACT CRISIS 56
COLONIES IN REVOLT 58
Chapter 4 The American Revolution 61
"THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD" 62
THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS 62
THE GREAT DECLARATION 63
1776: THE BALANCE OF FORCES 65
FORMING STATE GOVERNMENTS 67
FINANCING THE REVOLUTION 69
SARATOGA AND THE FRENCH ALLIANCE 69
THE WAR IN THE SOUTH 71
VICTORY AT YORKTOWN 72
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 72
THE PEACE OF PARIS 74
GROWTH OF AMERICAN NATIONALISM 74
THE GREAT LAND ORDINANCES 75
NATIONAL HEROES 77
A NATIONAL CULTURE 77
Chapter 5Nationalism Triumphant 81
WESTERN TENSIONS 82
FOREIGN TRADE 83
INFLATION AND DEFLATION 84
DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION 85
THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION 85
RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION 88
WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT 89
THE BILL OF RIGHTS 90
HAMILTON AND FINANCIAL REFORM 91
FOREIGN PROBLEMS 93
JAY'S TREATY 94
FEDERALISM VICTORIOUS 95
Chapter 7 -Jeffersonian Democracy 97
THOMAS JEFFERSON: POLITICAL THEORIST 98
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 99
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL 100
ELECTION OF 1796 100
THE XYZ AFFAIR 101
ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS 101
ELECTION OF 1800 102
THE FEDERALIST CONTRIBUTION 103
JEFFERSON AS PRESIDENT 103
ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY 104
THE BARBARY PIRATES 105
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 106
FEDERALISM DISCREDITED 107
LEWIS AND CLARK 107
JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY 109
Chapter 7 America Escapes from Europe 111
RANDOLPH AND THE QUIDS 112
THE BURR CONSPIRACY 112
NAPOLEON AND THE BRITISH 113
THE IMPRESSMENT CONTROVERSY 114
THE EMBARGO ACT 115
MADISON IN POWER 116
TECUMSEH AND THE PROPHET 117
DEPRESSION AND LAND HUNGER 117
RESISTANCE TO WAR 118
THE WAR OF 1812 118
BRITAIN ASSUMES THE OFFENSIVE 119
THE TREATY OF GHENT 120
THE HARTFORD CONVENTION 121
THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS 121
FRUITS OF "VICTORY" 122
ANGLO-AMERICAN RAPPROCHEMENT 122
TRANSCONTINENTAL TREATY 122
THE MONROE DOCTRINE 124
Chapter 8 New Forces in American Life 127
THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS 128
ROOTS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH 129
BIRTH OF THE FACTORY 130
NONFACTORY PRODUCTION 131
BANKS AND CORPORATIONS 131
INDUSTRIAL LABOR 132
COTTON REVOLUTIONIZES THE SOUTH 134
REVIVAL OF SLAVERY 135
ROAD BUILDING 136
TRANSPORTATION AND THE GOVERNMENT 137
STEAMBOATS AND THE WEST 138
THE CANAL BOOM 139
GOVERNMENT AID TO BUSINESS 140
THE MARSHALL COURT 140
Chapter 9The Emergence of Sectionalism 143
SECTIONAL POLITICAL ISSUES 144
NORTHERN LEADERS 146
SOUTHERN LEADERS 147
WESTERN LEADERS 148
NORTHERN SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE 149
RELIGION AND EDUCATION 151
SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN THE SOUTH 151
WESTERN LIFE 152
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE 153
THE ADAMS ADMINISTRATION 155
TARIFF OF ABOMINATIONS 156
ELECTION OF 1828 157
Chapter 10 - The Age of Jackson 159
JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY 160
RISE OF THE COMMON MAN 161
THE SPOILS SYSTEM 162
PRESIDENT OF ALL THE PEOPLE 162
SECTIONAL TENSIONS CONTINUE 163
JACKSON AND CALHOUN 164
INDIAN PROBLEMS 164
THE NULLIFICATION CRISIS 165
THE BANK WAR 166
JACKSON'S BANK VETO 167
BOOM AND BUST 168
THE JACKSONIANS 169
RISE OF THE WHIGS 169
VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION 170
ELECTION OF 1840 171
Chapter 11Expansion and Slavery 173
THE TYLER ADMINISTRATION 173
WEBSTER-ASHBURTON TREATY 175
THE TEXAS QUESTION 175
MANIFEST DESTINY 177
CALIFORNIA AND OREGON 178
ELECTION OF 1844 180
POLK AS PRESIDENT 180
WAR WITH MEXICO 181
NORTHERN MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA 182
ON TO MEXICO CITY 183
THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO 183
THE AFTERMATH 183
SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES 184
ELECTION OF 1848 185
THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 185
Chapter 12 An Era of Economic Change 189
AGRICULTURE IN THE OLD SOUTH 190
SLAVERY AS AN ECONOMIC INSTITUTION 190
SLAVERY AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION 191
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SLAVERY 192
MANUFACTURING IN THE SOUTH 193
INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION 193
SELF-GENERATED EXPANSION 195
THE NEW INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY 195
FOREIGN COMMERCE 197
STEAM CONQUERS THE ATLANTIC 198
RAILROADS AND CANALS 198
FINANCING THE RAILROADS 202
RAILROADS AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY 203
RAILROADS AND THE SECTIONAL CONFLICT 204
THE ECONOMY ON THE EVE OF CIVIL WAR 204
Chapter 13 The Romantic Age 207
THE TRANSCENDENTAL SPIRIT 208
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE 209
HERMAN MELVILLE 210
WALT WHITMAN 210
THE SPREAD OF CULTURE 211
EDUCATION AND ART 212
AN AGE OF REFORM 214
PRACTICAL REFORMERS 216
THE ABOLITIONIST CRUSADE 217
DEFENSE OF SLAVERY 219
WOMEN'S RIGHTS 221
Chapter 14 The Coming of the Civil War 223
ENFORCING THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT 224
UNCLE TOM'S CABIN 224
"YOUNG AMERICA" 225
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 226
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT 227
BLEEDING KANSAS 227
CHARLES SUMNER 228
BUCHANAN TRIES HIS HAND 229
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION 229
THE LECOMPTON CONSTITUTION 230
THE EMERGENCE OF LINCOLN 230
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 231
JOHN BROWN'S RAID 232
ELECTION OF 1860 234
THE SECESSION CRISIS 235
Chapter 15 The War to Save the Union 237
THE LINCOLN ADMINISTRATION 238
FORT SUMTER 238
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY 239
THE TEST OF BATTLE 240
BEHIND THE LINES 241
WAR IN THE WEST: SHILOH 244
MCCLELLAN VERSUS LEE 244
LEE COUNTERATTACKS 245
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION 246
ANTIETAM TO GETTYSBURG 248
VICKSBURG: LINCOLN FINDS A GENERAL 249
ECONOMIC EFFECTS, NORTH AND SOUTH 249
GRANT, SHERMAN, AND VICTORY 250
COSTS AND PROSPECTS 252
Chapter 16Reconstruction and the South 255
PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION 256
REPUBLICAN RADICALS 257
THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT 258
THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS 259
CONGRESS VERSUS THE PRESIDENT 260
THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 260
"BLACK REPUBLICAN" RECONSTRUCTION 261
SOUTHERN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 262
THE WHITE COUNTERREVOLUTION 264
GRANT AS PRESIDENT 265
THE DISPUTED ELECTION OF 1876 266
THE COMPROMISE OF 1877 267
Chapter 17 An Age of Exploitation 269
"ROOT, HOG, OR DIE" 270
THE PLAINS INDIANS 271
INDIAN WARS 271
DESTRUCTION OF TRIBAL LIFE 273
THE PLIGHT OF MINORITIES 274
EXPLOITING MINERAL WEALTH IN THE WEST 277
THE LAND BONANZA 278
WESTERN RAILROAD BUILDING 279
THE CATTLE KINGDOM 281
OPEN-RANGE RANCHING 282
Chapter18 An Industrial Giant 285
INDUSTRIAL GROWTH: AN OVERVIEW 286
THE RAILROAD NETWORK 286
IRON, OIL, AND ELECTRICITY 288
COMPETITION AND MONOPOLY: THE RAILROADS 290
THE STEEL INDUSTRY. CARNEGIE 292
THE STANDARD OIL TRUST 292
AMERICANS REACT TO BIG BUSINESS 293
RAILROAD REGULATION 296
SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT 297
Chapter 19 The Response to Industrialism 299
THE AMERICAN WORKER 300
GROWTH OF LABOR ORGANIZATIONS 301
LABOR UNREST 302
THE "NEW" IMMIGRATION 304
THE EXPANDING CITY AND ITS PROBLEMS 306
URBAN IMPROVEMENT 309
RELIGION RESPONDS TO INDUSTRIALISM 310
THE SETTLEMENT HOUSES 311
SOCIAL LEGISLATION 312
CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS 313
Chapter 20 Intellectual and Cultural Trends 315
PUBLIC EDUCATION 316
KEEPING THE PEOPLE INFORMED 318
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES 319
SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES 321
THE NEW SOCIAL SCIENCES 322
LAW AND HISTORY 323
REALISM IN LITERATURE 323
MARK TWAIN 324
WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS 324
HENRY JAMES 325
REALISM IN ART 326
THE PRAGMATIC APPROACH 327
Chapter 22 National Politics: 1877-1896 329
THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH 330
ISSUES OF THE GILDED AGE 331
POLITICAL STRATEGY AND TACTICS 332
THE MEN IN THE WHITE HOUSE 333
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS 336
AGRICULTURAL DISCONTENT 337
THE POPULIST MOVEMENT 338
SHOWDOWN ON SILVER 340
ELECTION OF 1896 342
Chapter 22 From Isolation to Empire 345
AMERICA'S DIVIDED VIEW OF THE WORLD 346
THE COURSE OF EMPIRE 347
CUBA AND THE WAR WITH SPAIN 349
DEVELOPING A COLONIAL POLICY 351
THE OPEN DOOR POLICY 355
CARIBBEAN DIPLOMACY 357
"NONCOLONIAL IMPERIAL EXPANSION" 358
Chapter 23 The Progressive Era 361
ROOTS OF PROGRESSIVISM 362
THE MUCKRAKERS 363
THE PROGRESSIVE MIND 364
REFORMING THE POLITICAL SYSTEM 364
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REFORM 366
THEODORE ROOSEVELT 367
ROOSEVELT AND BIG BUSINESS 368
ROOSEVELT'S SECOND TERM 370
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 371
BREAKUP OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 372
ELECTION OF 1912 373
WILSON: THE NEW FREEDOM 374
THE PROGRESSIVES AND THE NEGRO 375
Chapter 24 Woodrow Wilson and the Great War 379
MISSIONARY DIPLOMACY 380
OUTBREAK OF THE GREAT WAR 381
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS 382
ELECTION OF 1916 383
THE ROAD TO WAR 385
THE HOME FRONT 386
"OVER THERE" 389
PREPARING FOR PEACE 391
THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE 392
THE SENATE AND THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 393
Chapter 25 The Twenties: The Aftermath of the Great War 397
RADICALISM AND XENOPHOBIA 398
URBAN-RURAL CONFLICT 400
PROHIBITION: THE NOBLE EXPERIMENT 401
THE KU KLUX KLAN 403
THE DISILLUSIONED 403
LITERARY TRENDS 405
THE NEW NEGRO 407
THE ERA OF NORMALCY 408
THE HARDING SCANDALS 409
COOLIDGE PROSPERITY 410
HENRY FORD 411
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 412
ELECTION OF 1928 414
Chapter 26 The Great Depression: 1929-1939 417
HOOVER AND THE DEPRESSION 418
THE ECONOMY SOUNDS THE DEPTHS 421
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT 421
THE HUNDRED DAYS 422
THE NEW DEAL SPIRIT 424
THE UNEMPLOYED 425
THE EXTREMISTS 426
THE SECOND NEW DEAL 4
ELECTION OF 1936 428
ROOSEVELT AND THE SUPREME COURT 429
THE END OF THE NEW DEAL 430
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW DEAL 431
Chapter 27 Isolationism and War: 1921-1945 435
PEACE WITHOUT A SWORD 436
THE GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY 438
THE FASCIST CHALLENGE 439
AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM 441
THE ROAD TO PEARL HARBOR 442
MOBILIZING THE HOME FRONT 445
THE WAR IN EUROPE 449
THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC 451
Chapter 28 Foreign Affairs: 1942-1964 455
WARTIME DIPLOMACY 456
DEVELOPING CONFLICTS 457
THE CONTAINMENT POLICY 458
CONTAINING COMMUNISM IN ASIA 460
THE COMMUNIST ISSUE AT HOME: MCCARTHYISM 463
JOHN FOSTER DULLES 464
THE NEW LOOK IN ASIA 466
DULLES AND THE ALLIES: SUEZ 466
THE U-2 AFFAIR 467
LATIN AMERICAN PROBLEMS 468
Chapter 29 The Postwar Scene: 1945-1964 471
THE POLITICAL CLIMATE 472
HARRY S TRUMAN 472
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER 474
JOHN F. KENNEDY 474
LYNDON B. JOHNSON 475
OTHER NATIONAL LEADERS 477
REGULATING THE ECONOMY 478
INDUSTRIAL LABOR 480
THE FARM PROBLEM 481
THE POLITICS OF CIVIL RIGHTS 482
Chapter 30 Modern American Society 487
AMERICAN SOCIETY IN FLUX 488
LITERATURE AND ART 490
TWO DILEMMAS 492
MIXED BLESSINGS 493
POVERTY AMID PLENTY 497
RACE RELATIONS 498
WOMEN'S LIBERATION 501
EDUCATION: YOUTH IN REVOLT 502
THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION 504
CHAPTER 31 Vietnam and Its Aftermath 507
THE WAR IN VIETNAM 508
ELECTION OF 1968 509
NIXON AS PRESIDENT 512
NIXON TRIUMPHANT 514
NIXON: DECLINE AND FALL 516
A SEARCH FOR MEANING 520
The Declaration of Independence 522
The Constitution 524
Index 533
MAPS
Colonial Land Grants, 1609-1732 16
Colonial Settlement, 1660-1760 22
Colonial Overseas Trade 29
North America, 1763 51
Saratoga and Philadelphia Campaigns, 1777 70
The United States, 1787 76
The United States, 1787-1802 94
Exploring the Louisiana Purchase 108
The United States, 1819 123
Population Density, 1820 129
The Missouri Compromise, 1820-1821 154
Population Density, 1840 177
Trails West 179
The United States at Mid-Century 187
Railroads, 1850-1861 200
Campaigns of the Civil War, 1861-1865 242
Western Cattle Trails and Railroads, 1850-1893 281
The Spanish-American War in the Caribbean, 1898 350
The Western Front, 1918 390
World War II, European Theater 450
World War II, Pacific Theater 452
The Korean War, 1950-1953 461
Southeast Asia 509
The Election of 1968 512
PREFACE
While history is certainly worth studying for its own sake, as a record of men's struggles and achievements divorced from present affairs, it can also serve as a tool for those who wish to understand how things have come to be as they are. From decade to decade, sometimes almost from day to day, the objects of this curiosity change; every generation, reacting to current events, asks new questions about the past. For example, Americans have always wanted to "know all about" the American Revolution, but modern Americans are especially fascinated by aspects of it that did not deeply concern their parents and grandparents. Present-day interest in the Negro makes us look anew at the Revolution; so do matters as unrelated as the recent Supreme Court decisions establishing the principle of "one man, one vote" in apportioning seats in state legislatures, and the efforts of the people of Asia, Africa, and South America to free themselves from the restrictive influence of foreign powers.
It is the job of the historian to supply answers to the historical questions that contemporary events bring to mind. At the same time, books and articles about the Revolution and about countless other events constantly appear which amplify and refine our knowledge of American history without regard for the particular problems of the present. And of course the mere passage of time makes new history every day. Oursas we are often remindedis a dynamic age. Periodically, historians have to assess this new information and relate it to what earlier students have written about the subject.
Thus, in addition to dealing with the whole span of the past as comprehensively and as authoritatively as possible, this survey of American history focuses especially on those historical events and trends that seem most important for understanding our own time.
I hope this work records the story of the American past clearly and intelligibly, but also with adequate attention to the complexities and subtleties of its immense subject. Of course, it is not the final wordthat will never be written. It is, however, up-to-date and as accurate and thoughtful and wide-ranging as I could make it. Its special features are products of a personal point of view. Being a biographer, I am very interested in historical personalities. I reject the theory that a few great men, cut from larger cloth than the general run of human beings, have shaped the destiny of mankind; but I do think that history becomes more vivid and comprehensible when attention is paid to how the major figures on the historical stage have reacted to events and to one another. I have attempted to portray the leading actors in my account as distinct individuals and to explain how their personal qualities influenced the course of history. I also believe that generalizations require concrete illustration if they are to be grasped fully. Readers will find many anecdotes and quotations in the following pages along with the facts and dates and statistics that every good history must contain. I am confident that most of this illustrative material is interesting, but I think that it is instructive too. Above all I have sought to keep in mind the grandeur of my subject. One need not be an uncritical admirer of the American nation and its people to recognize that the history of the United States from its colonial foundations to its present position of world influence is a great epic. I have tried to treat this history with the dignity and respect that it deserves, believing, however, that a subject of such magnitude is not well served by foolish praise or by slighting or excusing its many dark and even discreditable aspects.
This volume is an abridgement of my larger text, The American Nation. The success of that volume since the publication of the first edition in 1966 has led me to try to produce a book that would incorporate whatever strengths the original version contains and yet meet the needs of both one-semester courses in American history and of those courses organized primarily around wide readings in source materials, monographs, and scholarly articles. It is my beliefreinforced by the comments of many teachers and students of my acquaintancethat students in all survey courses need a connected narrative covering the whole sweep of the subject in order to place more detailed and specialized readings in proper perspective. In shortening The American Nation I have eliminated primarily details and illustrative material; no topic of any significance covered in the larger book has been omitted, or, I trust, reduced at the expense of clarity or intellectual significance. I have also taken the opportunity afforded by the preparation of this work to bring the last chapter up to date, carrying the story through the election of 1976.
John A. Garraty
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