The chapters are organized by political, social, and cultural history. I also found it useful that each chapter ends with a summary paragraph explaining how the changes just discussed will affect the events covered in the next chapter. Several problems with this sort of writing immediately strike me. Thus, a section on "environmental changes" is seamlessly inserted in early colonial history (Chapter 3) and the controversies surrounding slavery are connected to developments in colonial consumer society (Chapter 4). The book tends to be wordy in that much of the writing is in passive voice. The text is very comprehensive, and its 32 chapters give a broad overview of American history from Pre-Columbian times to the end of Barack Obama's presidency. This edition includes new documents and appendices for study, such as Washington’s Farewell Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. ), much as I have criticized what I considered inadequate coverage of environment. Approaching this review, I was skeptical, or though one of the main things I like about texts, the infusion of images, might be lost in an open source platform. navigation of the interface is straightforward and easy. The text does not explore at all Muhammad’s attempts to bring his vision to both Jewish and Christian leaders in Mecca, that he wanted to unify the faiths. As a professor used to seeing the same 50-100 pictures in a textbook, I plan to use this textbook as a multimedia resource for its unusual photographic finds. The book presents American history with a coherent throughline and shows connections between topics clearly. Filed under: United States -- History -- 1783-1815. Especially in the... At 1052 pages, "U.S. History" is nothing if not comprehensive. Second, it castigates the U.S. Army without ever acknowledging the fact that the army itself was on record as frequently stating that settler fears of Indian threat were exaggerated and overblown. The vast majority of events, issues, and themes that I introduce in class and want my students to think about were covered, or at least introduced. The language is easily accessible and engaging. Readers learn about different time periods from the perspectives not only of leaders and elites, but individuals and groups who are often neglected or omitted by more traditional texts. . No particular problems were noted as far as navigating the online links for access to the appropriate information. Climate Regions of the United States Map Key An important first step in reading a map is to note the map key. Reviewed by Charles Young, Associate Professor, Umpqua Community College on 8/21/16, The textbook is quite comprehensive in covering key ares and ideas. • Key Terms: while the iBook offers pop-up definitions to bold-face key terms, the PDF and online version do not. If they have to scroll, they won't use it. There are a few really effective moments when the textbook considers environmental history (the “selection of hats for the fashionable gentleman” on page 306 is a nice example), even if I’d personally prefer there to be even more attention to the theme. read more. This is one of the major criticisms I have about the text. The text appears to have a single narrative voice. They write that, according to George, there should be a land tax "in order to disincentivize private land ownership." This helps greatly with modularity, but limits what the text offers students in terms of connecting different aspects of US history. I also feel the reasons given for using the atomic bombs in WWII, especially why a second bomb was dropped to be missing key factors and far too abbreviated. It is comprehensive in that it covers not just the major wars or conflicts, but also the industrialization, struggles of indigenous populations, and the development of a nation. I understand that modularity is important for this textbook format, but it works against narrative and critical/analytical consistency, and in this case, also results in an inconsistency in the authorial voice. I think that the textbook also clearly identifies specific watersheds, such as the years 1774/75 in terms of the lead-up to the American Revolution (Chapters 5 & 6). That being said, however, this text still serves as an accessible, clearly written introduction to the big picture questions of American history. The chapter on the Reagan years is also very detailed in terms of laws and programs, but much of Reagan’s work is discredited, and he is painted as disingenuous compared to LBJ. By the the third chapter I was even more impressed with the organization and flow and that view remained throughout the rest of the textbook reading. However, the primary sources integrated into the text would allow an instructor to consider cultural shifts with students in class. Finally, Ford only implemented fair working hours because the AFL had fought for this for years, and he did not want workers to unionize. All that needs to be said in a U.S. history book about that period is covered in Chapter 3, which, by the way, is excellent, particularly the attention given to St. Augustine, Santa Fe, and Bacon’s Rebellion. Jargon-less to a fault: lacks the kinds of conceptual tools that might challenge students to engage more deeply and critically with the material (see above). It is adequate. This US History text is certainly comprehensive. A similar problem is present in the history of indigenous people before Europeans and the history of the Spanish empire, both of which are poorly covered and in some cases completely wrong statements are made. I would highly recommend this book to others! But since this is an open text, instructors could link to new articles if they so choose. I only looked at the e-book, using a desktop PC and a tablet. Each chapter has consistent information, graphics, sub-sections, and resources. I have to agree with the critique written by an earlier reviewer who said that this text shows a decided slant that the history of white men is the history of the US. A handful of women, numbering no more than six hundred, braved both the elements and male-dominated culture to become teachers in several of the more established cities in the West. In those instances, it would have been helpful for the authors to take ownership of their own analysis. The authors of the textbook make a concerted effort to connect historical events and developments from the past with current-day concerns and controversies. It's not. The text ends at 2013, and it seems the time has come for an update. Do they not merit a mention? At the chapter level, the content is organized into the 32 chapters in a logical fashion for the most part. I think this text would be particularly useful for an introductory course in American history that is geared toward first or second year students. Henry James would not be impressed. George believed that making land speculating in the West unprofitable would open up so much land for workers to migrate to that it would reduce the size of the urban workforce, thus giving those remaining in the cities greater bargaining power. Black and brown leaders have cool nicknames, too. Take women's suffrage as one example. illegal prostitutes. I will comment on the images elsewhere. Download United States – Geography, History and Social Studies Handbook: Do-It-Yourself Homeschooling pdf However, the point of view is clearly white and male. I had no problem with interface issues with navigating the text or distractions from images presented. The treatment of the rise of the conservative movement politically is outstanding in both its relevancy to today and in its depth of detail. In particular I praise in Chapter 31 the sections on "Creating a Conservative Policy" and "Conservative Christians and Family Values." To find the pull-out definition in these other formats, students must scroll to the end of the chapter. Yes it is very modular and works well in a classroom where there are daily reading assignments. Also, I was pleased to see the historic maps, illustrations and photographs included within each section. Depending on how you structure or periodize your class lectures or assignments, you may want to familiarize yourself with the unit headings and assign components of multiple chapters to your students. Overall, cultural competency is not merely an attribute of this book--it seems to have been a defining feature right from its inception. I was very impressed with the interface of the text. However, the quality of the... sential content for AP United States History is the heart of the textbook. There’s a lot of Hoover in the Depression, too. Instructors also have the option of creating a customized version of their OpenStax book. There were great delights. read more. Reviewed by John Haymond, Adjunct Instructor of History, Riverland Community College on 6/20/17, I was most interested in the portions of this text that dealt with events from mid-19th century to the First World War, but I still read through sections bracketing that date range. The book, however, does a poor job of covering the "edges" of US history, especially other parts of the world. That being said, the text is far more broad than it is deep. The glossary is, however, significantly less robust than many other textbooks provide. Reviewed by Jessica Taylor , Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech on 1/10/19, This textbook hits all the major points necessary for a US survey class, with particular emphasis on political history. Chapters 23 through 30 continue the narrative through the 20th century with material on World War I, the 1920s, the Depression and the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, the changing American society and economy from the 1950s to the 1980s, including the struggle for African American civil rights. This is how I try to structure my classes, asking students for context at the start and end of each session, so it is ideal that the book is set up this way. Reviewed by Ian Beamish, Assistant Professor, ULL on 11/10/19, The books covers the political narrative relatively thoroughly, but skews its attention to England and Europe over other areas of the Atlantic World in early chapters. In the one sentence discussing the inheritors of the gold-for-salt trade, the Songhay, where is the mention of Askia Muhammad Toure, who founded it, or Sunni Ali Ber, who led its hostile takeover? There are no signs of grammatical errors throughout the textbook. In some cases there are multiple chapters on one era. There has been good recent research on the topic, but it is not seen in the text. ), so I'm actually not sure "modularity" is a good aspect to a book. The smaller sections are easy to digest. While it's impossible to cover everything, this book does an admirable job of going into detail about important topics. The text is largely up-to-date, using the most accurate terminology for its historical referents. Hoover and his administration get more fleshed out in this way than in typical textbook coverage of the Depression. The interface is not particularly visually appealing, but is intuitive and easy to navigate. Reviewed by Daniel  Morales, Assistant Professor, James Madison University on 2/13/19, The textbook covers most of the areas of US history, perhaps too much as some points and not enough in others but overall is comprehensive in covering political history. This text did an excellent job including a variety of voices, both within the text itself and through the use of sources from historically-marginalized groups. Far from confusing or distracting readers, the layout of the pages invites readers to delve into it. I worry about students trying to read long blocks of uninterrupted text on their computers, though. Without worry of page number or length impacting printing prices, the authors were able to assemble a great number of chapters, or at least a greater number of sub-themes within the chapters. read more. A few more primary sources would not hurt the text. This was something I thought would e lost on an open source platform. For example, their coverage of pre-Columbian societies in Meso America includes outdated information regarding to Florentine Codex and the belief that Montezuma believed Cortes to be a god. The text is lucid, sensible, well written, well organized. I do think that the authors do a nice job providing context where needed to allow students to pick up in 1877 and make sense of the content. The chapters are organized both chronologically and thematically. The text is written very clearly. It covers events from pre-1492 through the last years of President Obama's administration. FREE TO TRY FOR 30 DAYS. The summary in Chapter 16.4 suggests a goal for the Reconstruction that is suggestive as opposed to authentic: "Reconstruction had failed to achieve its primary objective of creating an interracial democracy that provided equal rights to all citizens." Well done, creative, and I would love to use in the classroom! I’ll update this review in a few months, after I’ve had a chance to use the text in a class and have seen students interact with it. Both the table of contents and the index have user-friendly links that maximize efficiency of topic browsing as well as of continuous reading. The text does in fact divide easily and the navigate bar on the left makes things work very well. read more. US History is certainly comprehensive: the task of tracing the development of the United States from pre-colonial times to the second term of President Barack Obama is a daunting one. For example, the map on this page shows the various climate regions of the United States and the different colors representing them. The book is comprehensive, perhaps to a fault. The chapter on the years 1870 to 1900 refers to the Great Migration northward of African Americans as occurring "between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the Great Depression," possibly giving the impression that a substantial proportion of that movement took place during the Gilded Age, when actually pre-1910 black migration to the North was small compared to what occurred during World War I. the years to which the term is usually applied. The opening chapters provide a breathtaking panorama of the early origins of human life in the Americas and the global scene on the eve of transatlantic exploration; it proceeds to explain colonization with very meaningful emphasis on how it fit in with the larger context of global trade and comparative labor systems, free and unfree. Very accessible language, but also very bland overall (this varied quite a bit). read more, Very comprehensive in scope and coverage. Thank you so much. I will use it in all my survey U.S. history classes. We have to do better than this. I did hope for more non-English history after the "Colonial Powers" chapter, and found that political and elite intellectual history (think the Interregnum and Enlightenment, but without how they affected average folks) dominated social and cultural history. My review of this text indicates that there are no significant issues with navigating its various features such as maps, photos, and relevant primary sources. There are not overly long sentences or awkward descriptions that tend to numb the attention of the reader. The book is impressively comprehensive. Some teachers might find unusual the fact that African-Americans and Native people sometimes have their own separate sections in each chapter. Despite these "holes", it is a text I would adopt for my freshman level US History course! Images are clear. I use this book in both of my US History survey courses, so my main message is: this book works very well. Multicultural America is required for all majors at MSU-Denver and over 90% of my students are not history majors. So while this book might rank high in terms of stars, many other faculty have also pointed out issues about this book's content. The book is, in fact, so detailed that instructors of the two-semester sequence may need to do some selective trimming in what they assign, especially in colleges where students have full-time jobs and families as well as 15 credit hours of coursework. It covers such cultures, states, and societies as Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Dynastic Egypt, India's … The review... There is far more detail on the pre-1945 period than the post-1945 period. Page 18:United States Military Academy – West Point, New York Page 25:Stock Montage, Inc. Content limitations do allow an instructor the flexibility to tailor each chapter's content. FREE TO TRY FOR 30 DAYS. For example, the author might move away from only touching Native American “removals” at the famous times in history – Trail of Tears, Custer, Dawes Act and integrate a consideration of Native Americans as one of the core groups living in the United States through its history. The book is free of jargon and is easily accessible for readers. Since I think the strength of this text is its “skeletal” coverage of major events, I don’t envision the need for regular updates or fears of becoming irrelevant. Although there is some mild variation among sections, for the most part US History remains consistent in its chapter structure and selection of content. Reviewed by Joe Austin, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee on 8/21/16, NOTE: My comments apply ONLY to the post-1865 chapters (16-32). As in most textbooks, some chapters are clearly stronger and more in-depth than others, which is often dependent on the areas of specialties of the authors. In places the brevity of the discussion can lead to questions, but this is not due to the language used itself. It reminded me of some historical facts I had forgotten and I was pleased to read about different indigenous populations in a historical context. The text is very comprehensive, and its 32 chapters give a broad overview of American history from Pre-Columbian times to the end of Barack Obama's presidency. Beginning in Fall 2020 they will all have equal access to the material. This sort of surface-level examination of material is suitable for a survey-level course, but unless the students have a good deal of background knowledge, the text might confuse them over its coverage of certain topics. Chapter 27.2 is the first chapter to be more inclusive of other cultures by addressing WWII home-front aspects of Hispanics and Asians (with marginal mention of Native Americans). In the post-1945 periods,... We instruct students to use active voice in their own writing and it would be better if the book modeled this writing style. Nothing seems obviously out of place within the general organization of the text. The text is very consistent. The size of the book is therefore an advantage because some sections can be explored in more depth using primary sources and other materials while other sections can be read mainly for historical background. The "Americana" and "Defining American" sections also use individuals to illustrate the more abstract ideas discussed, like Malcolm X and the concept of the "New Negro.". Printable Quotes: Science: Social Studies: Substitute Teaching: Textbook Worksheets: World History : United States History Workbooks. If US History surveys are envisioned as addressing the dual goals of acquainting students with the broad outlines of our history (what happened, when?) While no two instructors will agree on the level of detail aspects of US history should receive, this text does to a nice job of presenting a useful narrative supported by ancillaries that include: brief chapter timelines, sidebars (Americana, Defining America, and My Story), images, maps, web links, section-level objectives (that correspond to lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy), bold-faced key terms, section summaries, and objective and essay review questions. It appears the book is driven by theme or key vocabulary concepts as opposed the "the great individual" in history approach. The course covers from pre-Columbian American history through the present and have found myself having to lecture "filler" lectures to connect the different topics of the books. In addition, as mentioned earlier, the number of chapters and sub-divisions will align very well and smoothly with most survey courses. The 20th century portion should be expanded. The map keyexplains the lines, symbols, and colors used on a map. Having said that, in places I did question the emphasis of certain aspects of the interpretation. This is one of the most readable texts I have ever encountered for an American history course, but I also feel that it is perhaps too simplistic for some of my students. For this comment I read with interest the last sections of the text which are the most modern. I liked exploring them, but not enough for them to be self-motivating. This book does an excellent job of intertwining the stories of underrepresented groups throughout U.S. history. I will add that, because the time periods covered in each chapter overlap substantially, you may find it difficult to find a discrete event. Where the authors mention that there was talk in the early 1830s in the Virginia legislature of making manumission of slaves easier but that the idea was shot down, they might want to point out that the sentiment for regarding slavery as more trouble and danger than it was worth came largely from the state's western counties where land was less conducive to plantation agriculture, and that these counties would secede from the state and form West Virginia during the Civil War. It discusses the atomic bomb missions in detail (down to secondary targets), but merely alludes to the massive conventional bombing campaign. In considering the text for community college use, at least twenty percent of community college students have disabilities and... The post-1945 chapters (chapters 28-32) tend to cover longer periods of time (15-20 years). 9. th. Very consistent. Clear enough; I didn't notice it. Even if a student wanted to take both halves, there's no assurances that they'd get the same teacher assigning the same open textbook. It does use the term "American Indian" rather than "Native American", which might deter some instructors from using it, but the authors also provide a very well-reasoned rationale for the choice. If a student read this book cover to cover, they would gain the impression that women's suffrage was only a moment in history instead of the culmination of generations of thoughts and actions. The book is fairly straightforward and basic. For students who pick up the book sporadically and read only a few sections, this might not be a problem. The organization seems to have an implicit argument that the last 100 years (and certainly the last ~50 years) are less well understood or important than the last half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. For the 20th century – the area with which I am most familiar – the text seems well-balanced and without glaring omissions. By grouping the Missouri Crisis together with the Mexican War and the founding of the Liberty Party in the chapter on pre-1860 westward expansion, the authors effectively set the stage for the important role of the western frontier in the escalating North-South tensions that drove the country closer and closer to civil war. The text makes an effort to address culturally related issues, focusing mostly on African Americans and women to the exclusion or coverage of other minority and racial groups. 77% of my students were not buying the print textbook. The depth of research and care in including pertinent information is well done. These links sometimes take the reader to an out-of-date website or a broken URL. The Index needs to be more comprehensive, it is too... On its face, the text appears to mirror the topics one sees in a typical commercial textbook. I understand that they are trying to use open source material, but I believe that there could be better image options to illustrate the content. ISBN-10: 0076608654 ISBN-13: 9780076608652 Pub. Given my emphasis on causation and action in student writing, this is a problem for me. Some of this seems unnecessary, especially since Africa and the Americas do not get the same treatment. Chapters are mostly divided in a way that mirrors my class syllabus, and the text maintains a clear historical thread of cause and effect throughout. and again: "While much of the basis for westward expansion was economic, there was also a more philosophical reason, which was bound up in the American belief that the country—and the “heathens” who populated it—was destined to come under the civilizing rule of Euro-American settlers and their superior technology, " Referring to Native Americans and enslaved people of African descent as heathens so casually in the text seems problematic to say the least. Typos, too, seem rare. I highly recommend this text for introductory US History courses. Most of the text, like most survey textbooks, focuses on political history with an occasional foray into cultural or intellectual history (such as brief looks at the Second Great Awakening or Alexis de Tocqueville’s critique of American democracy. was linked to the rise and diffusion of Islam.” This statement is wildly vague and inaccurate. • Images and Maps: More disappointing are the images, cartoons, and maps. Within the colonial and national period, the author follows through in this promising beginning, emphasizing the changing history of gender and race and their larger connection to the “larger” political movements of the day. There exists in spots some level of bias: for example, the terminology used in Chapter 22.2 about nineteenth century views toward Filipinos reads: "Neither the Spanish nor the Americans considered giving the islands their independence, since, with the pervasive racism and cultural stereotyping of the day, they believed the Filipino people were not capable of governing themselves." But in general, the chapters are dealt with in a very even-handed and consistent manner. If going over a passage in class, it will take too long for everybody to find it. Chapter 20 does cover populism fairly well, although it neglects recent scholarship on how important populism was in the mountain West, not just on the prairie/plains. (For example, the nineteenth-century representation of Native peoples is in the Age of Jackson chapter and not the Westward Expansion chapter.) Some of the language, like "Hispanic" or "Indian" might need more specificity. read more. By far the biggest problem of the book is its cursory treatment of Latino and Asian history. While the text was not personally offensive or insensitive, many aspects of the true telling of history are. The book does meet this criteria, the subject headings are certainly not followed by large blocks of text. Within each chapter, the text is not culturally insensitive. Providing some additional primary sources into some of the chapters would be great. Actually, the marchers began their trek from Jacob Coxey's own town of Massillon. The vast majority of historians regard anything that has happened in the past 20 years as current events. With that aside, because of this excellent focus the content does give sufficient depth to the issues and events in relatively short textual spaces. Fans of the Oxford comma might be disappointed. As you may have noticed by now, I concentrated exclusively on the post-1877 chapters because that's the period I teach. Starting with the table of contents, the organization of the text made it very simple to move through the entire book without disorientation. When the authors are outside the bounds of their expertise there tends to be more errors. read more. Well-written and this text will be utilized by this professor for years to come. The 32 chapters are very similar to many other textbooks which are commercially available, and they are well suited for two-semester and three-term surveys of US history. No major navigation problems, even when clicking links for more information within the chapters. This is an aspect in which the book excels.