The text works well for a survey-level course as it covers the major themes in U.S. history. The information is organized logically and easy for the students to follow the material. Since the text is basic in its interpretation of U.S. History it is important to incorporate more detail in your lecture and use of primary materials. The use of glossary terms is helpful for students at the end of each chapter. The auxiliary materials (PowerPoint slides, test banks, and instructor resources) provided are very basic and need to be further developed by the instructor using the textbook.
This is a fairly comprehensive textbook that outlines the history of the United States, beginning with an overview of the forces that led to colonialist expeditions from European nation-states, outlining some general aspects of pre-colonial North...read more
american history book high school
This is a fairly comprehensive textbook that outlines the history of the United States, beginning with an overview of the forces that led to colonialist expeditions from European nation-states, outlining some general aspects of pre-colonial North America, then moving into the process and initial impact of settler-colonialism in North America in detail. The text then discusses the formation of the Unites States as a nation independent from colonial powers, and moves through the major political, cultural, and social developments that the nation experiences over the following 220 years. Each chapter includes key vocabulary terms and a timeline. The chronologically arranged chapters each have an introduction and subsections, and each term in the index is hyperlinked to the section where it is discussed. This textbook does a fine job of covering a broad period of time with a complex history, in my opinion.
Overall, this text uses clear and easy-to understand prose. In my opinion, it is appropriate for students at the high school level, or for an introductory or survey course at an undergraduate institution. Vocabulary terms that would be unfamiliar to a modern reader are defined in text and are also highlighted at the end of each chapter.
Each chapter's subsections were very readable, and the text overall is fairly modular. Although I think that the structure of this text lends itself best to courses that are taught chronologically. An instructor hoping to approach US history from a thematic perspective, with units on, for example, women's rights or labor rights, would not easily be able to isolate that material. This is common, though, for history texts, of course, but thematic sections might be something to consider for a future version of the text, or for an additional open-source US history book.
Overall, I got the sense that the authors of this text worked hard to compose a fairly culturally-sensitive history of the United States, and for the most part handled much of the material related to race and ethnicity accurately, for example, noting that racial hatred motivated some of the atrocities in the Vietnam War. Personally, I think that the text could have gone even further to construct an inclusive history, especially in regards to the discussion of native nations of what became known as North America. Certain terms used in this text, for example noting that, in what the text terms "native peoples of the eastern woodland" native peoples "did not construct the large and complex societies" like those of the peoples who inhabited lands west of the Mississippi River. While the social structures and cultural practices of nations like the Iroquois and Lenape were certainly very different from the Anasazi, terms like "complexity" have connotations of prestige and hierarchy, which can be seen as discounting the highly developed elements present in many eastern native nations, from precise agricultural methods and to fine art forms.
Overall the book is very accurate and error free. It could benefit from a few changes. For example, the book uses the term Atlantic World but does not define it according to the definition as it is put forth by Atlanticists. This book will most like be used in a survey course and students will go on to take additional history courses, one of which might be the Atlantic World. As much as possible the book should define terms like this in the way they are defined by historians in that field.
In comparison with commercial textbooks, the range and coverage are good. The authors clearly worked diligently to include the major points of the history necessary for an introductory text. The Index needs to be more comprehensive, it is too...read more
In comparison with commercial textbooks, the range and coverage are good. The authors clearly worked diligently to include the major points of the history necessary for an introductory text. The Index needs to be more comprehensive, it is too abbreviated. There is no glossary and this is a problem. The text is light on definitions, for instance, imperialism is never defined, hegemony is never mentioned. The idea of the US as a nation that has never practiced imperialism is very strongly embedded in our national discourse and changing that mind set can only happen with a concentrated barrage of basic definitions and facts in our texts. Not to speak for anyone else, my students need basic definitions.
The book seems consistent when it comes to presenting history from a white, male, European perspective. When it comes to women's history, the book is consistent in offering only a brief and limited perspective. Take women's suffrage as one example. If a student missed a few special sections that cover women's history, they would not see many positive contributions of women. 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.
Again, this is fine. It is easy to move around in the book and it is digitally searchable. This is not a comment about the text, but please notice that most of the categories reviewers are given are not about the content of the book. 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 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. The chapters are organized both chronologically and thematically. The chapters do not delve into too much detail, and instead, consist of an overview. The review and critical thinking questions, at the end of every chapter, are a great way to assess students and check for understanding. While the book is mostly a political history, it also encompasses social and economic history.
The text is written very clearly. The language used is accessible to the vast majority of undergraduate students. It is well written and generally enjoyable to read. Some portions are rather dry, especially those dealing with political wranglings and legislation. However, some passages are very engaging and read almost like a novel. Although the narrative is broken up my many headings, it flows well. It does not have the complicated and politicized jargon of other history textbooks.
This book is a useful survey course text that provides a succinct yet sweeping historical analysis of American history in a well-organized and accessible format, and includes plenty of online resources that expand upon the text itself.
The book is clearly written and the reading level is appropriate for high school and early college students. Professors will not have much work to do setting up the book or explaining difficult concepts. The disadvantage of having avoided jargon and technical terminology is that more complex concepts also seem to have been avoided.
think these chapters could be used almost entirely modularly, almost to a fault. Unlike some standard texts (Foner, Give me Liberty or Cohen/Johnson/Roark, The American Promise) the book also does not have clear through lines that can be referred back to, either in terms of narrative or argument. This helps greatly with modularity, but limits what the text offers students in terms of connecting different aspects of US history.
I found that the text does broadly covers significant historical events and people in a broad overview. While there is not a lot of depth in the chapters, it makes a great overview do use if the instructor adds supplemental readings. The review and critical thinking questions are a great supplement, as well as the glossary. I teach multiple sessions of Multicultural America here at MSU-Denver and have been looking for a an inexpensive, if not free, supplement to my texts I require students to read, Ronald Takaki's "A Different Mirror" and Gary Nash's "Forbidden Love: The Hidden History of Mixed-Race America." 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. For example, U.S. History's first chapter's sections about Pre-Columbia America and pre-1500 Europe and Africa I will make required reading because it is important, but my students have had to rely on my lectures for this information. Multicultural America is required for all majors at MSU-Denver and over 90% of my students are not history majors. I can utilize "U.S. History" as supplemental assigned readings to reinforce my lectures on different important themes, such as the U.S. Constitution, the Civil War, American Imperialism, World War I, etc. I plan to incorporate portions of this text in my Spring 2020 classes.
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. The language, vocabulary, and sentence structure seem more fitting for high school students than college students. For certain student populations, this would be a benefit, but instructors should be aware of this, especially if their goal is to get students to write and speak in more formal, academic terms. The glossaries at the end of the chapters reveal the simplicity of language. 2ff7e9595c
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